Ability

Acts1:⁸ “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” [with emphasis]

When Jesus says, “…you will be my witnesses”, a lot of people think that all He is referring to is evangelism. Yes, it is evangelism but there are deeper implications. Jesus is saying to us, “You will receive power to become all that God has destined you to become. That is the only time that you can be an effective witness.” The nature of a claim is that the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. In other words, it is the person that is making a claim that must prove that what he is saying is true. If you come up with a theorem, you have to prove it.

You will notice that every time and everywhere Jesus talked of representing Himself, He talked about power. So the question is, why did He do that? It is because if you are going to be making a claim then the burden of proof will lie on you. You will need power to make that happen. What do witnesses do? They testify. Matt.28:¹⁸  “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” God never sends people out to represent him without empowering them to prove that He is The One that sent them.

When Jesus sent the seventy out, the Bible states that He gave them power to trample over snakes and scorpions and over the power of the enemy and they were casting out demons. Jesus, while talking to the Jews, the Pharisees said in Lu.11:²⁰ “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” [with emphasis]. In other words, you have no excuse; the Kingdom of God has come upon you. A Christian without the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit cannot be an effective witness. That is why you and I must hunger for the power of the Holy Spirit more than we hunger for money and more than our necessary food. I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit will clothe you and envelope you, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. And that Miraculous signs will follow you.

Prayer: I declare in Jesus Mighty Name that I will be an effective witness for Christ and I will not operate without the power of the Holy Spirit, in Jesus Name. Amen!