Week 4: The Power of the Holy Spirit in Resurrection Life

Text: Romans 8:11, Acts 1:8, John 14:16–17

Main Idea:

The resurrection of Jesus not only secured our salvation—it opened the way for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us.

The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead now empowers us to live transformed, victorious lives.

Introduction: Begin by recapping the previous weeks:

Jesus rose from the grave, and that victory changes everything.

Ask: “But how do we live that resurrection life day-to-day?”

Answer: Through the power of the Holy Spirit!

Romans 8:11 NASB95

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

This is the theme verse of this series.

Were spending 20 weeks focusing on the Cross

Why?

Because we need to lay the foundation to prepare to build on what is to come.

I asked chat GPT the following question:

What common teachings of the Bible does the modern western church avoid?

It gave me a list of 9 Topics, and broke down each one!

9. The Exclusivity of Christ

8. Spiritual Warfare

7. Generosity and Sacrificial Giving 6. The Lordship of Christ

5. Eternal Judgment and Hell

4. Biblical Sexual Ethics

3. The Cost of Discipleship

2. Repentance and Sin

The Cross and the Ressurection

it then reported this

Final Thought:

Avoiding these teachings may increase comfort or popularity, but it produces shallow discipleship and incomplete gospel understanding. As Paul warned in

2 Timothy 4:3–4 NASB95

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

I want to assure you as long as I’m preaching, there won’t be any tickling of the ears

I was encouraged to see that we as a Church have covered many of these topics over the last few months

But let’s get into it!

Timmy and Sarah Learn About the Power of the Holy Spirit

One warm spring afternoon, Timmy and Sarah were in the backyard, helping Grandpa fix the family’s old kite. The wind was picking up, and they were excited to see it fly again.

"Alright, kids," Grandpa said with a smile, "the kite’s ready! But remember—no matter how beautiful it looks, it won’t go anywhere without the wind."

Sarah ran ahead with the kite, and Timmy held the string. They tried running, jumping, and tossing the kite in the air—but it just kept flopping to the ground.

"I don’t get it," Timmy groaned. "We did everything right!"

Grandpa chuckled and looked up at the sky. “Let’s wait. The wind is coming.”

Sure enough, a gust of wind swept through the yard a moment later. Grandpa held up the kite, and suddenly—it soared! Higher and higher it flew, dancing across the sky.

“Wow!” Sarah shouted. “It just needed wind!”

Grandpa nodded. “That’s right. You know, this kite is kind of like us. We were made for something special—just like this kite was made to fly. But without the wind, it can’t do what it was designed to do. And we can’t live the way Jesus wants us to live without the Holy Spirit.”

Timmy looked up at the flying kite. “So... the Holy Spirit is like the wind?”

“Yes,” Grandpa said, “exactly. In fact, the Bible even compares the Holy Spirit to the wind. You can’t see Him, but you can see what He does. He gives us power to forgive, to be brave, to live like Jesus, and to tell others about Him.”

Sarah’s eyes lit up. “So, when we feel weak or scared or not good enough... the Holy Spirit helps us?”

“That’s right,” Grandpa said. “The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now lives in everyone who believes in Him. That’s resurrection power—and it’s available to you.”

Timmy smiled. “I want the Holy Spirit to help me live like Jesus.”

Grandpa grinned. “Then just ask Him, Timmy. He’s always ready to fill you with His power.”

As the kite danced above them, Sarah whispered, “Holy Spirit, make me fly like that.”

I want to remind you:

Pentecost is taking place on June 8th

Lets begin preparing our hearts for what the Holy Spirit wants to do in this place

I. The Resurrection Made Way for the Spirit to Live in Us

John 14:16–17 NASB95

16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

Jesus promised that after His resurrection and ascension,

He would send the Helper, the Spirit of truth, to live within us.

The Holy Spirit isn’t a force, a vibe, or a temporary visitor

He is God with us and in us.

Illustration: Have any of you has a ready great coach, or a teacher that changed your life? Imagine having the coach not just on the sidelines, but inside of you, guiding every move in real-time.

that’s what we as beleivers have.

We have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us!

So to dig into this a little deeper.

As human we are tripartite beings

Body, Soul, and Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB95

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We all know our Body thats the easy one

Body – our physical being, the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20).

A temporary housing for our time on earth

but what about our soul and Spirit?

Soul – often understood as the mind, will, and emotions—the seat of personality.

your personality, your memories, your character...

the eternal part that makes you...you

Spirit – the part that connects to God and is made alive by the Holy Spirit (John 3:6).

You Spirit is the God part of you.

In John 3:1-7 we are told of an interacting between Jesus and Nicodemus

John 3:1–7 NASB95

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Jesus is teaching Nicodemus...and us

1. Entrance into God’s Kingdom Requires a Spiritual Rebirth

Being born once (physically) is not enough.

To see or enter God’s kingdom, one must be “born again”—which means being born from above (Greek: anōthen).

2. This New Birth Is a Work of the Holy Spirit

Jesus says we must be born “of water and the Spirit.”

"Water" likely refers to cleansing or repentance

(possibly a nod to John’s baptism or Ezekiel 36:25–27)

and the Spirit refers to the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

3. New Birth Is Not Humanly Achievable

Nicodemus was a moral, religious man—but Jesus made it clear: Even the most religious person needs transformation.

Salvation is not earned; it’s a miraculous work of God in the human heart.

4. There Is a Mystery to Spiritual Things

In verse 7, Jesus says, “You must be born again,” and goes on (in verse 8) to compare the Spirit to the wind—unseen, but powerful and evident.

This highlights the supernatural nature of salvation.

Summary of Jesus’ Teaching in John 3:1–7

To truly belong to God’s kingdom, every person must undergo a spiritual transformation

a new birth by the Holy Spirit

John 3:5 NASB95

5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Religion, knowledge, or heritage isn’t enough

Only by being born again can we have eternal life.

John 3:3 NASB95

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus was not talking about a physical rebirth. as evident by Nicodemus’ response

instead he was referring to the rebirth of the human Spirit

You see, before you come to belief in Jesus

You are a wounded soul inhabiting a body, with a dead spirit!

I believe thats why so many prebeleivers are living life feeling they are missing something.

feeling unfufilled

dead inside.

Because they are!

Great News!

When we repent and seek the Lords forgiveness

the Holy Spirit decends on us and rebirths our Spirit.

the part that connects to God and is made alive by the Holy Spirit

1. We Are Spiritually Dead Without Christ

Ephesians 2:1 NASB95

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,

2. The Holy Spirit Brings Regeneration

Titus 3:5 NASB95

5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

This is called regeneration —

the Holy Spirit breathes life into our dead spirit, just like God breathed into Adam (Genesis 2:7).

It's not self-improvement, but a miracle of new creation.

3. He Awakens Faith in Christ

1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB95

14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

The Spirit opens our eyes to the truth of the gospel.

He enables us to believe, to repent, and to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior.

If you haven’t already noticed. Prebelievers and believers think differntly

We have differnt world views.

we look at the world through different lenses

Thats because the beleiver has the Holy Spirit Living inside of them

the prebeliever is dead inside!

4. He Unites Us with Christ

Romans 8:9–11 NASB95

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Through the Spirit, we are united with Christ’s death and resurrection.

Our old man dies, and a new Spririt is born.

5. He Makes Us Children of God

Romans 8:15–16 NASB95

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,

We receive a new identity — no longer slaves to sin, but sons and daughters of God.

6. He Continues to Renew Us Daily

2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB95

16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Being born again is just the beginning — the Spirit keeps transforming us into Christ’s image (see also 2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Holy Spirit rebirths our spirit by

regenerating us,

awakening faith,

uniting us with Christ, and

filling us with new life.

We go from spiritually dead to spiritually alive —

made into new creations who can know, love, and follow God.

This process of regeneration also enable us by the Power of Holy Spirit

to do part 2

Song Break?

II. The Holy Spirit Empowers Us to Live Victoriously

Acts 1:8 NASB95

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

The Greek word for power is dunamis—miracle-working power.

The root word for dynamite

Through the Spirit, we are empowered to:

Overcome sin and temptation

Galatians 5:16 NASB95

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Be bold witnesses

Acts 4:31 NASB95

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

Walk in spiritual gifts

1 Corinthians 12:7–11 NASB95

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

Bear fruit

Galatians 5:22–23 NASB95

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Illustration: The disciples went from fearful, hiding men to bold preachers of the gospel

because the Spirit filled them.

Application:

Don’t settle for powerless Christianity.

I see so many prominent preachers completely ignore this part our our relationship with God!

Ask the Holy Spirit to fill and empower you to live out resurrection life.

Do it daily

So too wrap this up!

Conclusion:

The resurrection life is Spirit-empowered life.

You are not meant to live the Christian life in your own strength.

The Spirit who raised Jesus now lives in you!

Pray