Power

Acts 1: 7-8, “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but 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 the remotest part of the earth.”

In the previous post I focused on the term “witnesses” that Jesus used as He spoke to His disciples. But today the scripture still stirs in my heart, and I want to explore the term “power.”

Power of the Holy Spirit… power when the Holy Spirit has come… power for what? As mentioned in the post Witnesses it is the power to see the kingdom of God and what He is doing. It is the power to hear His voice. On many levels it is the power of the blood to not only cover our sin, but to provide complete and total forgiveness to the point that God has even wiped them from His own memory. It is the power for God to orchestrate heaven and earth and move you closer to Himself.

But this power includes the gifts of God. Jesus told the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9) – As we witness Christ we also witness our own weakness. In see Christ’ perfection, we understand our own imperfection. Out of this relationship. Out of this understanding that Christ is totally other, there is the opportunity to experience God’s power. “But to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For one is given a word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; and to another effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, and another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.” (1 Cor 12:7-10)

For me the experiences that led to me writing God Heals were encounters with this power and these supernatural gifts. But I feel God calling to a deeper understanding of that power… an experience with that power in surrender to Him rather than in exploration and proof of His word.

As Christians we gain salvation through belief in Christ and His death and resurrection from the cross, and committing to following Him. But after salvation God is at work drawing the Christian even closer to Himself. I call this entering the Kingdom of God. T Austin Sparks calls it going on to the “fullness of life.” (Col 2:10) T Austin said, “Whether you like the theory or not, it is a fact. There are many Christians who are in the way of life, that is, who have entered the way of life, but are not going right to the fullness of Life.”

The Christians T Austin-Sparks refers to is us as we wrestle with God, we question His motives and plans. We try to possess the power of God to conform our life to the idea of fullness, rather than press on to a life of the cross in surrender to God completely. But if we will press on, if we will continue in our surrender to God I believe there is a power to be seen that the world has at best been only given a small sample since Christ left the earth.

Rather than the power of God in man being some indicator of relationship to Him… Rather than the power of God being some desire akin to any other fleshly desire… Rather than the power of God being reduced to a formula, intellectual study, or born out of an objective relationship, or some magic words… I believe that there is a power of God that is and will manifest out of a living, breathing, subjective relationship to Christ & The Father through the Holy Spirit. It is the power that orders our steps. It is the power that all creation murmurates God in everything. It is the power that I witnessed many time in healing.

I am looking forward to seeing that power at work. A power that radically alters perceptions, that shocks, amazes, and that forever changes lives for Christ. A power that shakes the foundations of beliefs not grounded in Jesus. Bring on more of Your power Father.