Here is the definition from Merriam-Webster, for power: “ability to act or produce an effect.”
Jesus stated: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” (Acts 1:8). So the question is: Do we believe that we have the power of the Holy Spirit? Do we believe we have “the ability to act and produce an effect” for Jesus Christ? I hope we have not written off, minimized, or quenched the fire burning within us ~ the fire, the power of the Holy Spirit.
Consider this from Acts 8, vv.14-17: “When the apostles in Jerusalem received the report that Samaria had accepted God’s Message, they sent Peter and John down to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. Up to this point they had only been baptizing in the Name of the Master Jesus; the Holy Spirit hadn’t yet fallen on them. Then, the apostles laid their hands on them and they did receive the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus had promised the disciples that the Holy Spirit would empower them to reach the ends of the earth with the Good News of the Kingdom (see Acts 1, vv.4-8). But they had kept the Good News bottled up with the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. The Word was going to spread ~ it was all God’s Plan and Will for it to go out, and beyond, and through the whole world. We see this happen in ways that no one can possibly deny. The Good News will reach the ends of the earth and the Holy Spirit will be the unmistakable power that enables this to occur.
Today, the power is still at work. It is as active as it was during Pentecost. May we be a part of His great work in our families, in our communities, in this world. Perhaps He is calling you (yes, you) to take His Message into a new “Samaria.” Now, your “Samaria” could be work, down the block, to a civic group or kid’s sports team, even to a friend or old classmate. God is able – His power has been given to us.
Let us go!
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