God's Power in Us

     There’s a difference between seeing a picture of a waterfall and being at the bottom of the same waterfall. There is also a difference between knowing about God's power and experiencing it. In Acts 1:4-8, Jesus promises His disciples something that would change them from the inside out. He promises them power.
     Jesus has just risen from the dead. He's been appearing to His disciples for forty days, teaching them about God's kingdom. Now He's gathered them for one final meal. They're leaning in, expecting marching orders. Instead, He tells them to wait. "Do not leave Jerusalem," He commands, "but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
     The Greek word Luke uses for "commanded" here isn't casual, it’s a military term. When a general passes orders down the chain of command, this is the word. Jesus isn't making a suggestion. He's giving a direct order from the Commander of heaven's armies. Stay put. Wait. Something's coming that you can't afford to miss. But the disciples have their own agenda. They've been waiting for something too, the restoration of Israel's kingdom. Three years with Jesus, witnessing His miracles, hearing His teaching, and now seeing Him conquer death itself. Surely now is the time. "Lord," they ask, "are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" You can almost hear the anticipation in their voices. Finally, Rome would fall. Finally, Israel would be free. Finally, the promises to David would be fulfilled. They're thinking politics while Jesus is thinking power. They're thinking national restoration while Jesus is planning global transformation. Their question reveals how much they still don't understand. Jesus' response redirects their focus entirely. "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority." The words "times" and "dates" translate two different Greek words, chronos and kairos. The first refers to chronological time, the ticking of the clock. The second means opportune moments, God's perfect timing for specific events. Jesus tells them both are off limits. The Father alone holds the calendar of redemption.
     This wasn't the answer they wanted. We never like being told that God's timing is none of our business. We want to know when. When will God act? When will justice come? When will His promises be fulfilled? Jesus says that's not our department. We don't get access to God's strategic planning sessions. We don't get to see His timeline. What we get is better. "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." There's that word "but." Jesus is saying, "Forget about the timeline. Here's what you really need to know. Power is coming." The word for power used here isn't subtle power. It's not a gentle nudge or a slight boost. It's explosive, transformative power. It's the same word Luke uses throughout his Gospel for the miraculous works of Jesus. When Jesus healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead, this was the power at work. Now He promises this same power to His followers. Notice the sequence. First comes the Holy Spirit. Then comes the power. Then comes the witness. You can't reverse the order. You can't be an effective witness without the power. You can't have the power without the Spirit. And you can't receive the Spirit by your own effort. It comes "upon you," Jesus says. The language describes something descending from above, not rising from within.
     This promise directly connects to John's baptism. John immersed people in water as a sign of repentance. But John himself said someone greater was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Water baptism was external. Spirit baptism would be internal. Water baptism was symbolic. Spirit baptism would be transformative. Water baptism prepared people for the Messiah. Spirit baptism would empower people to proclaim the Messiah. The Greek word for baptize means to immerse completely. When you baptize a garment in dye, you don't just sprinkle color on it. You plunge it in until every fiber is saturated. That's what Jesus promises here. Not a light coating of the Spirit. Not a gentle misting. Complete immersion. Total saturation. Every part of their being would be affected.
     And the result? "You will be my witnesses." Not "you might become witnesses" or "you should try to be witnesses." You will be. It's inevitable. When the Spirit's power comes, witness follows. Originally “witness”, simply meant someone who testifies to what they've seen and experienced. In a court of law, a witness tells what they know firsthand. They don't share opinions or hearsay. They share what they've personally encountered.
     Jesus doesn't say they'll be witnesses "about" Him. He says they'll be His witnesses. There's possession in that phrase. They belong to Him. Their testimony flows from their relationship with Him. They don't just share information about Jesus. They share Jesus Himself through their transformed lives. The geographic progression Jesus outlines is strategic. Jerusalem first. That's where they are. That's where the temple stands. That's where Jesus was crucified and rose again. Start where you are. Then Judea, the surrounding region of fellow Jews. Then Samaria, those half-cousins the Jews despised. Notice Jesus specifically includes them. The power of the Spirit breaks down ethnic barriers. Finally, "to the ends of the earth." The Greek echoes Isaiah 49:6, where God promises His servant will be "a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
     This is the mission. Not political revolution but spiritual transformation. Not national restoration but global proclamation. Not defeating Rome but declaring the risen Christ. The kingdom they asked about is coming, but not through military might or political maneuvering. It's coming through Spirit empowered witnesses who can't help but tell what they've seen and heard. Think about who's receiving this promise. Peter, who denied Jesus three times. Thomas, who refused to believe without physical proof. James and John, who wanted to call down fire on their enemies. These aren't spiritual giants. They're ordinary people with spectacular failures on their record. Yet Jesus looks at them and says, "You will receive power. You will be my witnesses." The transformation would be dramatic. Seven weeks later, on the day of Pentecost, the promise was fulfilled. The Spirit came like a rushing wind and tongues of fire. Peter, the same man who cowered before a servant girl, stood up and preached to thousands. Three thousand people believed and were baptized that day. The man who denied Jesus became the man who boldly declared Him. Throughout the book of Acts, we see this pattern repeated. Ordinary people receive extraordinary power. Stephen becomes a powerful preacher who sees heaven opened as he dies. Philip leads a revival in Samaria and explains the gospel to an Ethiopian official. Saul, the church's greatest enemy, becomes Paul, its greatest missionary. The power Jesus promised transforms lives and launches a movement that reaches the ends of the earth.
     But let's be honest. We read these stories and think, "That was then. This is now." We assume the apostolic era was unique, that such power was temporary, that we shouldn't expect similar transformation today. We've reduced the Holy Spirit to a comforter for bad days and a guide for tough decisions. We've forgotten He's the power source for global witness. The promise hasn't expired. Jesus didn't say, "You will receive power for a few decades until things get established." The need for Spirit empowered witnesses hasn't diminished. If anything, our world needs such witnesses more than ever. The question isn't whether God still gives such power. The question is whether we're waiting for it, expecting it, and ready to be transformed by it. Like the disciples, we have our own agenda. We want God to fix our circumstances, solve our problems, restore our comfort. We ask Him, "Will you at this time restore my marriage, my health, my finances, my dreams?" These aren't bad requests. But they can blind us to what God wants to do through us, not just for us.
     We also struggle with the waiting. "Wait in Jerusalem" sounds passive to our productivity obsessed culture. We want to do something, prove something, achieve something. But spiritual power can't be manufactured. It must be received. And reception requires positioning ourselves where God has promised to meet us. For the disciples, that was Jerusalem. For us, it might be a place of prayer, worship, and expectant faith.
     The progression Jesus outlines challenges our comfort zones. Jerusalem is familiar. We know how to witness to people like us. Judea stretches us a bit, but it's still our broader culture. Samaria? That's where things get uncomfortable. Those are the people we've been taught to avoid, the ones who make us nervous, the ones whose values clash with ours. And the ends of the earth? That's beyond our imagination. Yet the Spirit's power enables what seems impossible. Throughout history, ordinary Christians have crossed cultural barriers that seemed insurmountable. They've learned languages, adapted to new cultures, and shared the gospel in places their grandparents couldn't have imagined. The same Spirit who empowered Peter to preach to Jews at Pentecost empowered him to enter Cornelius' Gentile home. The power adapts to the mission.
     We need to recapture the connection between power and witness. Too often, we seek spiritual experiences for personal benefit. We want the power to make our lives easier, our ministries more successful, our churches more impressive. But Jesus doesn't promise power for comfort. He promises power for witness. The Holy Spirit doesn't come to make us happy. He comes to make us bold. This boldness doesn't mean we become obnoxious or insensitive. Spirit empowered witnesses in Acts demonstrated wisdom, compassion, and cultural awareness. Paul reasoned in the synagogue with Jews and in the marketplace with Greeks. He quoted their poets and engaged their philosophies. The power of the Spirit doesn't bypass our minds or eliminate the need for preparation. It energizes and directs our efforts.
     What would it look like for us to truly believe this promise? What if we stopped trying to be witnesses in our own strength and started waiting for God's power? What if we stopped limiting our vision to our Jerusalem and started seeing the ends of the earth? What if we stopped asking God to restore our kingdoms and started joining His mission to reach every nation? The promise stands. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." Not might receive. Will receive. It's as certain as the sunrise. The question is whether we'll position ourselves to receive it. Whether we'll wait when God says wait. Whether we'll go when the power comes. Whether we'll speak when the Spirit fills our mouths with words we never thought we'd have the courage to say. God isn't looking for perfect people. The disciples proved that. He's looking for available people. People who will trust His timing over their own agenda. People who will receive His power instead of relying on their own abilities. People who will be His witnesses wherever He sends them, whether that's across the street or across the globe.
     The kingdom the disciples asked about did come, just not how they expected. It came through Spirit empowered witnesses who turned the world upside down. It came through ordinary people speaking extraordinary truth. It came through lives so transformed that others couldn't help but ask, "What happened to you?" And it's still coming today, through anyone willing to wait for the promise, receive the power, and become the witness God designed them to be. The Father's promise hasn't changed. The Spirit's power hasn't diminished. The world's need hasn't decreased. What we need are people who will take Jesus at His word. People who will wait when He says wait and go when He says go. People who will stop trying to figure out God's timeline and start preparing for God's power. Because when that power comes, and it will come, witnesses are born. And when witnesses are born, the world changes. One life, one testimony, one Spirit empowered conversation at a time.