A Future Of Hope, Peace, And Prosperity
You may say you don’t know what the future holds for you, and I want to encourage you to seek the one who holds the future. God holds your future so put your trust in him. He is God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit; three persons in one same God. He knows what the future holds for you, so have faith in God and seek Him to lead you to the good future He planned for you, even before you were born. He holds your future my friend! “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). God created you and me. He is the only one who can tell you the good plan He has for you. The God who created the universe and planned our redemption through Jesus Christ also created us. He has set a future for you and that needs to be protected. That future is so good, it’s full of hope and prosperity. God our father and creator of heaven and earth decided what we are to become, but it’s a matter of personal choice to become what He intended for you to be. Choose to trust Him today. It doesn’t matter what has happened in the past years, he is the God of hope and restoration. Jeremiah chapter twenty-nine and verse eleven is a popular verse that many people know. It’s one of my favourite verses in scripture. If you put it in context, it’s even more powerful because he was talking about the judgement of God. This was because in context, the people had broken the covenant of God. They had betrayed God because they had forgotten the covenant that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and they were not doing what God asked of them. But in the midst of Him pronouncing judgement on them, He said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). God, through the prophet Jeremiah reassured the people that He had great plans for their future and that they should look forward to the glorious fulfillment of His wonderful promises during this period of their exile. You see, God’s constant love for His children never wavers, even in periods of struggles when it may feel like He has forgotten His children. God’s plan for your life is to prosper you, not to harm you. He is the God of hope and restoration. God delights in the prosperity of His people. He has a good plan for us. God wants to bless the work of our hands, but we have to cooperate with Him. When we do things our own way, we get into all kinds of trouble. You see, God is saying, this is not the plan I had for you. This is not my will for you. My will for you is peace, and to give you an expected end. In Jeremiah chapter twenty-nine, the Lord in the midst of pronouncing judgement over His people reminded them of the fact that He couldn’t do what He wanted to do because they wouldn’t cooperate with Him. Are you cooperating with God in your life? God’s plan for your life includes peace, hope and a prosperous future. One in which you have good success. His plan for our lives includes many benefits. He gives more benefits than any person or any system you can think of. He gives more benefits than your government, business, career, the financial system or any type of earthly investment. All you need to do is to cooperate with Him. What your future holds is in God’s hands, but you have a responsibility to pursue it. There is guidance to protect your future, but you must make a sensible decision about what is the right thing to do to protect your destiny. God’s plans for you are good but see Verses 12-13, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:12-13). This says God has perfect plans for your life, but you have to seek Him. Protecting your future is a personal choice, but friend, since the Bible says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart,” isn’t it a wise decision to seek God? Someone said, if your life is not supernatural, it’s superficial. If your life isn’t good, it’s not because God doesn’t have a plan for you. It’s because you are not cooperating. You haven’t found out the plan that He has for you. God doesn’t sovereignly control your life and make it work out. You have to pursue the things of God in order to receive them. You must be receptive. God’s will never automatically comes to pass in your life. If it’s only up to God, every person will be 100% healthy. You will never have any sickness, poverty, or depression, but unfortunately, many Christians have these things, and it’s because they are not cooperating with God. Make a choice today to seek God and learn to cooperate with Him. Don’t ever live your life independent of God. “Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps” (Jer. 10:23 NIV). We are not smart enough to do things our own way. Our life is not independent of God. Our fellowship with Him is the key to protecting our future. All we have to do is to seek the Lord and He will speak to us. He will direct us and lead us to the future full of hope: the
Believe God’s Word Above What You See Or Hear
The word of God must always stand above the word of man. The Bible says “let God be true but every man a liar (Rom. 3:4). God and His word are always true whether or not people believe Him. Applications of this truth can benefit us greatly. For example, the Bible’s narrative about the formation of the solar system, the preparation of the land for habitation, and the creation of life on the earth immediately brings into question many secular world views. Therefore, believers must become accustomed to thinking differently. We are not to judge God’s word, but rather, it judges us. We are assured in the book of Numbers chapter twenty-three verse nineteen that God will do what He has said. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”. All of God’s promises are sure because God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). All the promises of God are true and trustworthy. He doesn’t say one thing and mean another. When God speaks, He always has something very specific to say. He never speaks in generalities. If He promised it, He will do it. He has magnified His word even above His name (Psalms 138:2). If God broke His word to us, all creation would self-destruct because it is held together by the power of His Word (Hebrews 1:3). The word of God solves every problem. Believe that God’s word can bring order into any chaotic situation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen 1:1-2). ‘The earth was without form’. That means lacking the order it will have when God’s commands were complete. ‘And darkness was on the face of the deep’. This is a further description of lack of complete order and beauty that will emerge within six days. Both statements reveal that creation reflected God’s normal process of bringing order out of chaos through His word. ‘And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’ The Holy Spirit was active to perform the word as God spoke every word. The word of God is so alive and it’s so powerful that it has the ability to transform you. God’s word transformed the chaos. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light” (Gen 1:3). God said occurred 10 times in Genesis chapter 1 as a means of bringing order in chaotic situation. God’s word is alive and active (Heb. 4:12). Everything hears His voice, and every situation obeys His word. God commanded the earth and its productive power, to bring forth the plant kingdom. “11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:11-12). Man says there’s evolution, but God’s word says He created things according to their kind. For example, great sea creatures are the most magnificent ocean creatures, such as whales and dolphins. These were all created according to their kind. This precludes any evolution into another kind: A fish can never produce a lion. Let God be true and every man a liar.” 21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (Gen. 1:21). The word of God must always stand above the word of man because God’s word is always true (John 17:17, Psalms 119:160). God stands by His word. “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Cor. 1: 20). Even if people don’t believe Him, God and His promises are always true, and we need to apply this truth to our situations. When anyone or anything contradicts a promise made to us in God’s Word, we need to trust God to be true and that person or thing to be lying. We need to believe that what God’s Word says about our prosperity is true (2 Corinthians 8:9 and 3 John 2), instead of what our bank accounts say. We need to believe that we were healed by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 8:17, and 1 Peter 2:24), instead of believing what the x-rays show. In every aspect of our lives, we need to believe God’s Word above what we see or hear. God fulfils His promises. Let’s reflect on what this means for our lives today. Look into God’s word and find His faithfulness, wisdom, and direction for your life. When you face the storm of life, setback, or crisis, where do you find your footing? Where is your foundation? Your foundation must be on the word of God. What an amazing promise that God has given us in his word that He will do whatever He says (Numbers 23:19). Don’t lean on your own understanding. Sometimes it seems there is no way out or no logical solution. If we concentrate on figuring it out, we will get frustrated and eventually get discouraged and settle where we are without progressing. Just because we don’t see a way doesn’t mean God hasn’t got a way. You just have to continue to focus on what the Lord is communicating to you. Believe in those great and precious promises that are laid out in the word of God and all those amazing things that the Lord says will come to pass. Remember that God cannot lie, neither does He change
Spread The Gospel
Do you know your purpose on this earth? What are you living for? You need to seek the will of God for your life. The Lord told us to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13). We should continue to work for the Lord as we wait for His return. The early disciples did exactly what Jesus told them to do. He said, get this message of eternal life to the whole world. We are the light of this dark world, and we carry the light of the gospel with us. God intends to change other peoples’ lives by our lives. We must take the light of the Gospel to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). It’s the will of God that we live in such a way that we influence the people around us by behaving as instruments for His ideas of the future. That is God’s will, His purpose, and His plan. God created you and me with the aim of making each and every one of us an instrument for His ideas of the future. He has given us a fantastically exciting agenda on this earth. He gave us the command to evangelise the world before He returns. He said, “occupy till I come”; that means keep letting your light shine in this dark world. That also means keep living for God, abounding yourself in the work of the Lord, making disciples, preaching, sharing your faith and winning souls. God is counting on you to spread the gospel. “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” (Acts 1:8). It only takes a short piece of scripture and everything in a person’s life can change in an instant. We have access to the truth that the world needs. Your greatest impact will be on the people around you. Start your witness about your Lord and saviour Jesus Christ to your family members, neighbours, colleagues, classmates, and the like. Your greatest reward is knowing that your effort has helped people to be saved. Your achievements may not be known to the public, but God knows, and your labour will not be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). God is counting on you to spread the truth and the world is also counting on you to discover the truth. You can play a role in spreading the gospel and protecting people from being blinded by the devil (Acts 26:18). Be a witness for Christ and do more for the Kingdom of God, and God will use you in a way that you never dreamt possible. Those who are waiting for a worldwide ministry and are not actively pursuing the opportunities at hand will never be used. We need to be faithful in little before God will give us the “many things”. Our Lord will say to us, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’ (Matthew 25:21). Have confidence in God and spread the gospel. On the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them, the disciple’s confidence in Christ returned with a rushing mighty wind. Then with a rush of confidence, Peter stood and delivered a powerful sermon to the gathered crowd (Acts 2:14-39). He raised his voice with great confidence and addressed the crowd and three thousand people were saved (Acts 2: 41). This was a message preached only a few weeks after Peter had denied any association with Jesus (Mark 14:66-72). The power of the Holy Spirit had transformed a coward into a confident and courageous spokesman for God. When Peter and John were warned not to preach in Christ’s name, they spoke with power and confidence: 19 “But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4: 19-20). Their answer was a surprise to the religious leaders at that time. But for the believer in Christ, this was no surprise as we remember Christ’s last words to the disciples before His return to the father in heaven. “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” (Acts 1:8).They witnessed with the confidence they had in Christ. Our confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit is worth the risk of going to all nations to make disciples, irrespective of the opposition we might face. Our confidence in Him will never fall, it’s a lasting confidence because He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is always with us (Mathew 28 :20). The confidence we have in Christ enables us not to get distracted from the task of being His witnesses. As we share our faith, the confidence in our voice and the power of the gospel will cause our hearers to exclaim, “what shall we do to be saved?” “Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35-36). Serve without excuse. Our Lord and saviour Christ Jesus has a contract with all believers that binds us to serve Him without excuse. “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
Move Quickly To Serve God And Win Souls
I hope that many believers desire, beyond everything else, to be useful to their fellow human beings. I hope that you don’t want to go to Heaven alone – you are most eager to lead others to salvation! So, with this premise that all of us who have a relationship with the Lord want to be useful, it’s necessary to take into account the need for urgency. Are you going to be winning souls? Well, then don’t delay! It’s a wonderful thing to be sensitive to Almighty God when it comes to serving Him, so that when He speaks to us, we hear His voice and respond without delaying, but taking immediate action. We do it now! There’s a time when God speaks, a time when his voice is being heard. It’s at that moment that you need to respond. When God, by the Holy Spirit, speaks to your heart, that’s the moment you respond, not tomorrow, not tonight, but now. In Luke 9:59-62 Jesus was speaking to some of his followers about discipleship and the importance of their immediate response to the call of God. “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This is actually a warning that is intended to stress the importance of commitment, so that we can succeed in our Christian walk. Jesus doesn’t want us to delay following and serving Him until such time as convenient to us. He made it perfectly clear that putting any person or thing first before following Him was unacceptable. Jesus’ command to His followers still applies to us today. He expects our immediate response and asks us to sacrifice everything and put His service as top priority in order to live for Him and preach His good news. No matter how hard or difficult life has been, you have to continue to recognise the seasons of opportunities that God gives you. Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). It’s a statement to us as followers of Christ, commending to us promptness, determination and practical earnestness. This text of scripture reminds us that we have a work to do. Again, Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21). We are sent in the same way that the Father sent Jesus. We have the same mission of reconciling people to God (2 Corinthians 5:19-20) and the same empowering of the Holy Spirit to accomplish that mission (John 1:16; Matthew 3:16 with Acts 1:8, and 2:1-4). Inasmuch as we have but one life here on earth, we should diligently accomplish all our God given purposes in this world. This is because once we die, we cannot return, nor in the grave can we carry out any of our assignments. We should move quickly to serve the Lord, win souls, and disciple them. We are not saved by good works. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We cannot work to save ourselves. That is done – Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ finished it on the cross. He said “It is finished,” and that is great for us. But now we have work to do because we are saved. We are workers together with the Lord. So don’t receive the grace of God in vain. We were not created to be idle. God didn’t choose us to be idle. He chose us to go and bear fruit. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you” (John 15:16). We were not baptised in the Holy Spirit to be idle and we are not set apart by God’s Grace to be idle. 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” (Acts 1:8). We were not redeemed to be idle. The Christian life is a total commitment to God. “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians. 5:15). The Christian life demands quality of devotion and utter self-sacrifice to God. It’s about going hard after Christ and all-out commitment and abandonment of self. That’s why the apostle Paul said his goal was that “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). Every true Christian is to remain steadfast in the work of the Lord throughout his or her entire lifetime on this earth. “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). It is a total lifetime of commitment from that moment we received Christ as our Master, Lord and Saviour. Our Lord Jesus promises to praise and reward us for such faithful living. He will say: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mathew 25:21). There is a divine work added to every believer’s plate. Not only are you a wife, a husband, a student, a labourer, or a particular professional, but you have been appointed an ambassador for Christ. The apostle Paul considered
We Have The Holy Spirit Inside Us To Manifest His Presence
Manifestation of God is bringing God to our physical reality. It’s the revealing of God’s power and glory through His people. It’s also a way for God to reveal Himself to His people and make His presence known. One of the ways God reveals Himself is through His children. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mathew 5:13). Our light is an indication of the existence, reality, or presence of God. The good fruit we bear is one of the most obvious manifestations of the Lord. Manifestation of God can take many different forms, such as miracles, healing, and answered prayers. These happen through the agency of the Holy Spirit. You are not a separated personality; you have a team – God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. You have the power you can call on any time you need. You have unlimited power if you are a born again Christian baptised in the Holy Spirit. You have the power to send away the devil and destroy his works that are bothering you, power to resist him, and power to walk in victory. Sadly, some Christians don’t know what they have (Hosea 4:6). You can let God manifest through you to minister to other people. You have the power and the anointing of God in you, but how do you get it out to other people? There are several scriptures we can start with. In Philemon 6, Paul is praying that “the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” The very first step in having the power of God manifest through you to other people is that you first acknowledge the good things that are inside you. It’s important to know who you are and what you have. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). You can’t give away what you don’t have, but once you know what you have on the inside, things will automatically begin to happen. You’ll begin to share with others your excitement, give testimonies of what God has done in your life, and automatically some people will be helped. The Holy Spirit comes with God’s power for you to manifest (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49, 1 John 4:4, 13, 17). “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). God wants us to manifest His presence in this world. The primary manifestation of God is light because God is the light of this world. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5). In His ‘I’m statements’, Jesus said “I’m the light of the world”. He has therefore given us His light to manifest Him and to bring glory to His name (Mathew 5:13). He commands us not to hide our light under a basket. Jesus describes Himself and His disciples in the New Testament as the light of this world. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus said “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12). We manifest God by letting our light shine. Another way to manifest God is to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. One of the main reasons that the body of Christ hasn’t made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used the gifts like an alarm bell, calling people to their message and confirming that God was truly the One speaking through them. There are different manifestations of the Holy Spirit through His people, and we need to desire them. One of the most important steps to manifesting the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to earnestly desire them. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But earnestly desire the best gifts.” Again, he said in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Desire spiritual gifts.” It’s important to know that as long as you can live without flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will. You have to seek these gifts with all your heart (Jer. 29:13). Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” The Lord bore witness to the accuracy of their message through miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said all true believers would flow in the miraculous: “And these signs will follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” If a Christian’s life isn’t supernatural, it’s superficial.
Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
At what point have I received the Holy Spirit. Is it when I first received Jesus or is there another time? I have been asked this question a few times and it’s a very relevant question. The Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. We are born again by the Spirit of God. Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 3 that we must be born of the Spirit. In fact, there were three times in John chapter 3 where Jesus said you have to be born of the Spirit. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” So, if the Holy Spirit had not come, you could not be born again. When we make Jesus our Lord and receive salvation, we are born of the Holy Spirit. There couldn’t be being born again until the Holy Spirit came. Jesus said this a number of times. In John chapter 7, He says, 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He is talking about what the Holy Spirit would produce in us when we believe in Him, and that will be like rivers of water flowing out of us. But it couldn’t happen until after the resurrection. So again, the Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. The Bible says in first Corinthians 12:12 that the Holy Spirit baptises us into the body of Christ. You couldn’t be a part of the body of Christ without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in us being born again and putting us into the body of Christ. Therefore, being born again, we receive the Spirit of God in the sense of being activated or reborn a new creation by the Spirit of God. That rebirth is to reproduce the nature of Christ in us. We then have the fruit of the Spirit because we have been born of the Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8:9 that but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. So, this is very clear that we must be born again by the Spirit. And if we are born again, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. The Spirit of God dwelling in us is reproducing His nature, character, and fruit in us. We find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5. But there’s another subsequent experience. It can be simultaneous but many times it’s after this born-again experience. We are then baptised in the Spirit. There are other phrases used. For example, we are baptised with the Spirit or in the Spirit, or we are endued with power from on high. There are many different types of descriptive words used. The power from on high comes upon us to reproduce the ministry of Jesus. The Spirit who is inside of us when we are born again is producing His nature, character and fruit. One of the reason the Spirit comes upon us is for the purpose of ministry and we find that in Luke 24:49. It says; behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” See what Jesus is saying: Tarry until you are endued with power. We may well ask, why were the disciples asked to tarry? What was it that these men lacked? What could the Holy Spirit supply that they were missing? They were asked to tarry because they needed power. They wanted the kingdom to be advanced, but they lacked divine power. Christ has risen from the dead. This is the greatest news that the world has to know. The resurrection of Jesus is the most powerful thing the world must know. What a great example of the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus had passion for the world. He wanted the unsaved to be saved else He wouldn’t have come from heaven to die for the world. He wanted the disciples to go and tell the world this important story. “The sheep are scattered. I want you to go; it is important, but before you go to preach, tarry to be endued with power. Before you go to talk about the risen Christ, tarry until you are baptised with the Holy Spirit. Before you go to win others, tarry until you receive power from on high.” The disciples had a tremendous task to accomplish. They had a message for the world. There were only a handful of Christians to give this great message. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. They saw the risen Jesus and yet Jesus said don’t tell anybody. Don’t let anybody know about this until you receive power from on high. Imagine you saw Jesus raised from the dead after three days, and you had this news to tell everyone, but He said don’t tell anybody. Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything until you receive power from on high. That experience of the power many times is subsequent to the initial rebirth. And so, depending on how you’ve been taught or who’s been teaching you, you have to understand that you can have both of those experiences simultaneously or the second one could follow