Sermon Notes for Pentecost Sunday: "You Will Receive Power"

A Stable Word in an Unstable World:

“You Will Receive Power”

Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland

Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor

Sunday 31 May 2020

PENTECOST SUNDAY

Luke 24:36-53                                                  

Acts 2:1-18                                                         

Acts 1:1-8

Stability: from Latin ‘to stand’ = to be firm, constant, steadfast, fixed; lit. ‘to be able to stand.’

Key verse: Acts 2:17 – “‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’”

1.      We are SAVED by God’s power: Romans 1:16/John 3:3, 6   “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes …” “Spirit gives birth to spirit … you must be born again …’” 

2.      We are FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT by God’s power: Acts 4:31   “‘…enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”      

3.      We are given POWER OVER SIN by God’s power: Romans 6:6; Titus 2:11, 12   “… our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless so that we should no longer be slaves to sin …” “God’s grace … teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” 

4.      We learn EFFECTIVE INTERCESSORY PRAYER through God’s power: Romans 8:26   “… the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express…the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

5.      GOD’S WORD BECOMES ALIVE in us thru God’s power: Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16   “The Word of God is alive and powerful…” (KJV)

“All scripture is God-breathed, …”

6.      We are given POWER TO WITNESS through God’s power: Acts 1:8   “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses …”

7.      We are GUARDED for heaven by God’s power: 1 Peter 1:5   “… an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

What is the bottom line when it comes to the person and work of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus: John 16:12-14 – “… when the Spirit of truth comes … he will bring glory to me ...”

MONDAY MORNING

Seven days, seven sources of stability – take this outline one entry per day, look up the larger Scriptural context, reflect on it, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how it applies to your life.