LESSON 1

You Shall
Receive Power
But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
ACTS 1:8
LESSON
LESSON 11
cts 1:8 promises that we will receive power after the Holy Ghost

A comes upon us. This promise is essential to understanding the anoint-

ing. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we are in God’s presence.
But God’s presence is not the same as His anointing. God’s presence is His
glory and His person; His anointing is His power.
In Hebrew, the word “anoint” is mashach, which means “to rub in.” The
Greek word is chrism and means “to smear.” When we receive the anointing, we
are, in a sense, “smeared” with His power, which means that He is not only upon
us but within us, as oil would be rubbed into and absorbed by the skin.
Simply put, the anointing is God’s power. It is the manifestation and the
result of his presence.
Without God’s glory, we will never have His power. At the same time, the
power without the presence will destroy a person; it will become an enemy. So
we must have the presence with the power. The glory is given as long as a person
is faithful. The power is the gift we receive as a result of the glory of God. Thus,
a person can lose the glory and keep the power (for example, Sampson and Saul).

KNOWING GOD’S WAYS

Moses said: “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory” (Exodus 33:18). How did God
respond?

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed
the name of the LORD. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The
LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in
goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and trans-
gression and sin, and that will be no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity
of the father upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third
and fourth generation. (Exodus 34:5-7)

From the passage above we see:

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1. God revealed His person.

2. God revealed His divine attributes (who He is).
3. The glory of God equals the presence of God equals the person of God.

It is God’s presence that transforms our hearts. We come to know His ways
as we spend time in His presence.
In Psalm 103:7, we read that God “made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto
the children of Israel.” Moses knew the ways of God, while Israel knew His acts.

1. God only reveals His ways to those who know Him.

2. Moses was transformed to know God’s ways. His ways are connected to
His person/glory/presence. Those who know His ways will never walk
away.
3. God’s acts are connected to His power. Those who only know His acts
may walk away.

God says in Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
To know God’s ways is to know God. Moses was allowed to know God,
and knowing God reveals His ways. The ways of God are not revealed to those
who do not know Him.
Let’s look again at Moses’s story in Exodus. He says to the Lord: “Now there-
fore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know
thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he
said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If
thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence” (Exodus 33:13-15).
We see here:

1. Now God promises His presence.

2. Knowing Him is knowing His ways, His presence, and His attributes.
3. Once we know His presence and His glory, we will lose sight of our-
selves.

God’s glory is not manifested in the physical body. The glory is not felt or
experienced in the fleshly realms, but only in the heart, in the spirit of a person.
What we feel is God’s power. The glory cannot be felt or described, only known.
Moses did not simply want to feel God; he wanted to know Him.
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AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD’S PRESENCE

After Moses encountered God on Mount Sinai, what happened? “And it came to
pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’
hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face
shone while he talked with him” (Exodus 34:29).
We learn from this verse:

1. God’s presence cancels self.

2. Moses lost sight of self. We regain sight of ourselves when the glory
leaves. (When the glory of God left Adam, he realized he was naked.
Nakedness is the result of the absence of the glory. Adam and Eve were
clothed in glory, thus they did not realize they were naked. So when sin
entered their hearts and they lost God’s presence, they clothed them-
selves, for they were accustomed to being covered.)
3. It is His presence that transforms us.
4. The glory of God changes the heart. It is spiritual. This is the reason
Elisha died a sick man. Even though the glory of God was in him, the
presence of God did not affect his body but filled his heart, yet God’s
power lingered in his bones after his death. People can be sick and still
carry the glory of God. (Example: Paul’s infirmity.)
5. People want health, strength, and longevity. They do not think about
what is inside. The glory belongs to the inner man, to the spirit.

UNDERSTANDING THE GLORY AND THE PRESENCE

1. The glory transforms us into God’s image.
Second Corinthians 3:17-18 teaches: “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face behold-
ing as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2. God’s presence is experienced in the deep places of the heart.
“Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy
billows are gone over me” (Psalm 42:7).
This verse teaches us that the glory of God is like a wave.
God communicates with our spirit; glory is in the depth.
3. God’s presence is the shadow of the Almighty.
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“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide? under the
shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).
God’s presence comes when we seek Him in the depth of our spir-
it with all our heart.
“Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire
of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired
thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy
judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness”
(Isaiah 26:8-9).
Psalm 91 lists the benefits of His glory.
All the soul can do is desire, which is where people stop in prayer.
The soul desires; the spirit seeks. You cannot seek God with your soul.
The Word of God will not invade the earth until God finds a people to
carry His glory (see also John 17).
How can the world know Him if you do not?
4. God’s presence produces silence.
You cannot seek God with noise. The spirit only knows silence.
“Deep calleth unto deep.”
The Holy Place (the presence of God) is quiet. Learn to get still
before God and worship Him quietly. There you will discover a won-
derful dimension of the anointing.
Silence does not mean a natural quietness. Quietness deals with
flesh; silence deals deeper with the Spirit. “Be silent and know.”
Asking requires the mind. Desiring requires the soul. Seeking
requires the spirit.
5. God’s presence reveals that He is God.
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I
will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

HOLY SILENCE IN HIS PRESENCE

The fullness of God’s presence results in holy silence. Silence is the result of
excess. Lack produces noise; empty people often feel the need to talk excessively
or be surrounded by noise. When we are filled with God, we cannot speak.
God’s presence stills the soul; it does not stir it. God’s presence stills the
activities of the soul and of self. It does not stir us; it stills us.
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Zephaniah 1:7 says: “Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day
of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.”
Habakkuk 2:20 declares: “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep
silence before him.”
God is in His holy temple; there is silence in the temple, in His presence.
Zechariah 2:13 commands: “Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised
up out of his holy habitation.”
From this verse we see:

1. God desires to visit His people from His holy habitation.

2. As God’s presence fills our hearts, it stills our souls. When this happens,
there will be surrender.
3. Now we will be able to hear His voice.

First Kings 19:9-12 teaches about the quietness of God:

And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the
LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he
said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel
have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with
the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away. And
he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the
LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in
pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the
wind an earthquake: but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earth-
quake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Isaiah 57:10 says: “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst
thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast
not grieved.”
This verse teaches:
1. We do not have to weary ourselves in our way.
2. The highest spiritual attainments are the easiest to reach; no digging is
necessary. Fleshly prayers are worthless.
3. We have entered His presence by silent prayer, but now silent prayer
becomes His presence. Entering God’s presence belongs to the simple
in heart.
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Job 4:16 says: “It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was
before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice.”
From this verse, we can conclude: God’s voice is the silence. God’s voice is
not so much heard with the ear as known in the heart. Silence becomes His
presence and His presence becomes silence.
Elijah heard no sound when he heard God’s voice.
When Jesus said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9), He was
talking about the heart.

WHAT WE FIND IN GOD’S PRESENCE

1. There is protection in His presence.
“Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou
shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:20).
2. There is light in His presence.
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and
bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them:
and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And,
behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then
answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt,
let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for
Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold
a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:1-5).
3. There is power in His presence. In fact, God’s power hides in His presence.
“And his brightness was as the light; he had horns coming out of his hand:
and there was the hiding of his power” (Habakkuk 3:4).

GOD’S PRESENCE “WITH,” “IN,” AND “UPON”

God’s presence is:
1. With you—to convict you before salvation.
2. In you. “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you” ( John 14:17).
3. Upon you. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
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THE SPIRIT UPON A PERSON

When the Spirit of God is upon a person:
1. Actions and behaviors are changed: “And the Spirit of the LORD will come
upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another
man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion
serve thee; for God is with thee” (1 Samuel 10:6-7).
The presence and glory of God change hearts.The power of God changes
actions. The presence will cause us to be; the power will cause us to do.
2. Emotions are stirred: “And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard
those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly” (1 Samuel 11:6).
Power has to do with emotions. The power stirred Saul’s emotions.
God’s presence stills us; His power stirs us.
3. Power is released: “Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to
Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared
against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him
as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his
father or his mother what he had done” ( Judges 14:5-6).
“And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon,
and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments
unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went
up to his father’s house” ( Judges 14:19).
“And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the
Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his
arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his
hands” ( Judges 15:14).