And You Shall Receive Power….

The time of the Pentecost (meaning 50th day) celebration had come and many people once again crowded the streets of Jerusalem to offer sacrifices as required by the law for the Feast of the Harvest and also to give thanks to God for their bounty. But the eleven followers of Christ, along with the women and the brothers of Jesus had been huddled in the upper room where they were staying for days now, praying and waiting. During this time they had chosen a replacement for Judas, who had betrayed Jesus; a man named Matthias, and altogether there were about 120 present now waiting for the promise that Jesus had given them just before He was taken into Heaven. “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.” (Acts 1:8) 

And you all know the story from there…the Holy Spirit came and appeared as tongues of fire above each of them and they began speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave utterance. Now the amazing thing was not so much the languages that were spoken, but the fact that all the people who were in the city for the holiday heard them speak in their own languages wherever they came from, and they knew that these men and women were all from Galilee, yet the languages which they heard were from their own countries. But the fascinating thing about this story was not so much the languages which were spoken and heard by those in attendance, but the amazing thing is what happened to each and every person who was filled with the Holy Spirit that day. It was just as Jesus had promised. He didn’t promise a language…He promised POWER! He promised the ability for his disciples to do what He had already instructed them to do. “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) This is the reason that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit…so that we would have the ability to do the things that He told us to do. He knew we would not be able to fulfill His commands without power. He knew the men he had chosen to carry on what He began on the earth would not be capable of carrying out His plan unless He enabled them to. They didn’t have the power to do so...that’s why He sent the Holy Spirit. And then He went on further to tell them what would happen when they did receive this charge from above. These are the results of the infilling of the Holy Spirit: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:16-18)

My question is, what happened to these signs? What happened to this power?

Today we sit around and debate whether these signs are for us today. Understand, I am not saying here that the signs are the evidence that a person is filled with the Holy Spirit. No…Jesus told us what the evidence is…the evidence is the power we receive from the Holy Spirit to go and preach the gospel. We receive boldness and the ability to carry out the work that Jesus commissioned us to do.

Remember impulsive, impetuous Peter? Whenever Jesus suggested he should do something…off Peter would run, but he would always make a mess of things. I used to be that way too, because I would try to take things into my own hands and do things in my own power. In my power, I am not capable of doing anything of any spiritual significance, and the same was true of Peter…and the same is true of you. But when you are endued with Power from the Holy Spirit…now that’s a whole different ball game! When the Holy Spirit takes charge, things begin to happen. That’s why Jesus said that when we believe and the Holy Spirit takes control, things should begin to happen…suddenly you find that you absolutely need to talk to people about Jesus and share the gospel with them. It becomes a compelling force in your heart. When the Holy Spirit begins to send you to talk to certain people, you overcome the fear of failure, and you move out because of a strong desire to be obedient to God. And when you open your mouth, you find that He begins to work through you. It’s an awesome thing when the Holy Spirit is present to empower you to preach the gospel, and the results can be phenomenal.

There are people who question whether these signs that are mentioned in this scripture are even relevant for us today. Some say they were only intended for the early Church and no longer exist. Well, that’s not what Jesus said. He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14) That doesn’t mean that we are so great…that means that HE is so great, and He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue the works that He began on the earth, and along with the power, He also gave us the tools that we need to get the job done. Yes, with the Holy Spirit working through us, we CAN see broken bodies healed, we CAN see devils cast out, we CAN see people speaking with new tongues, and we CAN see miracles in our time. It was the norm in the early church, and it should be the norm in our day too! When the Holy Spirit is present, then anything is possible, and we should be experiencing new power when He fills us.

Now, for those of you who are shaking their heads, saying “No, this is not right”, I will agree with you in this point; much of what I have seen that was attributed to the “filling of the Holy Spirit” was done in the flesh, and this is WRONG!! Much of what is supposedly done in the power of the Holy Spirit has been hype and done in arrogance, and did not bring glory and honor to God at all, but rather shame to the Name of Christ. I too have seen the counterfeits, and I hate it also. There have been a number of times when I have walked out of services because it became very obvious that the “flesh” was in control and not the Spirit. I have seen “prophets” who did not hear from God and His Spirit was not directing the words that were spoken. But God is the One Who will deal with that.

However, just because there are some people who misuse His Word and use it for their own personal purposes, that does not negate the Truth of God’s Word. And it does not invalidate the Power that He promised to His believer so that we might be able to get the work done that He has called us to do. Yes, if we rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see miracles and we will see signs, but most of all we will see hearts and lives turn to the Living God. And Jesus told us the reason for it all…“that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” It doesn’t matter what denomination you belong to or what theology your church adheres to, if the Bible says it (and it does) then I proclaim to you that it is Truth. Pentecost is not a denomination, it was simply the time the Israelites celebrated the Festival of the Harvest, and it came 50 days after the Passover. And that was the day when God sent His Holy Spirit to empower all the Church to fulfill its mission on the earth. So let me ask you…have you received the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life? His power is yours for the asking….but first you must be born-again.

Prayer: Father, if anybody ever needed Your Power from on high, I certainly do. I need Your ability and Your boldness to go and tell my friends and neighbors and co-workers that Jesus saves! I need Your ability to lay hands on the sick and know that you are still in the miracle working business. I need to know that You will do what You said You will do. I need YOUR power in my life! Please Father, fill me with Your Spirit so that I can do those things that You have called me to do. I love you and I thank you Lord…in Jesus’ Name…Amen