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Misuse of Power
Part III - A Command By Christ To The
New Testament Church
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   The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 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 1:1-8.
   Ye shall receive power...ye shall be witnesses...unto the uttermost part of the earth. A great commission to the New Testament Church. "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel..." Now they were about to receive the power behind the preaching.
   And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. Acts 1:9-11.
   When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He didn't go to just be going. He didn't leave just because it was time for Him to-He went back to the right hand of God to be our personal intecessor to the Father-our personal High Priest. He left so the Comforter could come.
   Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Acts 1:12-14.
   Does anyone believe that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had to receive the Holy Ghost to be saved? Who could be so foolish?
   This, then, is the setting into which the Church received power to go forth with the Gospel into all the world. Let's explore further, this power that the Church received:
 
THE CHURCH RECEIVES POWER WAITING UPON THE LORD
     Christ, The Head Of The Church, received the power of the Spirit at (after) water baptism: And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. Matthew 3:16. And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. Luke 4:1
 
A PREPARATION FOR A GREAT SERVICE
     We now take a look at an Old Testament prayer by Moses: And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them! Numbers 11:29.
   Another Old Testament prophet, Joel, foresaw the outpour-ing of the Holy Spirit upon mankind: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. Joel 2:28-29.
   Peter said, "This is that", meaning the power of the Spirit:   But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:16-21.
 
THE CHURCH MUST COME TO JESUS AND WAIT FOR SPIRITUAL POWER
     In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37-38.
   This, indeed, is the Holy Ghost power of the Spirit which was promised by Christ to the New Testament Church of TODAY.
   But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you... Acts 1:8. One hundred and twenty received it (Acts 1:14-15), including Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
   Further exploration of the coming of the Holy Spirit:
   And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. Acts 2:1-13.
   What's truly sad about this is, the Church world of today is still wondering. It is much easier to believe and receive. The only wonder I have is, which one of the above-mentioned many understood Mary, the Mother of Jesus, when she spoke by the Spirit after she received the mighty Holy Ghost power?
   Even as they were witnesses to this great manifestation of the Holy Ghost, there were those who, not knowing what it could be, made fun and mocked the Holy goings-on. But Peter (and we remember him, don't we?) stood up amongst them and explained that what they were witnessing was that which had been spoken of by the prophet Joel (referenced above). Peter let them know that this was that which Jesus had promised to send to them before He ascended to Heaven. They were convicted in their hearts and Scripture tells us that they asked, "What shall we do?"
   Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:38-39
 
THE CHURCH IN ACTION--
     MOVING OUT TO DO HIS PERFECT WILL
     After receiving power for a special service (commission to preach the Gospel to all nations), the Church was sent out to evanglize the world: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:19-21. Thus, the Church received the commission.
   And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Mark 16:15-20.
   Thus, the Church acted on the commission. "Go Ye" is her (the Church's) great commission into all the world, to all nations, to every creature.
   Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. John 20:21. Again, we read of Jesus' command to the believers that they were to go forth and spread the Gospel: ...So send I you. Not to just go out into the world, but to go as His Father sent Him. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. John 6:38. So if we are sent as the Father sent Jesus, does this mean that we are to obey Jesus' will (Who sends us) just as Jesus obeyed the Father's will (Who sent Him)? Yes, it does: ...As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
 
GO IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT
     ...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Acts 10:38. Yes, God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power. He wasn't sent forth merely in and of Himself-He was saturated with (completely full of) power from on high! This is how we are to go out into the world to carry the gospel ...As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
   Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:18-20.
    The Church has the power on earth to bind and loose, in the name of Jesus.
 
JESUS DWELLS WITHIN OUR HEARTS BY FAITH
     Jesus is the Lord of our lives. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. I John 4:4,8. Jesus works through the Church to destroy the works of the devil. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. I John 5:4.
 
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
     Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:17-18, 26.
 
AFTER ALL, IT IS CHRIST AND NOT WE OURSELVES, FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S
     ...This is the word of the LORD...saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6. Let us fear only God, keep His commandments, and live forever with Him!
   End Part III, "Misuse of Power" Continued...
 
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