Empowered to Begin

The Promise, Power, and Presence of the Holy Spirit

Jul 03, 2025

Hills Global Church June 26th 2025

Mighty to Save

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The Heart of Worship

The Blessing

Text: Acts 1–2

Theme: The Promise, Power, and Presence of the Holy Spirit

Focus: Waiting well, receiving power, and becoming a witness.

Key Verses: Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1, 2:42–47

Luke in his writing was intentional, and was thorough. We have his gospel as the accounts of Jesus and we have the Book of Acts as the Historical account of the start of The Church

Luke 1:2–3 ESV
[2] just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, [3] it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you…

Luke writes in the opening of the Book of acts of the many ‘proofs’ that Jesus himself has shown to the apostles in the wake of his death and resurrection. Jesus instructed His disciples to wait on the promise of the Father; The Promise of the Holy Spirit, the Power of His Spirit when it is poured out and the effects of the Gift of His Presence would lead to our Purpose.

The Promise

The promise of the Holy Spirit is given in several accounts. Here in Acts Chapter one Luke references:

Luke 3:16 ESV
[16] John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Since this revelation, generations have had to practice patience in waiting. We have to learn to *wait well*, not wait without action but wait and abide in His presence. His promise has come, we are able to receive His power and presence

Luke 24:49 NLT
“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

and

Luke 24:49
[49] And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (ESV)

The Power

I love how the ESV puts the second part of that verse, clothed with power, it brings up images for me of Adam and Eve being ashamed and naked and of myself of being afraid of how I am perceived from the outside.

We all choose clothes that represent our style or somehow reflect who we are and in this verse the fact that we are promised to be “clothed with power” is amazing and encouraging. It is something that will be given to me, not something that I have to fasten together, save up for, or try to fit in, it is made for me!

Acts 1:8
[8] But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Here we are promised that “we will recieve this power” and the power gives us the ability to be his “witness”

> In Acts 1:8, the Greek word translated as "witnesses" is "`mártyres`" “martures” (μάρτυρες). While in English, "*witness*" can refer to someone who simply *observes* an event, in Koine Greek, "`mártyres`" has a stronger connotation, often referring to someone who testifies to a truth, even t*o the point of suffering and death for their testimony*, similar to the English word "*martyr*".

In this we may need to die to ourselves and die to the things that are holding us back.

We cannot live out our lives as a living witness for Him if we are held back by fears, addictions, old habits, or secret sins.

We must let go of our own agenda and let His Spirit lead us.

His Presence

Acts 2:1
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
[1] When the day of Pentecost arrived, they **were all together in one place.** (ESV)

As we gather and are unified, and as we adopt His plan and abandon our agenda, the Spirit is poured out.

Acts 2:16-18
[16] But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
[17] “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
[18] even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

This is so much more than what you get if you only choose to stay a spectator.

Q. Who is this for?

We need to be activated by His presence to preach the good news so that “everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Joel 2:32
[32] And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.

Acts 2:38-39
[38] And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

A. The gift of His presence if for everyone

You - remember the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Your children - will learn more from our model than our mouth. As we repent, that is to turn away from sin and turn towards the LORD we usher in a legacy of Health for our family
All who are far off - there is still a world out there that in in desperate NEED of Jesus and the transformational power of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Our Purpose

Acts 2:42-47
The Fellowship of the Believers
[42] And they ***devoted*** themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And ***all who believed*** were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

This translates into our purpose as we receive this gift of the Holy Spirit

Our purpose is being modeled by our early church mothers and fathers which is to be Devoting ourselves to:

1. ‘Apostles Teaching’

We have to devote ourselves to His teaching, reading through the word on our own, and studying His promises, and obeying His commands

2. ‘Fellowship’

We have to stay unified, a divided church will not withstand the enemy's attacks or the fickleness of culture
We must take a stand on truth, but to do so we have to be intimately knowledgeable of HIS truth.

3. ‘Breaking of Bread’

True communion together is not a simple act of eating bread or drinking juice, it is an intentional act to make the mundane practices in our life sacred.

4. ‘Prayer’

Prayer is not our last resort, it needs to be our first stop.
Are you praying together as a family, are you praying *for* your family, are you praying for those still *far off* from God

5. Radical generosity : ‘Selling our possessions’

Generosity is our gratitude realized - as we take account of what matters in our life and what we have, not what has us, we are more generous.