God's Empowering Presence

Recently, the Lord has been saying to us, “Will you give My Holy Spirit the opportunity to work in your city?” As I listened to the Lord speaking deep into my heart, I heard Him clearly say that we have had over 100 years of religious activity in our city, but that now is the time when the Holy Spirit wants to move in power! He wants to break out of all restriction and hindrance to show what He can supernaturally do in the lives of people. In fact, we know that the Holy Spirit can do more in just 5 minutes than all the hours of counselling that so often people feel they need. As the prophet Zechariah said so long ago, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 4:6, italics added).

In light of this, we have felt that it is important to study the Book of Acts in order to see how the Holy Spirit worked with the first disciples. We are not looking to try and duplicate what was present in the beginning, but want to put ourselves into the stream of God’s activity that has continued right from the Day of Pentecost onward. The Book of Acts reflects the fact that the gospel was first taken to the streets of Jerusalem (chapters 2 – 7), then to Judea and Samaria (chapters 8 – 11), and finally to the city of Rome and beyond. Like ever widening circles, the story continues to be written today. In Acts 1:2, Luke tells us that Jesus concluded His time on earth by giving instructions to His apostles in at least two areas:

The importance of the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3) - This is the reign or rule of God on the earth.

The importance of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 8) - This is God’s empowering presence.

These two areas are interrelated (or connected) since the kingdom is found in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is the One who brings the kingdom. The two are inseparable! These areas also show us what was most important to Jesus just before His Ascension back to heaven. And so, in light of these important themes, Jesus goes on to tell His disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8, NIV). It must be noted that the Person of the Holy Spirit are His power are one. We are not talking about some influence or energy, but the living presence of the Person of the Holy Spirit. From Him comes the power to accomplish all that God intends for His world today!