But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
There is a strong link between the power of the Spirit and evangelism (Luke 24:49). If we have truly been baptized in the Spirit, we will understand that our mission is to evangelize and make disciples of men. Everything that we do should flow from the Holy Spirit. If we sing, dance, prophesy and preach without the Holy Spirit, we are just using our talents. When we allow the Holy Spirit to use us, things will happen and change. The spirit of religion is being removed from the church and the church is arising as a people of power. God is breaking into the church and breaking mindsets and religious traditions.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit gave the early church:
– Power to proclaim the gospel
The early church was empowered to proclaim the gospel wherever they went. The disposition of the disciples changed as they became bold and courageous to share the gospel with the people around them (Acts 4:18-20). The power of the Spirit removes fear and brings boldness (2 Timothy 1:7). We are then able to effectively share the gospel.
Sometimes fear speaks to hearts and tries to discourage us to share the gospel. However, the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to carry out the call of evangelism (Luke 12:11-12). We will be challenged but the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say. We cannot decide to stay home or close our mouths. We must trust in the Holy Spirit.
To men, Peter and John seemed to be uneducated and untrained (Acts 4:13). The people marveled at their words and recognized that they had been with Jesus. It doesn’t matter how many degrees we have but rather how much time we spend with Jesus. When we spend time with Jesus, we speak the wisdom of God.
– Power to perform miracles
Jesus performed miracles, healing and preached to the people. He was and still is an example that we should follow. We must preach the gospel but we should also demonstrate it. The Holy Spirit has given us power and authority to heal the sick. It is not only for the apostles, prophets, pastors and those in leadership positions. It is for the entire church. We have to command sickness and diseases to go (Matthew 16:15-18, Acts 4:33, Acts 5:12-16). We’ve been praying for too long. It’s now time to command and have dominion over sickness. It’s time to cast out demons.
– Power to persevere through trials
The Holy Spirit enables us to overcome every trial and tribulation that will come. He enables us to overcome every persecution. In this life, we will be rejected. Not everyone will receive us and the message of the gospel. We will be hated and persecuted because of Jesus Christ. Many of us get persecuted and want to give up. We can’t give up but we must persevere. Doors will be shut in our faces. We will be cursed but we must continue on (Matthew 8:28-34, 1 Peter 4:14-16, Acts 5:17-20, 40-42).
