Witnesses | Fresh Wind | Pastor Steve Andres

Do you believe in miracles? This weekend Pastor Steve began our fall series, FRESH WIND, with a message about the miracle of the Church.Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.Two thousand years ago, a tiny group of peasants believed God had raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead in order to fulfill of a long list of promises to bring healing to the world. This emerging movement of Jesus followers empowered the poor, elevated women, built diverse communities, remade their culture and, ultimately, upended an empire. What did God give them to do this?1) TRUTHActs 1:3 talks about “all that Jesus BEGAN to do and teach.” Our faith rests in what JESUS has done, not in what we are able to do for ourselves. And our hope rests in the promise that Jesus is not finished yet. As we like to say: If it isn’t fixed yet, God isn’t finished!2) POWERWhen the earliest believers experience God’s empowering presence (Acts 2:1-4), some people thought they were drunk. They were smarter, bolder and more loving than they were before, but not because they had been drinking. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and power.Acts 2:16-17These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.’These disciples who had been afraid before, were now declaring the wonders of God in miraculous fashion to people from all over the world. Thank God that he gives power to be witnesses to the truth of Jesus’s resurrection!