Acts 1:4–5 (NKJV)
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to
depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He
said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy
Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and
you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the end of the earth.”
The church should be, can be the most powerful organization in the world.
The church is not fueled by knowledge of the world. Christ promised the Holy
Spirit to baptize the church. He promised the church would receive the
power of God. The church cannot function through the power of the world. It
is not enough for the believer to just profess Jesus with the mouth. The
followers of Christ must receive God in their hearts. Paul wrote in Romans
10:9,“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus AND BELIEVE IN
YOUR HEART that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Outside of the power of God, the church is just another organization.
The church is to be a witness of God’s love. The church is a powder keg of
God’s love living in the individual life of the believer and the corporate life of
the church. Sometimes love just oozes out of the body of a follower of
Christ. Sometimes it explodes like a stick of dynamite. However, love is
demonstrated it lifts up and exalts Jesus Christ. (Have you noticed the Holy
Spirit never calls attention to Himself? He is always pointing people to
Christ.)
What attracts the world to the church? Some churches use special events
and promotions to attract the world to the church. Often these work in
bringing people together. But if those coming do not witness two things that
make the church different then they see the church as irrelevant.
One noticeable thing is the power of the Holy Spirit working in the church. If
the power of the Holy Spirit is present the second thing comes naturally. It is
the power of love. God’s Love. The love of God can only be exercised by those who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. (This happens when a person accepts Christ as Savior.)
Anyone who has not received Christ and been baptized by the Holy Spirit cannot be a witness of God. That would be like asking someone a hundred miles away to be a witness of a car wreck.
The world is hurting. When a person comes to church, they want to witness
the love of God.