“…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Act 1: 8, HCSB
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for providing us with the power we need to be effective witnesses for You. Please bless our study, as we seek to understand more of Your will. In Jesus’ name; Amen
Power is a much valued, and coveted, possession in our world. People acquire power in different ways. Oftentimes the acquisition of money begets power. At other times, our standing in society (positions of authority), education, houses and lands, items of value (antiques, works of art, jewelry-especially if they are collector’s items), could bring us into positions of power. But today, we will be speaking of power on another level. The source of our power is not something, but Someone. The One who promised the disciples power had declared with all authority, “…All power is given unto [M]e in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28: 18).
This power was not of an earthly nature. When Jesus came to earth He draped His divinity with humanity; but because of His “oneness” with the Father, He was able to say, ” ‘Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father” (John 10: 17, 18, NKJV). This power over life and death was not just over His life, but over the life of everyone. Listen to His words as He reproves the Jews for questioning His authority to heal on the Sabbath day: “Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whomever [H]e wishes” (John 5: 21, NRSV).
This is just a glimpse of the kind of power Jesus had, while here on earth! And as He gets ready to return to the Father, He assures the disciples, His faithful companions, of the last three and a half years, that they too would receive power, “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you[.]” He than goes on to tell them what was the purpose for giving His Holy Spirit, “And you will be My witnesses…to the ends of the earth.” Observe the kind of preparation that led to the Day of Pentecost, “When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying…All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as His brothers” (Acts 1: 13, 14). (Emphasis provided).
In Scripture we are told that men do not put new wine in old wine bottles lest the new wine damage the bottles, and in the end, you lose both bottle and wine. But if you put new wine in new bottles, you save them both (Matthew 9: 17). In order for the Holy Spirit of God to take possession of the disciples, who, prior to the death of Jesus, were filled with a spirit of selfishness (Mark 10: 35-41), prayer, and self-searching, had to do their pre-transforming work upon them, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord, in one place” (Acts 2: 1). (Emphasis provided).
That was the “former rain.” We are expecting the “latter rain” which will complete the work that began on the Day of Pentecost, and will bring about earth’s final harvest (Joel 2: 23). Even so, send Your rain Lord, send Your rain!
We will continue with this subject. Blessings!