Part of the wonderful news of the Gospel is that Jesus has saved us to be a people who make disciples. As we have walked through the Mosaic discipleship process of Engage, Establish and Equip the past few weeks, we now come to Empower.

em·pow·er
give (someone) the authority or power to do something.

Power, empower, empowered, empowerment… we all have a sense for what these words mean, but the context in which they are used can significantly shape how we think about them. Consider some of the last recorded words of Jesus before He ascended into heaven from Acts 1:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8

When Jesus said His disciples would receive power and be His witnesses to the end of the earth, He wasn’t just talking about the small group of people present that day. Jesus declared that His followers would reach the ends of the earth, which would have been an impossible task for that initial group of disciples. Fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy about His church includes us.

So what does spiritual empowerment look like? Today, let’s discuss four of the many ways we can experience and utilize the spiritual power that the Holy Spirit has for us.

1. Empowered Identity – There may be no greater spiritual empowerment than fully owning who we are in Jesus. John 1:12 tells us that to all who receive Him, to all who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special possession. The world may identify us as a lot of different things: male, female, young, old, large, small, black, white or a wide variety of other beautiful shades in between!  However, God identifies us first as His children. While this is something we may learn in a simplistic way when we are young, receiving and embracing this spiritual revelation empowers us to be who He called us to be and do what He called us to do.
2. Empowered Vision – Oftentimes, our natural vision is limited as if we are in a fog. Sometimes it’s limited to our plane of existence. Proverbs 29:18 says, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves, but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed.” Empowerment leads to revelation, spiritual understanding, and vision. If you find yourself lacking vision, not only for your physical future but about what God is doing around you in the supernatural, seek Him, pray, fast, wait and believe that He will grant you empowered vision. He will give it!
3. Empowered Gifts – The Bible says a great deal about the gifts that our Good Father has for us in places such as 1 Corinthians 12 and 13, Romans 12, and 1 Timothy 4. In these chapters, we read about gifts of wisdom, faith, knowledge, healing, miracles, and prophecy. These passages in the Bible also teach that God gives the gifts of discerning spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, and leading… the list goes on. Empowered gifts are not only for our own personal betterment but also for the expansion of His kingdom. Which leads us to…
4. Empowered Witness – While there is so much more we could say about empowerment, all of it should lead us to a place of being Christ’s empowered witnesses. We all have our own version of Act 1’s Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Your Jerusalem may be your own family or close circle of friends. Your Judea may be your neighborhood or the community where you live. Your Samaria might be your place of employment, a youth sports league, volunteer organizations you work with, or the teams you serve on here at Mosaic. Wherever the Lord has you and wherever He is calling you, Jesus has promised He will empower you to be His witness in every place and space you go.