From Fear to Power
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." – Acts 1:8
Imagine being one of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. You watched the one you followed, the one you believed was the Messiah, die in the most brutal way possible. Now you are hiding in an upper room, afraid for your life. Then, without warning, Jesus appears in the room. He does not knock, does not open the door, He is just there. And the first words He speaks are not rebuke, not frustration, but peace. He says, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21).
At that moment, Jesus does something significant. He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He has defeated sin, death, and hell. The victory is won. But even after this, He tells them to wait. In Acts 1, He orders them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. He tells them that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a way they have never experienced before.
Why did Jesus tell them to wait? Because knowing the truth was not enough. They had seen Him alive. They had heard His words. But they still needed something more. They needed power. They needed the Holy Spirit to take them from fearful men hiding in a room to bold witnesses who would change the world.
This is the difference between information and transformation. You can know everything about Jesus, believe in His resurrection, and still live in fear if you do not walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples went from hiding in fear to boldly preaching the gospel because they received what Jesus had promised.
What about you? Are you living in fear, holding back, feeling stuck? Jesus has already won the victory. The same power that transformed the disciples is available to you. The Holy Spirit is not just for biblical times. He is for you, right now. The question is not whether God has given you power. The question is whether you will receive it.
Do not stay in the upper room of fear. Step into the power God has promised. Walk in the boldness of the Spirit and let your life be a testimony of what He has done.
Imagine being one of the disciples after Jesus was crucified. You watched the one you followed, the one you believed was the Messiah, die in the most brutal way possible. Now you are hiding in an upper room, afraid for your life. Then, without warning, Jesus appears in the room. He does not knock, does not open the door, He is just there. And the first words He speaks are not rebuke, not frustration, but peace. He says, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21).
At that moment, Jesus does something significant. He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He has defeated sin, death, and hell. The victory is won. But even after this, He tells them to wait. In Acts 1, He orders them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. He tells them that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a way they have never experienced before.
Why did Jesus tell them to wait? Because knowing the truth was not enough. They had seen Him alive. They had heard His words. But they still needed something more. They needed power. They needed the Holy Spirit to take them from fearful men hiding in a room to bold witnesses who would change the world.
This is the difference between information and transformation. You can know everything about Jesus, believe in His resurrection, and still live in fear if you do not walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. The disciples went from hiding in fear to boldly preaching the gospel because they received what Jesus had promised.
What about you? Are you living in fear, holding back, feeling stuck? Jesus has already won the victory. The same power that transformed the disciples is available to you. The Holy Spirit is not just for biblical times. He is for you, right now. The question is not whether God has given you power. The question is whether you will receive it.
Do not stay in the upper room of fear. Step into the power God has promised. Walk in the boldness of the Spirit and let your life be a testimony of what He has done.
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1 Comment
Ability to receive it. Honesty, humility, and belief in the power of God. Hope I have enough of those today.