YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER

By Dr. Moses Alagbe ( D.Min)

Maranatha Community Transformation Center.
Amsterdam.

This compilation of Scriptural facts and life experiences is done to encourage you as a
believer to begin to understand how to receive power for living as God intends for you to
live.

There are many believers that are weak and unable to enjoy the fullness of life as
promised and given by our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I assume that you must also
believe every thing He says and all His promises. It doesn’t make sense to claim faith in
Christ and at the same time not believe everything He says .

The fact that you are reading this book is a good sign that you desire to know what the
Lord has prepared for you as his child. My prayer is that the Lord Himself will give you
understanding that is needed to receive the power He promised all those that believe in
Him.

Sovereign Act of God.

The release of God’s Spirit is not limited to the New Testament.

God at different times in the Old Testament chooses to release His Spirit on individuals
for a specific assignment.
Going back to the beginning, in the account of the creation of the world, It was the Spirit
of God through the spoken Word of God that brought into reality everything that God
commanded to be created. The active work of the Spirit, is therefore significant in the
process of creation.

Secondly, after forming man from clay in Genesis 2 verse 7. God had to breath on man
to activate him to life. It was the breath of God that brought man into existence.

In the third instance, there are several occasions when God had to release His Spirit on
individuals for a specific assignment that God wants them to do despite the fact that
man already had the breath of God that enables him to live.( Exodus 35 verse 30- 32)
This is clearly different from the spirit that was received at creation ( without which no
man can live , by the way, I want you to remember that we are all living on a borrowed
life. Your life ( the spirit ) does not belong to you. It belongs to God and God can at
anytime requires it back from you. ).

In summary, all human being had been giving life through the spirit of God. But not
all human being is given the Spirit of God for specific assignment.
Israelites Journey to the Promised land in Comparison to Believers journey to
eternal home

Remember as you read the book Exodus which gives the account of the deliverance of
the Israelites, that they were all delivered and on their way to the promised land. This
was a shadow of our own journey as believers in Jesus Christ. We have been delivered
from the power of darkness, we have been set free from eternal condemnation. We have
been given a new life in Christ Jesus, but we are still on a great journey to our eternal
home. My prayer is that you will not give up on this journey. Many already gave up
and went on a wrong way. This is also similar to what happened to the Israelites on their
way to the promised land. It is therefore important to believe and receive the power
that will see you through , the power that sets you apart as witness unto our Lord
Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in the Gospel of John 6 verse 63 that the Word I speak to you is Spirit and
they are life and that God is Spirit (John 4 verse 24) . We cannot separate the Word from
the Spirit neither can we separate the Spirit from God. As God is the giver of the Spirit in
the Old testament, so is Jesus Christ ( the Word ) the giver and the baptizer of the Holy
Spirit and fire in the New testament. They cannot be separated. God the father, God the
Son (The Word) and God the Spirit cannot be separated. This can easily be seen in the
Scripture however this is not the focal attention of this pamphlet.

The promise of the Holy Spirit is from Jesus Christ to all those who believe in Him.

The Witness of John The Baptist.

God is a God of order. Everything He does are all planned and executed accordingly. A
hint to the birth of John the Baptist was given to prophet Isaiah ( Isaiah…………..
several years before John was born. His birth was one of the several miracles of God,
where the natural order of things were set aside for the manifestation of God’s glory. You
can read the complete story in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1.
According to the Scripture John had a special Spirit right from the womb for the special
assignment that God wants him to do.
When he began his ministry, it was obvious that he was different. He spoke with
boldness, not afraid of Herod or the religious leaders, Pharisees and soldiers and many
ordinary people were confronted and convicted through his ministration. They all trooped
to him to repent and be baptized.
John the Baptist did brought a great revival , huge numbers of people repented of their
sin and evil ways and turn back to God, but in all his ministry, John new that there is one
thing that he cannot do. In Mathew 3 verse 11. He publicly declared that I baptized you
with water but there come one whose sanders I’m not worthy to unloose, he shall
baptized you with the Holy Spirit and fire. John new as God revealed to him that
there is more to receive after repentance. He new that Jesus is coming and one of the
importance of His ministry is to baptize people with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The ministry of John the Baptist was not a myth , it is a historical fact recorded in other
Jewish literature. ( book of Josephus )
In this Scriptures in Mathew and Luke , we have our first encounter with this revelation
about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and who the baptizer is.

Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Jesus himself as an example unto us was baptized with the Holy Spirit immediately
after he was baptized in water by John the Baptist. At that point God opened the eyes of
John to see what was happening in the spiritual realm. I believe that this was done for
us who have chosen to follow Jesus that we may know that we also need the baptism of
the Holy Spirit.
In Luke chapter 4 verse 18-19 Jesus confirmed the prophesy of prophet Isaiah in Isaiah
61 in his first contact with the religious leader in the synagogue as he opened the book to
read., “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for I have been anointed to ………..”

Throughout his ministry Jesus ministered in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit he was able to be a witness unto God, he was able to show us
who God the father is, His power, His authority , His compassion , His mercy etc.
He declared to his audience, whoever have seen me have seen the father,
He healed the sick and delivered those in spiritual captivity by the power of the Holy
Spirit . He was not afraid to confront injustice, He was bold to face the Pharisees , the
religious and political leaders of his days. He attributed everything he does to the father
( who he said was Spirit ). He does nothing on His own accord . Everything He does is
what the father ( The Spirit) commanded Him to do. He clearly demonstrated to us that
we do not belong to our selves, but to the father and if we belong to the father, we cannot
do anything just on our own without the leading of the Spirit.

Jesus and his disciples.

At different times in His ministry he sent out his disciples to accomplish specific
assignments. He gave them power and authority needed for the accomplishment of these
assignments Luke 9: 1- 6
Before he was crucified, he spoke about the promised Holy Spirit John Luke 24: 49, Acts
1: 4-8
He referred to the Holy Spirit as a gift that the father is ready to give Luke 11.13 ( We
can ask for the baptism of the holy Spirit)
He commanded his disciples to wait at Jerusalem for the baptism Acts 1:8
He already promised not to leave them as orphans John 14: 15-18
Therefore he promised to send his spirit back . As a person he can only be at one place
at one time but as the spirit, he has no boundary, he can be at every where at any and
every time.
I do not know if the disciples really understood all these as he spoke to them , but one
thing I know that is very clear from the accounts of the Gospel is that they believe in
Him and all his promises. There was no where recorded that they doubt him with the
exception of Thomas who want to see his resurrected master before believing. Hence
Jesus said in John 20: 29 Blesses are those who believe without seeing

Faith is therefore important in receiving the promised Holy Spirit.

Disciples.
The disciples of Jesus are ordinary people like you and me. Non of them has ever being
to Rabanic school , most were ordinary fisher men from Galilee. I believe they were
selected by Jesus to show us that the only condition necessary to be used of God is
faith. It doesn’t matter your family background, economic statue or educational
qualification. God doesn’t deal with the outside but with the heart. If you believe and you
are ready to follow Jesus , understanding that you are no more of your own, you have
been bought with a price, you were created by Christ and through Christ for his purpose.
If you understand that life is meaningful only if lived to serve and please God, then Christ
is ready to baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
When the time came for Jesus to ascend to heaven, he commanded his disciples to wait
for the promised Holy Spirit. They should not do anything in terms of ministry
without the Holy Spirit. This is amazing. Remember, Jesus did not start his ministry
before he was baptized with the Holy Spirit. The same applies here to the disciples. They
were commanded to wait , for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew that he is no
more physically with them, he knew that they can do nothing on their own without him,
for in him they live and move and have their being. It is through his power that works
mightily is them that they can continue to be witness unto him. It is through his spirit that
they can have authority over forces of darkness. It is through the spirit that they can set
the captive free. Without the anointing, they will powerless, fearful and non-effective.
In obedience and faith, they wait for the promised Holy Spirit. The day of Pentecost came
and they were all baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Bible recorded the events of the day.
They all spoke in a strange tongues. Many people from other tongues were able to
understand them and were amazed that the disciples could speak their language. This is
wonderful because the disciples did not understand what they were saying. While some
were praising God , some were making fun of them calling them drunkards. In fact they
were drunk, not with wine by with the Holy Spirit, I guess that is why Apostle advised
believers in Ephesians 5: 18 . not to be drunk with wine but with the Holy Spirit.
On that day , the day of Pentecost, Apostle Peter got up in response to the curiosity of
the crowd and preached the gospel with power and boldness. This is the same Peter who
was afraid of his life when confronted at the time Jesus was being interrogated . He
denied Jesus three times. He was so much afraid that he hide his identity. But now after
having been baptized with the Holy Spirit, he received power and boldness. Fear was
replaced with courage, and he could stand openly proclaiming Jesus as Lord. ( One of
the sign to know that you are filled with the Holy Spirit is freedom from fear) He
could speak directly confronting the authority he was previously afraid of, he was able to
boldly challenge the crowd to repent of their sin and turn back to God. This 100%
change could only have been possible through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Are you a follower of Jesus Christ, then you need to be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.
The Gentiles.
God is no respecter of any person. He does not discriminate because he created and love
all people. The disciples of Jesus did not understand this. They were of the opinion that
salvation is only for the Jews. But God loves the whole world that he gave his only
begotten son that whoever believe in him will not perish but have everlasting life. Thanks
be to the Holy Spirit. As they began to share their faith and live as witness of their
confession, the Holy Spirit began to work with them and through them to reach the
gentiles ( Non- Jewish people ). The first encounter again was through Apostle Peter.
This event is recorded in the books of Acts chapter 10.