When Peter preached the gospel on the Day of Pentecost to the assembled crowds he did so under a powerful anointing of the Spirit. This was a clear indication that the Spirit had come to call the lost through the compelling testimony of all God?s people. God wants to speak through you. His principal purpose in reviving your heart is to awaken you to the need of those around you.
Peter?s appeal was simple, direct and powerful, ?And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved? (Acts 2:21).
His words found their mark. People were cut to the heart, convicted by the Spirit of their sin and indifference to God. Peter had been ?clothed with power from on high?, and the results were amazing. Three thousand came to Christ that day and were added to the number of the believers.
There is no substitute for divine power. Education, finance, organisation, management expertise, or the ability to communicate can never do the work of the Spirit.
Without his power we cannot lead people to Christ. Peter had walked with Jesus for three years as one of his closest disciples, but he still needed this power from heaven before he could be effective for Christ. And the same applies to us.
Jesus promised, ?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). This power is the enabling of the Spirit we need in order to produce the proof that Jesus is alive.
That?s the true purpose of this power.
God plan is for you to begin to witness where you are in your Jerusalem ? that?s your family, your workplace or place of study, wherever you are in your daily life. When those around you begin to notice there?s something different about you, that you have a strange attraction, a strange power surrounding you ? then they will be drawn to Christ. This is the power of the Holy Spirit at work.
The next sphere of influence is Judea. It?s the knock-on effect of leading someone to Christ who can then impact others. Soon, you are touching Samaria ? those who are further away from you but who will still be affected by your testimony.
The gospel has the power to cut through religious prejudice and racial pride. Samaria came into a mighty revival through the ministry of Philip, the evangelist (Acts 8). And after Samaria, as Jesus said, there are the ends of the earth. Today, with all the means of modern communication and transport, every Christian should have a global vision. We can learn how to pray for and minister to the nations.
God?s purpose is to see the whole world coming under the power of the proclamation of the kingdom. You are called to be God?s mouthpiece.
You can be God?s mouthpiece
