Victorious PowerSample

The Power

Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 The day of Pentecost marked 50 days after Passover. Fifty days after Jesus had been crucified and the day in which the Jewish nation celebrated the giving of the Law. But instead of the Law, God gave something that would change everything. 

He poured out His Holy Spirit on His followers. The mystery was revealed. The indwelling of believers by the Spirit of Christ had begun. Now they had the power to live victoriously against Satan and his forces of evil.

The results are startling. We see the power of the Holy Spirit displayed above in enabling the disciples to speak in foreign languages so that those around them could understand the gospel. Later in Acts 2, we read about Peter – the one who denied even knowing Jesus when Jesus was before the Sanhedrin – standing before a crowd of thousands boldly preaching the gospel. Acts 2:41 says, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 

Throughout the book of Acts, we see the power of the Holy Spirit at work through the disciples. In fact, right on the heels of Pentecost we find Peter and John heading up to the temple when they encounter a man who has been lame since birth. When the beggar sees them, he asks them for money. Peter’s response in Acts 3:6-9:

Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

Don’t miss the point of this miracle. Sickness and disabilities like being blind, deaf and lame are the work of Satan and his sin-damaged world. A corruption of God’s creation. And in this moment, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter demonstrated that God indeed was on the march to defeat the work of Satan and the brokenness he has brought to creation. 

In fact, every miracle in Acts is nothing short of a declaration of war against Satan and the destruction he has brought to mankind. The book of Acts is really a chronicle of the acts of the Holy Spirit working through the disciples to press the battle against Satan and advance God’s Kingdom.

The very beginning of the Church was with the giving of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Christ. It’s what makes the Church the Church. It changes everything because God can now live through you and every other believer to accomplish His purpose and win the victory over every Satanic power.  

This is why you have His power alive in you. But the last thing Satan wants is for that power to be released through you. Which is why tomorrow’s reading may be one of the most important passages in scripture.