On day one we talked about how if you are going to effectively press play in your life, you need to press pause and pray. One of the main reasons we press pause in prayer is so we can accomplish the work God has for us. Pause without play doesn’t work. Prayer without action is incomplete.
The first century church was a church of action. It was a church that started with a handful of people 2000 years ago an has grown into millions of Jesus followers. How did that happen?
Jesus gave his disciples a clue before he ascended into heaven.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Jesus’ intention for his followers was that they live lives of power and witness. Christians would be people whose lives exhibited the supernatural power of God in action and who were active in sharing their faith. The first century church became those people when they encountered the power of the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
Acts 2:1-4
As a handful of Christians were praying, the power of the Holy Spirit filled them and they began speaking languages they didn’t know. Amazingly, people outside the building who did speak those languages heard and understood them.
They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee…and we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
Acts 2:7-11
In the midst of this Peter sensed an opportunity and, under the influence of the power of the Holy Spirit, he shared the message of Jesus with the crowd.
Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
Acts 2:41
Because the church pressed pause, when they pressed play it was big! Three thousand people in one day big! What big things could God do in your life? What could you accomplish if you were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and ready to make a difference in your home, school, workplace and community?
We have pressed pause in prayer. Now it is time to press play and share Jesus with the world.
It is time for us to change the focus of our prayers. Now we need to begin asking God to empower us to do his will. Ask God to fill you with the power of his Holy Spirit. Ask him to give you opportunities to leverage that power to tell others about Jesus like Peter did. There is a world that can only be reached when the church presses pause, and then presses play.
Read Acts 2.
