Acts 1:1-11
The most important aspect of a house is the foundation and one thing any good contractor knows whether you’re building a house with a crawl space or on a slab the most important part is having a good solid foundation.
Now when I built our house the foundation was built very differently than what is the norm for around Mississippi. My Uncle who had built houses in the mountains of Colorado built my foundation. First we took the soil down to virgin dirt then dug some footers and filled them with rebar and turned some of the rebar up. We poured the footers and then a couple of days later came back and added some horizontal rebar to the rebar that was turned up and formed for an 8 inch concrete wall , and then poured that. After that we filled in with dirt and compacted it called in the plumber and after he finished we laid down a moister barrier rebar and wire then poured the slab.
Lots of steel, wire, concrete and sweat went into the foundation of our house but we knew that we needed that before the framework could ever begin.
Now when we look at the stories of the early church and the change in the apostles going from fearful to fearless we like to give all the credit to Pentecost, but we must realize that before Pentecost the foundation had to be laid.
Now we all want to feel that power of Pentecost in our lives as Christian people we all should have a desire to feel the power of the Holy Spirit fall upon us and fill us with that Pentecost power that the disciples felt on that fateful day. But the problem is this, we can’t fully grasp Pentecost until we realize that it too has its foundations. The text today tells us of the time between the resurrection and Pentecost and that’s where the foundation lies, we need to realize that what happened to the disciples can still happen in our lives today. The Lost can be found, the sick can be healed, miracles can happen the power of Pentecost is alive and well today we just have to realize it and get the foundation in order.
So how do we do that? How do we lay a firm foundation in our life and in our church for the Holy Spirit to build upon?
I. We must become convinced of the presence of Jesus.
a. The disciples were assured that Jesus had overcome death.
• Jesus appeared to his followers in small groups & large groups at least 10 times following his death and burial
• He talked with them, ate with them and assured them of his presence
• They were thoroughly convinced that Jesus lived and was always in their midst
b. We need to grasp that same concept
• That Jesus is alive and in our midst
• Not Just say it but believe it
• That he is working on us, in us and through us to radically change the world
We must grasp the concept of a living Jesus who is constantly in our midst in order to begin to build the foundation of Pentecost.
II. We must realize that Jesus isn’t through with us
a. The disciples joined together in prayer and fellowship waiting on the promised power. They realized that when the power came it wouldn’t be the end but would be the beginning of something spectacular. And that even as much work as they had already done there was more to come.
b. We must realize that we can receive that same POWER and when we receive it that it’s not the end but only the beginning of the work Jesus will do in us.
• Luke 10: 19-20
• Matthew 28: 18-20
• We must realize that we have work to do and Jesus has given us the Power to accomplish any mission
• Remember He doesn’t call the equipped He equips the called. “He’s still working on me”
c. We need to be strengthening each other
• Jesus told the Disciples to stay together and wait for the power
• They banded together & prayed, they talked about and pondered all that had happened in their lives and they waited.
• We need to fellowship , pray and lift each other up
• We need to encourage each other and work together for the good of the Kingdom
• These are the foundations that we need to lay if we want to see and feel an outpouring of Pentecost in our lives
III. We must be willing to wait
a. We live in an instantaneous world, Microwaves, cellphones, remote start vehicles and remote control televisions. Let’s face it we don’t like to wait, we want it and we want it now. We need patience and a willingness to wait.
• Jesus waited till he was 30 to begin his ministry
• We need to remember that we aren’t waiting on God to get ready to move, we are waiting on God to get us ready before we can move.
• Sometimes we are called to wait on Pentecost and that’s when we begin to prepare ourselves for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit through prayer , study and fellowship
And when the time comes
IV. Be open for Pentecost to happen to you!!!!!
a. If Pentecost is going to come in like a mighty rushing wind and the power of the Holy Spirit is going to shake the foundations of our church and Rock our world, we need to already have the foundation laid
• We need to be open to the power and movement of the Holy Spirit now more than ever
• We must walk by faith knowing that sometimes it’s not more knowledge we need but more commitment to what Jesus is asking us to do
• Regardless of our past we can become a new creature
For Pentecost to happen in our lives we must be fully committed to the place God has planted us and fully committed to the task that He has set before us.
