Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Pentecost: A renewable resource Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA June 11, 2006 (First Sunday after Pentecost) Main Scripture text: Acts 4:31 Our text today it says that, in response to prayer, the believers were "filled with the Holy Spirit." Many of these same believers were present on the day of Pentecost and were "filled with the Spirit" then, too. Being "filled with the Spirit" isn't a one-time experience. It is a continuing experience of God's grace, given to equip us for the work given to us. To be filled with the Spirit means the presence of God is made visible. It spills over from a person's life-- like what happens when a cup is full and more water is added. The Scriptures often associate water with God's presence. In John 4, Jesus speaks of "living water" that will become in us "a spring of water welling up to eternal life." In John 7, He said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." God has placed a spiritual "water tap" in the world -- His name is Jesus. By the grace of God, we can hook into that tap and have the life of Jesus flowing into us. Through baptism with the Holy Spirit, which comes through our full surrender to Jesus as Lord, that tap gets opened wide! That water becomes a stream of living water flowing out of us! But remember this caution: we are at war. Like in any war we must protect our water supply. If our enemy -- the devil -- separates us from our water source, it is just a matter of time before we are finished. What stay hooked to source through 1) Bible Study, 2) Prayer, 3) Worship, 4) Fellowship, and 5) Service. Through these disciplines allow the living water to continually flow through us to bring the healing and refreshing life of God to a dry and weary land. Supporting texts: Psalm 42:1-2 | Psalm 63:1 | Jeremiah 2:13 | Revelation 22:1 | John 4:10, 13-14 | John 7:38 | Isaiah 58:11 | Matthew 4:4 | 1 Peter 5:8 | Romans 12:11 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (28 min.). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 060611a: Pentecost: A Renewable Resource. © 2006 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us