The Promise of the Father
God empowers ordinary believers for extraordinary witness.
THE FEW / SPIRIT 03
The promise
The promise
of the Father.
Jesus did not tell His disciples to attempt His mission in their own strength. He told them to wait until they were endued with power from on high.
PREPARE
Don't make Pentecost mysterious.
Jesus promised His followers something they needed before they attempted the mission He gave them.
The Church of God teaches baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to cleansing as an enduement of power for service.
This lesson should help students understand what Spirit baptism is, why Jesus promised it and why believers should desire all God has provided.
Do not rush ahead to the doctrine of initial evidence. That is the focus of SPIRIT 04.
0-8 MIN
OPEN
Ask students where they feel least equipped to live for Jesus.
8-30 MIN
WORD
Teach the promise, purpose and distinct experience of Spirit baptism.
30-40 MIN
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
Identify areas where students rely on personality, ability or willpower.
40-55 MIN
TALK + PRAY
Process questions and create room for students to seek God honestly.
55-60 MIN
FOLLOW THROUGH
Encourage expectancy, prayer and openness to God's promised fullness.
WORD
Jesus said, "Wait."
Begin with a question: "Where do you feel most underpowered trying to live for Jesus?"
Speaking up about faith? Resisting pressure? Praying for someone? Sharing the gospel? Living differently when everyone around you is going another direction?
Jesus never intended His followers to carry His mission through human strength alone.
01
Jesus promised the Spirit.
Before His ascension, Jesus commands His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the Promise of the Father.
This was not an optional extra for especially spiritual people. Jesus intentionally prepared His followers to receive what the Father had promised.
John had baptized with water. Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost.
Acts 1:4-5 · Matthew 3:11
02
It is an experience subsequent to cleansing.
Church of God doctrine does not collapse every work of the Holy Spirit into conversion.
We have already talked about the new birth. We have talked about sanctification and a clean heart.
The Church of God then confesses baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart.
That order matters. Salvation, sanctification and Spirit baptism are related, but they should not be treated as though they are identical.
Acts 1:4-8 · Luke 24:49
03
The purpose is power.
Acts 1:8 tells us exactly why Jesus promised this experience: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you."
The Church of God describes Spirit baptism as an enduement of power for service.
Pentecostal power is not primarily about having a dramatic church story.
It is power to witness, serve, obey and participate in the mission of Jesus.
Acts 1:8 · Luke 24:49
04
Ordinary people can be empowered.
Look at the people Jesus sends.
They are not superheroes. They have doubted, failed, misunderstood and been afraid.
Yet Jesus does not replace them with a better team. He empowers the people He has called.
Spirit baptism means your limitations do not have to become the final word over your usefulness to God.
Acts 1:8 · Acts 4:31-33
05
The promise moves us outward.
Jesus connects power immediately with witness: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.
The baptism with the Holy Ghost should never make us more fascinated with ourselves.
The Spirit empowers the church to carry Jesus into the world.
If our Pentecostal experience never produces mission, witness and service, we have missed the purpose Jesus stated.
Acts 1:8
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
Where are you running on your own strength?
Students understand power better when they can name where they actually need it.
Give everyone a minute to think through three areas. They do not have to share every answer publicly.
Where am I afraid?
Who needs to know Jesus that you find difficult or intimidating to talk with about faith?
Where do I feel unable?
What has God placed in front of you that feels bigger than your confidence or ability?
Where am I weak?
Where are you relying almost entirely on willpower instead of depending on God?
01 Where do I most need God's power to help me live as a witness?
02 Have I ever thought of Spirit baptism as something God wants believers to seek, or only something that happens to certain people?
03 What would change if I stopped assuming my natural ability was the limit of what God could do through me?
TALK + PRAY
Make room to seek.
01 Why do you think Jesus told the disciples to wait instead of immediately sending them out?
02 What does Acts 1:8 tell us about the purpose of Spirit baptism?
03 Why is it important to distinguish Spirit baptism from salvation and sanctification?
04 What area of your life or calling makes you most aware that your own ability is not enough?
LEAD THEM TO PRAY
Father, I want everything You have for me.
Jesus, I don't want to serve You in my strength alone.
Holy Spirit, make me available.
Give me power to witness.
Give me courage to obey.
Use my life for the mission of Jesus.
FOLLOW THROUGH
Keep seeking.
Do not make seeking the Holy Spirit feel like a one-night test students either pass or fail.
Encourage expectancy, prayer and trust in God's promise.
Ask daily.
Each day pray: "Father, I want everything You have for me. Fill me with Your Spirit and empower me to be Your witness."
Watch the motive.
Are students seeking God Himself and power to serve, or are they becoming preoccupied with having a spiritual experience?
Talk about purpose.
"Why do you think Jesus connects the power of the Holy Spirit with being His witness?"
LEADER GUARDRAIL
Don't blur the experiences.
This is one of the places where Church of God doctrine should remain unmistakable.
DON'T COLLAPSE IT INTO CONVERSION Spirit baptism is subsequent to cleansing.
Do not teach that receiving Christ automatically exhausts everything Scripture means by baptism with the Holy Ghost.
KEEP THE PURPOSE CLEAR It is an enduement of power for service.
Acts 1:8 ties Spirit empowerment directly to witness.
DON'T MANUFACTURE A MOMENT Teach. Pray. Encourage. Make room.
Students should never feel coerced into copying another person's behavior in order to prove something happened.
DON'T EVADE EXPECTANCY We actually believe the promise is for believers.
Avoid teaching Spirit baptism so academically that no one believes they should personally seek it.
NEXT SESSION As the Spirit Gives Utterance.
SPIRIT 04 will directly address speaking with other tongues as the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Ghost.
SPIRIT 03 / TAKEAWAY
The mission is bigger than you.
The mission is bigger than you.
So is the power God provides.
Jesus promised baptism with the Holy Ghost so His people could carry His witness and serve His mission in power greater than their own.