Intro: The people of this earth were born into this evil world – they don’t know of a better world with which to compare it. They do not realize there can be a vastly better world than this one. People just “don’t know what they don’t know.” This world seems that it can be, even must be managed. Otherwise we are doomed, and after all, we have always been able to solve mankind’s problems before.

When we are civilized and manage society well, we are righteous. Good people make it all better.

But God knows of a better world. He has planned a vastly superior, happy world for mankind. This present evil world (Gal 1:4 4Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:) is to become Utopia soon. God knows the reason why the world will be so powerfully happy, productive, and alive then. Why it will be unimaginably wonderful is God’s Plan being worked out right now in His chosen called out ones.

It is because at that time – in the millennium – God says, that He will do something He has not yet done for His creation of man.
(((Joel 2:28 28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.)))

Benefit Statement: Then mankind will seek the Holy Spirit which God will freely give them. Fleshly mankind will then be in a state of spiritual begettal by the Holy Spirit of God.

Some very few whom God chooses in this time, in this present evil world, can have their spiritual Utopia starting out now. That is offered by God to an unimaginably small number of specially preparing human beings.

SPS: The Spirit power is not inherent in humans. It is not born in you. BUT it CAN and DOES work in human beings NOW! We look today at the Power of the Holy Spirit in Action!

Body:  

1)      The power is not inherent in humans. It is not born in you.
Acts 2:38  38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit is a tremendous source of dynamic Supernatural Power that can become a part of our very minds. It is the very essence of God Himself – His very Life, His mind. His nature – and imparts power! This is the power we must have working within us before we can be born as God’s Sons.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus kept God’s Laws perfectly, and WE must do this also as those God has chosen to give His Holy Spirit -
1 pet 2:21 21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
Few realize that His miracles and obedience were not done by any supernatural power of His own. They were done through the power of the Father!
Jn 14:10  30I can of mine own self-do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
((((Contrary to the common teaching among religious circles today, Jesus did not do away with God’s laws. Rather, He established and magnified them to greater spiritual requirements.
Isa 42:21  21The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

He taught that it is now a sin to just hate a brother in one’s mind! ( Mt 5:2121Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, RacaRaca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.)
1 Jn 3:15  15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.))))

Jesus came to herald the glorious coming of the Holy Spirit.
((((Jn 7:38  38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) ))))

The Time is NOW here! The Kingdom is available to human beings now, and was not before! This is through the HS
Mk 1:15 15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

((((So …what is the power of God’s Holy Spirit like?
          God’s Spirit permeates everything. The entire universe.
Ps 139:7 7    Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8    If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

God sustains and upholds His creation by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Neh 9:6 6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Heb 1:3  3Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

God is also ruling by His power.
Ps 66:7 7    He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
Selah ))))

2)      The Spirit was Rejected in Eden – therefore all mankind ever since tends to reject it.
We were born with the mind of the flesh, a carnal mind. Not capable of obeying God’s laws.
Rom 8:7 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

God’s Spirit is a sound and sensible mind.
2 Tim 1:7  7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The Holy Spirit WAS available to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Gen 2:9  9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

Which tree did mankind choose?
Gen 2:17 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Gen 3:3  3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Sin seems pleasant, at first. Then Adam and Eve chose not to follow God’s Way to salvation, and thereby rejected the Holy Spirit – didn’t they?

They were punished greatly.
Gen 3:17 17And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
They would have received the spiritual mind of God and ultimately eternal life, if they had continued to obey God. But Adam and Eve had to desire the Spirit of God and surrender themselves to God’s Will in order to receive the Holy Spirit of eternal life – exactly as we do today to receive it. There has never been but this one way to salvation. Adam and Eve chose not to receive the Holy Spirit and eternal life God’s way.

Instead, they followed after the way that pleased their own carnal nature – the way that leads only to death. (Gen 2:1)

Because of this sin, God withheld His Holy Spirit of love and eternal life from mankind (Gen 3:24).

From the very moment mortal man disobeyed God, he was cut off from access to the Spirit of God and the gift of eternal life! Ever since then, God has allowed man to go his own way. And mankind as a whole, has continued choosing the way of disobedience to God.

Rom 3:23 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
            Without the Holy Spirit, suffering and death have resulted!

3)      Spirit of Power Promised to Man! But God must be in charge of that Life-Giving Power.

Israel was a physical, carnal church!
Acts 7:38  38This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: 39To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
The Spirit was not available to them since there was no promise of receiving the Holy Spirit at that time!
Jn 7:39 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 

Therefore, the righteousness under the first covenant had to be accomplished through human, fleshly effort. But their disobedience proves they couldn’t obey God’s laws by human power alone!

God told us how He would make it possible for men to obey His laws.
Ezek 36:26 26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. 

Jesus Christ is the mediator of a better covenant which contains “better promises”.
Heb 8:6 6But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

The Word became the Christ. He became human flesh and blood, with human nature!

 ((Heb 2:9  9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; ))
(((Jn 1:14 14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ))  
Heb 4:14 14Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 
(((Mt 1:18 18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost)))
  
Conclusion:  Jesus miraculously became a human being. In His flesh was the same human carnal nature that you and I have. But Christ would have had no supernatural power except for one thing. He was also begotten spiritually by the Holy Spirit. By this begettal, He derived His spiritual power.

God has explained the mechanism for all that to work. It intimately involves us in the Plan.
Jesus Christ promised His disciples they would receive power from heaven after His resurrection.
Lk 24:49  49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

He told them to wait for this promised power.
Acts 1:11The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
  
Close: Man’s creation in Eden was complete only in the physical sense. He was created a perfect physical specimen – but not a perfect spiritual creation. He was created without the divine spiritual power within him.

Acts 1:8 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

There was MORE Power necessary to carry out the completed Creation. Tomorrow!