Power

When we do MOVE, we need to realize it is God telling us to move, and then we pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us, lift us, show us, and empower us so we will accomplish all that God wants. Many times, "waiting" is a part of the timing of when to move, and what we are waiting for is the right time per God's leading. In Acts 1, the apostles needed some instructions from the resurrected Jesus, and here is how that looks. Acts 1: ⁶ So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” ⁷ He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus spoke words in Acts 1:7 that anyone wanting to get their timing right would need to listen to. Jesus said, "The Father has the authority to set dates and times, and they are not for us to know, and then in verse 8, Jesus said we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. The next thing He says is we will be His witnesses, and we will be telling people about Him everywhere. This telling will go all over the earth, beginning with where we live, and then out from there to further places. These words were very important for Jesus to share.....again. These words echo what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, so they must have been important because He reemphasized His earlier statement one more time before He ascended into heaven. Acts 1:⁹ After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Jesus is coming again, and He will return on the Mount of Olives, which is a mountain just east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. He will return in the same way they saw Him go, and that was UP. So what I do is look up for Jesus to return, knowing and believing the words that were said in Acts 1. Until then, I will live "in the middle" and try to follow His commands for sharing the gospel. The Apostle had not received the power of the Holy Spirit yet, but sure enough, here comes Pentecost, as promised by Jesus. Acts 2: 1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. ⁵ At that time, there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. ⁶ When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

All the believers were meeting together in one place, and the Holy Spirit came, and they received the power they needed to do what Jesus had left them to do. The first evidence of the power they received resulted in Peter preaching for the people, who were from all over the world, in Jerusalem, to REPENT. That message was full of Holy Spirit power, and over 3,000 people were converted that day. It was not the power of Peter's message but the power of the Holy Spirit in Peter as he preached. The promised power was real, and it was having eternal effects on all who listened to it. All of this was due to God's way of doing things and His mighty power. Praise God!!

Whatever you do for God, do it in His power.

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David Warren