The need for power

Jesus was with His disciples for three and one half years.  He taught them the principles of the Kingdom of God and demonstrated before them how these principles worked out in daily life.  The disciples learned how to pray by watching Jesus pray and they instructed to follow Jesus which meant to submit their will to the will of God.  As the days of Jesus came to an end and they watched Jesus die on the cross and be buried in a tomb they responded by hiding and thinking of going back to their previous occupations.  Jesus rose from the grave and then spent the next few days teaching the disciples what the last days meant according to the scriptures.  The disciples were prepared by Jesus to carry on the work of the kingdom.  On the day of the ascension of Jesus Christ, He reminded them of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus instructed them to wait until they received the power of the Holy Spirit upon their lives.  This essential dynamic was not considered as optional by Jesus to His disciples.  They needed the power of God to do the work of God.  What has changed in the world that so many do not feel the need for the power of the Holy Spirit?  Is man actually smarter or have we develop better methods?  The only change in the world today is that our toys have become more technical and our ability to communicate has become easier but man is basically the same.  We are lost without God.  Do better methods bring about the advancement to the kingdom of God?  The only way to bring about the advancement of the kingdom of God is the power of God.  Jesus said "I will build my church", the apostle Paul said "I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase".  The need for the power of the Holy Spirit today is as great or greater then at any time in the history of the church.  The way the early disciples received that power was to wait and pray until God showed up and baptized them in the Holy Spirit.  The way we will receive the power of the Holy Spirit is to wait and pray until God shows up and fills us.  In Acts 4 the disciples were persecuted and the went back to the place where they were meeting and begin to pray.  As they were praying God refilled them all with the power of the Holy Spirit and the place where they were meeting was shaken.   They needed more power to what they were facing not a new method.  May we today utilize the best methods we can but may we also seek the power of the Holy Spirit which is the only way to make those methods effective for kingdom use.  We need the power of the Holy Spirit before anything else as a genuine follower of Jesus Christ.
May God fill us as we seek Him.

Pastor John