07/30/2024 -You Will Receive Power!
Acts 1: 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
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It may seem redundant at this point for the Lord to specify the gift of Spirit power. But He wants to give us a separate and specific promise.
Note that the Lord begins this promise with the conjunction “but”. This is in the context of the disciples asking for something that did not belong to them. Perhaps they thought, as many today think, that they could ask anything they wanted and had a right to receive it. Jesus said to them: it is not for you to know when the kingdom will be restored to Israel.
There are many wishes you have now and will have that you will not receive. Disney says that when you wish upon a star everything your heart desires will come to pass. Not so in the kingdom of God. This is NOT the magic kingdom. That kingdom only exists in the imagination of the human heart.
Christ says to you: you will not get everything you want in this life. There will be struggles, disappointment…BUT you will receive power! There will be temptations, but you will receive power to overcome! There will be times you feel that you have no strength left…but you will receive power from above! The power of God! This is not a power that you have. If you had it, you would not need to receive it!
Most importantly, you will receive power to fulfill your mission: to witness for Christ!