1.     Many years ago – back in 1949 – evangelist John R. Rice said that the power of the Holy Spirit was “the only antidote for the worldliness which has come in like a flood.”

2.     If Dr. Rice though that worldliness was coming in like a flood back in 1949 I wonder what he would think if he were around today!

3.     Most people went to church regularly back in 1949.  There was no rock and roll music.  There was no television.  There were Hollywood movies but most Christians never went to the movie theatre. 

4.     There was no legalized gambling.  Gamblers and bookies were thrown in jail.  There was no pornography problem like there is now.

5.     Decent people never talked about homosexuality or abortion, and the thought that these horrible sins would one day be legalized in all 50 states would shock most people back in those days.

6.     Back in 1949, men looked like men, and women looked like women.  A man wearing an earring was considered a sissy. Most men went out to work and most women stayed home and took care of the children.  There were few divorces back then.  Shacking up was unheard of. 

7.     Hardly anyone knew anybody that did drugs.  It was pretty much confined to the real bad neighborhoods. And it was considered shameful to get drunk.

8.     And yet John R. Rice and other preachers were preaching against “the worldliness which has come in like a flood.”

9.     If the Holy Spirit was the only antidote for worldliness back then, He is certainly the only antidote for worldliness today.

I.      THE PROMISE OF THE SAVIOUR

II.  THE PRAYER OF THE SAINTS

III.           THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

I. THE PROMISE OF THE SAVIOUR

1.     All throughout the four Gospels we see the promise of the Saviour (cf. Luke 11:13; 24:46-49).

2.     In Luke 24:49, our Lord refers to “the promise of my Father” (cf. John 14:16; 15:26).

3.     These Scriptures demonstrate the unity of the Godhead (cf. John 16:7).

4.     Let us also consider the divine expediency (John 16:7).  It was expedient for the disciples that our Lord went back to heaven, for if our Lord did not go away the Comforter would not come (16:7).

5.     “Expedient” – Had our Lord remained upon the earth, He would necessarily have been restricted by space and time as are all men. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of born-again believers provides a fellowship with God that is in many ways even closer than the apostles had experienced in the physical presence of Jesus.

6.     With Spirit-filled soulwinners spread out all over the world, more souls can be won than when our Lord walked this earth 2,000 years ago.  This is what Jesus meant when He said in John 14:12, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” 

7.     That is quite a promise!  And it only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can win souls and do these “greater works.”

II. THE PRAYER OF THE SAINTS (LUKE 11:13; ACTS 1:8, 14; 4:31).

1.     Going back to Luke 11:13, let me stress that our Lord is not saying that a Christian needs to pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Each and every genuine born again Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

2.     Romans 8:9 says, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (cf. Acts 2:38).

3.     There are some churches and certain preachers which encourage Christians to “receive the Holy Spirit.”  We need to be careful with our terminology and with our doctrine.  Once a sinner repents and receives Christ, he receives the Holy Spirit.

4.     As a preacher I need to encourage sinners to receive Christ.  And once they receive Christ they will automatically receive the Holy Spirit.

5.     So what does Luke 11:13 mean?  Here our Lord is referring to the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  The apostle Paul is speaking to Christians in Ephesians 5:18 when he says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

6.     We could never tell an unsaved man to be filled with the Spirit.  First he needs to repent and receive Christ as his Saviour.

7.     But we must encourage Christians to be filled with the Spirit because whereas all Christians are indwelt; not all Christians are filled.  Unfortunately many Christians are walking in the flesh.

8.     Beloved, we need the fullness of God, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, His enduement, His power from on high, His enabling, His guidance, His direction.

9.     We need the Holy Spirit’s power because we are in a battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil (cf. Eph. 6:10-18, esp. vs. 18).

10. Lehman Strauss in his helpful little booklet, Sense and Nonsense About Prayer, said this, “If anyone were to ask me, what was the first great secret of a successful prayer life, I believe I would answer, ‘Praying in the Holy Spirit’”(p. 31).

11. Jude 20 says, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.”

12. Beloved, if we are not praying in the Spirit than we are praying in the flesh.

13. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in order to win souls (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8).

14. Think about it – when the apostolic church prayed the place was shaken, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). Nothing seems to be too great, too hard, or too difficult for prayer to do.

15. Prayer opened up the Red Sea.  Prayer brought water from the rock and bread from heaven.

16. Prayer made the sun stand still (Joshua 10:12, 13).  Prayer brought the heathen temple down upon the heads of the Philistines. Prayer brought down fire from the sky on Elijah’s sacrifice. Prayer turned the counsel of Ahithophel to foolishness. Prayer overthrew the army of Sennacherib.

17. Mary Queen of Scots said, “I fear John Knox’s prayers more than an army of 10,000 men.”

18. This is why Jesus said in Luke 18:1, “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.”

19. This is why the apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17).

20. And, “Continuing instant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).

21. And, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2).

22. And, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” (Eph. 6:18).

23. If you study Acts 1 you will note that the apostolic church prayed in the upper room for ten days.  Then the Holy Spirit came with power on the Day of Pentecost.

24. There can be no Pentecostal power without Pentecostal prayer.

III. THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT (LUKE 24:47-49; ACTS 1:8).

1.     Power from the Spirit of God is promised in the Great Commission (cf. Matthew 28:18, 19a).

2.     “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore…”

3.     This is clearer when we look at Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8.

4.     One of the greatest evangelists of all time was D. L. Moody.  His close friend and associate, R. A. Torrey, wrote a book entitled, Why God Used D. L. Moody.  In the book, Dr. Torrey gives several reasons why God used D. L. Moody – he had assurance of salvation; he believed in the authority of the Bible, etc.  These are the basic requirements and qualities of all good Bible preachers.  But then Torrey goes into great detail about how Moody was filled with the Holy Spirit.

5.     Torrey said Moody was always asking Torrey to preach on the Holy Spirit, and Moody himself often preached on the fullness of the Spirit.

6.     Moody said, “I have lived long enough to know that if I cannot have the Spirit of God on me to help me to work for Him, I would rather die, than to live just for the sake of living.”

7.     Well said!  How many will be honest before God and admit that you are merely living “just for the sake of living”?

CONCLUSION:

1.     People often get confused about the Holy Spirit and about what happened on the day of Pentecost.  Perhaps my simple outline will help you to remember the basics:

2.     The PROMISE of the SAVIOUR; the PRAYER of the SAINTS; and the POWER of the SPIRIT.

3.     But what about speaking in tongues (2:4)?  First of all, these tongues were “languages” (Acts 2:5-11).

4.     Second of all, this supernatural gift was temporary (cf. I Cor. 13:8).

5.     Third of all, while the gift of tongues was temporary, preaching the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit will continue till “the end of the world (age)” (Matt. 28:20).

6.     Sometimes Christians get tripped up on the incidentals and they overlook the essentials.  Do not miss out on the essentials: the PROMISE of the SAVIOUR, the PRAYER of the SAINTS, and the POWER of the SPIRIT.