Acts 1:4-8 – “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;  5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  8 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.”  NKJV

When I compare words used in various places in the Bible regardless to how they are translated into English I often find it interesting, beneficial and revealing.  In Luke 10:19 in the KJV the word “power” is twice seen but when you go to the Greek you find two different words being translated by the same English word.  Jesus said, “Behold I give you (exousia) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the (dunimas) of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”  Two words with two different meanings in the Greek.  In most other translations this word is translated “authority” and its broad meaning would include jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, and strength.  In the second case, the word translated “power” is dynamic with means power but it also means, ability, abundance, might, and strength.

Clearly our LORD is telling His disciples what it was He conveyed to them in Matthew 28:18.  He explained to them that He had been given AUTHORITY, all authority in Heaven and Earth.  He has AUTHORITY over all the POWER and AUTHORITY of the devil.  The god of this world has been vanquished, stripped of his authority and his power subordinated to the power of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, then tells his followers, “That AUTHORITY and POWER that I have I am giving it to you.”  That makes Acts 1:8 incredibly powerful not only for them but for us today.  He instructs them to “tarry” or “wait” in Jerusalem for something incredible to happen.  It would be an action of the Holy Spirit to EMPOWER them WHEN the Holy Spirit comes upon them and as a result, they will be able to fulfill the Great Commission.  They will operate in the AUTHORITY and POWER of the Lord Jesus Himself.  Heaven will be backing them in a mighty and dynamic manner.  Too often, we want to run before we have the full message or have developed the authority, ability, and power to fulfill the purpose.

In Acts 2:4 we find the fulfillment of this directive and promise of the Lord Jesus when the Holy Spirit made a dramatic entrance which resulted in thousands being converted and the disciples having recognized authority and power spiritually.  It was such an incredible sight that those observing thought they were drunk with wine but Peter corrected them indicating both the time of day and the prophecy of Joel as well as the Promise of Jesus.  After Peter’s anointed preaching under the AUTHORITY and POWER of the Holy Spirit, the people asked, “what shall we do?”  Peter gave them simple instructions in Acts 2:38 that repentance was required, then instructed them to be obedient in following the LORD in baptism and said, “…and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Then in Acts 2:39 he makes a most incredible statement that should bring encouragement to us in this generation.  A revelation that TODAY we have access to the same power and authority they had in the First Church.  He said, “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

If you do not have spiritual authority manifest in your life and are not operating in spiritual power I urge you to find your Jerusalem and tarry or wait for the Promise of the Father to saturate your life.  I recognize that the Holy Spirit is with you and even in you as a child of God but if He is not manifesting Himself in power and giving you the spiritual authority to combat the forces of hell – – ASK.   Remember Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, and Knock and the door will be open to you.”  We are in a spiritual conflict and our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of Strongholds.  Spiritual Weapons are given by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

God bless you as you walk in His Authority and Power in your pursuit of your purposes in this generation.