Introduction
I am going to read a story from the book of Acts 19:13-16
“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preach.
And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded”.
These were a group of Jewish people traveling from town to town casting out evil Spirit from people. However, they had a problem. They never had a relationship with Jesus, which means they never had the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit comes with accepting Christ as your saviour.
Today we are going to be looking at:
What does the Power of the Holy Spirit mean?
Why do we need the power of the Holy Spirit?
I want you to know that the power of the Holy Spirit is what set a Christian apart from the unbeliever. I would also like to read from the book of Luke 24:47-49: “It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘there is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ you are witnesses of all these things. And now I will send the holy spirit, just as my father promised. but stay here in the city until the holy spirit comes and fills you with power from above.”
Also, in the book of Acts 1:8 the Bible says, "But you shall receive power after the holy spirit has come upon you."
The main focus of the two bible passages we have just read is the power of the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts 1:8, receiving power of the Holy Spirit comes before witnessing for Christ. Also, in the book of Luke 24:47-49, the Disciples are to witness for Christ but before that, they needed the power from on high which is the power of the Holy Spirit. This means the power of the holy spirit is crucial for us to continuously witness the gospel of Christ. This indeed is a special power to do extraordinary things for Christ.
The reason I say special power is needed is because it takes power just to become a Christian. This is the power of the holy spirit that convicts and draws us to Christ, but it takes another dimension of power to continuously witness for Christ. You have to understand that the disciples were already Christians, but they still needed the special power to effectively minister the gospel of Christ.
The fact of the matter is that we all need special power when we go through challenges and trials in life. Thankfully, the grace of God is sufficient to see us through it and to strengthen us in the midst of our trials.
In the book of Acts 2:1-13, the Apostle received the Holy Spirit and in one night 3,000 people were saved. Some days after, they were threatened by the council of elders not to preach in the name of Jesus. Due to this threat, the boldness they had before became questionable. They knew they had to do something, so they prayed for great boldness to preach the Gospel. While praying they experienced another dimension of power. They experienced a special power to witness for Christ.
WHAT IS THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Power is defined as the ability to act effectively or the capacity to directly influence the behaviour of others or the course of events. These two definitions accurately describe the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is literally the power of God, the ability to act and influence is infinite, unlimited, and eternal. In this way, the power of the Holy Spirit is different from any other kind of power. The power of the Holy Spirit convicts, teaches, equips, and empowers the people of God to grow in grace and spread the gospel to the nations to the glory of God. The power of the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples of Christ to turn the world upside down with the powerful preaching of the gospel. They could not have accomplished this in their own power.
WHY DO WE NEED THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
To fulfil our purposes on earth
One of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to anoint us for our purpose. The anointing is a supernatural empowerment to do the will of God. It can be a grace for business, for science, for ministry, for any area. The anointing guarantees success. It is time that we stop ignoring the Holy Spirit and ask Him to actively participate in our lives. Jesus sent Him because we need Him. Let us ask for forgiveness and pray that the Spirit of God lead us to all truth.
Deep conviction
When the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, your witness to Christ comes with deep conviction. In The book of 1 Thessalonains 1:5 Paul says, "Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. When God clothes his witnesses with that special power from on high the effect is a deep certainty and confidence and conviction about Christ and the reality of his life and work. The power of God comes upon you, wraps you up as though in a garment of strength, and carries you with conviction and assurance through the hour of testimony.
Note: God can use your witness to win people to him even when you lack this special power, but we are not talking about a one-time event, we are talking about being used by the Holy Spirit continuously and allowing Him to take complete control of your life.
Boldness to preach the gospel
When the power of the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you witness with boldness. Where does this boldness come from? It comes from the fullness of the Holy Spirit. To go far in our witnessing for Christ, we must have the courage and boldness to suffer for Christ. Acts 4:31 says, "And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness."
And Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7-8, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord ... but take your share of suffering for the gospel in the power of God."
Heavenly Wisdom
Wisdom is the natural ability to understand things that most other people cannot understand. When we talk about Heavenly wisdom, we are talking about the wisdom given by God to understand the things a natural man or an unbeliever would not understand. It doesn't matter how educated or intelligent you are, unless the Holy Spirit fills you up, you will struggle to witness for Christ. However, when the power of the Holy Spirit fills you up, you will be clothed with heavenly wisdom. Your words will carry an irresistible force! Before Stephen was murdered the people could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which Stephen spoke
Conclusion
For you to witness effectively for Christ, you need a special power. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to fill you anew and afresh every day.
