Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you now restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It isn’t for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set within his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
Acts 1:6-8
In addition to following along with the readings in the Daily Audio Bible, God is guiding me to start a study on the Book of Acts. The passage above is from the World English Bible which is in the public domain. Apparently, you cannot freely quote from all Bible versions. So from now on, I will stick with this version or the KJV (also in the public domain).
The history of the early church is so fascinating and there really is no better place to start than the Book of Acts. This is where it all begins and it begins with the words of the Lord himself, right before His Ascension.
A Promise of Power
In the passage above, Jesus Christ makes the promise that the Holy Spirit will come with power. This power was not just for the time of the first disciples. It is a promise for now as well. When we humble ourselves and pray, all believers can receive this power.
The power of the Holy Spirit is not like the power of the world. It is the power of love to create healing and miracles for God’s glory.
It’s real and I have been blessed with knowing it as well as acting as a conduit for it. There really is nothing like it and no words can do it justice. But if I had to describe it, I would say it is not completely different to how invincible you feel when you know that you are loved in return by the person you love.
Pray for the Church
The reason we do not see much of this power in the church today is that we are living with one foot in the world, clinging to the things of the world that bring us comfort. We should be leaning into God and His Word. People are quick to forget their first love.
God is not holding back on us. The reason we are not experiencing a revival and an outpouring of the Holy Spirit is that we are focusing our attention on the desires of the flesh. And worst of all, we are entirely okay with being lukewarm.
Think about it. How do you feel when you realise that the person you are madly in love with has ‘meh’ level feelings for you? Maybe you feel a bit like this:
“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:16
I love how the verse above has the same numbers as the most famous verse in the Bible. Compare and contrast:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
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