Day 7 – “Power to Be Witnesses”

Countdown to Pentecost – Day 7

“Power to Be Witnesses”

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere— in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Acts 1:8

Jesus instructed the 11 remaining Apostles [Judas having committed suicide] and the other of the 120 to wait in the upper room under they receive “power.”  The Amplified bible translates that word “power” as “ability, efficiency, and might.”  So when they received the Holy Spirit, they would receive the ability, efficiency and might to be Jesus’s witnesses in the earth.  They weren’t told to wait on tongues, they were told to wait on power.  The speaking in tongues was merely a sign that they had received the power – ability, efficiency, and might to represent him in the earth.

So my question to you is: how are you representing Jesus since you received the Holy Spirit to dwell within you?  Do you adequately represent Jesus on your job, among your unsaved family members, or even in day to day incidental encounters with others.  If all we do is speak in tongues then we have missed the point of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit indwells us so that we can effectively & efficiently represent Jesus in the earth.  Effectiveness is getting the job done but efficiently is getting the job done right without of stress or struggle.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul told the church at Corinth that they are “ambassadors for Christ.”  The Amplified translation of that verse says that we are “Christ’s personal representatives” who have the responsibility of being a bridge to bring others to Jesus.  Since Jesus is no longer in the earth in physical form, He sent the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, so when people see us, they see Him. That means we should live like him, talk like him, but perhaps even more importantly, we should love like him.

Let’s use the power of the Holy Spirit to represent Jesus.  

How can you better represent and witness of Jesus today?

Scripture meditations:

  1. Acts 4:13, 20
  2. 2 Cor. 3:2
  3. I John 4:17