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SELAH! Pause - reflect- just think of that!

Selah Alphabetical Index

Preaching with Power

Pentecost changed everything (Acts 2).

The disciples of Jesus Christ were powerless before Pentecost. And then things changed. Jesus promised, “You will receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). That was His promise to every believer.

There is no need for the Christian to be powerless today. The baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was a climatic, demonstrative, once-for-all experience in the upper room in Jerusalem. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of the believer into Christ by which he becomes a member of the body of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body.” We “have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). The “baptism” is not a special endowment of power from the Holy Spirit for service. It is His work of placing the born again person into the body of Christ. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

There is therefore no reason for us to spend one day without the power of God. The early church is a demonstration of that power in preaching and daily living. It is the normal Christian life. “One baptism; many fillings.”

The early Christians stormed the citadels of hell and won. But they could never have done it without the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. They were under His control, guided by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, and illuminated by the Spirit. These early believers were valiant, daring, dauntless, and undismayed in every situation.

What happened? Why the radical change in the lives of the disciples? They were under the control of the Spirit of God and for that simple reason they were filled to overflowing. His presence makes all the difference.

“And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).

If you are a born again believer in Jesus Christ you do not have to pray and wait for the baptism of the Spirit. He has already baptized you into the body of Christ. Yield yourself to Him. Make yourself available to Him to do in and through you His eternal purposes.

We should be content with nothing less in the Christian life. The government and religious leaders could not shut the disciples up. The declared, “We cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). They were living bold witnesses of Jesus Christ.

“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). “And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all” (v. 33).

There was no magic formula or methodology. They simply said Lord here am I. They made themselves available to Him and obeyed His Word. They needed the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and He gave it. Each believer is made a witness of Jesus Christ. The infilling Holy Spirit instantly prepares all for spiritual ministry.

True New Testament preaching is proclamation of truth through the personality in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the God-controlled man He uses. We don’t need dialogue and entertainment; we need Christ preached in the power of the presence of the Spirit of God.

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006