Reclaim the Power!

Identifying the Power Source

The book of Acts, short for “Acts of the Apostles”, begins with the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

The transformation of the disciples from a small group huddling together in a room in fear to a band of bold witnesses for Christ would never have taken place apart from the resurrection. And the weeks of teaching that followed, when He instructed them about the kingdom of God, obviously played a key role. But what, ultimately, was the source of power for these witnesses, many of whom would die for their faith?

All this came to fruition only when the Holy Spirit came. When Christ was with them, the disciples received instruction. But only when the Holy Spirit came upon them did they receive the power (dunamis) they needed to do what they were instructed to do; to bear witness to the World of Jesus Christ, to give them the “good news” about who He is & what He accomplished for them.

Is this what is missing—power? Is this the cause of our ailments…the reason for our struggles? Are we lacking the power for witness…the power needed for a victorious Christian life? While we ponder this, let’s talk a bit about the power of God in the redemption of humandkind.

Power in Redemption

Redemptive history is real history, earth history; the participants at Pentecost actually experienced what is described. They really did see Christ after His resurrection; in fact, they spent 40 days with Him AFTER His death! I won’t dive into this from an apologetic perspective, but suffice it to say that it is hard to explain away a risen Jesus who stuck around for over a month after His crucifixion, with multiple people, giving final instructions before His departure. God’s power was on clear display! And what were the final words to them, concluding His earthly ministry? Prepare yourselves to do an impossible task, made possible through the Holy Spirit. The Disciples heard Jesus speak with power; they saw Him heal with divine power and now even demonstrate power over life…and death- even His own! Jesus not only proved that He is who He claims to be, but that He can do what He claims He can do- redeem, forgive, heal, set free!In this one amazing statment, He not only proved alll of this, but He tells His disciples- both then and now- that we have access to His power, to accomplish His purpose! Before moving forward, I call your attention to veres 7 & 8 to clarify this:

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses...”

Here Christ makes a distiction: there are some things that belong exclusively to the Father; it’s His work. But you will receive the power needed to do yours.” The element of power for witness was an experiential reality in the lives of the early disciples. Furthermore, the filling of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4) was repeated (Acts 4:8, 31; 13:9). And certainly the evidences of similar power are spread throughout the New Testament (e.g., 1 Thess. 1:6–8). Paul himself sees such experiences in part as an answer to prayer for a specific enabling to speak the gospel fully and boldly (Eph. 6:18–19).

The Holy Spirit Empowers

There is another brief portion of scripture to which I would like to turn your attention: 1 Cor 2:1-5

And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,

4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

This passage continues the emphasis from 1:18–31 of God’s wisdom being viewed as foolish by the world. God’s wisdom is a mystery. In order to grasp the mystery, humanity needs God’s grace and God’s Spirit. In fact, apart from God’s Spirit humanity can never know what God is doing. God in his grace has sent the Holy Spirit and through humanity provides truth for believers. Those who are unsaved cannot and will not understand.

PSA: Pray, Study & Act!

I want to leave you with a short PSA- public service announcement- using the acronym: P.S.A., as a reminder on how to stay plugged in to your power source to accomplish great things for His glory!

Pray- power does not come without prayer. Why? Because it is through this conversation with God that our hearts, thoughts & desires come into alignment with God’s agenda. God’s power is intrinsic; it flows only for agendas that He has intended.

Study- we must study His word to understand the message we are responsible to bring to the world, as well as letting that message change & prepare us for Godly “doing & being”.

Act- it may not be evident at first, but the words of Christ in our main text, specifically in verse 8, outline a plan of action- quite literally, the “acts” that the Apostle’s and later disciples of Christ would follow in their spreading of the Gospel:

First, “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea”—this in ch. 2 to ch. 8:4.

Secondly, “in Samaria”—this in ch. 8:5, to v. 25.

Thirdly, “unto the uttermost part of the earth”—of this we have a beautiful anticipation in ch. 8:26 to the end, and the preparations for it in ch. 9 to ch. 12; while the execution of it is recorded in ch. 13 to the end of the book.

The statement in verse 8 is also the ffinal one prior to the ord’s ascension. Verse 9 records Him being “taken up...out of their sight”. The Lord gave them instructions…then left immediately for them to begin the work.