Your Bible & You - Little Book Open.org

YOUR BIBLE AND YOU
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Y o u M a y H a v e P o w e r
“The Counselor,” He explained to them, “the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance
all that I have said to you” (John 14:26, RSV).
“It is to your advantage that I go away,” He added, “for if I do not go away,
the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you”
(John 16:7, RSV). “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all
the truth” (verse 13).
After His resurrection from the dead He recalled these assurances to their
minds. “Behold,” He said to them, “I send the promise of my Father upon
you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high”
(Luke 24:49, RSV).
This was His last recorded command before ascending to heaven. You will
find it repeated in the first chapter of the book of Acts.
“While staying with them,” the record states, “he charged them not to
depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which,
he said, ‘you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before
many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit… [And] you shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end
of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:4-8, RSV).
Obediently, expectantly, the disciples waited, continuing “with one accord in
prayer and supplication” for 10 days, wondering how the promise of the Father
would be fulfilled and what it would mean mean to them to receive the power
from God.
Then came Pentecost. And “suddenly a sound came from heaven like the
rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on
each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:2-4, RSV).
Thus was Christ’s promise fulfilled. Into the waiting, open, surrendered hearts
of His faithful followers burst the dynamic force of the Spirit of God.
The first effect was to empower them for service. They found themselves
able to speak freely to the thousands of visitors who had come to Jerusalem
from all parts of the Roman Empire to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.
And what a story they had to tell of the life, death, and resurrection of their
beloved Lord and Master! Incidents and remarks that normally they might