“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 end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus speaking to His disciples in the Book of John tells them that He will ask the Father to send them another Comforter who will remain with them forever (John14:16) He adds that this Comforter will teach them all things (John 14:26a). After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples and commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father which He had spoken to them about (Acts 1:8). Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby (John 14:16 TAB). The power of the Holy Spirit is the ability, efficiency and might to do what God has purposed for us to do. The Holy Spirit is our “Enabler”. In other words, it is the Holy Sprit that enables us to do those things which ordinarily we would be incapable of doing.
In our text, Jesus is telling His disciples that it is only after the Holy Spirit has come upon them that they can become witnesses for Him. In other words, it is only after receiving the Holy Spirit that they can effectively witness to others about Him. This is exactly what we see happening on the Day of Pentecost. We see Peter, the impulsive and cowardly Peter, standing bold and addressing the people. It was the Holy Spirit that enabled him, that gave him the capacity to be a witness for Jesus. In fact the Bible tells us that He preached until the people were “cut to their heart.” There was depth to Peter’s words. That was the doing of the Holy Spirit.
The importance of the Holy Spirit is again seen in Acts 19 when Paul asks the disciples in Ephesus “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2). They replied that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. On hearing this, Paul baptized them in the name of Jesus Christ, laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues and prophesied. Friend, there is so much to gain from embracing the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul talks about the gifts of the Holy Sprit which include, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the gift of faith, the gift of healing, the gift of working of miracles, the gift of prophecy, the gift of discernment, the gift of speaking in different kind of tongues and the gift of interpretation of tongues. All these gifts are available to all who ask God for the Holy Spirit.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for sending us the Holy Spirit who is our Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate Strengthener and Standby. We receive His presence and power in our lives. We desire every single one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we give Him full course to lead us and direct in all our ways in Jesus Mighty Name we pray. Amen.
