"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, KJV) When Jesus promised the disciples the Holy Spirit, it was clearly stated what the Holy Spirit was going to accomplish in their lives. The first thing is that they will receive power; and this power was to help them witness effectively for Christ. The Living Bible puts it so beautifully: "But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power to testify about me with great effect..."(TLB). The power of the Holy Spirit is manifested when we witness for Christ. The Holy Spirit was not given so that we can heal the sick, raise the dead and walk upon the sea, etc. No; the Holy Spirit was given so that we can witness for Christ. You must realize that you don't need the Holy Spirit to be able to perform miracles even though miracles are one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Now, I know that statement sounds scary! But it is true. I also know that taken out of this context, that statement can be misinterpreted, so please don't take it out of this context. Recall that long before the Holy Spirit was given the disciples were sent out and they cast out devils and healed the sick and raised the dead, etc. (Matt 10: 1-8, Luke 10:17-20) Now someone may argue that Jesus sent them and He must have given them the Holy Spirit. Then, what about the stranger that the disciples tried to stop. Who sent him out? And who gave him the Holy Spirit?(Luke 9:49). The point here is to show that the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit was not for the gifts (1 Cor 12:7-11), but for the fruit (Gal 5:22); and these fruit are to enable us witness effectively for Christ. As a matter of fact, Jesus made it clear that miracles are performed purely by believing in the name of Jesus; not necessarily by demonstration of spiritual gift (Mark 16:17-18). But today, we have turned our priorities upside down. .
The people we regard as Spirit-filled and highly anointed are those who can perform miracles! We have placed little or no regard on the life which the Holy Spirit is supposed to produce in us. Little wonder the devil is sending out a lot of false miracle workers to deceive the church.
When people see the Holy Spirit at work in our live, they will be drawn to Christ. And when I say at work I do not necessarily mean performing miracles, I mean mostly living a life that show forth love, peace, joy, goodness, temperance, kindness, etc. Our lives are the written epistle which the Holy Spirit writes to the present world. If we would win our sinful world for Christ, we must realign our priorities and allow the Holy Spirit to produce in us His fruit which is what our world desperately needs. And you shall become witnesses! It is an error to be carrying the Holy Spirit without witnessing for Christ. Some of us have been speaking in tongues for years, but still find it difficult to talk to others about our faith, about Jesus, and about the salvation from sin. But Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will help us witness for Him. So this message is a wake up call to every child of God filed with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is for us to become better witnesses for Jesus through words and character. That is when we experience the full power which the Holy Spirit brings upon us.