Jesus made a very strong statement in Acts 1.8. He said, “YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER! You will receive Power after the Holy Spirit is come on you!” I want to challenge you of the necessity in the Church of POWER! Power motivates and drives everything God does and everything that we do. We NEED the Fire and Power of God!
In Matt 9 when they bring a crippled man lying paralysed on a bed to Jesus, He doesn’t heal him straightaway, but instead says, “Your sin is forgiven.” But that can’t be seen! And who is Jesus anyway? The religious leaders questioned, who can forgive sin but God alone? But Jesus continues, “So that you may KNOW that the Son of Man has POWER on EARTH, I say, crippled man, get up and walk!” Christ’s Power could not be seen in the forgiveness of his sin, but it was seen in his healing - when the dying man got up and walked!!!
I don’t copy other people, I just want to be like Jesus, I want to do what Peter and Paul did! Because this Power was in the early Church! Jesus gave it to them!
3 sources of Power
Thinking about these Scriptures recently, I have concluded there are three sources of Power open to us. ONE: you will receive Power after the Holy Spirit is come on you, (Acts 1.8).
TWO: there is Power in our prayer. The prayer of faith will save the sick, James 5.14, and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man ‘avails much’ - it is the Power that will move mountains! James 5.16. Elijah was no different to us! James 5.17. He prayed there would be no rain in Israel, and there was no rain for three and a half years until he prayed that it would rain. And it did!
From my earliest boyhood I’ve experienced the Power of prayer. I learnt from my father! I’m the product of his powerful prayers. All my life I’ve experienced the Power of answered prayer. There’s corporate prayer, yes, but there’s private prayer when YOU get to grips with God! Still today, through the Holy Spirit, prayer, communication with God, is the source of my power.
THREE: the Power of the Blood. Reading through Corinthians recently, where Paul is writing about the Communion, he says, 1 Cor .10.16, “Is not the cup of Blessing which we bless - the Communion - a participation in the Blood of Christ?” At the Last Supper Jesus told His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” In Cor 11.23ff, Paul writes, “I received from the Lord what I have passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He said, ‘This is My Body broken for you, do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way after supper, He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes!”
There is POWER in the Blood of Christ!
There’s Power in the Blood, and there’s Power in our prayer. I can’t over-emphasise that there’s power in prayer to draw near to God and then go out to defeat the devil!
But let’s come back to the Power of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Cor 12:28ff, Paul is talking about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the different gifts He gives us, “In the church God has appointed apostles, prophets, teachers, workers of miracles, helpers, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking with different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? No. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Are all workers of miracles? No. have all got gifts of healing? No. Do all speak in tongues, do all interpret? But covert earnestly the best gifts!” Come on!
I strongly believe that if you’ve received the Holy Spirit, you should call upon Him to give you some of the gifts! We NEED the gifts of the Spirit. I need the gifts of the Spirit. They are the demonstration you have received the Baptism! In my early days there were two, almost identical, Pentecost denominations in Britain. One was founded by Stephen Jeffreys (Assemblies of God), and the other by George Jeffreys (Elim). Brothers! But these denominations could never agree because of one thing only. One said, ‘The first manifestation of having received the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues.” And the other said, “It can be any of the nine gifts...” So the battle between these two early Pentecostal denominations was over the manifestation of the Holy Spirit; I believe it can be any of the gifts… But if you HAVE received the Holy Spirit, there should be a manifestation of POWER!
Whatever the gift, whether it’s speaking in tongues, prophesying, discerning of spirits, whatever it is, Paul said, “Seek the best gift.” I did. When I received the Holy Spirit, I took this literally. I said, “Holy Spirit, I don’t want the vocal gifts” - yes, like Paul, I can speak in tongues ‘more than anybody’, and I don’t claim to interpret tongues or to be a prophet, I don’t claim to have the discerning of spirits, knowledge or wisdom - but I said, “Holy Spirit, what gets me excited is I want the practical gifts: the gifts of faith, of miracles and of gifts of healing!” And to me the most important was the gift of faith - and that’s what I asked for! Because without faith you can’t please God! Come on! To please God I needed faith!
And faith means going out and doing it! Don’t just talk, talk. GO OUT AND DO IT. Nothing is impossible.
With faith, nothing is impossible.
I NEED faith, I NEED the Power from the Holy Spirit because it is the Holy Spirit who gives me the gift of faith. I live by faith. How was I healed of cancer twice? By faith. How did I get out of that communist prison? By faith. How was I healed of osteoarthritis? By faith. How do I preach the Gospel? By faith. Come on! That’s why I see so many miracles in my ministry.
Key Principle: Do you want to be empowered in your Christian life? There are three sources of Power: 1, there’s Power in prayer; 2, there’s Power in the Blood of Christ; 3, and there’s the Power of the Holy Spirit