You Have a Story to Tell | The Power of Testimony | Pastor Rodney Thrift
The Power of Testimony
You have a story to tell…
Acts 2:1-4 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Pentecost Sunday:
“The Holy Spirit doesn’t make me better than others, He makes me better than me.” Pastor Chris Hodges
1.) Pentecost Sunday marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles.
2.) Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter.
3.) The Bible records the Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13.
Acts 2:1-4 (NIV) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
4.) Pentecost comes 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
5.) Pentecost is also known as “the birthday of the Church”.
6.) Pentecost fulfills Jesus’ promise to send the “Counselor” and the “Spirit of Truth”.
John 16:5-15 (ESV) 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
7.) Pentecost launches the large-scale spreading of the Gospel after Jesus’ ascension. Acts 2:41 records that after Peter spoke to the crowd after receiving the Holy Spirit, some 3,000 people were baptized.
Acts 2:41 (ESV) 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
8.) The Pentecostal movement derives its name from the New Testament event in Acts 2.
9.) Jews also celebrate Pentecost, but not for the same reason as Christians. The celebration by Jews of Pentecost is to observe God giving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai 50 days after the Exodus. The Pentecost in Jewish tradition takes place 50 days after Passover.
10.) Pentecost is from the Greek word “pentekoste” which means fiftieth. The holiday is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter which is also fifty days after Easter, hence the name.
SOUL TATTOO: My story is worth telling.
John 16:13 (NLT) 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
3 Things the Holy Spirit does…
1.) He guides us.
2.) He reveals things to us.
3.) He tells us about things to come.
TESTIMONY: A formal or written statement, especially given in a court of law; a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official; evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something. A public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.
Revelation 12:11 (ESV) 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Acts 26:12-22 (ESV) 12 “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ 19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
Revelation 2:4 (NIV) Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
Jesus and the Blind Man:
John 9:25b (ESV) … 25the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
I once was blind, but now I see.
See: to perceive by the eye; to detect by sight.
S = See.
John 9:25b (ESV) … 25the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
E = Experience God.
Acts 1:8 (ESV) 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.”
E = Evangelize.
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Isaiah 62:4-5 (ESV) You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married…and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
SOUL TATTOO: My story is worth telling.