Sermon:
Rev. George R. Dillahunty
Kingdom Glory Internet Church
685 Grant Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452-3047

Text: Acts 1:8 (King James Version)

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Topic: The Power Transfer!

After being saved, the Christian true believer can hook up and plug into Almighty God’s "Power Plant," by receiving the Holy Spirit and applying His directions to his or her life! At that time, a power transfer occurs between the Godhead and the Christian true believer - and, he or she becomes a dynamic, powerful witness - in the Power of Almighjty God - to all those around him or her; and, to all those with whom he or she may come into contact with! The Words of our Holy Scripture text, for today, are red-letter Words, meaning that they were actually spoken by Jesus, the Christ, Himself!

The story is told of an elderly woman, named Norena, who lived in southern Florida. When a hurricane hit that area, her home was one of many that was severely damaged. Norena received an insurance settlement and the repair work began. However, when the money ran out, so did the contractor, leaving an unfinished home with no electricity. Norena lived in her dark, unfinished home - without power - for fifteen (15) years. You see, my brothers and sisters, the astonishing part of this story, is that the hurricane was not Katrina; but, Andrew - a hurricane which struck in 1992. She had no heat in her home when the winter chills settled over southern Florida - she had no air conditioning when the mercury climbed into the 90’s and the humidity clung to 100 per cent. She did not have one hot shower. Without money to finish the repairs, Norena just got by with a small lamp and a single burner. Her neighbors did not seem to notice the absence of power in her home.

Acting on a tip, one day, the mayor of the Miami-Dade community personally got involved. It only took a few hours of work by electrical contractor, Kent Crook, to return power to Norena’s house. CBS News reported that Norena planned to let the water get really hot; and, then, take her first "bubble bath" in a decade and a half. "It’s hard to describe having [the electricity]...to switch on," Norena told reporters, "It’s overwhelming."

Tell me, "How many Christian true believers have been living their entire lives without ever knowing what it is like to have the overwhelming Power of the Holy Spirit operating within them?" To be quite frank, I believe that some of us have had that Power turned off for so long, that we would not even recognize it if it came back to us! But, of course, it does not have to be that way! One of Almighty God’s intentions for His church is that individual Christians and the church itself - as a whole - be filled with the Power of the Holy Ghost (or, Holy Spirit)!

The Promise given in our Holy Scripture text, for today, is not limited to those who were gathered there with Jesus, the Christ, that day; but, it was a Promise echoing the "Great Commission" given to the entire church! Almighty God intended that His Church be a church that moved, that breathed; and, that acted in His Power! Jesus, the Christ, explained that there were three (3) ways that this Power from the Holy Spirit was to