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ACTS 1:8

"DUNAMIS"

Intro: The word but is a disassociative conjunction, thus, is never the beginning of a
       thought. The disciples have met with the Lord for the last time before His  ascension.
       He has told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with the  power of the
       Holy Spirit.


I. THE TASK THEY FACED: "GOING INTO ALL THE WORLD TO PROCLAIM THE  GOOD NEWS TO ALL MEN."
        A. The world was hostile to their message.
                1. Their message would threaten government.
                        a. There is a Lord greater than Caesar.
                        b. Rome's fury would ultimately fall on them.
                2. Their message would threaten established religious systems.
                        a. There is only one way unrighteous man may approach the true and
                           living God.
                        b. Men who had commercialized upon the superstitions of men would be
                           incensed at their message. Demetrius the Ephesian.
                3. Their message would threaten the social order.
                        a. The woman's place would be elevated to equal in the sight of  God
                           with man.
                        b. Men of all races equal in God's eyes.
                        c. The elitist who had enslaved and abused their fellow man would cry
                           out for their destruction.
                4. Natural man would be threatened by message.
                        a. To allow the flesh to govern your life is death.
                        b. The life of the Spirit is superior to the life of the flesh.
                5. The world will seek to silence their witness.
                        a. They will be beaten, stoned, crucified, stretched on racks, fed to
                           lions, burned.
        B. There are many however whose life is a hopeless mess. They are weary of 
                their slavery.
                1. Oppressed by government.
                2. . . .or flogged by their masters.
                3. . . .or cursed by their religious systems.
                4. Tired of the endless demands of their flesh.
                5. They are longing to hear the message.
                        a. They will eagerly receive it with joy.
                        b. God has chosen them to share in the Kingdom of God, and  they must
                           be told.

II. THE NEED FOR POWER.
        A. The task they faced was impossible.
                1. Only a few more than a hundred of them against the hostile world.
        B. They themselves lacked an intellectual apprehension of the program of God.
                1. They thought Jesus had come to set up His Kingdom immediately.
                        a. They were disappointed by the cross.
                2. They thought maybe now is the time.
                        a. They are to be disappointed again.
                3. They did not understand the cross.
                        a. They saw it as defeat.
                        b. Through the enlightenment of the Spirit, they will come to see it
                           as the power of God unto salvation. Victory over Satan.
                4. Jesus said He had many other things to tell them that they could not  bear.
        C. They lacked the moral strength to stand when going got tough.
                1. They had all forsaken Him and fled from the cross.
                2. Peter denied ever knowing Him.
                3. But through dynamic of Spirit, Peter will stand before the Jewish high
                   tribunal.
        D. They lacked the power in their own lives to live in victory over their flesh.
                1. This dynamic within them would change all that.

III. THE NATURE OF THE POWER.
        A. They were not to conquer with sword.
        B. Nor by sword policy.
 C. Love was to conquer all.