Greatness of God's Church: Hope SingaporeSample

The Greatness of the Empowerment of God’s Church In the Old Testament, David was anointed by Samuel and he was empowered by the Spirit of God to lead the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, God gave His Church the Holy Spirit to empower the Church to move in power and anointing to fulfill the call that God has given to the Church of Jesus Christ. In Acts 1:8, the Holy Spirit has been promised to the disciples, not just one disciple but a community of them, to be witnesses for Jesus from Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The disciples were to witness with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for Jesus. At Pentecost, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and they were enabled to speak in tongues. The people around came and witnessed this great event in amazement. Peter, who was a fishermen, unschooled and religiously untrained, preached his first public sermon and spoke with power and wisdom to witness for Christ right after the Pentecost! He preached and cited the words by the prophet Joel to explain the availability of, the experience and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that would be given to followers of Jesus. After Peter’s preaching (Acts 2:42-47), the empowered community shared lives together with sincere hearts, devoted themselves to serving one another, learning of the Word of God and praying. Many came to join them in their empowered community living and witnessing for Jesus. All this happened in the midst of all the persecution the Church was facing and going through! The mandate given to the Church is so great that no man can fulfill it alone. God has never intended for this to be done by a lone ranger but his intent is through His Church. Neither did Jesus leave the Church to fulfill it on her own after giving the commandment. The Holy Spirit, His presence and empowerment is given to His Church to live and witness powerfully for the glory of Jesus! REFLECTION • Do you believe in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised? Have you experienced this empowerment that God intended for you to have to be a living testimony for Jesus?