• The power Jesus promises us is the power by which he’ll come again: “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27).
As Jesus was healing the sick, rescuing the demonized and teaching with unparalleled authority, he was demonstrating the unimaginable power he would give to us in his Spirit. We should ask ourselves: Do I live with a sense that this kind of power lives inside of me?
The apostle Paul prayed that God’s people would know more about the unlimited power at our disposal, that we would feel God’s power moving in and through us. He prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know…what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:17–19).
Later the same letter reminds us that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20). All the infinite God is able to do, far beyond your wildest imagination, he is able to do in and through you.
Power to Do What?
But what does God want to do through us with all of that power? Jesus says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Luke quotes Jesus saying the same thing in his Gospel,
[Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24.45–49″ data-version=”esv” data-purpose=”bible-reference”>Luke 24:45–49)
Jesus does not clothe us with power to climb the corporate ladder, build a stronger family, upgrade our standard of living or fulfill all our dreams. We’re not even clothed with power mainly to heal the sick, free the enslaved and feed the poor. We’re clothed with power to carry his name. To witness to the worth and wonder of Jesus Christ. To offer all people everywhere the chance to repent, believe in him and receive his forgiveness for all their sin. To taste joy greater than any they’ve ever known.
We share the gospel “not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that [their] faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5).
If you want to experience the power of God at work in you, and watch the power of God move through you, and witness the power of God rescuing dead and dying people because of you, boldly tell the world that Jesus is your Lord, Savior, and greatest Treasure. Bear the name of Christ in what you do and what you say. There is nothing the Holy Spirit is happier to do through you than to make much of Jesus.
