Power Source

…but you will receive power 

when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem,

 and in all Judea and Samaria,

and even to the remotest part of the earth.

Acts 1:8

When you read this verse, what comes to mind when you see the word "power"?  For the disciples, it literally meant the ability to perform miracles, cast out demons and give the gospel in foreign languages that they didn't know how to speak.  As they established the church, the Holy Spirit's power was evidence that they were on task from God. 

But the work of the Holy Spirit goes even deeper than this - the power that He gives believers enables us to get to the root of our hearts.  Jesus broke the chains of sin and death and the Spirit gives us the power to live righteously:

• He leads us - Romans 8:14
• He empowers us - Romans 15:19
• He sanctifies us - I Peter 1:2
• He fills us - Eph. 5:18
• He teaches us to pray - Romans 8:26-27
• He produces fruit in us - Galatians 5:22,23
• He reveals the gospel to us - I Cor. 2:10-12
• He strengthens us - Eph. 3:16
• He moves us - II Peter 1:21
• He comforts us - Acts 9:31

These are but a sampling of teachings on the work of the Spirit.  Here's my point this morning - we have a power source that never weakens and lives within us and yet most of us choose to try to live in our own strength.  We easily get weary and disheartened, forgetting that this world is broken and we can't fix it.  We battle in our own strength and quickly wear out.  We don't witness for Christ the way we should because we worry we'll say the wrong thing or won't be able to answer people's questions, all the while the Holy Spirit is shaking His head, wondering when we're going to tap into His power.

So, let's get practical here - how do we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit?  By developing spiritual disciplines.  Through study and meditation of the Word, prayer and memorization - the Spirit will teach, lead and strengthen us through the understanding of spiritual truths and He will mold and shape us into the image of the Son through the application of these truths in life's circumstances.  

Charles Spurgeon once said of our great Spirit:

"What a wonderful power is that which dwells in every believer, checking him when he would do wrong, encouraging him to do right, leading him in the paths of righteousness for Christ’s name’s sake! Happy men to have such a Conductor!" 

I think a great starting place is just the realization that we have this wonderful Power Source and determining to use the unlimited power supply given to us through the saving work of Jesus Christ!