The Day of New Beginnings

Clothed with Power from on High

 

Acts 1:
1 ¶  The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,
2  until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.
3  To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.
4  Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;
5  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
6 ¶  So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
7  He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;
8  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
9  And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
 
Jesus told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised, which was being baptized with the Holy Spirit. In a real sense God is telling us the same thing today. “Don’t leave Jerusalem” until you have received what has been promised. Verses 6-8 are important. The disciples had a great anticipation because of what Jesus had told them. “Is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” they asked. Israel at that time was under Roman domination. Jesus told the disciples in verses 7-8: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” 
 
It’s easy to get excited when hearing “end time teaching”. The anticipation of God doing great things can be quite a motivator. The problem is that our expectations of what God is going to do are subject to our particular interpretation of His word. That’s why bookstores are filled with commentaries on the book of Revelation, and each one is different. Understanding what is going to come is not as important as one might think. It certainly wasn’t an emphasis when Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. What is important is receiving from the Lord that which is necessary to fulfill His purposes. 
 
The parallel between Elisha receiving a double portion of the anointing upon Elijah and the giving of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is very interesting. We want to examine it. 
 
2nd Kings 2:
9 ¶  When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
10  He said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."
11  As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.
12  Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 ¶  He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14  He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
 
Elijah was taken up into heaven and his mantle fell to Elisha. Elisha took up the mantle and struck the waters of the Jordan and they parted. Elijah’s mantle was symbolic of the anointing that rested upon him and it passed to Elisha. Elisha then walked in a double portion of Elijah’s anointing and ministry. 
 
Luke 24:
45  Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46  and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47  and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
48  "You are witnesses of these things.
49  "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
50 ¶  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51  While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52  And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53  and were continually in the temple praising God.
 
As recorded in Acts, Jesus told the disciples to stay in the city until they were clothed with power from on high. The Greek word for clothed is enduo. It implies more than just putting on a garment, but rather to sink into the garment. The disciples were to receive a baptism into the same anointing that had rested upon Jesus. It was only after Elijah had been taken into heaven that Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. It was only after Jesus had also been bodily taken into heaven that the disciples received the Holy Spirit. One realm replaced another. The physical presence of both Elijah and Jesus gave way to a higher fulfillment. 
 
Like the disciples, we may want to know many things. But one thing is imperative: Receiving that which is necessary for the present hour. It’s not as important to understand what we think is going to come as it is being prepared to walk in what does come. It’s immature Christians that go off half cocked preaching and teaching things of which they really know very little. 
 
There is an anointing of the Holy Spirit that is unique for this present hour. We must wait before the Lord, seeking His face until we are clothed afresh and prepared for whatever He brings. The only emphasis Jesus gave the disciples was that they were to be His witnesses. Jesus inferred in the passages in Luke that the disciples would be witnesses of all they had seen and heard. There are to be witnesses today as well. Not witnesses as Christianity has come to define it; passing out tracts and telling people how much God loves them. The witnesses God is creating in this hour are those who are able to reveal His life to others. They are partaking of His nature. We are living in a time of great changes as one age dies and another is established. Who can say exactly what we are to expect? But what we can do is “remain in Jerusalem” until we are clothed with power from on high. As His life is created in us, we will “go out” to even the remotest areas of the earth to impart what we have received.