Power from on High

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 100, Power from on High.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8.

Let that word settle for just a moment. Receive. Not "produce." Not "work up." Receive. Jesus wasn't handing his disciples a self-improvement plan. He was making them a promise. And that distinction changes everything — because if power is something you receive, then the first move isn't to try harder. The first move is to open wider.

The strength of the Christian life doesn't rise up from inside you. It comes down. It descends. And that is one of the most freeing truths in all of Scripture, if you'll let it reach you — because it means God isn't waiting for you to become more capable before He uses you. He's waiting for you to become more available.

But notice what the disciples did before they went anywhere: they waited. Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem, and they stayed. And I know there is someone listening today who is in a wait that feels like wasted time — a door that hasn't opened yet, a calling you feel in your chest that hasn't moved yet. Let me tell you something with everything I have: not every delay is a detour. Some delays are God's preparation. He has never been late once in the whole of human history. He will not be late with you.

And when the power comes — and it comes — it doesn't come to put you on a stage. It comes to make you a witness. The Holy Spirit doesn't equip you for performance. He equips you for a mission. There is a world of difference between wanting to impress people and wanting to reach them. God is in the business of the second.

And the reach starts where you are. Jerusalem first. Not the end of the earth — your street. Your home. Your workplace. This verse has a geographic order, and it starts small on purpose. Because a faith that cannot be faithful with what is nearest will not be faithful with what is farthest.

And being a witness — it doesn't require eloquence. You don't need all the theological answers. A witness only needs a story. What God has done in you is already a message. Your story of transformation, of provision, of peace in the middle of chaos — that is already evidence. You don't have to preach a sermon. You just have to open your mouth with honesty.

So today, before breakfast, do one thing. Just one. Grab a piece of paper, grab your phone, grab whatever is in your hand — and write down a name. One person from your Jerusalem. Someone close. Someone you see every week. And then, in prayer, ask the Holy Spirit for one opportunity to bless that person today. Not an opportunity you manufacture — one that He opens. And keep your eyes up. Because when the Spirit prepares you for a mission, He also prepares the way.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.