Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. Acts 1:8.

What does it mean to have power from God? How shall this power from the Holy Spirit be interpreted What manifestations should we expect?

Multitudes are being deceived by offers of spiritistic encounters with the supernatural. Because one is beside himself with religious ecstasy almost to the point of loss of self-control does not mean that he has met the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is never God's intention to coerce or excite the mind as an end in itself, while ignoring the claims of the Scriptures upon the whole of life. No crescendo of emotion must be allowed to bypass sound thinking on the Word of God. The Holy Spirit does no violence to the mind. He leads into all truth. We should refrain from all expressions of religion that imperil the sanity and the serenity of the soul. This is not intended to disparage the emotions. Fellowship with Christ does not chill emotions. The Holy Spirit is present in love, joy, and peace. But these are not surface emotions that pass with the mood. Temporary emotionalism does nor resolve the problems of life, or bring victory over selfishness, impurity, hostility, and disobedience to God's will.

The power of the Holy Spirit means adequacy for service, for Christian warfare, power to meet all the demands of life. There is a release of spiritual and moral resources to the life. There is a new mastery over sin and self.

There is nothing so ominous as man's misuse of power, especially in religion. The human mind is easily conscious of its sufficiency, but not its insufficiency. We tend to have revivals by placing ourselves at the center, rather than our Lord, Jesus Christ. How do people see us as Christians? Spirit-filled Christians have the spirit of Christ not to be ministered unto but to minister to others. This implies a willingness to forsake the privilege and the exaltation of self, to renounce prestige. We center our lives in Christ.