Sheryl Brady - His Power for His Purpose

Acts chapter 1, and I’m going to read just a couple of verses there. If you have it, say amen. Amen. The former treaties have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach until 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. Go with me to Luke chapter 4 real quick. Luke 4, verse 18. It’s a very familiar passage of Scripture, and it says that the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. There is a reason that his Spirit is upon you; he doesn’t just come upon you for no reason. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Look at your neighbor and say, «Neighbor, neighbor, it’s his power for his purpose.» Tell your other neighbor, «Neighbor, neighbor, it’s his power for his purpose.»

Bless your word today, God. Say whatever you want to say and do whatever you want to do. Take over this room; give us ears to hear and hearts to receive. Speak directly to households today. Speak to the hearts of men and women in this room and those watching around the world. Let your word just go before us, and we’ll give you glory, honor, and praise in Jesus' name.

One more time, clap your hands like you’re grateful and let the devil hear you praising God. Come on, let him hear you; let him hear you! In spite of it all, through it all, I still have praise. Amen. You may be seated today in the presence of the Lord. I want to say real quick while I… Is whoever oversees the parking lot in the building right now? Does anybody know? Yes? Where are you? Hey, come up here. Let me tell you, we better give God thanks for our parking lot team. I am so grateful for them, and let me tell you, it’s not just me that is grateful for y’all, but we are all grateful for you. Somebody was so grateful that they went to Starbucks and bought $15 Starbucks cards for every person that works in the parking lot. Come on, let’s thank God for that! I won’t give you this one, but I have a whole bag full of them. Somebody in this church said, «I appreciate the parking lot team,» and pulled out of their own money to bless y’all. Come on, one more time, church, help me thank God for them! Woo! It would be a mess anyway, but it would be a real mess if we didn’t have people out there who were anointed to do it. Thank God for his word today! Yes, the traditional belief is that Luke, who was the companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts. They are attributed to him based on language, style, and content. The Gospel of Luke provides an account of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ while he was on Earth. That’s what he was talking about when he said in the verse we began with today, «The former treaties have I made to you, O Theophilus.» What he was saying was, «In my first book, in the book called Luke, I talked to you about the God that dwells among us. But now over here in this book, in the Book of Acts, I want to talk to you about the God that dwells within us.» How many of you know there is a difference? He’s saying that the Spirit that was moving with us on earth is now moving in us on Earth. He’s telling us that the Lamb has been slain, that the price has been paid, that redemption has been purchased, that the sin issue is forever settled, and you will never, ever, ever commit a sin that the power of the blood cannot wash out of your life. He is telling us that the work of Christ, even though that part is finished, is not yet complete. But I thought, Pastor Brady, that he cried out on the cross and said, «It is finished.» I thought that when he did that, it was finished. Well, what was finished when he said, «It is finished,» was the deal. The deal was made; the transaction was finished; the covenant was sealed forever and always; the guarantee was signed; the pledge was paid; the contract was ratified; and the devil was defeated. All right, but the work of Christ is not finished yet. In John chapter 9, verse 4, it says, «I must work the works of him that sent me.» So Jesus paid it all, and now all to him I owe. His blood purchased my freedom; his blood was so powerful, so efficacious, and so effective that it paid for sins of the past, present, and future. The past was so powerful that it paid to the degree that when he said, «It is finished,» the Bible…