You Will Receive Power
The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
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.
Whether in the Old Testament or New- when God’s Spirit is upon a man he becomes powerful for God’s purposes or is crushed by the power of God. Saul became powerful for a short time and then quickly turned to his own purposes, not the Lord’s. After this disobedience to God, the Spirit eventually left Saul and he became more and more focused on getting back power and protecting his power as king. He became consumed with fear and more and more godless, rather than surrendered. A man without the Spirit of the Lord is focused on the world and the purposes of the world.
Are you living a powerful life or a defeated life? How we define power and why we desire it are the tell-tale signs of where we stand with God… “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7. This is the same power offered to Saul and then to each disciple of Jesus who will obey. Yet- we often do not take God at his word and so doubt this truth. When a man decides to take his life back and refuses to surrender to the will of God, powerlessness creeps in and the sinful nature soon wins out. When your life is not changing, you are not living by faith. When you are powerless to sin, you are having “a form of godliness, but denying its power” 2 Timothy 3:5. Disciples have been promised power from God in the form of the Holy Spirit living in us- we have the guarantee of salvation in us every day- but we’ve got to believe this wholeheartedly.
Here are five ways each of us can make sure we are living powerful lives as God promised in the word- the challenge here is to believe and obey the scripture over our doubts, failures, feelings or disappointments.
1. Pray constantly
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many times over the years, I have found myself powerless to overcome sin or see victories. I have gotten frustrated and seemed to drift further and further from the Lord. As I trusted more in man, the frustration simply grew. How many times have I had to fall back on the prayer of Jesus in the garden when he surrendered everything- not just anything. We see Jesus praying so often, it is no wonder he had such an incredible confidence, drive, impact and power! Check your heart on this- are you really praying and connecting with God? Are your prayers being answered? Are you praying constantly and with faith? I am reminded of Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Luke 18:8 “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Only when I am pouring out my heart in prayer do I find the power of God to overcome.
2. Openness always
1 John 1:5-2:6 (v.7 reads) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Openness is simply walking in the light, openly exposing yourself to God and to spiritual people in your life that can help guide you to scripture and to God. When you are transparent, you have nothing to hide and everything to gain from telling others and the Lord your sins. There is tremendous power in having fellowship with one another and even more in the blood of Jesus purifying us. Are you an open book or hiding from the truth? -the righteous are as bold as a lion Proverbs 28:1.
3. Worship daily
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship.
“Sunday Christianity” is dead and lifeless. There is no power in the front of looking good and showing up, rather, there is power in personal sacrifice to the Lord. As we lay our bodies on the altar, we are surrendering our will to God’s, allowing his Spirit to direct us rather than our sinful nature. Which nature are you feeding? The one you feed will direct your steps. As we lay down our lives daily we are imitating our Lord and worshiping as he did. We have to get our strength as Jesus did in John 4:34 “My food”, said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” Jesus was sustained by God as he laid down his life for others. We have the same opportunity!
4. Evangelism everywhere
Acts 5:42, 8:4 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ- Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Last week I got very convicted about imitating the lives of my brothers in the book of Acts. As I read Acts, it was stated over and over that they would receive power, had power, or prayed for power- it was almost always given by God for one purpose- to proclaim the gospel. In a few situations, they were given power to heal- but even then, people heard the message and souls were saved. I started sharing my faith much more often and found myself praying all day long for boldness as I went. It was very encouraging as I faced some rejection and yet also met a few open hearts. It was very exciting to see a few people in service on Sunday that I had called back and asked to come and then had prayed for. Are you sharing your faith as our fellow brothers and sisters did in the book of Acts? Even in the face of death and severe persecution- they proclaimed powerfully the word and many souls were saved.
5. Radical commitment
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Are you compelled? That is the question Jesus would ask, as the blood runs down his cheek. I spoke to a brother a few days ago who said he was amazed at how selfish disciples could be. He expressed sadness at the thought of needs going unmet due to lack of heart to be radically committed to the fellowship. Phoenix Church- we are called to lay down our lives for our brothers, the gospel, and the Lord himself. Are you struggling with these basics of the Christian faith? If so- go back and get your foundation in the word, not in the world. The scriptures are clear, “unless you give up everything you have you cannot be my disciple” Luke 14:33. Let us be men and women who live with power as we obey these scriptures! Being a disciple is a joy and in this life we have been given POWER- do you believe it? I had to wrestle with this until I did! Believe the word over your feelings, your past, and your failures and live powerfully.
He stoops down to make me great,
Matt Sullivan
