But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8
Jesus came to earth and built the modern-day church, showing people how to walk in a vibrant powerful relationship with God the Father and the importance of the power of the Holy Spirit. He spent three years with His disciples and followers teaching them what it truly meant to have a relationship with God and not merely live by a set of rules. I heard a pastor tell this last week that a Jewish man told his friend, that the Jews know God, they have laws and traditions but he has recognized that the Christians have a relationship with God they do not have. God did not create mankind to have a set of rules that were impossible to live by so mankind would continually strive to please a distant God, but the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus the Son of God (the Word), and the Holy Spirit, created man to have fellowship and a living relationship with. Jesus laid aside His deity and became a man to be an example for mankind what a real relationship with God looks like and to restore the authority mankind was given over all creation. Jesus not only set the example of how to take authority, He taught the disciples and His other followers the authority they have over Satan and how to use it. It is recorded n the Bible how Jesus sent the twelve disciples in Matthew 10 telling them “As you go preach saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast our demons. Freely you have received freely give.” Then in Like 10 Jesus told them that the harvest is great and He sent out seventy believers telling them “Heal the sick there and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” Jesus taught his followers how to have a relationship with God and to walk in the authority they have in Him with the life He lived. Jesus fulfilled His assignment by training the next generation of church leaders, dying on the cross for the remission of our sins, going to hell for three days and taking back the authority and keys of the kingdom that Adam gave to Satan, and overcoming the grave, by living again. After His resurrection, He spent forty days with His followers proving His resurrection giving them their next instruction. Every good organization and business, has an exit strategy for the current leader that includes training the future leaders of the organization, setting policies in place and finally the passing of the baton when the current leader turns the reins over to the next leader or leaders. Jesus’ mission on earth was complete, He was about to be taken to heaven to sit at the right hand of God and to intercede for us. Right before His ascension, Acts 1:4 “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, “Which.” He said, “You have heard form Me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Jesus did not start His earthly ministry until the Holy Spirit descended from heaven like a dove and settled on Him giving Him the power He needed to accomplish God’s will for his life. Even though His followers had been taught how and given the authority to preach the gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, Jesus knew they had to have the power that came from the Holy Spirit to do all that God had called them to do. While Jesus was encouraging them and giving them their next instructions, they became distracted, they were concerned about the restoration of the earthly kingdom of Israel. Jesus puts their focus back on the task the Father has for them, “Acts 1:7 “IT is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Wow! The enemy uses the same forms of distractions on the modern church as he did on the disciples, we are so caught up on when God is going to restore the rightful government into office in the United States and reestablishing out Constitution, we are missing out on the assignment we have been given.) Jesus recognized their distractions and refocused them on what was really important. The enemy wanted them to live in the future and not to engage in the present. Without skipping a beat, Jesus told them not to be concerned with the times or seasons of the political world, “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.” He wanted them to know that the political timeline was not their main focus, but they were to wait on the power of the Holy Spirit so they could preach the gospel, heal the sick and raise the dead. Jesus knew they could not be effective at spreading the good news of the Gospel without the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe we are to be praying for our government leaders and we are called to occupy to take dominion over the world we live in until Jesus comes back, but I believe the enemy has distracted the church again into waiting on times and seasons in the political realm instead of preaching the good news of the gospel with the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus reined in the disciples’ distraction and restated their assignment, I believe God wants the church to refocus on our mission statement He gave to the them “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs shall 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.” Acts 1 finishes Jesus’ farewell speech telling His disciples and followers not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, then He told them, they would be witness. One hundred and twenty true believers, waited in the upper room for the promise of God. Acts 2:1-4 “Then the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” God fulfilled His promise and sent the Holy Spirit to fill each one of those who tarried waiting for Him with power and the evidence of speaking with tongues! A.W Tozer said “If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what we are doing in church would go right on and nobody would know the difference.” The modern church has demoted the Holy Spirit from His full authority and power and restricted Him to be our guide and our teacher. Most churches do not teach the infilling of the Holy Spirit comes with fire with the evidence of speaking in tongues. To many teach that we are filled with the Spirit when we are saved or when we get baptized. When we get saved, the Spirit dwells n us, but we must surrender fully to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to take full control over our lives for us to be filled with Him. Too many people try to fulfill the call of God on their lives from the pastors to the congregation without the power of the Holy Spirit operating in their lives. All the theological training, literary accomplishments, or speaking abilities will not enable a person to be effective as a witness without the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciples in Luke 24'49 “be endued with power from on high.” The church is trying to spread the gospel with a power shortage. I heard a pastor tell the story about a severe blizzard that knocked the electricity out n his city one Sunday, and the radio gave an unusual announcement, “The following churches will be closed for a lack of power.” While I understand they were talking about the physical power of electricity, I wonder how many churches would be opened every Sunday if God closed every church that has no power. The disciples spent 10 days in prayer waiting expectantly for the Holy Spirit to come. (Jesus ascended 40 days after His resurrection and Pentecost is the feast that falls 50 days after Passover.) The bible clearly states that God does not change, so the Holy Spirit and the power He brings has not changed, so the lack of power falls on the believer. I will be the first to admit I do not walk in the power that the Acts Church had, but I am asking God for a deeper walk and greater anointing of power than I have ever had . What would happen if the church in Levelland, Texas spent 10 days in one place and one accord waiting on a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit? We are in a very critical time in history and the world needs the hope of Jesus Christ and we need the power of the Holy Spirit more than we have ever needed Him. Will you join me in prayer this week as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday and ask for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit with the power He brings? Luke 11:13 promises, “If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Cathy Nesmith