"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) Power is one notion that cuts across every sphere of human existence. We speak of power in social circles, science, government, politics, law, medicine, arts, etc. And while the term power might mean different things in these various fields of endeavour, one unifying factor is that they all agree on one thing: and that is the dynamism of power. Power is dynamic. Power can only be measured or ascertained by the influence, effect and motion it causes. In science, power is generally defined as the ability to do work, or a measure of the rate at which energy is transferred or dissipated. It takes power to transfer (or move) energy from one point to another; and life is all about the movement of energy! From the continuous rotation of the earth on its axis to the revolution of the stars and planets around the sun, our world is created with the notion that stagnancy is unnatural. Everything is always on the move. The hand of the clock never stops for a minute to catch its breath. Whether we move along with life or remain immobile depends on the amount of power we have..
Power is that which enables us to move; and when I speak of movement I refer to more than simply the act of transferring our physical body from one point to another. I speak to include spiritual, emotional, intellectual, career, financial movement and progression. Little wonder when it came time to fulfill the heartbeat of God on earth, Jesus said that the disciples needed power even to become sons of God. To be an effective christian and a proper witness for Christ in the world requires a special kind of power. To rule your world and influence it for Christ require a special empowerment.
And you shall receive power! The first thing that happens when we receive the Holy Spirit is that power comes upon us. At the Pentecost, this power was symbolised by a tongue of fire upon each of their heads. Today, we may not see a physical tongue of fire upon our heads, but it is there as long as we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Quick question, what happened to the tongue of fire on the heads of the disciples when the received the Holy Spirit? Did the fire go out? No, it never went out. It became invisible. God only chose to make it visible just to show that something phenomenal has taken place. After that showing forth, the fire became invisible to the human eyes. Today, though we may not see the fire upon our heads, but it is always there. For as many as receive, to them He has given that power!