Being Clothed With Power

Luke 24:44-49

Luke 24:46-49 – You are my witnesses… and you are to be clothed with power from on high.

Acts 1:8 – You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses…

Acts 2:1-3 – Then there was the day of Pentecost… (and they were clothed with power.)

Today is a very special day. You are clothed with honor. What you are wearing lets everyone know that you have fought the good fight of school, that you have endured 12 years of education, and you have passed the tests before you.

It is right to give honor and praise where it is due. And today, graduates, we desire to honor you, and say “well done, congratulations, and bravo!”

To all the parents, grandparents, and family members who have loved, supported, helped… and threatened… “Good job, and well done!”

Graduates: You are a joy and a crown to all who have invested in your lives, and you will be our joy and crown as you move forward in life, and as you do so with faith, godliness, and perseverance.

As you move forward, you will need courage and boldness. As you move onward, you will need a holy grit. As you make progress from this day forward, you will need the prayers and support of your family and church family…

But above all… You will need to be clothed with power from on high.

You are being sent out, but you are not alone. You are being sent out, but you are being sent out with divine power from God.

God’s divine power has been granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through Christ (2 Pet.1).

Is this needed? Is this a big deal?

You are going to face trials. You are going to face tribulations. You are going to face sickness and death. You will face failure after failure, a world of temptations, a never-dying sinful nature that will fight against you, and there will be demons, dragons, the devil himself… working against you...

Yes, this is a big deal.

You are going to need God’s help. You are going to need to be clothed with power from on High.

2. And People of God, Children of God - Get this: God gives, God will give special power, extraordinary power, for the extraordinary challenges of life.

Life is hard. Life is painful. Life is scary at times. Life is unpredictable. We cannot control. We cannot know all things.

The Good News: God knows all things, has all things, God is all-powerful, and He loves His people. God will give you power to get through. God will give power to fill you with boldness and grit to go through every challenge of life.

You can look all through Scripture and find God doing this for His people. But in the Gospels, what do you see? (Examples)The disciples of Jesus would run away before they were clothed with power. Peter would deny Jesus three times, deny his Savior, afraid of a little servant girl.

The disciples of Jesus was with Jesus, walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus… And they were still afraid and unstable. They would run away from Jesus and deny Him because of other men and women… They needed power...

Before we pick on them… how many times have you been too afraid to mention the name of Jesus, because of people? How many times have you ran away from speaking up for Jesus, for standing up for Jesus?

How many times have we been so weak that we could not stand up for our Jesus or our faith because we were afraid?

Not just our graduates… How about the rest of us?

Do you need to be clothed with power from on high today? Do you need supernatural help in order to be godly witnesses and to endure through the pains of life?

Listen: Something happened at Pentecost. These disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and their lives changed. All of a sudden these fearful individuals became bold witnesses for Jesus.

Pentecost is not all about the gifts that we see which validate the message and messenger. Pentecost is not all about speaking in unlearned languages and other people hear the message in their own tongue and believe the message.

What do we see in the lives of the people who were filled with the Spirit, who were clothed with power from on High?

Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31; Acts 6; Acts 7; Acts 11; and Acts 13 - We see these individuals being filled with faith, wisdom, and great boldness. We see them being useful servants for God.

In a world of faithlessness, we need to be filled with faith. In a world that runs in all directions without aim or focus, we need wisdom. In a world that produces great fear, we need great boldness and courage.

There is a great need to be clothed with power from on high. If you are going to make it, and if you are going to be to be a faithful witness… You are going to need to be clothed with power from on high.

3 Ways to Seek the Power of the Holy Spirit

Immerse Yourself in the Word of God Everyday

God will not ignite the powder of His Spirit if you don’t load your rifle with the bullet of the Word of God (John Piper).

a. You are to be a witness. The Word of God transforms the mind, the heart and the life (Romans 12:2). The Holy Spirit uses the Word to save and transform us, to make us more like Christ in a progressive manner.

b. Spiritual Warfare is a reality - What are we to do? Submit to God and resist the devil. How? Luke 4:14 - Jesus resisted and fought back with the Word of God… “It is written...” It is the sword of the Spirit. You must use the Word of God.

Don’t go to war without your weapons, and do not take blanks… (worldly philosophy. movie lines and catchy cliches)… Take the powerful words of God.

c. The Word of God is spirit and it is life. The mind that is focused on the spiritual will have spiritual life.

d. 1 John 2:14 - I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

How are they strong? How do they overcome? Because the Word of God abides in them.

If you do not lay up the Word of God in you, there will be no power and no victory for you.

Read it, think about it, memorize it, sing it, pray it and use it!

2. Pray Earnestly for it and Fast

The second way to seek the power of the Holy Spirit is to pray for it earnestly and sometimes with fasting.

a. Acts 1:13 - All of these who will be filled, who will be clothed with power from on High, have devoted themselves to prayer.

Acts 4:24-31 - When they were attacked, persecuted, and afraid… they got together and prayed… and they were filled again, clothed again with boldness and confidence.

“Be clothed or be filled again?” Ephesians 5:18 - Be filled continuously.

b. Luke 11:13 - Jesus teach us that the Father knows how to give good gifts, and that He will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.

I believe that it is right and good to ask God for greater manifestations of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I believe that it is right and good to ask God to be filled for His service.

c. Paul prayed for the Ephesians, Ephesians 3:14-21, that they be filled with all the fullness of God.

d. To ask for this is the will of God. To ask for the power of the Spirit is the will of God.

e. When we long to be filled with the Spirit more than food, when we crave God more than bread… When our desires are for Him more than anything else...

I believe that He rewards such people with greater manifestations of the Spirit of God.

Just how needy are we? God will reward those who ask day and night… How bad? Pray to be filled!

3. Obey the Holy Spirit

The 3rd and final way to seek the power of the Holy Spirit is to obey Him even when you don’t feel His power.

a. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit, but not every Christian is filled or is clothed with the Holy Spirit, with power.

Every Christian is sealed with the Holy Spirit, but not every Christian has the boldness of the Spirit for different reasons.

It is possible that we have disobeyed the Spirit so much that we have become somewhat calloused to Him and insensitive to His leading.

Sin will do this. Fear will do this. Unbelief will do this. Not having the Word of God in our minds, hearts, on our lips… will keep us from moving forward...

But, if we are willing to immerse ourselves in God’s Word, believe it, fast and pray, and obey the Spirit… If we will just simply step out… even if we feel very little power or confidence...

(picture) I believe just as Samson’s hair grew back and he prayed, God will once again allow you to experience the power of the Spirit.

Listen Christian: You have not gone too far. Turn around and start again. You have not gone too far so that the hand of God cannot touch you again, that the breath of God cannot be felt, that the power of God has been exhausted...

Turn around today… and obey the Holy Spirit… Obey the Word… even in fear… even with power… just obey in faith… and see what God begins to do in you again.

Students and adults: You are going to face trials. You are going to face tribulations. You are going to face sickness and death. You will face failure after failure, a world of temptations, a never-dying sinful nature that will fight against you, and there will be demons, dragons, the devil himself… working against us...

You are going to need God’s help. You are going to need to be clothed with power from on High.

We need one another. We need our church family. We need support. We need one another’s prayers.

And as a church family, may we all commit ourselves to one another in this great and holy endeavor.

But may we also take our holy responsibility and calling, to be filled, to be clothed with Power from on High.

And you have a God, a Savior, a Heavenly Father who is ready to give you what you need, when you need it.

Do you need Him today? Do you need His power today? As you march forward and onward to wherever He leads… Do you need His power today, more than ever?

Call upon Him. Cry out to Him. Seek after Him.

Be filled with the Word of God. 2. Pray and Fast for the Spirit’s Presence in you life. 3. Obey the promptings of the Spirit as He leads you. 4. And walk on with Jesus by faith.

Call them forward to pray over them.

Allow me to Pray Ephesians 3:16 over you all today.

Pray for food.

Dismiss.