Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. Luke 24:49
Shortly before His ascension into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The promise of the Father refers to God’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Here are four important reasons why we all need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
(1) Power to become. Without God’s power in us, we can never become sons of God. The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring us back to God. John says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). The word “right” is translated from the Greek word exousia which means “power” or “authority.” With the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in you, you can do what you could never do by yourself. With His authority, you can establish what God desires. You can now live and act like a child of His family.
(2) Power to be. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling means that you have the power for daily living. Even Christians of many years know how diffi cult it is to keep up with the standards that God wants us to have in our lives. We all have the weakness of our fl esh. But the power of the Spirit helps us, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16).
(3) Power to overcome. Every believer lives in a war zone. Satan attacks us with every weapon at his disposal in his attempt to prevent us from following Jesus. God makes His power available within us so that we have the strength and the knowledge to defeat the devil. The Bible says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
(4) Power to witness. In Acts 1:8, the Holy Spirit came with great power on Pentecost. The word for “power” here is dunamis, from which we get the English word “dynamite.” Dunamis refers to the miracle-working, sign-producing power of God. God wants your life to be so filled with the power of the Spirit that you will be dynamite.
God wants you to be a witness (Acts 1:8) to the life of Jesus. In the Greek, the word for witness is martus from which we derive the word, “martyr.” A witness has died to self so that Christ might live in and through him or her (Gal. 2:20-21). Become a witness so that you not only speak about Jesus but that you become Jesus to the world.
Shortly before His ascension into heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The promise of the Father refers to God’s promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Here are four important reasons why we all need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives:
(1) Power to become. Without God’s power in us, we can never become sons of God. The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring us back to God. John says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). The word “right” is translated from the Greek word exousia which means “power” or “authority.” With the power of God’s Holy Spirit working in you, you can do what you could never do by yourself. With His authority, you can establish what God desires. You can now live and act like a child of His family.
(2) Power to be. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling means that you have the power for daily living. Even Christians of many years know how diffi cult it is to keep up with the standards that God wants us to have in our lives. We all have the weakness of our fl esh. But the power of the Spirit helps us, “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (Eph. 3:16).
(3) Power to overcome. Every believer lives in a war zone. Satan attacks us with every weapon at his disposal in his attempt to prevent us from following Jesus. God makes His power available within us so that we have the strength and the knowledge to defeat the devil. The Bible says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
(4) Power to witness. In Acts 1:8, the Holy Spirit came with great power on Pentecost. The word for “power” here is dunamis, from which we get the English word “dynamite.” Dunamis refers to the miracle-working, sign-producing power of God. God wants your life to be so filled with the power of the Spirit that you will be dynamite.
God wants you to be a witness (Acts 1:8) to the life of Jesus. In the Greek, the word for witness is martus from which we derive the word, “martyr.” A witness has died to self so that Christ might live in and through him or her (Gal. 2:20-21). Become a witness so that you not only speak about Jesus but that you become Jesus to the world.
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