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

“They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.” — Acts 1:14

We’ll be observing the Day of Pentecost in a few weeks, remembering the day that the Holy Spirit filled the first disciples and thrust them into the world as witnesses for Jesus. Man, can you imagine that scene? A crazy noise. Something that looked like fire resting on each of them. And they felt something. They felt Him. And then all of them speaking in other languages they didn’t even know. Peter boldly preaching to the crowds, and three thousand becoming believers and getting baptized.

We’re promised that this same Spirit of God lives in us too. And His desire is the same as it was back then - to make us witnesses for Jesus. His purpose is to fill us with life and power and the very presence of God so that we can reveal the wonder and glory of Jesus to a world desperately in need of knowing Him. This is what I want from my life. I don’t care about success or a good retirement or cool stuff. I want to be filled with the Spirit like those first Christians so that Jesus makes Himself known through me. So that He draws people to Himself, sets them free from the lies and bondages of the enemy, welcomes them into the Father’s family, and gives them the ridiculous gift of eternal life. What could compare?

Even before the Spirit filled them, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer.” We have been filled with the Spirit when we first believed in Jesus, but we still must seek Him. Maybe we just leak. In Acts 4, we see those same disciples again, huddled together after being threatened by the authorities, and again seeking the face of the Lord. And again He responded: “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)

Let’s seek Him and believe He will do something in this city for the glory of Jesus. Let’s believe He’s even willing to use a bunch of ragamuffins like us.​

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