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 Living in the power of Pentecost Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA June 8, 2003 Pentecost Sunday Main Scripture text: Acts 2:1-13. Our text describes an explosion of new life coming upon the followers of Jesus, generated by supernatural power sent from heaven. It was an explosion such magnitude that it has reverberated around the world for two millennia. The significance of Pentecost is that the Church began to live out John 14:12. Supernatural phenomena attended their activities: The sick were healed, demons cast out, lepers cleansed; the lame walked, the deaf could hear; the blind could see. I believe the experience of Pentecost is the biblical norm for Christian life. God intended for the church in all times to look and act like the church we see in the book of Acts. There are four prerequisites to living in the power of Pentecost: Faith. This is the faith to believe that we have been given the Holy Spirit to do through us the same things He did through the human body of Jesus of Nazareth. Humility. If we want to receive anything from God, we first must come to the point of accepting the fact that we are in need. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing that brings lasting fruit in the Kingdom. Commitment. We must be committed to God, which means we must submit ourselves to His purposes, not our own. Obedience. Faith, humility, and commitment are not enough; we must actually start obeying God! Jesus said the wise person is the one who hears His words and "puts them into practice." The Holy Spirit gives us power to live victoriously in spite the difficult circumstances we encounter in a fallen world. I call that "staying power." The Power of Pentecost is different. It's not staying power, but "going power." We've been told to "go and make disciples of all nations," to be witnesses concerning Jesus. If we're not "going," we don't need the power of Pentecost and probably won't have it. What the world desperately needs is to see God's power released in the earth through His church. It is when the church is living in the power of Pentecost that the world is changed, the Kingdom of God expands, and the powers of hell are displaced. Let us humble ourselves, and in faith commit ourselves to Jesus and His Kingdom, seeking to obey His every word, that we might truly start living in the power of Pentecost! Supporting texts: John 14:12 | Luke 18:9-14 | John 15:5 | Romans 12:1-2 | John 14:15-16 | Matthew 7:24 | Matthew 28:18-20 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 030608a: Living in the Power of Pentecost. © 2003 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us