You Will Receive Power
We celebrated Pentecost Sunday this past week! As we are reading through the Bible in a year, it happened to line up perfectly with the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Jesus gives us a powerful truth in Acts 1:8, “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.”
In the early 1900s, a poor European man scraped together all his money to buy a ticket on a ship bound for America — the land of opportunity. He couldn’t afford much else, so he packed a suitcase with a few clothes and a wheel of cheese and some bread to last the journey.
While the other passengers went to the dining hall for meals, he stayed in his small cabin, rationing his food, eating quietly by himself. Every day he could smell the aroma of cooked meals drifting through the halls — but he never thought they were for him. He assumed food was only for those who had more money.
When the ship arrived in New York, a steward saw him disembarking and asked why he had never come to eat in the grand dining room. The man shrugged and said he couldn’t afford the meals. The steward looked at him with surprise and said, “But sir… the meals were included in your ticket.”
A lot of Christians today are walking without the power of the Holy Spirit. A 2021 survey indicates that sixty percent of Americans who regularly attend church believe there is no such thing as the Holy Spirit. According to the survey, these churchgoers believe that the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol of God’s presence or purity or power. Many know the Father, love the Son, but think of the Holy Spirit as the weird uncle.
The Greek word here for power is “dunamis”. This is where we get the word dynamite in the English language. Does that describe you walk with Jesus? Cynicism has crept into the heart of the church today. Jesus said in John 16:7, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” Why was it better for the Holy Spirit to come? So the Holy Spirit could be in all of us at the same time.
The enemy has caused division over the Holy Spirit today. He wants us to think it isn’t for today, or not comfortable. Since when does the Bible call us to be comfortable? The word calls us to live spirit filled lives full of vibrant faith. If it’s from God, it’s for me. Whatever is from Him, I want it. This is a great check to know if something is the Holy Spirit or not. It will never contradict the word of God.
This isn’t a new thing, this is a God thing. From the Old Testament to the New, the Holy Spirit is there. From hovering over the waters in Genesis 1, to the day of Pentecost that we see in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit has always been and always will be a part of the church. Paul tells us twice in the letter of the Corinthians to “eagerly desire the gifts”. Is that true of you?
You will receive power means that a life of Christ is a life full of the Holy Spirit. They are synonymous. Gatorade had a famous line in the 90’s, “is it in you?” Commercials would show athletes sweating bright colored sweat and then ask, “is it in you?” That is my question for you today. Is the Holy Spirit in you? The Bible is clear, if you are in relationship with God, the Holy Spirit is indeed in you. So if the Holy Spirit is, are you living like He is?
Like the man on the ship who didn’t know his meals were included in the ticket — some of us live below our calling because we don’t realize what’s already inside. God doesn’t just call the equipped — He equips the called. And what He puts in you, no one can take away.