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But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Acts 1:8 KJV

In my pursuit of relevance, I must not forget the things that are truly important. Jesus had just risen from the dead, appeared to many of his disciples and was about to return to God. He has laid out the terms of the commission the disciples were to pursue and he promised them power that would make the assignment easy. 

Can't really place how or why the disciples thought that Jesus was coming to restore the kingdom back to Israel. In all of his teachings, He kept emphasis on the coming kingdom of God. The terms of that kingdom wasn't something of this world. Yet the disciples were driven by nationalistic pride and wanted the lost glory of Israel to be restored. Nothing wrong with that, but in the divine scheme of things, that was not what was important. If you will hold on to and sustain a kingdom by God's terms, you need more than a physical army or mere words. There is a power that is needed for the work that God is doing now. 

And that's the focus of today's extract. There is a kingdom that Jesus is asking me to be a witness to, and the only way my witness will have effect, impact and spread is if it is backed up by the power of the owner of that kingdom Himself. I do not need to worry first about the kingdoms of this world; my witness to the Kingdom of God will impact both this present life and eternity.

That power is the Holy Spirit. It is not in the numerous programs or in the abundance of words. It is in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all who surrender to Him. You cannot carry out effective outward witness without the unmistakable inner witness of the Holy Spirit. What would you be testifying to, if you have not yourself personally experienced what you are speaking about? And the process is important: empowerment before witness. It is inner strength that drives outer witness. 

It is also noted that this power is to be received, not earned. There is nothing I can bring to the table, to qualify me for the power. He is given to all who are willing to tarry in the secret place, just like the disciples did. Nobody reckoned with them before the Holy Spirit came, but they could not be ignored after the Holy Spirit had come. If my life will be meaningful, beyond titles, applause and audiences, I have to receive the power that can make lives what they were made to be. Nothing else will work. Nothing else will sustain that which has eternal value. 

And like everything God gets involved with, growth and increase in length, breadth and width is inevitable. No matter how small or how insignificant it starts, as long as the Holy Spirit is involved, there is no limit to what God can do. The whole world will get to know about this witness. The most important question then becomes: Have I received that power? There is nothing I can achieve without it, and there is no limit to what God can achieve when He is present. As always, the choice of content is mine to make. The consequences of my choice have already been determined and communicated. I have no excuse. His time of favour is here.