Don’t ever come against somebody’s faith, even if you
do not think they are strong enough. Get in there and help
them. That is what Jesus did. He was governed by mercy
and compassion instead of by legalism, rules and fear. If
He had been afraid Peter was going to drown, He would
have started sinking Himself.

Peter walked on the water based on the Word of Jesus,
“Come.” As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he made it.
But when he started looking at the wind, he became afraid
and began to sink.

As he started to sink, Peter cried, “Lord, save me.” The
Bible says:

Immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and
caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little
faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they
were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then
they that were in the ship came and worshipped
him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
And when they were gone over, they came into
the land of Gennesaret. And when the men of that
place had knowledge of him, they sent out into all
that country round about, and brought unto him
all that were diseased; and besought him that they
might only touch the hem of his garment: and
as many as touched were made perfectly whole
(Matthew 14:31-36).

All this took place because Jesus was moved with
compassion out in the desert. In the life of Jesus, compassion
took a higher priority than anything else. It caused Him to
continually reach out to others and respond to their need.
Matthew 20:30-34 is a good example of this:

And, behold, two blind men sitting by the way
side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried
out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of
David. And the multitude rebuked them, because
they should hold their peace: but they cried the
more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of
David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and
said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? They
say unto him, Lord that our eyes may be opened. So
Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their
eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight,
and they followed him.

Jesus had compassion on them, not just for them. The
two blind men had caught sight of the fact that mercy
would do the job. They cried, “Have mercy,” and Jesus was
moved with compassion. The power of His mercy was
released and brought them their eyesight.

Gloria Copeland

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Comforter
(John 14:16). The word used for Comforter
means counselor, helper, intercessor, advocate,
strengthener, standby. Learn to rely on the
Holy Spirit in all these areas of His ministry.
He is the great enabler!

Jesus said the Holy Spirit is given to teach
you, not just some things, but all the truth.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have
overcome them: because greater is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John
4:4). Meditate on this verse and confess it
with your lips until your spirit sings with the
reality that “greater is He that is in me than
he that is in the world.”

There is One on the inside to guide you
who knows everything from the beginning to
the end. Rely on His guidance and direction
in every decision. Expect His power to aid
you in every crisis as well as in everyday life.
He is more powerful than the enemy. Satan is
no match for Him.

This Great One has been instructed to
lead you into all the truth. He will lead, so
be quick to follow. He will not only tell you
what to do, but will also help you do it. He
will empower you.

The Spirit who created the universe now
dwells in you. Allow your mind to grasp what
your spirit is telling you. This Great One lives
in you!

“But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye
shall be witnesses unto me…” (Acts 1:8).
Something wonderful has happened to you
today. Power! Power! Power! You have been
endued with God’s power and God’s ability!

Dare to believe for this truth and power to be
displayed in your life and you will be a witness
to men that Jesus is alive!

Gloria Copeland

Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the
truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto
you” (John 16:7). Jesus has personally sent the
Holy Spirit to you. He arrived in the fullness
of His ministry on the Day of Pentecost and
is still here.

Jesus told His disciples to wait in
Jerusalem until they were furnished with
power: “And, behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high” (Luke 24:49). When you made
Jesus Lord, you became His disciple, and you
should not do another thing until you are
endued with the same power that was in and
on Him.

On the Day of Pentecost, Peter told
the people, “This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being
by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear…. For the promise is unto you,
and to your children, and to all that are afar
off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call” (Acts 2:32-33, 39).

This promise of receiving the Holy Spirit is
to all—even as many as the Lord shall call. It is
to you and your children. God has already given
the Body of Christ the Holy Spirit. You, as a
member of the Body, must individually receive
what He has already given. The Holy Spirit has
been sent to you to endue you with power. You
don’t have to be a weak Christian. The provision
of power has been made for you.

If there has ever been a day when believers
need the power of God manifest in their lives,
it is today. Don’t try to get by on your own
strength any longer. Set your faith to receive
this enduement of power without delay.

You may have hands laid on you by a
believer or by someone in the ministry, or you
may receive in your own place of prayer alone
with God.

Study the following scriptures about
receiving the Holy Spirit so that you will
believe and act in line with God’s Word.

Gloria Copeland

Learn to continually pray this prayer
from Ephesians 3:14-21 for yourself:

For this cause I bow my knees unto
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
of whom the whole family in heaven
and earth is named, that he would
grant you, according to the riches
of his glory, to be strengthened with
might by his Spirit in the inner man;
that Christ may dwell in your hearts
by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to
comprehend with all saints what is
the breadth, and length, and depth,
and height; and to know the love of
Christ, which passeth knowledge, that
ye might be filled with all the fullness
of God. Now unto him that is able
to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the
power that worketh in us, unto him
be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.

According to the power that worketh in
us! His unlimited ability to work in our lives is
according to the power working in us. God’s
design is that He abide continually inside our
spirits and come upon us in power to carry
out His work.

In the early Church, much of the time,
people were born again and received the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit at the same time.
In Acts 8 however, we can see the two different
experiences. It tells us that Philip in Samaria
preached the things concerning the kingdom
of God and the Name of Jesus. Verse 12 says
they believed, and both men and women were
baptized. These people were believers.

Later, Peter and John came to pray for
them that they might receive the Holy
Ghost. “(For as yet he was fallen upon none
of them: only they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands
on them, and they received the Holy Ghost”
(Acts 8:16-17).

The term “receiving the Holy Ghost” is
also correct in speaking about the Baptism
in the Holy Spirit. Paul asked the men at
Ephesus, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost
since ye believed? And they said unto him,
We have not so much as heard whether there
be any Holy Ghost” (Acts 19:2).

These men had been baptized into John’s
baptism. Paul told them that John said to
believe on Jesus. “When they heard this, they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,
the Holy Ghost came on them; and they
spake with tongues, and prophesied” (Acts
19:5-6). In this instance they were baptized
in water and then Paul laid hands on them to
receive the Holy Ghost.

From these scriptures we can see that the
apostles laid their hands on men who were
already believers, to receive the Holy Spirit.
These scriptures reveal that this enduement of
power called the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is
not the same experience as the new birth. In
these two examples, this enduement of power
came as hands were laid on them.

However, on the Day of Pentecost, at
the house of Cornelius, the Spirit of God fell
upon those present and they began to speak
in other tongues. They received the new birth
and the enduement of power simultaneously.

Gloria Copeland

Jesus taught the disciples about these works
in John 14, talking to them about the Holy Spirit:
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and
the Father in me? the words that I speak unto
you I speak not of myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me,
the works that I do shall he do also; and greater
works than these shall he do; because I go unto
my Father” (John 14:10, 12).

They were to continue to do the same
works that Jesus Himself had been doing and
it would take the same power and anointing
of the Holy Spirit He had. (See Acts 10:38;
Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:10; Luke 4:18-21;
Acts 5:12-16.)

That power came on the Church on the
Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is still
assigned to the Church today to help us fulfill
our commission. Didn’t Jesus say He would
abide with us forever?

Jesus stated that it was not Him but the
Father in Him who did these works. When
He said, “But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you…” (Acts
1:8), they knew what He meant!

The Greek word dunamis, translated power,
means “ability and might.” When you receive
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you receive the
ability of God to do His work in the earth. The
Spirit within is for fruit bearing—for your own
personal life (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus talked
about this in John 4:14. He called it: “…a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.” But
the Spirit upon is for service. Jesus talked about
this in John 7:38-39. He described it as “rivers
of living water.” The well is for your own life
and the rivers flowing out of you are for others.

The dictionary says a witness is “evidence
or confirmation.” This power of the Holy Spirit
living in you can transform your life into
evidence to the world that Jesus has been
raised from the dead and is alive today. Jesus
said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me…” (Acts 1:8).

The traditions and doctrines of men have
robbed many believers of this power to be a
witness. The world is not only supposed to
hear words but see proof that Jesus is alive
today. As new converts, we should be taught
to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit—
the enduement of this power to reveal Jesus
to lost humanity.

Many believe that He is automatically
received at the time of salvation, and that’s all
there is. It is certainly true that if you are born
again, the Holy Spirit has come to live in you
and endeavors to work in your life. I had been
born again and the Holy Spirit was living inside
me, but the power Jesus spoke of was not evident
in my life until after I received the Baptism in
the Holy Spirit. I wanted to do right, to follow
God and be a strong Christian, but outwardly
I didn’t change much until after I received the
Baptism in the Holy Spirit and began to speak
in other tongues. The combination of the power
of God upon me and the Word of God in my
heart began to change weakness to victory. As
I learned truth from God’s Word and acted on
it, the Spirit of God upon me enabled me to
overcome in my own life and to help others
overcome.

Gloria Copeland

From that moment they were changed.
They were no longer troubled, afraid or sad.
Luke’s account lets us know of the change:
“And it came to pass, while he blessed them,
he was parted from them, and carried up
into heaven. And they worshipped him, and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and
were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God. Amen.” (Luke 24:51-53).

Where there had been sadness, now there
was great joy—a fruit of the spirit. Where
there had been fear and confusion, now there
was continual praise and blessing of God. And
they were obedient. They went to Jerusalem
and waited for the enduement of power from
on high, expecting to receive the promise of
the Father which Jesus spoke of just before
he blessed the disciples and was carried into
heaven: “And, behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city
of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power
from on high” (Luke 24:49).

The account of this in Acts 1 says:
And, being assembled together with
them, [He] commanded them that
they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence….
Ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both
in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part
of the earth (verses 4-5, 8).

He said they were to be baptized with
the Holy Ghost and receive power! They
had already received the Holy Spirit within.
Now Jesus was instructing them what to
do to receive the power of God upon them.
Acts 10:38 says Jesus was anointed with the
Holy Ghost and power. The disciples were to
receive that same power!

He said in our everyday talk, “Don’t leave
town without it!” This enduement of power
was necessary for them to be able to carry out
the work Jesus set before them. (See Mark
16:15-20; Matthew 28:18-20.) Nothing has
changed. The Body of Christ today is still
under the same mandate.

Gloria Copeland

Amp—Because of faith also Sarah herself
received physical power to conceive a child,
even when she was long past the age for
it, because she considered [God] Who had
given her the promise, reliable and trustworthy
and true to His word.

Moffatt—It was by faith that even Sara got
strength to conceive, bearing a son when
she was past the age for it—because she
considered that she could rely on Him who
gave the promise.

NEB—By faith even Sarah herself received
strength to conceive, though she was past
the age, because she judged that he who
had promised would keep faith.

2 Corinthians 12:9
KJV—And he said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore
will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me.

Amp—But He said to me, My grace—My
favor and loving-kindness and mercy—are
enough for you, [that is, sufficient against
any danger and to enable you to bear the
trouble manfully]; for My strength and power
are made perfect—fulfilled and completed
and show themselves most effective—
in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more
gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities,
that the strength and power of Christ,
the Messiah, may rest—yes, may pitch a tent
[over] and dwell—upon me!

Moffatt—But he told me, “It is enough for
you to have my grace: it is in weakness that
my power is fully felt.” So I am proud to
boast of all my weakness, and thus to have
the power of Christ resting on my life.

NEB—But his answer was: ‘My grace is all
you need; power comes to its full strength
in weakness.’ I shall therefore prefer to find
my joy and pride in the very things that are
my weakness; and then the power of Christ
will come and rest upon me.

Gloria Copeland