Encounter the Power of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

The Church needs the Holy Spirit.

If the Gospels are a record of the life and ministry of Jesus, then the Book of Acts is a record of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Book of Acts is a narrative about the birth and growth of the early Church. The book begins with Jesus instructing the believers to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit:

And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence (Acts 1:4-5 KJV).

The believers were united in their obedience to the command of Jesus, and they received the Holy Spirit.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4 KJV).

The Holy Spirit was the One who birthed the early Church and has sustained the Church throughout the centuries. He is the power of the Church. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate church growth expert. He is not a liability that needs limiting but the only One who can truly make an eternal impact. We need to let Him run our ministries and churches.

I am of the belief that there needs to be more of an emphasis placed on the Holy Spirit and His power. I love the Holy Spirit, and I love to talk about the Holy Spirit. In fact, some think that I talk about the Holy Spirit too much. You see, in an effort to become more “relevant,” many parts of the church are beginning to neglect the Holy Spirit and His ministry. Some knowingly, most unknowingly. Especially in the American church, there has been a culture shift away from the supernatural. Wanting to be celebrated on the secular platforms of influence, Christian leaders often make the mistake of limiting the expressions of the Spirit.

Ministries that welcome the Holy Spirit are criticized for being different.

People who welcome the Holy Spirit are many times dismissed as “weird.”

But if I had to choose between being cultured or being anointed, I’d tell you to keep your trendy clothes, catchy sermon titles, hyped crowds, and tweetable catch phrases. Give me the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, a church is just a club, our preaching is just motivation, and our outreaches are just temporary acts of charity. The work of the Holy Spirit is not supplemental; it’s primary. Demonstrations of His supernatural power are not to be occasional but prolific. We must emphasize His saving power by preaching the Gospel of salvation and allowing people to testify of His transforming work. We must proclaim His delivering power by boldly claiming that addictions can be broken. And it must go beyond that. Many ministers stop there and work up clever-sounding excuses like, “Isn’t salvation the most important work of the Holy Spirit? Lives are being transformed. That means we allow the Holy Spirit to move.” What they’re really saying is, “We have some of His work, but we don’t need the rest. We’ll take it from there.”

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He’ll go only as far as you allow Him to go. Of course, salvation, deliverance, and emotional healing are works of the Holy Spirit. But we must allow Him to do more than what we think makes us look good in front of our secular onlookers. We must permit Him to go further than just what allows us to maintain a savvy or sophisticated image.

When was the last time a demon was cast out in your church? When was the last time you laid hands on the sick? I don’t mean when did you offer a corporate prayer for someone sick—I mean when was the last time you laid hands on the sick with the expectation that they’d recover right then and there in front of many witnesses?

When was the last time a prophetic tongue was spoken aloud? When was the last time people were filled with the evidence of speaking in tongues at your church? When was the last time you saw words of knowledge in operation at your church? We see it all over the Book of Acts. Has the Holy Spirit changed? Have the needs of the people changed?

Or has the Church changed its approach?

Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Zechariah 4:6).

In a church that He helped to begin, the Holy Spirit is being minimized and neglected. The Holy Spirit is not just the greatest evangelist; He’s the greatest pastor, teacher, prophet, and apostle. When we carry out our ministry tasks with His aid and are conscious of our need for His enabling, a profound and powerful grace comes upon us. There is a certain unique dynamic to Spirit-led ministry. So we must model our approach, not after the approach of men and women who have gone before us, but after His unique and responsive direction as it pertains to each moment.

Without the Holy Spirit, we begin to rely upon systems and strategies. Yesterday’s revival can so easily become today’s religion. Men have a way of systemizing everything.

But there is no substitute for the genuine power and presence of the Holy Spirit. You cannot duplicate His craftsmanship. We have to stop limiting His timing to our church calendars and schedules. We need to stop confining His power to private meetings and “special services.” Methods cannot replace miracles. Programs cannot replace power. Structure cannot replace Spirit. And our pursuit of attendance should never become more important than our pursuit of the anointing.

The truth is that the world is hungry for the very thing away from which much of the Church has shifted. People want the supernatural, and only the Holy Spirit can bring it to the Church.

The Holy Spirit is the greatest church builder. Nobody can win souls, build a church, or expand God’s Kingdom better than He can. If we will embrace His leading, humbly submit to His expertise, and seek His guidance, then we will embrace a better way to build God’s Kingdom. For He is not a liability; He’s our only hope at drawing men to salvation. He’s our only hope of building disciples. He’s our only hope at properly presenting Jesus. Why would we want to receive any less than all than Holy Spirit has for us?

Be practical, yes. Gain wisdom from leaders, yes. Be organized and orderly, yes. But never prioritize any of that over what the Spirit of God can do.

Want to build people in the faith? Follow the greatest pastoral anointing in the earth—the Holy Spirit.

Want to draw crowds? Obey the enabler of the miraculous, the Holy Spirit.

Want to build a church? Consult with the One who built the church of Acts, which is the model church. Consult with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the Power of the Church.