The following is an excerpt from my new book “Clothed With Power: An Introduction to Walking in the Power of God.” This section is taken from Chapter 2 “Why Do We Need Power?”

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1. JESUS SAID IT

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Acts 1:8

The disciples spent years with Jesus, so you would think they would be qualified and ready to preach the gospel. After all, the disciples saw Jesus do miracles, and the disciples did miracles themselves. They got the inside scoop on the kingdom, the meanings of the parables, and had a unique friendship with Jesus.

Yet, after Jesus died and resurrected, He appeared to them, and told the disciples to go and preach the gospel. Before they went, however, they had to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them.

This reveals an important facet of the Christian life. Before you go out and preach the gospel, you need to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. If this was true for the most qualified disciples, how much more for us? When Jesus was speaking to the disciples about their need for the power of God, He was also speaking to us.

The apostle Paul believed in the power of God too. When he went to Corinth to preach, he described his ministry like this:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 NIV

Our faith is meant to rest on the power of God. But if the power of God never shows up, how are people supposed to have faith the way God wants them to? I’d rather do ministry the way God intended: full of the power of the Holy Spirit.

One of the ways that the power Jesus spoke of in Acts 1:8 showed up was through miracles. The healing of the cripple at the Gate Beautiful, people healed and delivered through Peter’s shadow, the dead raised, and the various other miracles recorded in the gospels and Acts display the power of the Holy Spirit. And of course, the greatest miracle is people receiving the gift of salvation and becoming born again.

One time I was doing a livestream service on Zoom for a church and God pointed a young lady out to me. Through a word of knowledge, I saw her playing sports and asked if she did so. She told me she did but could no longer play because she had developed iron deficiency anemia which caused lethargy.

I realized I was in a God-ordained moment. Just a week before I was talking with some friends about another young man who had been healed of anemia! I briefly shared this man’s testimony and prayed for her healing; her mother prayed as well.

A month later the report came that she had stopped taking her medications believing she had been healed. After a blood test, it was revealed that her iron levels were normal! This miracle was the result of the power Jesus spoke of in Acts 1:8.

If we want to live as Jesus lived, we need the same power source Jesus had.

2. JESUS WALKED IN POWER

Every denomination believes that believers are called to be like Jesus. That’s why the WWJD, “What Would Jesus Do,” acronym is still floating around out there. We all agree that Jesus is the standard. So, if Jesus is the one we’re following, we ought to follow Him into a life of power.

If the followers don’t live like the leader, then the followers aren’t following that well! But by the grace of God, we can live like Jesus.

Jesus said this, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12 NIV).

Jesus said we can do the same things He did! And even greater things. Look at how Matthew described the miracles Jesus performed:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.

Matthew 4:23–24

Acts 10:38 describes Jesus’ life like this, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

If Jesus walked in power, then it would only follow suit that His followers should also walk in power. The goal is for people to see Jesus in His followers.

Bill Johnson explains what it is to be a witness for God: “To give witness is to ‘represent.’ This actually means to re-present Him. Therefore, to re-present Him without power is a major shortcoming. It is impossible to give an adequate witness of God without demonstrating His supernatural power.”[1]

I remember one time ministering to a young girl who had a spirit of suicide. Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head as the demon was trying to take over. I asked her if there was anyone she needed to forgive and she ended up forgiving an ex-boyfriend. When she forgave him, we commanded the spirit to go, and the evil spirit left her. She then received the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues!

Isn’t it amazing how God is still using His people to bring healing and freedom? Jesus continues His ministry today through His people!

[1] Bill Johnson, When Heaven Invades Earth (Shippensburg, PA: Treasure House/Destiny Image, 2003), 119.

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Question: Why do you think it’s neccesary to have the power of God? Comment below!

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