YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT

PROCLAMATION

“ ‘But ye shall receive power, after that The Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’  And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”  Acts 1:8-9 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, and the acts of the apostles, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, as recorded by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Forty days after His resurrection from the dead, (Acts 1:3) Jesus spoke these words to His disciples just before His ascension to heaven. (Acts 1:6-9)  Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem until they had been baptized by The Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5)  He said that they would receive power when The Holy Spirit came upon them and they would be witnesses for Him to all the earth. (Acts 1:8)  After this, as His disciples watched, He was taken up into heaven on a cloud.  Even after He had disappeared from sight, they continued to stare up at the clouds.  Then two angels appeared unto them and asked them why they were looking into the sky.  The angels said the same way that He left, is the way He will return. (Acts 1:9-11)  Then the disciples left the Mount of Olives and returned to Jerusalem.  They gathered in the upper room with the women who followed Him, and with His mother Mary and His brothers, and others.  There were about 120 of them gathered there and they were all on one accord with prayer and supplication. (Acts 1:12-15)  Chapter one ends with the selection of Matthias as the replacement for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ and then killed himself. (Acts 1:18-26)

 

APPLICATION

These 120 men and women (Acts 1:14-15) which had gathered in the upper room were all on one accord even before they received The Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4)  Today, we receive The Holy Spirit of God the very moment that we believe and accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We also receive spiritual power to be witnesses for Christ because The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)  Although we did not physically walk with Christ, or directly witness His death, burial, and resurrection, we have heard the account of those who were witnesses and we have believed. (John 20:29)  We must choose to do the right thing and obey The Lord God. (Romans 7:19-23)   We have the power but we must choose to walk the walk with Christ.  We need to pray for Him to help us to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and give God glory. (Matthew 5:16)