Acts 1:6-8. Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, everything changes. The resurrected Christ knew this, which is why, at His ascension, He gave His disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Jesus knew that human strength, knowledge, and zeal were powerless to overthrow the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the devil, and to accomplish world evangelization.
Only the Spirit’s power from the throne of the Triune God could transform ordinary people into bold witnesses of the gospel. That is why Jesus emphasized that the utmost importance in the believer’s life is to experience the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.
When the Spirit of God comes upon you, He fills you with assurance, conviction, and boldness (Acts 2:1-17). Consider Peter. Before Pentecost, he denied even knowing Jesus three times. Yet after being filled with the Holy Spirit, he stood before crowds and rulers, declaring with power that Jesus was the Christ.
At the temple gate, he invoked the name of Jesus, and a crippled man who had never walked rose to his feet (Acts 3:6). Peter saw, for the first time, the reality of Christ’s power flowing through him—not because of his own strength or godliness, but because of the Spirit’s filling. He said to the crowd,
“Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? … By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:12, 16)
The same Peter who once feared now proclaimed Christ without hesitation. Even when arrested and threatened, he declared:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)
The leaders saw that Peter and John had no special training, yet they also saw something undeniable: “These men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Amid unspeakable persecution, the Early Church did not pray for safety or comfort. They prayed for boldness: “Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29). God answered by filling them again with the Holy Spirit. The result was a community marked by great power, deep unity, sacrificial generosity, and unstoppable witness (Acts 4:31-35).
This same Spirit is what the church needs today. In a broken and hostile world, He fills us with His power and makes us strong, firm, and steadfast (1 Peter 5:10). Through His filling, the gospel spreads not just in words, but with power, conviction, and joy (1 Thessalonians 1:5).
When filled with the Holy Spirit, we live with a God-given mission. The apostles appointed men like Stephen and Philip to serve, but the Spirit empowered them to proclaim Christ with wisdom and courage. Stephen’s testimony cost him his life (Acts 7:54-60). Philip’s preaching brought great joy to Samaria and even reached the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:4-40). In each case, the Spirit fulfilled the promise of Acts 1:8: the gospel reaching the nations beyond Jerusalem and Judea.
The Spirit also transforms the church into God’s instrument for world missions. He changed Saul, once the enemy of the church, into Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). He shifted Peter’s heart through Cornelius (Acts 10) and raised Antioch as the launching ground for global missions (Acts 13:1-3). God’s plan has always been to change individuals so they can change the world.
For this reason, evangelism and missions are not optional—they are God’s greatest desire. The Christian life without evangelism is empty to God. He did not entrust this work to angels but to His children because evangelism is the greatest blessing and privilege. Sadly, many believers live without knowing this blessing, following the ways of the world, which is the deception of the devil.
We have only one life, and it is too short to live for anything less than God’s desire: saving this generation and passing the covenant of Christ to the next. That is why we must remain in Christ, enter deeply into prayer, and enjoy Him until no circumstance can shake us. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the only way to live this life of mission and witness.
Prayer. Lord Jesus, I thank You for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Fill me with the power of the throne so I may live as Your witness. Open my eyes to see what others cannot see, send me to places others will not go, and accomplish through me what no one else can do. Use me as Your instrument of the gospel, for the sake of this generation and the next. In Your mighty name, Amen.