Annointed with Power from on High

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil....Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4: 1 & 14)

 

As Jesus took leave of the earth, He gave His disciples two instructions:  Go into the whole world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15) and I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49).

 

The Acts of the Apostles continues the Gospel of Luke after the Ascension of Jesus into heaven.  Its purpose is to record what happened through the Apostles after they had been "clothed with power from on high."  This small band of fisherman had the experience of having been with Jesus for three years, but they still had not much understanding of what they had seen and heard, and until the day of Pentecost, they had even less "power" to do the works of God which they had seen Jesus do.  His Spirit had not yet entered into them to do the same things He had done. 

 

If we attempt to build the kingdom of God without the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot do it.  The kingdom that Jesus came to establish is "not of this world" and not built by human hands.  John the Baptist said, "A man can do only what has been given to him from above."  The work is not ours, but God's; it begins with Him and ends with Him, but it flows through us.

 

As it was with Jesus, the Spirit of God impels us forward, "sets up" the people who meet us, and ministers to them through our eyes, our hands, our minds and souls.  It is a great mystery how this is done -- sometimes even without our knowledge or understanding.  I am constantly amazed at the workings of the Holy Spirit.  As our pastor said last week, "Sometimes people will say to me, 'I really needed to hear you say......' and I think to myself, 'I don't think I said that -- but that is what they heard."

 

Sometimes the Spirit will speak through us in words understood by others, even if we ourselves don't quite understand what we are saying.  I recall once at a prayer meeting, I kept hearing the word "confetti," but it made no sense to me -- there was not a shred of context for this word.  So I kept the word to myself until it seemed it would burn a hole in my head.  Finally, I said, "I keep hearing the word 'confetti' but I have no clue as to what it might mean.  One lady in the group said, "I have a whole trunkful of confetti that I am delivering tomorrow to someone in charge of the fair."  Now neither one of us understood what we should do with that information, but we decided after the meeting to pray for the person who was to receive the confetti.  She asked whether she should pray with the person when she delivered the confetti, and I advised her to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit that day.  I never thought to follow up on the incident, so I don't know what happened the following day.  But for some reason, the Holy Spirit thought it was important enough to mention during a prayer meeting.

 

Many times, we have a "random" thought that seems to come out of the blue, and we fail to act on it because it seems to make no sense at all.  But as we learn to trust the Holy Spirit and step out in faith, relying not on our understanding but on Him, we will discover miracles of ministry beyond our own capabilities.  Just as he did with Jesus, the Holy Spirit will reveal secrets of men's hearts to those whose primary interest is not their own kingdoms, but the kingdom of God on earth.

 

All of us would probably love to "go into the whole world, preaching the good news and making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."  But we hardly know where to begin or how to go about doing this impossible task.  We have forgotten the second instruction -- but first, ...wait for the gift My Father promised...for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). 

 

We need to wait expectantly, continuing in prayer, as did Mary and the Apostles, until we are "clothed with power from on high," for the kingdom of God is "not a matter of talk, but of power" (I Cor. 4:20).  The Holy Spirit will express in each one of us the power of God in various ways, according to our individual personalities and strengths and weaknesses.  But it will no longer be us doing God's work, but God doing His own work through us. 

 

I once heard someone say, "Talk to God about men before you talk to men about God."  I think this is great advice, driving us to our secret "prayer closet" before we hit the streets.  Spending more time with Jesus, hearing Him speak to us and teach us, is the beginning of wisdom, without which none of us dare open our mouths.

 

Let us begin with prayer and end with prayer:  Holy Spirit, I made a mess today, but the mission is Yours -- You speak to the hearts I tried to reach with my own strength and send the light of Your Truth, and You shall renew the face of the earth!