Day 15 – With Great Power

“So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?' He replied, 'The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!'"
Acts 1:6-11

Long before the movie came out in 2002, Spiderman has been one of my all time favorite super heroes. I guess it’s because you have this ordinary guy named Peter Parker who is just trying to make it through life until he has this extraordinary experience that changes him forever. A radioactive spider bites Peter and that one bite slowly changes his DNA and begins to empower him with amazing abilities. Now Peter has super-human strength, the ability to climb walls, a heightened sensory awareness and, of course, the ability to shoot webs from his wrists – something I’ve always thought was very cool. As Peter begins to control his new powers, he slowly realizes that his powers aren’t just for him. He begins to feel an obligation to help those who can’t help themselves. Peter understands this one concept that shapes everything else he does in life:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Essentially, that is the same message that Jesus leaves with His first century followers and, ultimately, with us. In the passage above, Jesus has experienced the cross, the burial and the resurrection, and He is now preparing His followers for what their next phase of the journey will be. They ask Him if He is about to restore the nation of Israel to its autonomous power and rid them from their Roman oppressors. After telling them “no,” Jesus tells them that they will have an extraordinary experience that will change them forever. The Holy Spirit is going to “bite” them and that one bite is going to change them and empower them with amazing abilities.

Power. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was going to come upon those who follow Christ and give them power. Power to overcome the enemy. Power to overcome sin. Power to be victorious in life. Power to forgive. Power to withstand temptation. Power to display the fruit of the Spirit. Power to move mountains. God-sized, Jesus-bought, Spirit-endowed power. “But”, Jesus said, “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Jesus’ whole message to these guys is that His followers will receive power and His followers will be His witnesses everywhere they go. All too often, we who follow Christ get consumed with the idea of the Spirit’s power to change us. We obsess about the areas that we still need to grow in, and we get frustrated when we have areas that aren’t changing. We wonder why God isn’t keeping up His end of the bargain when we are trying to do our part by following Him the best we can. The answer is simple – that was never the bargain. While it is true that God desires to help us to become better people who love Him more and who learn to overcome sin and temptation, that is not the primary purpose of the Spirit coming upon His people and giving them power. The power is given to fulfill the purpose of being Christ’s witnesses everywhere we go.

God is on mission to reach this world and to give people everywhere who are living ordinary lives, just trying to make it through another day, an opportunity to experience an extraordinary life filled with power and purpose. And we are the messengers. We are the ones He has called to tell them that there is more. We have been given the power, the authority, the ability and the responsibility to let people everywhere we go know that Jesus can change them too.

So be a Christ-follower with power. But recognize that with great power comes great responsibility. With great power comes a great purpose: to be Christ’s witnesses everywhere we go.

As you pray today, let the following ideas prompt your conversation with God.

• Thank God that He is a God who is on mission to reach this world.
• Thank God that He reached you and changed you and filled you with His Spirit.
• Ask God to empower you to live each day for Him and for His glory.
• Ask God to help you redefine the purpose of your life so that everywhere you go, you will be a witness for Christ.
• Ask God to give you courage and boldness to tell people what He has done for you.
• Thank God that He has given you a church that is on mission with Him and ask Him to help you find where you can best serve the cause of that mission in your church.