Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Its time for a confession and here it is; I waited and waited and waited to buy new batteries for the television remote. For days the notice would show up on TV that our remote batteries were low on power and needed to be changed but it was a “one-of-these-days” chores. I’ll change it but not right now. Finally, the day came that I tried to turn on the TV and it didn’t work. Guess what? The power was completely gone out of the batteries. OK, no worries, right? I pull off the back cover to see that I need 4 triple A (AAA) batteries and then I saunter off to the utility drawer for some replacements. After digging through the drawer for a few minutes, I did what any self-respecting man would do; “Honey, do we have any new batteries?” The response back was to look in the next drawer and so with a smile on my face, I yank open the drawer and pull out the pack of brand-spanking new batteries. My smile slowly started to turn upside down when I noticed that it was a pack of 4 double A (AA) batteries and not triple A (AAA) like I needed. In those batteries, I had power but nowhere to put that power to work.
In our verse today, Jesus is explaining to HIs disciples that they will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon them. But, He goes on to tell them that there is a purpose to having the power which is to proclaim the gospel to family, friends, strangers and all across the world. I’m afraid that in today’s churches, too many people want the power of God but don’t want to fulfill the purpose for which the power is given. Many times we want to hear words of praise from people such as, “oh he’s so anointed,” or “she has such spiritual power.” There’s nothing wrong with getting complimented every now and then but the point should not be missed. Jesus is not looking to give us power to glorify ourselves but He wants to give us power to glorify God. And, while I’m on the subject, this power is given to us through the Holy Spirit and not because of anything we did to earn it. Zechariah said it best, “not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts! (Zechariah 4:6)
And so, the power of God is given to us to carry out the purposes and plans of God. When you learn to walk in the divine power, soon you will begin to see things happening in your life that you never thought possible. How else could a sad, scared man like Peter who denied Jesus 3 times, receive the power of the Holy Spirit and suddenly begin preaching so powerfully that 3000 souls were saved in one sermon? Because the power he received was used for the purpose of spreading the gospel. When power meets purpose lives are changed, miracles can happen and God will be glorified.
The Purpose Of Power
Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Its time for a confession and here it is; I waited and waited and waited to buy new batteries for the television remote. For days the notice would show up on TV that our remote batteries were low on power and needed to be changed but it was a “one-of-these-days” chores. I’ll change it but not right now. Finally, the day came that I tried to turn on the TV and it didn’t work. Guess what? The power was completely gone out of the batteries. OK, no worries, right? I pull off the back cover to see that I need 4 triple A (AAA) batteries and then I saunter off to the utility drawer for some replacements. After digging through the drawer for a few minutes, I did what any self-respecting man would do; “Honey, do we have any new batteries?” The response back was to look in the next drawer and so with a smile on my face, I yank open the drawer and pull out the pack of brand-spanking new batteries. My smile slowly started to turn upside down when I noticed that it was a pack of 4 double A (AA) batteries and not triple A (AAA) like I needed. In those batteries, I had power but nowhere to put that power to work.
In our verse today, Jesus is explaining to HIs disciples that they will receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon them. But, He goes on to tell them that there is a purpose to having the power which is to proclaim the gospel to family, friends, strangers and all across the world. I’m afraid that in today’s churches, too many people want the power of God but don’t want to fulfill the purpose for which the power is given. Many times we want to hear words of praise from people such as, “oh he’s so anointed,” or “she has such spiritual power.” There’s nothing wrong with getting complimented every now and then but the point should not be missed. Jesus is not looking to give us power to glorify ourselves but He wants to give us power to glorify God. And, while I’m on the subject, this power is given to us through the Holy Spirit and not because of anything we did to earn it. Zechariah said it best, “not by might nor by power but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts! (Zechariah 4:6)
And so, the power of God is given to us to carry out the purposes and plans of God. When you learn to walk in the divine power, soon you will begin to see things happening in your life that you never thought possible. How else could a sad, scared man like Peter who denied Jesus 3 times, receive the power of the Holy Spirit and suddenly begin preaching so powerfully that 3000 souls were saved in one sermon? Because the power he received was used for the purpose of spreading the gospel. When power meets purpose lives are changed, miracles can happen and God will be glorified.
Pastor Dennis Davis