Empowered to Witness – Are we taking seriously what God is calling us to?

Empowered to Witness

June 26, 2025

Scripture: Acts 1:8 (ESV) — “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.”

I have to ask this morning? Where is our power and authority coming from? I’m not speaking about success, results, or the things that make us look successful, smart, intelligent, or having it all together. I’m speaking about what brings us to the place we need to be. Not in the physical, worldly sense but in soul way, in a spiritual soul changing way. What in the inner depths of ourselves has brought us to the place where we are and is it truly a good place. A place that reflects God’s kingdom.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He left His disciples with a promise and a purpose. The promise was power—the power of the Holy Spirit. The purpose was witness—to testify to who Jesus is, beginning right where they were and extending to the ends of the earth.

This moment marks a turning point for the early church. Jesus didn’t send them out with just good intentions or kind words. Jesus sent them with power. Power to speak boldly. Power to love radically. Power to endure trials. Power to proclaim truth in a broken world. I have been thinking of my own life and what I recognize in others of those things which are trying to steal the power and authority from us. We are never all going to agree, however we must be in agreement with the Holy Spirit.

The same promise Jesus made was that the Holy Spirit would be with us, until the very end. The Holy Spirit is not something distant but a present power, available to every believer. We are called to witness—not just with our lips but with our lives. In our families (Jerusalem), our communities (Judea), among those different from us (Samaria), and beyond (to the ends of the earth).

We don’t have to wait until we feel ready. The Holy Spirit empowers us right where we are. Wherever your “Jerusalem” is today—home, work, school—you are sent there as a witness. The world doesn’t need perfect people; it needs Spirit-filled people willing to point to Jesus.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit, fill me with Your power. Make me bold. Make me faithful. Help me be a witness of Jesus wherever You send me today. Amen.

Thanks for reading – I am really praying that we all can move back into the age of the Holy Spirit is being revealed in all that we do.

Pastor Calvin