THE CHURCH OF ACTS WAS CONTROLLED BY THE HOLY GHOST

Devotional

Day 1: Rivers in the Desert

The disciples gathered as Jesus promised living water would flow from believing hearts. A woman at the well received revelation while drawing natural water, but greater rivers awaited. Now the Spirit stirs thirsty souls like Ezekiel’s ankle-deep stream swelling into unstoppable currents. God breathes on dry bones, reviving dead places through surrendered vessels. [41:43]

This river isn’t metaphor—it’s the Holy Spirit’s tangible presence. Just as Ezekiel stepped deeper, Jesus invites you beyond shallow religion. The river cleanses, heals, and carries you into divine purpose. When Paul prayed in tongues, prison chains fell.

Many pray safe prayers but avoid the current’s pull. What desert in your life needs this river? Stop clinging to the bank. How many minutes today will you let the Spirit pray through you?

“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east...and the water was coming down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple.”
(Ezekiel 47:1-2, ESV)

Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to submerge one area you’ve kept dry.
Challenge: Pray in tongues for 5 uninterrupted minutes.

Day 2: Boats and Breakfast

Peter’s empty nets drooped after a fruitless night. Jesus commandeered his boat, transforming it into a pulpit. Though Peter’s hands smelled of fish guts, he surrendered his workplace. Obedience birthed a catch so heavy it sank two vessels. The same nets that caught nothing became revival tools. [25:48]

Jesus still multiplies what we release. Your career, hobbies, and tools are Kingdom vessels when yielded. Peter’s boat became a soul-winning platform; your resources can fuel crusades. The disciples ate breakfast with the resurrected Christ—abundance follows surrender.

What “boat” have you anchored in safe waters? Name one business asset or skill you’ve withheld. Will you let Jesus preach from your dock?

“And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’”
(Luke 5:4, ESV)

Prayer: Confess any area of self-reliance in your work.
Challenge: Write down one business tool or skill to dedicate to God.

Day 3: Upper Rooms and Oil

The Shunammite woman built a prophet’s chamber—a small upper room with a bed, table, and lamp. Her practical gift housed Elisha’s anointing. Years later, that same room held her dead son...until Elisha’s breath revived him. Every furnished room becomes a resurrection site. [24:09]

Radical giving unlocks miracles. The widow’s oil multiplied as she poured; the Shunammite’s son lived because she made space for God’s presence. Your guest room, spare funds, or spare time are upper rooms awaiting divine visitation.

What empty space in your schedule or home could host miracles? When will you stock your “upper room” with prayer instead of clutter?

“Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.”
(2 Kings 4:10, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for three resources you can redirect to His work.
Challenge: Identify one practical way to support a local ministry this week.

Day 4: Alabaster and Accusations

Mary broke her alabaster jar, anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume worth a year’s wages. Critics called it waste, but Christ declared it worship. The scent lingered on His skin to Gethsemane. Her “foolish” gift became eternal fragrance. [49:10]

Extravagant worship defies human logic. The disciples saw charity; Jesus saw devotion. Your secret offerings—unseen prayers, unnoticed service—release heaven’s aroma. Judas counted coins, but Mary treasured presence.

What religious voice tells you to withhold? Where have you prioritized efficiency over adoration?

“She has done a beautiful thing to me...By pouring this ointment on my body, she has prepared me for burial.”
(Matthew 26:10-12, ESV)

Prayer: Pour out heartfelt praise for 60 seconds without asking anything.
Challenge: Do one act of secret worship—no social media, no mentions.

Day 5: Stephen’s Unshackled Hands

Religious leaders stoned Stephen as he gazed past their rage into open heavens. Chained hands lifted free when his spirit saw Christ standing. The mob heard curses; heaven heard a martyr’s prayer: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” [32:01]

Persecution cannot bind Spirit-filled believers. Stephen’s physical eyes saw death, but his spirit saw victory. The same Holy Spirit who empowered his preaching now intercedes through your tongue. Chains break when prayer focuses on Christ’s posture, not your pain.

What storm demands your gaze upward? Will you let the Spirit rewrite your crisis narrative?

“And gazing into heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”
(Acts 7:55, ESV)

Prayer: Ask for grace to see Christ’s triumph in your hardest relationship.
Challenge: Set a 3:00 AM alarm to pray for someone who opposes you.

Sermon Summary

The Holy Ghost opens the night like a river and begins to fill the thirsty with fresh oil and breath. The river does not trickle. It moves as “many waters,” lifts hungry hands, and releases a mighty impartation that encounters bodies, families, and futures with divine life and healing. The anointing then speaks over households with what it calls “the up anointing,” the lift of God that brings long-held petitions into fruition. Favor is named. Elevation is decreed. And the Spirit ties all of it to purpose, not personality.

The mandate of a 50-state revival rises next, and the Spirit brands a soul goal of 1,500,000. Prayer in tongues is required. Fire is required. Churches must be activated as harvesters and demonstrators. The Spirit refuses “Chuck E. Cheese Christianity” and demands a church that moves.

The text then turns to treasure laid up in heaven. Radical givers who go beyond their means, those who fund unreached places, who build houses for God, who sow into men and women of God, who give lands and businesses to Jesus’ mission, will be “extremely prosperous in heaven.” There are levels. The rich young ruler’s test is retold. Peter’s boat is re-preached until it breaks with harvest and breakfast on the beach. On earth, Scripture names paths of prosperity tied to delight in the Word, firstfruits, diligence, obedience, and generosity. The altar is set for sowing into the soul mandate, and faith is called to raise the first wave for the tour.

An impartation for business follows. The Spirit releases creative ideas, witty inventions, and an apostolic grace for the marketplace, promising multiple businesses and unusual favor where the heart is like Dorcas, for the kingdom. Then Acts opens. Acts six names a church “full of and controlled by the Holy Ghost.” The river is not ankle deep; it is a current that carries. Joy is not a style; it is power that lifts the paralyzed. In Acts seven the Spirit carries Stephen through the stones with a vision of the Son of Man standing. In Acts eight the Spirit gives discernment and speed. In Acts ten the Spirit shatters tradition. In Acts eleven the Spirit warns. In Acts twelve the Spirit gives a praying church the kind of answered prayer that sends an angel and drops chains.

Prayer precedes revival. The Spirit throws a mantle of intercession, burns complacency, passivity, and no commitment, and thrusts laborers into the harvest. Then the invitations come, the baptism in the Holy Ghost is received, tongues flow, and soul-winning becomes a lifestyle with tools in hand and fire in the heart.

Key Takeaways

1. Let the river take control The Holy Ghost does not bless partial surrender; he possesses willing people. Ezekiel’s waters move from ankles to a stream that must be swum in, and Acts calls that “full of and controlled by the Holy Ghost.” Power increases as control is yielded. Joy, boldness, and miracles sit on the far side of letting go. [147:28]
2. Radical giving reshapes eternal stature Heaven will have levels, and Scripture ties true greatness to sacrificial, secret, and strategic generosity. Those who fund unreached places, build God’s house, and give beyond their means bank fruit to their account. The rich young ruler’s sadness warns that love of money shrinks a soul’s future. [79:07]
3. Business on the altar multiplies When Peter’s boat becomes Jesus’ pulpit, barren nets explode. The point is not technique but Lordship; mission precedes multiplication. Businesses that preach Christ with their resources enter the same grace, seeing “boat-breaking harvest” precisely where they had nothing all night. [86:07]
4. Prayer in the Spirit births revival Prayer precedes revival, and tongues light the fuse. Intercession turns a soul goal into a soul harvest and forges laborers, not spectators. A new mantle of prayer pushes out casual religion and births a church that prays chains off cities. [171:17]
5. Discernment keeps the church clean End-time deception makes hearing the Spirit nonnegotiable. Acts forms a people who can tell God’s voice from their own and the enemy’s, moving at the Spirit’s nudge and refusing religious control. Warnings, checks, and timely directions keep the house a step ahead of every scheme. [156:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[41:43] - River of His presence
[60:00] - Anointing of elevation declared
[72:23] - 50-State Revival and soul goal
[79:07] - Who prospers greatly in heaven
[84:23] - Business given to Jesus’ mission
[89:39] - Twelve ways to prosper on earth
[94:45] - Faith to sow into revival
[102:34] - Marketplace impartation and grace
[146:19] - Controlled by the Holy Ghost
[153:41] - Carried through battles by Spirit
[156:39] - Discernment in the end times
[162:28] - Prayer that looses chains
[175:07] - Four invitations and tongues
[180:25] - Soul winning lifestyle and sending

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ezekiel 47:1-5 (ESV)
"Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east... The water was ankle-deep... knee-deep... waist-deep... waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through."

Observation Questions

In Ezekiel’s vision, the river starts as a trickle and becomes a flood. What does the progression from "ankle-deep" to "waters to swim in" symbolize about surrendering to the Holy Spirit?
Acts 6:5 describes Stephen as "full of the Holy Ghost." What specific outcomes or characteristics are tied to being "controlled by the Holy Spirit" in the sermon? [02:27:28]
The sermon contrasts "Chuck E. Cheese Christianity" with a church that "moves." What behaviors or attitudes define each? [01:24:47]

Interpretation Questions

Why does the river in Ezekiel’s vision require deeper surrender for greater power? How does this relate to the idea that "joy, boldness, and miracles sit on the far side of letting go"? [02:27:28]
The rich young ruler walked away sad because he loved money more than Jesus. How does this story warn against valuing earthly security over eternal purpose? [01:20:56]
Acts 12:5-7 shows prayer breaking chains. Why is persistent, fervent prayer emphasized as nonnegotiable for revival? [02:42:28]

Application Questions

The river starts at the ankles. What area of your life feels like it’s only "ankle-deep" in surrender to the Holy Spirit? What would it look like to let the current carry you further?
Radical giving "reshapes eternal stature." Is there a practical step you can take this week to give sacrificially—whether finances, time, or resources—to advance God’s kingdom? [01:19:07]
The sermon warns against complacency. What habit or routine in your spiritual life has become passive? How could prayer in tongues reignite your fire? [02:43:45]
Acts 8:29 highlights discernment. When have you sensed the Holy Spirit nudging you to act quickly? How can you cultivate greater sensitivity to His voice in daily decisions? [02:36:39]
Peter’s boat became a pulpit for Jesus. What "business" or skill do you possess that could be surrendered as a platform for God’s work? [01:26:07]
The church prayed fervently for Peter’s freedom. Who in your life needs breakthrough, and how can you commit to intercede for them this month? [02:42:28]

Sermon Clips

35s

“But there is real people being touched by the power of God. Can you say amen? Amen. You saw what joy did. That man laughed his way out of a wheelchair. It's power. I say it's power. Joy is power. That man laughed his way out of a wheelchair. He was paralyzed, but he let the holy ghost take control, and he laughed his way out of a wheelchair.”

29s

“It would have been impossible for me to have a prayer life without holy spirit. In acts 12 and verse five, so Peter was kept in prison, but fervent prayer for him was persistently made to God by the church. And what happened as the church prayed in acts 12 verse seven to nine? And suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared standing beside him.”

27s

“The rich young ruler wanted to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. How did Jesus test the young ruler? He said, I want you to sell everything. Give everything to the kingdom of God, and come follow me. What happened? The Bible says he walked away sad. Why? Because he loved his money more than Jesus.”

38s

“The Holy Ghost will give you discernment. Acts eight twenty nine. When the perfect moment came to witness to an Ethiopian, the spirit said unto Philip, go near. Join yourself to his chariot, and Philip ran. He had discernment to move quickly, to respond quickly. Three voices, the voice of the devil, your voice, and the voice of God.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Revival Church Main This sermon · AI assistant

What are types of people prospering in heaven?

How does the Holy Spirit empower prayer and ministry?

How should believers financially support national revival efforts?

THE CHURCH OF ACTS WAS CONTROLLED BY THE HOLY GHOST — NOT RELIGION