Sermon 9-12-2010 Musical Worship

Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone (short prayer) The Old Rugged Cross Just as I am Brothers & sisters, today we will be talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. We are shown some very good examples of the power of the spirit in the Book of Acts. Lets read from that scripture. We will start today with Acts Chapter 2 verses 1 through 13. Read Acts Chapter 2 Verse 1 Through 13 How many of us here today who are filled with the Holy Spirit, have tried to share the Gospel with someone only to be ridiculed, laughed at or just simply ignored? Yes brothers & sisters, we as Christians are called to share the good news & save souls but it is hard when people just wont listen. Did it hurt? Did it make you angry? Did you take pitty on them? We who are filled with the Holy Spirit want to proclaim the name of Jesus Christ from the highest mountain top & shout his name to the ends of the earth. We who have seen the light & know the truth have a difficult time understanding why some do not want to listen to the wonderful message we are trying to share with them. I find my self immediately praying for those lost souls in silent, asking God to open their eyes & hearts. Lets read on & see how Peter dealt with this problem. Read Acts Chapter 2 Verse 14 through 21 Yes Brothers & Sisters, peter had the words delivered by the profit JoEl so long ago. The Holy Spirit was indeed working through & with the people that day. First when it filled the faithful & they began speaking in tongues then, again when Peter stood up. He too was full of the spirit which gave him those words. Oh how many souls would Peter save on that day. Lets

read on now picking up where we left off at verse 22 & we will read through verse 41. Read Acts Chapter 22 through 41 That is the power of the Holy Spirit Brothers & Sisters. The spirit working through one mans words. So powerful was the spirit in Peter that he was able to save some 3000 souls in that one day. How amazing God is when we allow him to work in our lives. When we accept the Holy Spirit we become new. We are born again in the spirit. We love & thank the Lord for this gift & we show him our love by sharing it with others & by serving him. I think Max Lucado sums it up in his book -LIVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCEwhen he wrote WALKING THROUGH THE FIRST 12 CHAPTERS OF ACTS, WE SEE FIRST HAND HOW A FEW FAITHFUL PEOPLE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD, AND WE ARE ASKING, LORD, DO IT AGAIN. MAY GOD USE US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. As Christians, this is our mission in life. These are our marching orders. To serve our lord & to go out into the world & make a difference by sharing with others the truth in order to bring about salvation. As long as we draw breath on this earth, this is what we all must do. The Good Lord has given us all of the tools we need to accomplish this task in the Holy Spirit, the sacrifice of our savior Jesus Christ & in the Holy Gospel found on these pages. Lets go to the lord in Prayer. (Closing Prayer) Heavenly father I ask that you bless each & every soul in this room & fill us with your Holy Spirit. Please let us be a blessing to everyone we meet so that they can see your grace & your glory in us & know that your son Jesus Christ is the light & the way. In Jesus name we pray Amen Lets close with a final Hymn. You are dismissed. Thank you for coming today & God bless.