"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8
Someone's last words on earth are usually remembered and honored. Well most anyway. Murderer James Rodgers was asked to give his last words before a firing squad, and he said "Bring me a bullet-proof vest".
In Acts 1:8 we have Jesus' last words to His disciples before leaving earth. He revealed to them something very significant, that even outlines the whole book of Acts. In a nutshell before they could minister to others the Holy Spirit needed to minister to them first. Note that the disciples went to pray together (a/b 120) and wait on the Holy Spirit in the upper room after hearing these words. They were in community and in unity speaking to God before they could speak for God (Pentecost). You see Christ looks for submission before we can fulfill the great commission. Before we speak for God we must speak to God! Before we can stand with boldness before man we must kneel in humility before God. We have the gospel today because these men refused to stay put and keep God's word to themselves.
In Acts 1:8 we have Jesus' last words to His disciples before leaving earth. He revealed to them something very significant, that even outlines the whole book of Acts. In a nutshell before they could minister to others the Holy Spirit needed to minister to them first. Note that the disciples went to pray together (a/b 120) and wait on the Holy Spirit in the upper room after hearing these words. They were in community and in unity speaking to God before they could speak for God (Pentecost). You see Christ looks for submission before we can fulfill the great commission. Before we speak for God we must speak to God! Before we can stand with boldness before man we must kneel in humility before God. We have the gospel today because these men refused to stay put and keep God's word to themselves.
- MAKE IT A HABIT: BEFORE LEAVING YOUR HOUSE ASK GOD TO EMPOWER YOU AND TO GIVE YOU THE WORDS TO SAY TO THOSE THAT NEED JESUS.
- “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” -A.W. Tozer