9 October | EVERYONE
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1: 8
Why do you think the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the first disciples was necessary? Luke records this divine promise. He is the author of the book of Acts, and also of the Gospel that bears his name. In his Gospel, he recounts what Jesus personally did while on Earth. In the book of Acts, he presents what the Spirit does and desires to do through his followers. For this reason, many believe that the book should not be called the Acts of the Apostles but the Acts of the Spirit.
Before returning to His Father, Jesus gathered His disciples together and promised them the coming of the Spirit. That small group of fearful men and women would need power to evangelize the world of their day. That was not an easy mission for people, mostly small-town people, simple, and without many resources. It would not be easy to clash with the power of the Roman Empire, which, before long, would relentlessly persecute them for the sake of the gospel.
The mission that the Master left them was not institutional or collective but personal and individual. They were to be witnesses of God’s light. A person who was not present at the scene cannot testify. A witness is someone who attests to what happened. The validity of your testimony comes from whether you saw it, witnessed it, or lived it in your own experience.
None of this could be done by Jesus' disciples without the power of the Spirit. The Comforter would come not only to comfort them but to give them the ability to live the eternal principles of the gospel. Only then would they be in a position to accomplish the mission.
We need the same thing today. “And as they let their light shine they receive more and more of the Spirit's power. The earth is lighted with the glory of God” (Ellen G. White, Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 183).
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Do you want to receive the Spirit’s power to witness about the liberating power of Christ? With that power, you will fearlessly face any opposition and your life will bear much fruit.