Great devotional by Gary Wilkerson

POWER BELONGS
by Gary Wilkerson


“Then he called his twelve disciples together and gave them power” (Luke
9:1).

Jesus gave his disciples power not because they were ambitious but because they
were his. Belonging to Christ is a non-negotiable to receiving his power. Power
is birthed out of belonging. Belonging brings real power.

So many Christians lead powerless lives—having habitual sin practices, a poor
testimony, a weak spiritual life; lacking a fervent, radical prayer life and any
answers to their prayers.

Do you feel powerless? This one short verse is loaded with words of power:

“Called”—meaning, in essence, not our own agenda, direction, self-will or
resource of power.

“Disciples”—those who abandon all to follow the life, teaching and
direction of the teacher.

“Together”—that power is not to be contained in singular vessels but
expressed in community, in work toward kingdom purposes.

“Gave”—showing we can do nothing unless Jesus gives us power to do it.

“Power”—it is not what we desire, work for or strive after, but comes
only and exclusively through His giving it. We never outgrow this part of our
history as Christians. Every follower of Jesus is commanded to wait until we
are endued with (given) power from on high.

Are you lacking power? There is no other way to obtain it than to have it given
to you by the One you belong to. Jesus has power to give to those who are
totally and fully His.

Don’t strive for power. Desire to belong—fully, passionately, humbly,
ambitiously, to the One your heart yearns for. Then power will come to you
beyond what you can imagination.

THE SPIRIT OF GRACE

by David Wilkerson
[May 19, 1931 - April 27, 2011]

The Bible says the Holy Ghost will be poured out as “. . . the Spirit of
grace and supplication” (Zechariah 12:10).

The book of Titus tells us that grace is given to us as power over sin, to
enable us to live sober, holy lives: “For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present
age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and
Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13).

There has been a marvelous measure of this grace in God’s people since
Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has sent conviction of sin on all nations, teaching
believers of every race and tongue how to forsake ungodliness and worldly
lusts. The result has been a people who live soberly and righteously in this
present world and who long for the coming of Jesus.

I believe Zechariah 12:10 prophecies that in the very last hour, the Holy
Spirit will fall mightily on God’s people with a spirit of grace that turns
them completely from all worldliness. It will produce in them a cry for purity
of heart!

A dear brother in the Lord, the head of a ministry, called to tell me that
leaders in his ministry had been gathering to seek the Lord. The Holy Spirit
began exposing sin in their midst and several of the ministry team had to be
dismissed. The brother told me, “Now that the Holy Spirit has come down,
there is a pressure to do right.”

His phrase struck me and I couldn’t shake it off: a pressure to do right.
When the Holy Spirit comes down and exposes sin, those who have been lukewarm
or in compromise become convicted. Ministers will wake up to true “grace
preaching,” the kind that convicts people of every hidden thing in their
lives.

Beloved, the pressure to forsake sin and to do right is going to get hot and
heavy in God’s last-day church!