The Promised Holy Spirit
(Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8)
(Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5, 8)
Luke 24:49 ESV – “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
In the text we see Jesus just before He ascended. Understand that Luke is the author of this book (as well as the Book of Acts). So in essence, Luke is telling the story of Jesus’ latter days on earth.
We see in the text that Jesus told the disciples, “stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” God’s desire for the disciples and for us now is to clothe you us power, so much so, until you wear it as a cloak. We understand that Jesus has already spoken to the disciples about their ministry responsibilities. But in essence, He is saying here that they shouldn’t try to attempt ministry on their own. And this holds true for us today as well.
“Don’t try to accomplish a spiritual task with natural means.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
Isaiah 44:3 ESV – For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
Joel 2:28 ESV – And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Acts 1:4-5, 8 – And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
“We often get to a place where we say we have the power, but we don’t do anything with the power.” – Pastor Billy Johnson
The Purpose of the Power is TO WITNESS.
To Witness literally means one who testifies. A witness gives testimony based on what he knows, seen, heard, and/or experienced.
In Acts 1:8 we see that the disciples were to be witnesses to all people, and this has not changed today. We are to witness to all people:
What did the disciples do to get this promise?