You Shall Receive Power

Acts 1:1-14

A few days ago I wrote about the Ascension, when Jesus ascended into heaven.  Today in our reading from the Book of Acts we will study what Jesus’s very last words to the disciples were before He returned to heaven.  This book was written by Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke, and is a continuation of that book, picking up right where that Gospel left off.

Before the resurrection the apostles were afraid and disillusioned, hiding from the Jewish leaders for fear of their lives.  Now, after being with the Risen Savior for forty days, they were filled with hope and courage, ready to go out and spread the Gospel, in spite of attacks, imprisonment, beatings and even death.  They knew that Jesus was risen, and that He was the Messiah (vs. 1-3).

As Jesus was walking to the Mount of Olives, from where His ascension would take place, He tells the disciples what will happen to them in just a few days (vs 5).  He tells them of the upcoming day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit would come upon them.  Before the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit only temporarily would come upon any believer.  Now, though, from Pentecost forward, through this present day and until the Rapture, the Holy Spirit is present, indwelling every believer from the moment of their salvation.  We receive the Holy Spirit the moment we are saved, and we belong to Christ.  We become His adopted children, and are a part of His Body.

As Jesus and the disciples were walking along, enroute to the Mount of Olives, the disciples were still hoping that Jesus would now be that military leader to restore the kingdom to Israel again, delivering them from Roman rule (vs. 6 - 7).  They still hadn’t completely realized what Jesus had come to earth for, to spread the Gospel of salvation to all of mankind.

Verse 8 is the key verse for this passage, and the main message of Jesus’s last words to the disciples.  Here He tells them that they will receive power from the Holy Spirit, which will come down on them in a matter of days, and they are to be witnesses both locally where they currently live, and on throughout all of the world.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to be witnesses to the Gospel.  His power gives us courage, boldness, confidence, insight, ability and authority.  

All of our work for Jesus must be done in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, not in our own power.  When we try to do something for God in our own power, most likely we will fall flat on our face and be a failure.  When we yield ourselves to Him, and pray for His wisdom, strength and ability, then His Spirit will work through us and bless our efforts.  A wick in an oil lamp that has been blown out is smelly and smoky.  Let’s not be like that.  Let the Holy Spirit keep us burning brightly for Him.

Jesus told His disciples that they were to be His witnesses to the ends of the world, to every country, every race and nation of people.  They were to be His ambassadors, leading people to salvation through Him (II Corinthians 5:20).  Being Jewish, they were very reluctant to witness to and include Gentiles, people who were not Jewish.  Jesus, though, had made that very clear here in this passage that the Gospel was to be shared to all people, and slowly but surely Gentiles were witnessed to, and began making up the Church.

In verses 13 and 14 we read a list of the apostles and some of the other people who made up the group of people who were waiting in the Upper Room for the Holy Spirit to come upon them.  None of these people had any special qualifications for carrying out the ministry that Jesus had for getting the Gospel message out to the world.  They were ordinary folk, most who had had plain, working class jobs.  They did not have any advanced education or fancy theological degrees.  Most would have had just the equivalent of a grade school, or at best, high school education.  Yet they were the ones chosen by Jesus, and they got the job done as they yielded themselves to the power of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t let your seeming lack of “qualifications” stop you from doing a work for God, and don’t let others say you can’t do anything for Him if you don’t have a string of theological seminary degrees.  He can use anyone who is yielded to Him.

In verses 9 - 11 we read of the promise of Jesus’s return.  History is not merely a random happenstance of events.  It will culminate in the specific event of Jesus’s return.  We should be working and waiting for that great day.