Acts 1:8 “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.”
Before Jesus ascended to the Heavenly Father, He told the disciples to “wait’ for the Promise of the Father (Acts 1:4).
Before we look at what Promise Jesus is talking about – understand the importance of “waiting” on God. What does it mean to “wait” on God. It means to “wait”, profound isn’t it?!
There are times when you just need to, in patience, go to this place of faith and wait for God to do what only God can do. Abraham waited for the promised child Isaac. He slipped up once and tried to help God (which resulted in Ishmael) and we see the trouble that created. Whenever we try to do what God Himself promises, we will only produce a work of the flesh. Therefore, regardless of how long it takes: “wait” - believe, keep praying, keep seeking – and you will see that Promise of God coming to pass.
What Promise is Jesus commanding the disciples to “wait” for?
Jesus told them – He said John baptised with water but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now (Acts 1:4-5). Jesus was referring to the “Baptism in the Holy Spirit”.
Water baptism is an act of obedience that Jesus commanded once you have received Christ into your life. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of power! Jesus said “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me…”. It’s not just about doing witnessing, but you shall be a witness. In other words the evidence of God’s power upon your life will be the very witness to other people that God is alive and well!
The disciples, once they were baptised with the Holy Spirit, went about healing the sick; casting out demons and setting people free from the powers of darkness. They anointed handkerchiefs and these little pieces of cloth, saturated with the anointing of God, actually healed people! Now that is what you call being a witness!
Every Sunday, Pastor Mary declares the presence and the power of God over our congregation by faith. What she is doing is developing the faith of the congregation to become aware of God’s power and to rise up in faith and believe for God’s power to heal, provide, deliver, transform! We walk in God’s inheritance step by step and as every Sunday ticks over, the faith of our congregation, step by step, is increasing and we are believing for an abundance of miracles in our church!
The same power that caused those “Holy Spirit-baptised” disciples of Jesus to lay their hands upon the sick and see them recover, is the same power that will cause sick people to recover when you, a “Holy Spirit baptised” person, lays your hands upon sick people!
If you are not baptised in the Holy Spirit, ask a leader at church how you can. You not only need this power, but your family, your work place and the world around you, needs you to possess that power!