Endued With Power

Intro: All Christians have been endued with power from on high for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and His salvation throughout the earth.

I. Jesus instructs His disciples. Luke 24:45-49 (NKJV) ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ And you are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (anointed) with power from on high."

 Jesus instructs His disciples to take His message of salvation to all nations. Jesus promised The Holy Spirit and power would be sent to help them. As the disciples went forth witnessing, they would be given the wonderful promise of the Holy Spirit and power of the Father. The disciples would to be equipped for witnessing. They were to receive the promise of the Father which was the Holy Spirit. They were to receive the Spirit and be filled with His power. The source of the spirit and power was God. Christ was to send the promise. The promise was "of the Father." God gave the promise. Believers had to tarry, that is, wait upon the Lord and pray for the promise. The Spirit could not come till Jesus was resurrected. The promise of the Holy Spirit was to come from "on high." God Himself is the Source of the Holy Spirit and power for all evangelism. Jesus' command is for us today. Our responsibility is to reach as many for Christ as we can.

II. The last recorded statement of Christ on earth. Acts 1:7-8 (NKJV) 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."

This last statement of Jesus was final, authoritative, and of utmost importance. The dates of the restoration of the Kingdom were not the disciples’ business Jesus said. These are set by the Father. What should concern and consume the disciples, however, was the loaded statement that follows. They were to receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Holy Spirit is a major theme in Luke and Acts and is the major point of continuity between the life of Jesus and the ministry of the church.

Who is the Holy Spirit? God is three persons in one—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God became a man in Jesus so that Jesus could die for our sins. Jesus rose from the dead to offer salvation to all people through spiritual renewal and rebirth. When Jesus ascended into heaven, his physical presence left the earth, but he promised to send the Holy Spirit so that his spiritual presence would be in mankind as He promised in Luke 24:49) above. The Holy Spirit first became available to all believers at Pentecost (Acts 2). Whereas in Old Testament days the Holy Spirit empowered specific individuals for specific purposes, now all believers have the power of the Holy Spirit available to them because He comes into our lives at the moment of salvation.

When the Spirit comes Jesus said, you will receive power. Receive power to do what? To tell people about him. They were to start right there in Jerusalem (1:4). Judea was the region surrounding Jerusalem. Samaria was Judea’s hostile next-door neighbor, a more difficult but equally important place to take the gospel. The ends of the earth may have referred to the Roman Empire, the world power at that time. The direction was of primary importance: Beginning from where you are at this moment, take the message of Christ outward, like ripples caused by a pebble thrown into a pond, not stopping at just your city or state but moving on beyond regional influence to the very “ends” of the earth. In other words, reach it all!

The disciples took Jesus at his word and went about their task exactly as he directed: they began in Jerusalem, spread to Judea and Samaria, then filtered out across the known world at that time. We are to follow that same pattern and this “Reach Texas” mission offering was created to help us do just that.

Conclusion: Turning people to Christ and His salvation is the only way to save our state, our nation and be obedient to Christ's command to share the gospel with those who are lost. may we obedient to Christ's command!

Invitation: What is your relationship to Christ? Is He you personal Savior and Lord? If not now is the time to confess your sins to Him and ask Jesus to forgive you and save you for Heaven when this life is over. Invite Him into your life to take charge of you and your affairs. Then publicly confess Him by being baptized! You will be so thankful that you did. You will never regret it and you will have a home in Heaven!