Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO His last words Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA June 1, 2003 Main Scripture text: Acts 1:1-9 This sermon applies to everyone who is a follower of Jesus, but it is primarily for the three young men who have just finished the Confirmation class and who today have made a public profession of their faith. The text from Acts 1 contains the last words that Jesus spoke to His disciples before going back to heaven. For three years Jesus has spent most of His time with these men. He had taught them the things of the kingdom, given them on-the-job training in Christian ministry. He has already commissioned them; given them their marching orders to tell the world about Him. But these are His last words -- words about the anointing of the Holy Spirit: "[Wait for the gift my Father promised.... [Y]ou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." Young men, for 13 weeks we have been together in the Confirmation Class. We have studied the words of Jesus; what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and a member of His Church. Indeed, you have been in training since you were a baby through the nursery, Sunday school, VBS, children's and Junior Church you have been discipled. When we laid hands on you this morning, we asked the Holy Spirit to equip and empower you to be and do everything that God created you to be and do. That is what happened at Pentecost. The essence of Pentecost is submitting to and receiving the power of God so we can accomplish the purposes of God. Jesus made it clear that Pentecost is absolutely essential. Even though these disciples had sat under His teaching for three years, Jesus said it was not enough. To fulfill God's purpose they had to live in the power of His Spirit. The same is true for us. Pentecost -- or Baptism in the Holy Spirit -- is not an end to itself. it is the beginning of something that must be renewed every day. Each day we must submit ourselves anew to the Lordship of Jesus and commit to serving Him in any way He chooses to use us. In Colossians 1:9, Paul prays a simply prayer for a church he planted, and then in the following verses, he explains the goal of that prayer. Here are four things we can learn from that passage: 1) God has given us a productive purpose. 2) God's wants us to be fruitful in that purpose (this was the subject of last week's sermon). 3) We must continually grow in our knowledge of God. 4) Patience and endurance are critical to living life God's way. Many Christian and secular leaders believe that we are facing tumultuous times due to the immediate threat of violent terrorism. There may be times when the average person is going to be afraid and lose hope. God wants his people to able to stand firm. You have hope only if you have Jesus in your heart and live in the power of the Holy Spirit. He will give you a productive purpose for living. He will make you fruitful in every good work. He will help you grow in your knowledge of God and He will give you patience and endurance to stand firm and to overcome every obstacle in your path. Remember His last words: "[W]ait for the gift my Father promised…. [Y]ou will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth." Supporting texts: Colossians 1:9-14 | 1 Peter 3:14-15 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 030601a: His Last Words. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us