Acts 1: 8
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Like yesterday, we are talking about being witnesses to the whole world. Our lives become the testimony of God’s greatness and His absolute devotion to His people. How, though, do we let Jesus’ victory shine through our lives? We have seen verses over the last couple of weeks that indicate that we must be agents of God’s power in the earth. In today’s verse Jesus tells us, rather plainly, that God’s power comes to us through the Holy Spirit. He is the power of God. It is not a difficult proposition to believe because we have seen the truth of it since Genesis chapter one. The challenge has been embracing our role in God’s moves in the earth.
Last week we saw Moses parting the Red Sea. How did he do it? Miracles are performed through a partnership with God. He provides the power but we are His hands, feet and mouth in the earth. Here is some key language from the Bible which helps us to understand this partnership, “The heavens are the heavens of the Lord, But the earth He has given to the sons of men” (Psalm 115: 16). God has given us authority in the earth. He will not violate our authority. Jesus told the disciples to feed the multitude. He expected them to perform the miracle but we are powerless in ourselves. Jesus knew how to perform miracles, he did it all of the time. So, how do we perform miracles when we haven’t any power ourselves? I can show you how.
Do you have electricity in your house? Where does the power come from to power your lights and appliances? You don’t produce it, do you? There is probably a power company nearby that has run lines from their power source to your house. The effect is that you have electric power though you did nothing to produce it. Okay, so go home tonight and do not flip on any switches. You can sit in your living room and pray to God to turn on the light. You can pray to the power company to turn on the lights. My guess is that neither is going to accomplish much. Alternatively, you can flip the switch on yourself and take advantage of the power that has already been delivered to your house.
That is exactly how it works with God. He has given us the power but it is we who must flip the switch. What good does it do to have electricity wired into our homes if we never plug into it or turn on the switches? We will end up sitting in the dark all night. In just the same way, God has given us His power. Our prayer should be, “Father, how do I flip on the switch in this situation?” That is what we do when we inquire of the Lord in every situation. It’s not about getting Him to do something. It is about receiving instruction from Him as to what we should do. He has already given us everything we need to live the victorious life. He has given us miracle working power. We just need to plug into it and flip on the switch.
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