Tag: power

  • Evil spirits, exorcism, possession of Power

    Evil spirits, exorcism, possession of Power

    ACTS 19:

    ..and the evil spirits went out of them.

    Acts of the Apostles 19:12c KJV

    Acts of God, evil spirits and exorcists

    In his account of Paul’s third missionary journey the physician Luke now records signs YOU may find hard to believe.

    DO YOU BELIEVE THIS, 21st Century believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?

    ..they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled.

    Acts of the Apostles 19:12b NLT

    Previously, in Luke’s account:

    Back in Athens Paul had lectured about the futility of worshiping things made by man as having the power of God.
    Luke tells us how (as an itinerate preacher) Paul had encountered some believers who had not received the power of the Holy Spirit.

    Powers of Preaching

    Apollos had preached the word with power prior to departing Ephesus for Corinth. Paul then arrives in Ephesus and proclaims the Gospel in the local synagogue for three months.

    BUT in the meantime, some itinerate Jews have heard ot these men attracting a following and so sought to imitate their techniques and powers of persuasion.

    As you may know it doesn't go so well for them, even as some time ago on Paul's first missionary journey Bar-Jesus lost his evil influence on events in Cypress.
    
    AND you probably have a Hollywood-tainted image of a ritualistic Roman Catholic ceremony.

    Jewish Exorcists

    But there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who attempted to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus when dealing with those who had evil spirits. They would say, “I command you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

    ACTS 19:13- J.B. Phillips New Testament paraphrase – The violence of evil and the power of the “name”

    “I command you in the name of Jesus!

    CAN ANYONE DO THIS? OR CAN A PRIEST OR PREACHER COMMAND EVIL SPIRITS?

    YOU probably have your 21st century of the Common Era doubts.

    But what happened to these exorcists?

    Mostly nothing at all — just like the Pentecostalism preached on some 20th century television stages. AND of course no authentic healing of the sick like JESUS had done so often.

    Luke’s account however does give us one powerful example of what did happen:

    Acts 19:

    14 Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them,

    “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

    16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

    Acts 19:14-16 Legacy Standard Bible
    Don't YOU just want to say, 'GOOD!' They got their just due?

    BUT WAIT A MINUTE!

    IF WE ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT LUKE TELLS US ABOUT SEVEN PRIESTS RUNNING OUT OF A HOUSE NAKED AND DEFEATED BY AN EVIL SPIRIT, THEN WE MUST ACCEPT AN IMPACT OF EVIL SPIRITS ON ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN.


    Miracles and Power!

    Luke now moves on from the ethereal teaching of Tyrannus and Mars Hill to the aetheris winds beyond that which is seen by man.

    Most of us don’t really believe in miracles, do we?

    WE know of the unexplainable, but rare is any occasion of seeing the unseen.

    Sinful men and women want power!

    Seven priests talked a good game, but when the higher unseen truth is told, they were humiliated and exposed as frauds.

    POWER has a source — as does life and spirit.

    And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

    Acts of the Apostles 19:11-12 LSB

    THEOS (Greek word for God) was performing extraordinary MIRACLES! dynamis, from which (in English) we get DYNAMITE!

    NOT Paul, but God by the hands of Paul.

    And as a consequence of GOD using these lifeless items and Spirit-filled Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ became known for HIS MIRACLES among the Gentiles of Ephesus.


    KJV Translation Count — Total: 120x
    The KJV translates Strong’s G1411 in the following manner:

    power (77x), mighty work (11x), strength (7x), miracle (7x), might (4x), virtue (3x), mighty (2x), miscellaneous (9x).
    inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth; power for performing miracles; moral power and excellence of soul; the power and influence which belong to riches and wealth; power and resources arising from numbers; power consisting in or resting upon armies, forces, hosts

    Strong’s G1411 – dynamis – BlueLetterBible.org

    evil spirits

    Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

    And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

    Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

    Leviticus 19:21; 20:6-7

    confronted by Jesus

    “Aw, let us alone! What to us and to you, Jesus the Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
    
    But Jesus rebuked it, saying, 
    “Be quiet and come out of him!” 
    
    And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all, and they were talking with one another saying, 
    “What is this word, that with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.”
    
    And the report about Him was spreading into every place in the surrounding district.
    
    Gospel of Luke 4:34-37
    So you say you don't believe in evil spirits? 
    The Law of Moses addresses them AND
    JESUS *cast them out of possessed men [*exorcism] and commanded unseen spirits with Authority.

    confronted by Paul

    And certain of the wandering exorcist Jews, took upon them to name over those having the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, ‘We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul doth preach;’

    Acts 19:13 Young’s Literal Translation

    and the evil spirit, answering, said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with; and ye — who are ye?’

    Acts of the Apostles 19:15 YLT

    SPIRIT – pneuma – from ‘breath’ or ‘of the wind

    Holy or unholy? Good or evil?

    Can the HOLY SPIRIT or an EVIL SPIRIT indwell a mortal man [anthrōpos]? (OR perhaps influence intellectual reasoning or affect any actions of a man or women of flesh?)

    By what POWER may a mere mortal become an EXORCIST of EVIL (ponēros) and healer of diseases?

    Questions of the first century Ephesians.

    Yes, even questions for 21st century christians of the Common Era, perhaps skeptical of Scripture and miraculous signs through the Apostles which God gave to witness the Lord Jesus Christ.

    And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

    Acts of the Apostles 19:17 KJV

    ACTS of the Apostles — To Be Continued…

    NEXT:
    and fear fell upon them all 

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  • By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

    By what power? Political prowess by the powers that be

    “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 

    ACTS of the Apostles of Jesus Christ 4:7b

    Previously and Prior to that..

    Basilica Πέτρος ἀπόστολος

    Their Previous Scene at the Temple

    Solomon’s Porch (portico) among the grand columns of HEROD’S temple, lasting project of a previous administration also pretentiously guarding what little power Rome would allow, may have seemed to Jerusalem’s authorities a public square upon which Simon Peter was now placing a Name of a new Authority (that was not them). In their minds he may have well proclaimed to the crowds, this Temple will now become THE APOSTLE PETER’S BASILICA.

    As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them.. And they laid hands on them and put them in prison until the next day, for it was already evening.

    Their Night in a Familiar Prison

    So the powers that be threw Peter, John and the healed lame beggar in jail overnight to be held over for trial the next day. (At least their actions could not be so clandestinely preplanned to hold this hearing at night as these same powers that be had done previously on the eve of Passover.)

    Peter, John and the healed beggar lie now in the palace prison, a place familiar to the Apostles from the trials of Jesus and even back to the imprisonment of John the Baptizer. In this dark palace near the Temple they await their trial and fate for preaching the Name of Jesus Christ.

    Power Prior to that..

    John, Peter and the healed man would know much more of the recent and ancient power struggles for Jerusalem than we do. So allow me to brief you on this first century A.D. ascension of the powers that be in Jerusalem to their positions of political/religious leadership of Jerusalem.

    All dates approximate for context of this chronology. The Apostles were Jews well aware of this history.
    • 586 B.C. – Solomon’s Temple destroyed
    • 516 B.C. – Zerubbabel rebuilt Jerusalem’s Second Temple
    • 167 B.C. Antiochus IV Epiphanes ordered an altar to Zeus erected in the Temple
    • The lands of the former Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah (c. 722–586 BCE), had been occupied in turn by Assyria, Babylonia, the Achaemenid Empire, and Alexander the Great’s Hellenic Macedonian empire (c. 330 BCE), although Jewish religious practice and culture had persisted and even flourished during certain periods. – source: Wikipedia incl. below
    • 200 BC Seleucid rule over the Jewish parts of the region then resulted in the rise of Hellenistic cultural and religious practices
    • 168 BC
    coin head of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
    ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ
    (King Antiochus, the divine Epiphanus, Bringer of Victory.)

    Enter the Maccabees

    • In 175 B.C.E. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (“[god] manifest”) took the Seleucid throne.
      • Then Antiochus attempted to obliterate the Jewish religion by forbidding Temple sacrifices, traditional festivals, Sabbath worship, and the rite of circumcision (the sign of the covenant), upon pain of death.
    • When Antiochus’ emissary came to the little town of Modein and demanded that the people offer sacrifices, Mattathias, of priestly stock, refused. Seeing one of the Jews about to comply, he rushed forward and slew him at the altar and then killed the king’s emissary, “acting zealously for the law of God, as Phinehas had done” (cf. Num 25:6-15). Then he and his sons fled to the hills and were joined by many others.
    • At his death, his son Judas Maccabeus took charge and waged a successful guerilla war against the Seleucids, retook Jerusalem, and
    • 164 BC – 63 BC
      • in 164 restored and rededicated the Temple, giving birth to the Feast of Hanukkah (“Dedication”) or “Lights.” Thus began a long war which, despite great odds, ended in victory and the establishment of the Maccabean, or Hasmonean kingdom, an independent kingdom which lasted until 63 BCE.
      • source: The Jewish Roman World of Jesus, by Dr. James Tabor [RECOMMENDED further reading]:
      • the Roman general Pompey was invited to settle a dispute between two Maccabeans

    The World of Augustus Caesar

    There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias..

    Gospel of Luke 1:5a KJV
    • from this point forward, Palestine was considered to be controlled by Rome, and in the reorganization by Augustus it fell under the administration of the imperial province of Syria.
      • Unlike senatorial provinces, imperial provinces were governed by a military governor called a “Legate” (who, in this case resided at Antioch), and Roman troops were stationed to keep order.
      • There were also “districts” that were testy enough to be governed directly by the emperor through his “prefect” (later “procurator”).
      • The chief responsibilities of the governors were civil order, the administration of justice (including the judicial right of life and death), and the collection of taxes.

    And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

    Gospel of Luke 2:1-3 KJV

    from Herod the Great to Acts of the Apostles

    As you can see and Luke has already referenced in his first account, power and authority in Jerusalem seem historically fleeting. This scene where Peter preaches in ‘Herod’s Temple takes place where political power remains disputed to this very day.

    The powers that be send their men to arrest Peter as before they had arrested both Jesus and John the Baptist.

    • Hērǭdēs; c. 72 BC – (4 or 1 BC), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman client king of Judea
      • The Romans assented to Herod’s proclamation as King of the Jews, bringing about the end of the Hasmonean rule over Judea.
      • Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea became the Roman province of Iudaea in 6 CE. (AD 6)

    Herod’s final will, slightly modified by Augustus, divided his kingdom among his three sons. Philip (4 B.C.E. to 33 or 34 C.E.) was named “tetrarch” of the largely non-Jewish regions northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Herod Antipas (4 B.C.E. to 39 C.E.) became tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, an area across the Jordan River.

    Herod Antipas is the king of Galilee in the gospel stories (cf. Luke 13:31-33, “that fox”) and is remembered for the execution of John the Baptist (cf. Mark 6:17-29) and for his contemptuous treatment of Jesus (Luke 23:6-12).

    The third son, Archelaus, was given Samaria and Judea in the South. He was opposed by his subjects and by his brother, Herod Antipas. Also at this time there was unrest in Galilee caused by a certain Judas the Galilean so that there was soon total revolt in Judea.

    source
    • The later Herodian rulers Agrippa I (11 BC – AD 44) {ruling AD 39-33}) and
    • Agrippa II [Marcus Julius Agrippa]
      • Agrippa was overthrown by his Jewish subjects in AD 66 and supported the Roman side in the First Jewish–Roman War.

    Luke/Acts

    ALTHOUGH THE EVENTS OF ACTS TAKE PLACE IN THE AD 30’S, LUKE writes both his GOSPEL and ACTS for a later audience in great need of encouragement – THE CHURCH.

    Roger@TalkofJesus.com
    that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

    A.D. 60 or 61

    Acts Apostolos - Acts of the Apostles - the chronicles of Christ's Apostles - a history of Christ's Church

    A.D. 60–62


    Acts of the Apostles 4:

    On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.

    Acts 4:5-6

    Do you recognize these same power brokers who were part of Christ’s crucifixion where Peter had denied knowing Jesus just two months prior to this?

    Rulers, elders, scribes, Annas, Caiaphas and more.

    John and Peter know them well. In fact, they may know the place in Herod’s palace where they have just been imprisoned for the night – a place where Herod had imprisoned their former teacher, John the Baptist before having him beheaded.

    So now Peter and John face this political/religious court known for what they have done previously with both John and especially Jesus, just weeks before.

    When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire,

    “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” 

    8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,

    Rulers of the people and elders..

    Here is the same Simon Peter who cowered by a fire denying Jesus to a servant girl outside this same place.

    Now the emboldened Apostle defends John, the healed man and himself formally before their political/religious leaders.

    By what power,’ they ask? ‘In what name,’ they inquire?

    Luke has already testified that the Power of the Holy Spirit speaks through Peter!

    Once again, Peter replies:

    If we are on trial today answering for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well,

    let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the

    name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health.

    (How these same political/religious power brokers who condemned Jesus must have reacted.)

    Referring to the Psalms and Prophets Isaiah and Zechariah, Peter continues:

    He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.

    And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”

    Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

    Acts of the Apostles 4;13 NASB – reaction of Jerusalem’s leaders to Peter’s defense

    And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.

    A post-conference of the political powers that be

    But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, 16 saying,

    “What are we to do with these men?

    For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

    But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let’s warn them not to speak any longer to any person in this name.”

    Again, just two months earlier Jerusalem’s religious power brokers had quelled the stirrings of the Palm Sunday crowds and managed to turn them against Jesus of whom they had shouted, SON OF DAVID.

    What to do with these bold disciples of this man they had nailed to a cross.

    And then they had to conspire by false witnesses a way to explain His empty tomb. Of course these politically savvy religious leaders would find a way to dismiss Peter and John to leave them to their comfortable power.

    The Sentence of the Court

    18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

    That’s it?

    A sentence by the Council showing mercy with a, ‘don’t do this again’ warning?

    These lowly Galileans now without their Teacher would certainly go home never to be heard from again — or so they hoped.

    19 But Peter and John [with a healed lame man standing along side them] answered and said to them,

    Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

    Acts of the Apostles 4:19b-20 NASB – The Apostle Peter’s challenge to religious leaders who ordered them NOT to witness the miracles of God’s Messiah.

    21 When they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which to punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened; for the man on whom this miracle of healing had been performed was more than forty years old.

    A PostScript on Peter

    (Known to most readers of ACTS even in the first century A.D.)

    Peter was crucified under the reign of Nero in ~A.D. 64 (most likely in Rome), as were other Apostles and saints of the early Church.

    Persecution by the Powers that be (Jewish & Roman)

    ACTS OF PERSECUTION by the hand of the powers that be in Jerusalem, Rome and throughout the Empire will certainly impact and martyr the lives of many saints to whom Luke writes.

    The dangers (in these early decades of the 60’s of the first century) are real and present as they read Luke’s Gospel and Acts of the Apostles.

    As Luke continues not only with Peter’s ACTS and JOHN’s ACTS, but the ACTS of many saints of the early Church, he lifts the persecuted followers of Jesus Christ into understanding by faith that which the APOSTLES all witness.

    To be continued...
    
    NEXT: They lifted up their voice to God 
    
    
  • The Heart-piercing POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT!

    The Heart-piercing POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT!

    The POWER of the Holy Spirit in ACTS

    What have we observed most in Luke’s early accounts of Acts?

    Clearly, the further power of the Holy Spirit, which Luke also notes in his Gospel as having descended on Jesus.

    And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased… And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil.

    Gospel of Luke on the Holy Ghost 3:33, 4:1-2b KJV
    "Holy" AND "Spirit"
    occurs 111 times in 53 verses in your custom selection ' in 'Luke-Acts'' in the NASB20.
    Source: BlueLetterBible.org
    READ ALL fifty-three verses recorded by Luke and you will be convinced not only of the Trinity, but also of the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT of the Lord God.
    
    https://talkofjesus.com/acts-of-the-holy-spirit/

    ACTS 1 opens with Jesus’ Promise of the Holy Spirit.

    Before Jesus ascends to the Father, He commands the Apostles to WAIT for the power of the Holy Spirit

    The Coming of the Holy Spirit

    On the day of Pentecost the crowds in Jerusalem witness with wonder the AWESOME power of the Holy Spirit!

    Although the HEADING for ACTS 2 in one of my Bibles refers to The Coming of the Holy Spirit, from the next HEADING, Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost, we learn of the convicting POWER of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s words.

    NOW, we will look to the POWER of the Holy Spirit to pierce the hearts of Peter’s audience.

    I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND

    “This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

    ACTS 2:32 NKJV

    ACTS 2 – Peter’s Sermon continues

    Lord and Christ

    “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

    Acts 2:36 NKJV

    A pall of silence most likely falls upon many in the massive crowd listening to Peter as he stands with all the Apostles and preaches Christ crucified and risen from the power of death.

    Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart,

    and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,

    “Brothers, what are we to do?”

    Acts 2:37 NASB

    J.B. Phillips paraphrases this passage following Luke’s account of Peter’s sermon:

    When they heard this they were cut to the quick, and they cried to Peter and the other apostles, “Men and fellow-Jews, what shall we do now?”

    They were ‘cut to the quick,’ ‘pierced to the heart.’

    Sounds painful, reminding us of reference to Jesus’ gruesome crucifixion on a Cross preceding the previous Passover ‘festival’ of the Jews.

    Yet one of the soldiers pierced His [Jesus‘] side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

    Gospel of John 19:34

    Perhaps some of these Jews hearing Peter’s sermon were sadly present during the storm of Jesus’ death and the piercing of His side with a Roman spear.

    The Prophet Isaiah had said (as the Jews well knew):

    But He was pierced for our offenses,
    He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
    The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
    And by His wounds we are healed.

    וְהוּא מְחֹלָל מִפְּשָׁעֵנוּ מְדֻכָּא מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ מוּסַר שְׁלֹומֵנוּ עָלָיו וּבַחֲבֻרָתֹו נִרְפָּא־לָֽנוּ׃

    Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 53:5 NASB20 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)

    Luke uses a word for ‘pierced‘ which implies ‘wounded in conscience,’ a conviction of the power of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s preaching from the word of God which the crowds in Jerusalem knew well. Later, the letter written to the Hebrews reminds the faithful:

    For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

    Hebrews 4:12 NASB20

    YES, Peter’s sermon pierces their hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.


    HOLY SPIRIT POWER

    Because the HOLY SPIRIT is so important to Luke’s continuing account in Acts of the Apostles, before we proceed with Peter’s brief answer I would like to quote the powerful nineteenth century English preacher, Charles Spurgeon.

    The Power of the Holy Ghost

    Charles Haddon Spurgeon June 17, 1855 Scripture: Romans 15:13 From: New Park Street Pulpit Volume 1

    Spurgeon (1834-1892)

    Please note Spurgeon’s brief outline about the Third Person of the Trinity.

    One. Comforter

    When Christ was on earth, He must have been the consolation of all those who were privileged to be His companions.

    Spurgeon – Holy Spirit Power opening paragraph

    This certainly would include Peter and the eleven now at his side on Pentecost – RH

    In speaking of the Resurrection, from John 16 & 14, Spurgeon relates:

    He would not leave those few poor sheep alone in the wilderness. He would not desert His children and leave them fatherless. Before He left, He gave soothing words of comfort.

    Spurgeon then goes on to introduce the paraclete or comforter

    Jesus had told them that the Father would give them ‘another comforter[helper or advocate] to be with them forever.

    Peter, our Pentecost preacher today, certainly felt this comfort once Jesus asked him if he loved Him AFTER the Lord once again appeared to them. Jesus commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, with His Power to convict.

    First, God the Holy Spirit is our very loving Comforter.

    C.S. Spurgeon

    Two: THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

    Our focus for Peter's Pentecost Sermon response
    Quoting Spurgeon Chapter 2, pg. 27
    

    All power is the special and peculiar prerogative of God and God alone.

    (Quoting Psalm 62:11 KJV)

    God is God, and power belongs to Him alone.

    He delegates a portion of His power to His creatures, yet it is still His. (Quoting Psalm 19:4-5)

    C.S. Spurgeon – Holy Spirit Power
    Just take this in for a moment .. before we return to the crowds converted by Peter's Pentecost Sermon. - RH
    Spurgeon goes on to explain three ways he will look at the Power of the Holy Spirit.
    1. The outward and visible displays of it,
    2. the inward and spiritual manifestations of it,
    3. and the future and expected works of it.

    Three: THE HOLY SPIRIT – THE GREAT TEACHER

    We will not get there today as we observe the crowds of Pentecost, but the teaching of the Apostles will become immediately evident as the church grows throughout Acts.
    
    To READ HOLY SPIRIT POWER click here to order.

    Repent!

    “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

    Acts 2:37b NKJV

    Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,

    and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    For the promise is for you and for your children,

    and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

    Acts 2:38-39 CSB

    IT’S AN AMAZING PROMISE!

    But this is not the promise of Peter, nor is it an appeal to those who have NOT ASKED ‘What shall we do?’

    Peter’s promise of the Holy Spirit is from the Holy Spirit Himself.


    Next: We will see evidence of the Spirit growing the Church from the moment of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost.