Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
While there is great and inspiring value to looking back and remembering the faithfulness of God in days gone by, if we are not careful, we can become so past glory days-minded that we totally ignore the work that God wants to do in our generation. It is so easy to look at the wonder-working power of God in the gospels and the book of Acts and dream about what it must have been like to be on earth back then. But what about today? What about carrying out the great commission that Jesus gave unto us? What about proclaiming the same gospel with the same anointing and power of the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven? Whenever you read about the Holy Spirit in Scripture, whatever the context, it is describing something that He is always doing in the present tense. It is a mighty work or display of the power or truth of God as He is moving upon or speaking through those who are yielded to Him.
Since the birth of Jesus until the end of the age, the church and all of mankind are living in the last days. Thus, the mandate of the church remains to proclaim the same Jesus and the same gospel with the same power and manifestations of the same Holy Spirit as we find in Scripture. I would absolutely love to hear the marvelous and miraculous things that The Lord is doing around the world by the power of The Holy Spirit in and through His church today. Thank God for the glorious record of miracles and mighty moves of God in both Old and New Testaments. But the church on earth is not in heaven. We face the same opposition from the world and the devil that past generations have faced. Do we require less of God’s Word? Can we settle for less of the power of The Holy Spirit? I do not think so.
Lord God, open the heavens TODAY and show Yourself mightily and miraculously in and through each and every part of Your body for Your glory and honor. Selah
