We live in a time in which a lot people flaunt power in their craze to out do one another. Knowing the indispensability of power for any significant achievement, many run headlong into all kinds of things, just to acquire it. The    inherent desire for power in mankind, in itself, however, is not bad. God created humanity with it. How else were Adam and Eve to exercise the mandate of dominion they had been given by God (Gen 1:26-28)? In fact, when in verse 28 of the scripture reference above, it says that, “…God blessed them…”, it is an indication of the Divine empowerment of Adam and Eve to fulfil their assignment on earth. Therefore, it is clear that the human desire for power is not wrong. However, the problem is in the places, manner and reasons for which people seek power.
      Having personally trained His disciples, Jesus commissioned them to be His witnesses to the world—to testify by their lives to the reality of Jesus’  being alive (Lk 24:47,48). However, He did not command them to go right away and witness to the world. Why was that so? After all, the world was in darkness and in dire need of a revelation of Jesus—God’s solution for humanity’s predicament. The answer to the question above is that Jesus knew that no amount of training the disciples had received from Him would be effective if they lacked the power of the HolySpirit. Jesus Himself could fulfil His own ministry on earth only by the power of the HolySpirit (Lk 4:18,19 Acts 10:38).
    If neither Jesus nor His disciples could fulfil their ministries on earth without the power of God, then it goes without saying that we too cannot fulfil ours without having the same power they had. That would be an impossible feat to attempt. In John Chapter 14 verse 12, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father”. The only way we can do the ‘greater works’ that Jesus spoke of in the verse above is to look to God for power. Thank God the same power that enabled Jesus Christ do all He did in His ministry on earth is available for us today.
    There are several reasons why God’s power is an indispensable requirement  if we are to fulfil our assignments on earth. The first among them is that God is exalted only by His power (Job 36:22, Ps 21:13). Human power or strength cannot exalt God. That is why it is futile to attempt to give glory to God by human wisdom. The Bible says, “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord (Jer 9:23,24).
    Secondly, God rules by His power forever (Ps 66:7). Remember that the kingdom of God is the rule of God. That is why Paul the apostle says in 1Corinthians 4:20, that: “…the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.” God’s kingdom and will—righteousness, peace and joy in the HolySpirit (Rom 14:17)—can manifest and be experienced only when God’s power is in demonstration.
    Thirdly, it takes God’s power in manifestation to convince men of not only His existence, but also of His awareness of their plight as well as His love and care for them. Jesus, Himself, who is the perfect expression of God’s will for humanity, showed God’s love for mankind by exercising the power of the HolySpirit in saving, healing, delivering and providing for people (Acts 10:38).
Finally, God’s enemies bow only to His power (Ps 66:3). Paul the apostle describes the essence of his ministry as follows: “to open their [the gentiles]  eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ “In this verse of Scripture, Paul acknowledges the reality of satan’s power. However, he also points out that God’s commission to him equipped him with God’s power (which is infinitely greater than satan’s) to deliver the gentiles from satan’s power (Acts 26:18). That is why we must submit ourselves to God first before we can resist the devil (James 4:7).
     We can see, then, that if we are to be effective witnesses of Jesus, we need to demonstrate God’s power. Otherwise the world will not believe our message, no matter how persuasive we sound. The effectiveness of our appeal to the world, lies in our ability to put God’s power on display in the  varied contexts of human existence and endeavour, within which we live . For this reason, we should, “Look to the LORD and His strength and seek His face always” (Ps 105:4), for, as Paul the apostle summarizes it, “…the kingdom of God is not in word but in power” (1Cor 4:20). Shalom.