"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN OUR LIVES"
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Some explanatory thoughts/application/questions, and a prayer:
Following the Lord rising from the dead, He gave his last bit of instruction to the apostles who were about to begin their ministry in the world. But, before they did, Jesus knew they would need Heavenly power and ability, or power for the task that lay ahead of them. So, He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem, until they received what God the Father had promised through the prophet Joel.
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.
Joel 2:29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
Thus, You have Jesus telling the disciples to wait, because God was going to fulfill His promise. Which He did. And the entire 2nd Chapter of Acts is a record of that promise being fulfilled. But, let's look at Acts 1:8 in some depth, because this is also a promise for any believer today. For we need the same thing the early church leaders needed. We need God's power to live for Him, and to accomplish His will, and He is very willing that we receive it, and will give this power to whoever will ask Him for it.
1. The verse itself. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
2. Please notice that the "you" being spoken to here are those who were born again followers of Jesus Christ. The apostles. Thus, "you" today would be a candidate if you will to receive this very same power in your life.
3. Jesus explained that God was going to give them something they did not yet have. Of course they did have the Holy Spirit residing in them, as do all true believers, but they did not yet have this power Jesus was spoken of, and I believe there are many true Christians today that also do not have this power. But they can, You can if you do not have this power.
4. Look at the verse again and see exactly what it says. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Please notice, that Power is received through the Holy Spirit coming upon the believers. The Holy Spirit had been with them, leading them to Christ, He had come into them upon their being saved, but now He wanted to, and was about to overflow their lives with Divine power, strength, ability and might. He will do the same for you today.
5. Why? Why is this power needed, and for what purpose.? Look at the verse again for the answer. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” It's so that we can be "witnesses to or of Christ" The Lord had saved these men, as I pray that He has You. You now know Him. But, He also wants to use your life to make "God known" to others. That's what being a witness is all about. It's making God known
But, the Lord is telling us in this verse, that we need His power to do that.
6. How do we receive this power? Good question, with a simple answer. Just ask Him for this power.
Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” See that last part?. "how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
That's all that is needed, "ask Him"
7. Then, and here's another wonderful truth about God's power. This is something that He wants to give You day by day. Eph 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. In other words, don't allow wine to control your life, but let the Holy Spirit control you. And, this verse literally means, to "Be being filled with the Holy Spirit day by day, hour by hour etc, " Or to put it another way,
Ephesians 5:18
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)
You know the truth—let your life show it!
15-21 Live life, then, with a due sense of responsibility, not as men who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do. Make the best use of your time, despite all the difficulties of these days. Don’t be vague but firmly grasp what you know to be the will of God. Don’t get your stimulus from wine (for there is always the danger of excessive drinking), but let the Spirit stimulate your souls. Express your joy in singing among yourselves psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making music in your hearts for the ears of God! Thank God at all times for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And “fit in with” each other, because of your common reverence for Christ.
Some questions:
1. Are you familiar with this verse and teaching of Christ?
2. Can you see that He deems it needful to have God's power to do God's work?
3. Are you understanding that this is not something you earn, but receive for the asking?
4. And, it's not just a one time filling as it were. But rather constant daily refills as needed. And, we need refills day by day.
5. Have you asked Him for this power? Will you take a moment, and in reverence and in simple child like faith, just ask Jesus to fill You with the power of His Spirit? And, will You tell Him, that You want to Make Him known to the world around You.?
A prayer:
You have made Yourself known to us, and we want to make You known to those around us. But, we cannot do this on our own. We need the power of God in our lives. So, we ask today, this moment, to let us receive the power of the Holy Spirit, Let Him come upon us, just as He did here in the book of Acts. There is a world full of people we know that do not know You, and You want them to know You. Use us we pray to make You known.
In Jesus name, amen
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.
