Acts; With Power

June 15

Read: Acts 1:1-11

Acts;

With Power

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” - Jesus (Acts 1:8)

The sort of “witness-bearing” that Jesus is talking about in Acts has to build upon… be “more than” …what his followers were doing before. Think about it: Jesus already had many people (including the 12 apostles) who were his followers and who had been traveling with him, learning from him, and were then sent out to minister in the surrounding cities. (cf. Luke 10) In short, there were plenty of people who were “talking about Jesus” and declaring the “Kingdom of God” before this moment. In addition, those same people were casting out demons and healing the sick! This was the “baseline” sort of ministry that the disciples of Jesus were participating in before the resurrection / the setting of Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8.

Now, imagine Jesus’ words to his disciples:

“And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (v.4,5)

That is a strong command…”he ordered them not to depart”. It was crucial that they waited for the Holy Spirit. They needed to be “submersed in” or “baptized with” the Holy Spirit before they could ever do what Jesus was calling them to do next. Without the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” they would not have the power or ability to do what Jesus was calling them to do… they would be ill-equipped. This is sobering when we consider what they were already able to do; namely declare the Kingdom of God, pass out “peace”, heal the sick, and cast out demons! For Jesus, this is simply the starting point! He has more in store for his followers.

Against this backdrop, now let us consider his words in verse 8:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (v.8)

It is clear now that “bearing witness” is so much more than simply talking about Jesus or telling people about what Jesus did… that was already happening before the ascension! Without needing to know the specifics, what we can say without doubt is Jesus had more in store. His sort of “witnessing” that would go out to “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” must go beyond just talking about him… it requires Holy Spirit POWER. What the disciples were already doing before the resurrection was crazy enough… including healing the sick and casting out demons… what more radical and powerful stuff could the Father possibly have up his sleeve?!

I am afraid that the people of God have often-times reduced “bearing-witness” to what we can accomplish by our own strength and power. We have turned the ministry of Jesus through his people into what we can do without the need of any “power” from the Holy Spirit. What if Jesus is calling us into a life that is marked by the Holy Spirit working in us and through us in a way that goes beyond the baseline of “being nice and telling people about Jesus”? What if the “promise of the Father” is one that has indeed been fulfilled, and our “baptism with the Holy Spirit” means that Jesus is calling us beyond the “baseline” into something that we could never accomplish by our own strength, wits, or capacities? This seems to be the case when Jesus declares, “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

May the Lord begin to make space in our hearts and minds for HIS “powerful” work through the promised Holy Spirit. May our lives be “submerged” or “baptized” in our relationship with the Spirit of God. May we have courage to faithfully enter into ministry that we know we cannot achieve by our own strength. May we stop scoffing at or dismissing… casting aside… what the scriptures describe as normal parts of the Christian journey. Lord, give us FAITH. Let’s start asking the Lord to lead us into the sort of “witness-bearing” that Jesus had in mind… listening to him through the scriptures, The Spirit, and his people around us. I know that this will include telling people about Jesus, being kind and generous, and bringing peace… but may it never stop there! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” - These are the words of Jesus! Lord, lead us into that powerful ministry FOR YOUR FAME AND GLORY LORD! Love you guys. - JDP