Understanding Spiritual Power - Made Easy

In this message we are going to discuss spiritual power generally.  What is spiritual power?  How do we obtain spiritual power?  How do we start using spiritual power?  So on and so forth.

Let’s first note spiritual power in Jesus’ life, for He is, of course, the author and finisher of our faith.

(Luke 3:21-22 NKJV) When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

(Luke 4:1-2 NKJV) Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

(Luke 4:14 NKJV) Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.

So, at the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus was baptized in water and then the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.  Remember that word “upon” as we will see it again.  He then went through the temptation in the wilderness and returned to Galilee.  Notice what it says in Luke 4:14, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.  And from that time on we see Jesus ministering in power, doing miracles, healing the sick, and so on.  So when we think about the power Jesus operated in, the power He had to do miracles, it was the power of the Holy Spirit, and He received this when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.

During Jesus’ earthly ministry we do see that Jesus wanted His followers to also operate in this power.  This is clearly recorded in Luke 9, where it specifically says Jesus gave authority and power to the twelve disciples so they could preach, cast out demons and cure diseases.  But apparently that was only a temporary delegation of His authority and power, because notice some of the last words of Jesus to His disciples in Luke and Acts.

(Luke 24:49 NKJV) 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."

(Acts 1:4-8 NKJV) And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 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."

Notice the word “upon” in Luke 3, Luke 24 and Acts 1.  The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in Luke 3, and Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come upon us in Luke 24 and Acts 1. 

Furthermore, in Acts 1:8, Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples they will receive power.  And it’s no surprise that Jesus would say that, because that’s what happened to Him.  The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and He received power.  Jesus knew that the Holy Spirit would come upon the first disciples and they would receive power.  Just as an interesting note, when Jesus gave the disciples power and authority in Luke 9, that was a direct dispensation of His power and authority from Jesus to the disciples, but that was not the Holy Spirit coming upon them at that time. 

Now, as I hope you know, the Holy Spirit did come upon the first disciples in Acts Chapter 2, and they did receive spiritual power, and we see them using that power throughout the book of Acts.  We should also recognize that the Holy Spirit didn’t come upon only the 12 disciples in Acts 2.  I don’t think we could say with certainty exactly how many people were there, but based on Acts 1:15 maybe 120, maybe more.

That occurred on the day of Pentecost, which we just celebrated this past weekend.  Remember that Jesus said in Acts 1 they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit, and that’s what happened in Acts 2.  So when the Holy Spirit came upon these disciples, they were baptized in the Holy Spirit. 

And it’s worth noting that many of the first Christians, in addition to all the disciples gathered together in Acts 2, also received this Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  The Samaritan believers received it in Acts 8.  Some gentile believers received it in Acts 10.  Some Ephesian believers received it in Acts 19, and we have every reason to believe there were many others, we just don’t receive their stories in the Bible. 

You know, the Bible never presents the idea that some believers should receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and some would not.  The Bible is clear that all believers should receive this blessing.  Now the Bible does show us that it’s not always automatic.  It doesn’t always happen at the same time as salvation.  Sometimes you have a separate prayer and a separate experience to receive this Baptism, like both the Samaritans in Acts 8 and the Ephesians in Acts 19, but you should all receive this Baptism just the same.

(Acts 2:38-39 NKJV) Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

Notice the word “promise” that Peter used in Acts 2:39.  Jesus also used that word in both Luke 24 and Acts 1.  Putting His words together in those passages, Jesus specifically tells us that this promise includes both the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and being endued with power from God. 

Let’s also recognize that Peter said this promise, or this Baptism in the Holy Spirit, is for those people listening to them, and to their children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.  My friends, that includes you and me, 2000 years later, and no matter however many miles away from Jerusalem you are, this promise is available to us.

My friends, every single Christian should receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and every single Christian should be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This was always Jesus’ plan.  That we would walk in the power of the Spirit just as He did.  But now we live in a world with the heartbreaking truth that many, many Christians have not received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, they have not had the Holy Spirit come upon them, and they have not received this divine power.

Why do you think the Baptism in the Holy Spirit has become so controversial today?  Why do you think there are so many different teachings about this, and so much confusion?  It’s because the devil doesn’t want you to have this power from the Holy Spirit.  The last thing he wants is another person like Christ walking in the power of the Spirit and going around destroying the works of the devil.  So the devil has fought against this subject like few others.

And just to be clear, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the only way to receive the power of the Spirit.  We don’t have time to do the exhaustive study here, but you are welcome to do it for yourself.  Yes, every Christian has spiritual authority.  Yes, every Christian has the right to use the Name of Jesus.  And with that spiritual authority and the Name of Jesus alone a Christian can do wonderful things, including casting out demons.  But there is no other way to get the power.  The only way to receive the power of the Holy Spirit is to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and that’s the Biblical truth. 

If you don’t know for sure that you have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, today is your day.  At the end of this teaching we will pray together and you can receive it today.  Regardless of whether you receive this blessing today or you received it years ago, please also consider reading my book Understanding and Living With The Holy Spirit, as that will give you a ton of great information on all these subjects.

Now let’s dive deeper into understanding the power of the Holy Spirit.  How should we see this power in our lives?  How can we use this power? 

(Acts 1:8 NKJV) 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."

The first and foremost reason God gives us the power of the Spirit is so that we can witness for Jesus.  That’s what Jesus said to the disciples and that’s exactly what happened in their lives.  In the book of Acts we see the disciples witnessing to Jews, gentiles and Samaritans in Israel’s general geographical area, and then we see others, especially Paul, taking the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean region and to Rome. 

What we don’t see in the Bible, but history tells us, is that many of the first disciples went throughout the world.  Peter traveled to a bunch of places and eventually reached Rome.  Andrew went to the modern Ukraine and Russia areas and Greece.  John also went to a bunch of places in Asia Minor and Ephesus.  Philip may have traveled to North Africa or Gaul.  Bartholomew went to India, Armenia, Mesopotamia and possibly Ethiopia.  Thomas went into Persia and India.  And I could go through a number of the others who traveled far and wide.  And my friends, it’s quite tragic that we don’t have a lot of those details of their journeys, but what undoubtedly wonderful stories those most assuredly are.

So, to put it simply, first and foremost, God wants you to be walking in the power of the Spirit so that you can be a witness for Jesus.  But don’t get hung up on the idea of traveling the world.  Just be open for God to send you anywhere.  God may send you to the phone in your pocket to call a friend.  God may send you to the neighbor’s house.  God may send you to Publix or Walmart.  When I first got saved, God basically sent me to everyone I knew.  Some of my friends got saved, most didn’t.  And I definitely didn’t do a lot of things right, but at least I was a witness.

The key for us is just to be open.  I need to be open to the Lord’s directions in this area 100% of the time.  I need to be always on the clock.  I need to be always on call.  I need to be ready to drop anything and witness the moment I feel the Lord’s leading.  And just as a side note, you can’t get those directions if you are filling your life and your mind with the things of this world.  If you aren’t tuned into the Spirit of God’s frequency you aren’t going to get His transmissions, and that’s just the way it is.

My friends, those of us who have received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit are empowered witnesses for Jesus.  We have the same power of the Spirit that Peter did, that Paul did, that Philip did.  And we need to be walking in it.  We need to recognize this power and walk in it.  For too long many of us, and I’m preaching to myself too, we have been on the sidelines.  This power has come upon us, but we have not been walking in it.  I hope you’ll agree with me that it’s time.  We are empowered witnesses for Jesus and we need to see ourselves correctly.

Now what exactly does that mean, an empowered witness for Jesus?  It means I have power in every way that I need it to be a living witness for Jesus to this lost and dying world.  Here are a few verses –

(Luke 21:15 NKJV) for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

(Philippians 2:13 NKJV) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

(Colossians 1:28-29 NKJV) Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

(2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV) And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Physical strength, wise words, Godly desires, all of these and more are available to you and resident within you.  But not just in a human strength kind of way, but rather, supernaturally.  You need to see yourself this way.  Quit looking at your flesh and your struggles and your problems and feeling defeated in your desires to serve God’s Kingdom and witness for Jesus.  God knows everything going on in your life, but you are still an empowered witness for Jesus.   

Let’s just briefly look at that passage from 2 Corinthians 12 when Paul is talking about his thorn in the flesh, regardless of what that may have been (and people disagree), Paul had this spiritual power to overcome it.  The word “strength” in that passage is the same word translated power as well.  Jesus said His power is made perfect in weakness.  Maybe you feel down or inadequate or insecure or maybe you don’t even feel physically good.  Whatever it is that would hold you back or try to stop you, God’s power is still with you.  And when you rise up despite the opposition, the power of Christ rests upon you and helps you get the job done for the Kingdom of God.

I understand, maybe you were baptized in the Holy Spirit years ago and you don’t feel any power right now.  Maybe you haven’t done anything for the Kingdom of God in a long time.  That’s ok.  We can’t go back.  But we can press forward.  And now, you need to get out there.  Join a ministry that puts you around the unsaved.  Find a place to serve.  Just get on Google and find one.  Just get a list of your church’s outreach ministries and go serve.  And if you hate it, then be open to quitting and joining another one.  Pray about it.  God will get you to the right one.  Personally, I volunteer with New Life Warehouse in Tampa and we regularly have the opportunity to share the Gospel as we deliver furniture.  Find a feeding ministry or a homeless ministry.  Find a place to serve where you can be out there.  You just gotta do it.  And friends, if you are a Christian and you are not serving anywhere, that’s wrong, and you are missing out.

Maybe all the places you feel called to serve mostly include people who are already Christians.  That’s ok, there’s nothing wrong with that.  But let the Holy Spirit guide you outside of your Christian service into witnessing opportunities.  You have to live on mission for Jesus.  As you go through your life, as you interact with people, let the Holy Spirit lead you.  Honestly, this is kind of hard for me.  I sit in my house on a computer practicing law all day.  I don’t meet a lot of people, and I don’t have a lot of interactions with people that lend themselves to ministry or preaching the Gospel.  So I just need to stay open all the time.  In the relatively few interactions that I have, I need to always be open and ready, and I’m going to do a better job of that.

Now, what about other uses of this spiritual power?  What about the supernatural and the miracles and all the other manifestations of this power we see in the Bible. 

To study how else this power should be used we can look at the Greek word translated “power” in Luke 24 and Acts 1, which is the word “dunamis.”  That word is used 120 times in the New Testament and specifically means force or power, and it is translated as ability, power, strength, miracle, and mighty works, among others.

The word “dunamis” is used a number of times when referring to Jesus’ miracles, for example when Jesus referred to His miracles in Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida in Matthew Chapter 11.  The word “dunamis” is used to describe the power that flowed out of Jesus to heal the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5.  Similarly, in Luke 6 when Jesus healed many people, the Bible says that dunamis went out of Jesus to heal them all.  So there is no doubt that this power will work for physical healings.

(Mark 16:17-18 NKJV) And these signs will follow those who believe . . .  they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

If you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you have been endued with the healing power of God.  You have received the healing power of God.  You need to be laying hands on the sick.  I get it, sometimes you feel awkward when doing so.  Sometimes we are tempted to think it won’t do anything.  But we just need to start doing it.  In the same way we just need to start witnessing, we just need to start praying for the sick.

And I think the same points that will help you start witnessing will help you start praying for the sick.  There are a lot of unsaved people in the world, and there are a lot of sick people in the world.  There are a lot of unsaved people who would not listen to you about Jesus, and there a lot who would.  You don’t really know which people fall into which group, so you need to listen to the Holy Spirit and be led by God in your witnessing.  In the same way, you need to listen to the Holy Spirit and be led by God as you pray for the sick.  But the default position is that we are always ready to pray and lay hands.

As I go through life we are going to encounter people that need Jesus and people that need healing.  And we, my brothers and sisters, have what they need.  We are empowered to share both the Gospel and the healing power of God.  So when you encounter one of these people, check with the Holy Spirit.  God, should I pray, should I witness.  I just do my best to quickly check with the Holy Spirit.  Do I feel “go,” do I feel a push to move forward in witnessing or praying.  If so, then I go for it.

Then, just keep it simple.  Hi, how are you doing?  My name is Byron.  Can I pray for you?  Or, after you are talking to someone about whatever random subject as you go through life, “I’m a Christian and I like to pray for people, can I pray with you about anything.”  And then when you are done praying, “do you know Jesus.”  Or, “have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior.” Or, as an alternative, “can I pray with you for your healing.  Jesus said Christians should lay hands on people for their physical restoration, can I lay hands on you and pray for you.” 

My friends, I don’t want to suggest that I’m great at this or that I do it nearly as often as I should.  I need to get better about it.  But let’s just start simply and ask God to lead us to some people.  We have jobs to do in the lost and dying world, and God will help us do them.  And you need to be ready to be inconvenienced.  It’s going to interrupt your schedule.  It’s going to take a few minutes.  But you’ll see, God will supernaturally take care of everything else in your life while you are about your Father’s business.  And you will never miss the few minutes you spent praying for someone or witnessing to someone.

OK, what about other uses for this power?  I would say that this is a little more complicated.  Look at these verses -

(Acts 6:8 NKJV) And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

(2 Corinthians 12:12 NKJV) Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

(Hebrews 2:1-4 NKJV) Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

The Bible certainly suggests that the early apostles and disciples worked a number of miracles.  We do see Jesus work other miracles aside from healings, including turning the water into wine, stopping the storm, feeding the multitudes, bringing in big groups of fish to the disciples’ nets, and so on.  But the vast majority of His miracles, and virtually all of the disciples miracles, involved healing the sick.

When we look at the non-healing miracles, I’m not sure we could say with certainty whether they were a function of Jesus’ authority or a function of the dunamis power of the Spirit.  I think stilling the storm, for example, is a clear example of Jesus’ using His authority over the natural realm, which hearkens all the way back to the dominion humans should have over the earth as stated in Genesis 1.  As we are in Christ, we also have that same authority.  The miracles with the large catches of fish are probably also an exercise of authority rather than power.

So I don’t know how much clear guidance one could give, if one wants to be Biblically accurate, about non-healing miracles, and about uses of the dunamis power that we get outside of the healing context. 

To further complicate matters, we must recognize 1 Corinthians 12:29 and 30, where Paul specifically says that not all Christians have the Spiritual Gifts of healings and miracles.  Now we shouldn’t take that to an extreme and say a person without those gifts could never use the power of the Holy Spirit to work a miracle or effectuate a healing, but it’s not going to be a major point of ministry in your life if you haven’t been assigned those gifts.  And let me just complete that thought by saying if you really want those gifts to help others and/or glorify God, that is probably a Holy Ghost desire in you to start studying those gifts and pressing in on those subjects so you can start operating in those gifts.

Let me tell you a little story and I admit, it’s a little gross, and I’m sorry.  I was with two Christian friends and we were staying in my friends RV for a few nights in St. Augustine.  We are all Christians, and we were fellowshipping and spending time together.  We woke up one day and the toilet wouldn’t flush.  My friend described the problem where apparently human waste can build up in such a way that it doesn’t go through the RV’s plumbing system correctly and then you can’t use the toilet.  Now my friends aren’t as crazy as I am, so I didn’t tell them what I was going to do.  While they were doing something else I went back to the bathroom and I commanded the waste to move into the plumbing system correctly and the toilet system to work, in Jesus’ Name.  I waited a few minutes and then I tried it again.  It worked perfectly and we never had another problem.  It was a miracle.  The power of God flowed through me to fix the RV’s plumbing system.  It turned out my friend had come back near the bathroom about the same time I was praying and he had heard me.  So he knew we had received a miracle.  It was both hilarious and awesome, and we glorified God.

Here is my point.  I wouldn’t dare to try to categorize all the different ways that God’s power can be used in your life.  The most important point is recognizing that, if you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you do have God’s power in your life, and you need to start using it.  And don’t just think about it or use it as a last resort.  No matter what situation you encounter as you go through life, be ready to pray and release the power of God.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been fretting about something or dismayed about something, and I feel the Holy Spirit say something like, “well, are you going to pray about that.”  We need to be using this power and authority all the time! 

Jesus said, in Mark 11, that you can speak to the mountain and it will move.  You need to be speaking in the mountains in your life.  You need to be speaking to any giant in your way.  You need to be speaking to any obstacle, any problem, anything that stands between you and what you know is God’s will.  Let the Holy Spirit give you the words and actions as you pray.  Maybe you need to speak to a rock to get some water.  Maybe you need to speak to some food to multiply.  Maybe you need to curse a fig tree.  The Holy Spirit knows what you should do and how to see victory in every situation, and He will lead you into using this power for God’s will in your life.

My friends, God wants everyone baptized in the Holy Spirit.  I’ve explained that a number of times in other episodes, and I remind you again here.  And why would God want that?  I’m sure there are lots of reasons, but a minimum, God wants every Christian to be a Spirit-empowered witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ.  God wants you to be endued with His power from on high.  God wants you to receive this power, because God knows you are going to need it.

Remember, we have these treasures in earthen vessels.  We are flesh.  We have weaknesses.  We have struggles.  But when we are weak then we are strong.  Not in the sense that we just grin and bear it, but Jesus’ power is made perfect in weakness.  When we encounter a situation we can’t overcome, when we encounter a need that requires supernatural assistance, we have the Holy Spirit and His power resident within us and we need to use it.  We need to think like this and live like this.

You are empowered to witness.  You are empowered to lay hands on the sick and see them recover.  You are also empowered to work other miracles as the Spirit leads you as you go through your life.  I couldn’t possible tell you about all the different kinds of miracles that you might work, and that’s a wonderful truth.  We will all encounter different situations, but God will help us through them all.  And God will show you how to use His power to accomplish His good and perfect will in your life.

So start witnessing, start praying for the sick, start commanding mountains to move.  You will see this power show up and work with you, and, soon enough, you will start seeing people get saved, people get healed, and mountains moving in your life.  And my friends, seeing God’s power work through you to accomplish His will is one of the most exciting things that life has to offer, and God has offered it to us all.

Friends, I hope you enjoyed this message.  If you did please like, subscribe, follow, share this with a friend, etc.  I love you, God bless you, and we’ll talk again soon.