The Power Isn't For You

The Gift and Trust of the Holy Spirit

Why are we entrusted with the Holy Spirit? Why has God trusted us with the fullness of His presence, His power, and His authority—given to us to carry with us wherever we go?

And here’s the thing: there isn’t just one simple answer to that. It’s not as if I can talk for twenty or twenty-five minutes, and then we’ll all walk away saying, “Oh, cool, that’s why I’ve got the Holy Spirit. Nice one.”

The Trust of the Holy Spirit

There’s lots of complexity to this, but in these next few chapters of Acts I think we find some answers that give us insight into one of the reasons why we are entrusted with the Holy Spirit.

This is really just a side point, but when we read the New Testament, we see in Luke’s writings—Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and also the book of Acts—and in Paul’s writings—he wrote many of the letters in the New Testament—that they both talk a lot about the Holy Spirit, but they speak about His role quite differently.

Luke talks about how the Holy Spirit empowers us. Paul talks a lot about how the Holy Spirit transforms and changes us. So when we ask, “Why are we entrusted with the Holy Spirit?” even between these two writers we see different, though not opposing, perspectives. And that points to the complexity of the Holy Spirit. We can’t just say, “The Holy Spirit is entrusted to us for this one thing,” because there is so much more going on. Even between just these two writers, they bring a breadth of perspective on this.

I feel like I’ve caveated enough now—I can probably move on.

The Power of the Spirit in Witness

So this morning we’re going to look—yes, loosely following on from Pentecost—at a couple of verses in Acts chapter 1, where Jesus starts to answer why he is going to entrust us with the Holy Spirit. Then we’re going to look at some examples from the life of Peter: one from Acts 2, one from Acts 3, and one from Acts 4, where we see him working with the Holy Spirit. And then we’ll land on what that means for us today. Does that sound okay?

Acts chapter 1, verses 7–8. This is Jesus speaking after his death, burial, and resurrection, but before his ascension to be with the Father:

“Jesus said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,

The Power of the Spirit in Peter

So this morning we’re going to look at why Jesus entrusts us with the Holy Spirit. I know I said we were going to follow on from Pentecost, but I actually want to start with a couple of verses in Acts chapter 1 where Jesus begins to answer this question: why is He going to entrust us with the Holy Spirit?

Then we’re going to look at some examples from the life of Peter: one from Acts chapter 2, one from chapter 3, and one from chapter 4. In each of these we see Peter working with the Holy Spirit, and then we’ll think about what that means for us today. Does that sound okay? Nice.

So Acts chapter 1, verses 7–8. This is Jesus speaking after His death, burial, and resurrection, but before His ascension to be with the Father. He says this:

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in

The Spirit’s Aid Before Authorities

But Peter makes sure that he is pointing back to the One through whom this has been achieved. He points back and says, “No, this is faith in Jesus. This is Jesus who has done this.” And then he gives a witness to who Jesus is: “Repent and turn to God. Turn away from your sin, turn to God, and then times of refreshing may come.”

Peter isn’t really allowed to just walk away from this moment, though. We see this in chapter 4. There are consequences to him healing this man outside the temple.

Before we get into that, I just want to refer back quickly to another part of Luke’s writings. My Bible’s only got one bookmark ribbon. Although, thinking about it, I could have just put a bookmark in, couldn’t I? But instead, you get to watch me do it. It’s like what they call them in kids’ church, “sword drill” or something, where they say a verse and you have to try and find it. I don’t know if you guys do that.

So, Luke chapter 12, verses 11 to 12. This is Jesus speaking, and this is before Jesus’ death. The promise, or the thing that Jesus talks about in Acts chapter 1 – that the power of the Holy Spirit will come on us and we will be His witnesses to the nations – that’s after Jesus’ resurrection. But this is before even His death, and Jesus says this:

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

If I were with the disciples then, I think I’d have been a bit unsettled by that first word: “when.” Not “if you are brought before synagogues,” but “when you are.” But keep that in mind: Jesus has said to them, “When this happens to you, when you’re brought in front of all these religious leaders, don’t worry about what you need to say, because the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you need to say.”

And so we see in Acts chapter 4 the consequences of what Peter and John have just done in healing this man through the power of the Holy Spirit. It says this in verse 5:

“The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this—you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.’”

In this moment, where Peter stands up and speaks to these people, we see the fulfilment of what Jesus is talking about in Luke, but also what Jesus is talking about in Acts. Peter and John have been pulled before these authorities – it’s the exact scenario that Jesus described. They’re brought before rulers and asked to give an account for what’s happened, and Peter just stands up and speaks.

In the next couple of verses we read:

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished,

The Gifts and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit

If the same Spirit is at work in us now, and through us now, as we see in Scripture, what does that look like for us today?

I mentioned earlier some of the differences between Luke and Paul’s writings, and I want to look at a couple of places in Paul to help us contextualise what this can look like now. In 1 Corinthians 12, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he talks about some of the gifts we receive when we receive the Holy Spirit into our lives.

This is not the definitive list of spiritual gifts. There are spiritual gifts mentioned in various places throughout the New Testament. But this is a really helpful passage that gathers many of them together, and that’s what we’re going to use this morning.

So, 1 Corinthians 12:7–11. Paul writes:

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing

The Power of the Spirit for Witness

And this takes the pressure off us a little bit. This whole revelation of the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to be a witness gives us some freedom, because none of it is about us. Not one part of it is about us. The power of the Holy Spirit working through us is not about us; it’s His power at work.

We’re also promised that when we need to speak about who God is, the Holy Spirit will give us the words. And when we’re bragging about what God has done, we’re not bragging about ourselves, we’re bragging about God and what He has done. None of it is about us. That just takes the pressure off. We don’t have to do or be anything other than what God is making us into, anything other than vessels for the Holy Spirit working through us. And when we’re talking about how great God is, that’s not about us either. It gives us freedom, and it also gives us purpose.

Paul writes that we should be eagerly seeking after the gifts of the Spirit, but not for our own benefit. Not so that we can say, “Isn’t this really cool, this thing that I can do?” No. It’s so that we can be a witness to the power and the glory of God every time.

I feel as though all I’ve said for the last twenty minutes or so is, “The power of God, be a witness,” because that’s all you really need to remember from what I’m speaking about. I could have just said that and sat down. But we want the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit because we should want to be constantly transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ, moving from one degree of glory to another. We want to be more like Jesus, for Jesus—not for us.

If we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, and we continually point people back to Jesus, this makes a difference in people’s lives. In Acts chapter 2, after Peter has got up and preached following the moment of Pentecost—he has been obedient, he has seen the power of the Holy Spirit at work, he has been a witness—we see the difference this makes. Verse 41 says: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Through the obedience of Peter and the power of the Holy Spirit, three thousand people saw salvation that day.

So let’s not underestimate the difference we can make in people’s lives if we are obedient to what God is asking of us, if we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and we point people back to Jesus.

I’m going to close in prayer this morning. Band, if you could scurry up. This is my favourite bit—normally I’m sat way back there at the back, and it’s my favourite bit when you have to kind of scurry out. Sorry, I should have given you more warning.

We’re going to pray this morning, because last week we prayed for people to be filled with the Spirit, and I don’t think that was just for last week. I think we should do that again this morning. So if that’s something you want prayer for today, I’d like to encourage you during this next bit, as we pray and then as we close in worship: the prayer team will be down here at the front. When it feels like the right time and you feel comfortable, come forward. You can come to the front here and one of the prayer team will pray for you, or if you’d rather step to the side, you can do that—wherever you feel comfortable. We will pray for an infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Can I encourage you with what Peter says—that the gift of the Holy Spirit is for all whom the Lord our God will call. It might be that you’ve not been a Christian very long and you feel like you’re “not there yet” to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Or it might be that you’ve been a Christian for such a long time that it feels a bit awkward now to get up and ask for prayer to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Please don’t let either of those things, or anything in between, stop you from being filled with the power of God. Because it’s not about you. It’s about being able to be a witness to the nations and making a difference in the lives of people around you.

We’ll pray for that, but I’d also love for us to pray that we see more of the power of the Holy Spirit—that we see more of the gifts of the Spirit manifest, that we see more of the fruit of the Spirit manifest in each one of our lives—for the purpose of witness, for the purpose of furthering the gospel.

So let’s close our eyes and I’m going to pray, and we’ll see where we go, if that’s all right.

Lord, I thank you so much that you choose to allow the presence of God to live within each one of us. That if we repent and are baptized, if we declare that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and ask to be filled with your Holy Spirit, you will pour out the authority and the presence of God into us. Lord, we’re so grateful. We are so grateful.

So, Lord, I pray this morning that if we are people who have already been filled with the Holy Spirit, we would recognize that in our lives—and, Lord, we pray for more. We pray for more of you. Not for ourselves, not so that we can look great, not for anything of us, but so that we can just point people back to you, Jesus. As we sang this morning, that all the glory would be to Jesus. That’s what we want—that we would be more like Jesus. That we would be more like you, Jesus, for you, Jesus. So that we can go, we can be your hands and feet, we can be your witnesses, we can testify to who you are and what you have done, what you have done for us. We thank you, Lord.

And so, if that’s you this morning—if you want to see more of the Holy Spirit—can I encourage you: I was going to ask you to put your hand up, but I’m not. I’m going to ask you to stand, and know that I’m standing as well, and I’m going to pray for us.

Lord, would you pour out your Spirit? Would you enable us to see incredible things—miracles, prophetic words? Would people who have never spoken in tongues before speak in tongues for the first time, Lord? Would we see the fruit of the Spirit manifest in situations that just don’t make sense, where it can only be your power at work in us?

And Lord, would you keep encouraging us that it’s not for us, it’s not for us to look good, but it’s for your glory. It’s to be your witnesses. It’s to bring people into your kingdom, Lord.

And, Lord, for those of us here this morning who are yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I pray that you would be giving people a bit of a nudge this morning—a bit of a kick, even. You have so much more for them. You have so much more purpose for them. You have so much more freedom for them. You have so much more of yourself for them. So, Lord, would you give them boldness and courage this morning to come and be prayed for, to be filled with your Spirit?

Thank you, Lord. Amen. Amen.

Let’s stand, if we’re able to.

Filled With the Spirit for Witness

And this takes the pressure off us a little bit. This whole revelation of the power of the Holy Spirit working through us to be a witness gives us freedom, because none of it is about us. Not one part of that is about us. The power of the Holy Spirit working through us is not about us; it’s the power of the Spirit working through us.

We’re also promised that if we need to speak about who God is, the Holy Spirit will give us the words. And when we’re bragging about what God has done, we’re not bragging about ourselves; we’re bragging about God and what He’s done. None of it is about us. That just takes the pressure off. We don’t have to do or be anything other than who God is making us into, anything other than vessels for the Holy Spirit working through us. And when we’re talking about how great God is, that’s not about us either. It gives us freedom, and it also gives us purpose.

Paul writes that we should be eagerly seeking after the gifts of the Spirit, but not for our own benefit. Not so we can say, “Isn’t this really cool, this thing that I can do?” No. It’s so that we can be a witness to the power and the glory of God every time.

I feel as though all I’ve said for the last twenty minutes or so is “the power of God” and “be a witness,” because that’s all you really need to remember from what I’m speaking about. I could have just said that and sat down. But we want the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit because we should want to be constantly transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ, moving from one degree of glory to another. We want to be more like Jesus, for Jesus—not for us.

And if we do this, if we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us and we continually point back to Jesus, this makes a real difference in people’s lives. In Acts chapter 2, after Peter has got up and preached following the moment of Pentecost—he has been obedient, he has seen the power of the Holy Spirit work, he has been a witness—we see the difference that this makes. In verse 41 we read: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Through the obedience of Peter and the power of the Holy Spirit, three thousand people saw salvation that day.

So let’s not underestimate the difference we can make in people’s lives if we are obedient to what God is asking of us, if we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, and if we point people back to Jesus.

I’m going to close in prayer this morning. Band, if you could scurry up. This is my favourite bit—normally I’m sat right at the back and it’s my favourite moment when you have to kind of scurry out. Sorry, I should have given you more warning.

We’re going to pray this morning because last week we prayed for people to be filled with the Spirit, and I don’t think that was just for last week. I think we should do that again this morning. If that’s something you want prayer for today, I’d like to encourage you during this next bit, as we pray and then close in worship: the prayer team will be down here at the front. When it feels like the right time and you feel comfortable, come forward. You can come right to the front here and one of the prayer team will pray for you, or if you would prefer to step out to the side to be a bit more out of the way, do that—wherever you feel comfortable. We will pray for an infilling of the Holy Spirit.

Can I encourage you with what Peter says, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is “for all whom the Lord our God will call”? It might be that you’ve not been a Christian very long and you don’t feel like you’re “there yet” to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Or it might be that you’ve been a Christian for such a long time that it feels a bit awkward now to get up and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Please don’t let either of those things—or anything in between—stop you from being filled with the power of God. Because it’s not about you. It’s about being able to be a witness to the nations and making a difference in the lives of the people around you.

So we will pray for that. But I would also love us to pray that we see more of the power of the Holy Spirit, that we see more of the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifest, and more of the fruit of the Spirit manifest in each one of our lives—for the purpose of witness, for the purpose of furthering the gospel.

So let’s close our eyes and I’m going to pray, and we’ll see where we go, if that’s all right.

Lord, I thank you so much that you choose to allow the presence of God to live within each one of us. That if we repent and are baptized, if we declare that Jesus is Lord and Saviour and ask to be filled with your Holy Spirit, you will pour out the authority and the presence of God into us. Lord, we’re so grateful. We’re so grateful.

And so, Lord, I pray this morning that if we are people who have already been filled with the Holy Spirit, we would recognize that in our lives, and we pray for more. We pray for more of you—not for ourselves, not so we can look great, not for anything of us—but so that we can point people back to you, Jesus. As we sang this morning, that all the glory would be to Jesus. That’s what we want, Lord: that it would be more of you, that we would be more like you, Jesus—for you, Jesus—so that we can go, we can be your hands and feet, we can be your witnesses, we can testify to who you are and what you have done, and what you have done for us. We thank you, Lord.

And so, if that’s you this morning—if you want to see more of the Holy Spirit—can I encourage you: I was going to ask you to put your hand up, but I’m not. I’m going to ask you to stand, and know that I’m standing as well. And I’m going to pray for us.

Lord, would you pour out your Spirit? Would you enable us to see incredible things: miracles, prophetic words? Would people who have never spoken in tongues before speak in tongues for the first time, Lord? Would we see the fruit of the Spirit manifest in situations that just don’t make sense, where it can only be your power working in us?

And Lord, would you encourage us that it’s not for us, it’s not for us to look good, but it’s for your glory. It’s to be your witnesses, to bring people into your kingdom, Lord.

And for those of us here this morning who are yet to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I pray that you would be giving people a bit of a nudge this morning, a bit of a kick this morning. You have so much more for them. You have so much more purpose for them. You have so much more freedom for them. You have so much—just so much more of you—for them. And so, Lord, would you give them boldness and courage this morning to be prayed for, to be filled with your Spirit?

Thank you, Lord. Amen. Amen.

Let’s stand, if we’re able to.