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

- OCTOBER 21 -

THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He told His disciples to “wait for the Promise of the
Father” (Acts 1:4). There are thousands of promises in the Bible, so which promise was He
referring to?

The early church knew which promise Jesus was referring to because He had told His
disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which you have
heard Me speak about. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be  baptized with
the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4–5). Jesus was referring to the baptism
in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues (see Acts 2:1–4).
Jesus wants you to know the value of the Promise of the Father because He said, “You
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to
Me...” He did not say, “You shall do witnessing,” but “You shall be witnesses.” In other
words, your very person will be a witness to Him!

This is because the power you receive when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit is the same
power that so anointed Peter that the sick were laid on the streets for his shadow to fall on
them and heal them (see Acts 5:15). Even handkerchiefs and aprons from Paul’s body were
so saturated with the anointing of the Spirit that when they touched the sick, people
witnessed diseases and evil spirits leaving the sick (see Acts 19:12)!
That same power caused a Holy Spirit-baptized church member, who prayed in tongues, to
experience God’s healing power when he laid hands on his mother who was in an
advanced stage of cancer. And because she was healed, she became a witness of the love
and power of God to her friends and unbelieving relatives.

Beloved, when you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you will be a witness to others that no
problem, trial, disease or sickness is a match for the power of the Spirit in you!