Day Four - Empowered

Tom Marxen The Work of the Holy Spirit 18 October 2023 Hits: 39

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.

~ Luke 24:49

As children of God, we have become co-heirs with Christ. In Romans we read, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Romans 8:17). This position is again made clear in Ephesians 2:6: “[God] raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” In and through Christ, we have been repositioned. No longer are we children of this world, but rather we are royalty (heirs) in the kingdom of Heaven. As heirs in this kingdom, we have been charged with the advancement of our Lord’s mission. His conquest and His kingdom have become our own because we have been adopted into His lineage. But like the earthly king in our illustration, if we are to be effective in our position in Christ, we must discover and wield the power that comes with it. You have been empowered to fulfill your role in the advancement of His kingdom. Peter declared: You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

It is important to remember, that authority/position always precedes power. The power you were created to live through originates out of the authority that you possess. Jesus commanded 500 people not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5) Jesus did not suggest that the apostles should wait for the Promise, nor did He recommend that they heed His instruction. Rather, He “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem” until the Promise had come. Jesus was compelled to place such high importance on this instruction because the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Recognize that 500 people witnessed Jesus resurrected (1 Cor. 15:6). All 500 were present when they received the command to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Promise, but only 120 where present when He came. Something happened that 380 people were missing. Authority and position release power. Those who positioned themselves in the upper room received the power!

Take a look at John 20:21-22: “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me [Jesus], I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for “receive” means “immediately or right now.” This was not a foreshadowing of what was going to happen. The disciples actually received the Holy Spirit before Jesus ascended into heaven. But they were not clothed with power until they had been filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The disciples were “born again” when Jesus breathed on them, and became empowered when the Spirit fell upon them in the upper room.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4). In the Old Testament fire often symbolizes the presence of God. What the author of Acts described as “tongues, as of fire” is the manifestation of God’s presence. These followers of Jesus, both men and women, were engulfed or baptized in God’s presence.

This revealed presence on the day of Pentecost is also seen in the reference to a “rushing mighty wind.” Remember, the Holy Spirit is not a “mighty wind.” He is a Person. However, the manifestation of His arrival in the upper room took the form of a mighty wind. The Greek word for “filled” in Acts 2:4 literally means “satiated - to supply to excess.” Those in the upper room were filled to excess with the Holy Spirit. All of them experienced a greater degree of God’s manifest presence in their lives. In addition to the manifestations of fire and wind, another sign of the infilling of the Spirit was the fact that the believers began to speak in other tongues; the language of Heaven! As they were filled to excess with the Holy Spirit they began to take on characteristics and the nature of God – the atmosphere of heaven. They spoke the heavenly language and began to reveal the heart of the Father! All of this demonstrated that God had invaded earth and had empowered His greatest creation, man, to once again live in His image expressing His Kingdom.

In Matthew 16:19 Jesus communicated that He would give the sons and daughters of God the “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” These keys represent the authority and position to “defeat the gates of hell,” and the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit was given to empower these sons and daughters of God with the power to make it happen! The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to all the sons and daughters of God to manifest His Kingdom and to glorify His name. Your most blessed state of living comes when you are doing what God has designed you to do. In that place, the gifts He has put in you will empower you to accomplish your purpose for living. Discovering your purpose is a key to living your dreams. The nine power gifts of the Holy Spirit are demonstrations of the fact that God is working with and through you.

The power gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12. “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, emphasis that God is the giver. He gives. He takes the initiative to give gifts to every single person who calls on Him. What does He give? The manifestation of the Spirit. What does that mean? It means that God wants to be on display in you and through you. And He will demonstrate it by giving you spiritual gifts to exhibit, to enjoy, to use for His glory and for your good and blessing. The Lord longs for the whole of mankind to begin to taste and see His goodness, so He gives gifts that demonstrate His wonderful nature.

Written by Dave Carlson

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