Take Responsibility

Responsibility is simply the ability to respond, as I've shared before on FHW.  Often times, we hear the phrase "take responsibility" and think of it as owning up to some manner of duty.  However, I wish to challenge your perception and understanding of taking responsibility.  If responsibility is indeed the ability to respond, then we must look a little deeper.  Ability, according to Merriam-Webster, is "the quality or state of being able; especially: physical, mental or legal power to perform."  It's further defined as "competence in doing" and a "natural aptitude or acquired proficiency."  To me, the key word in this definition is "power".  Should we get nothing more from this, it should be that ability translates to power.

When Jesus the Christ was preparing to ascend from the Earth back to Heaven, He instructed the apostles whom He had chosen to not leave Jerusalem before they were baptized with the Holy Ghost (Acts 1:1-5).  This baptism was of great importance because (1) it was promised by the Father, according to Acts 1:4, and (2) it would be followed by the receiving of power, as noted in Acts 1:8.  Therefore, if ability is power to perform, we can safely conclude that baptism with the Holy Ghost is necessary for the believer to be an empowered believer.  Without power, there lies within us a lack of competence, aptitude and/or proficiency, if we refer back to the definition of ability.

I recently learned something both interesting and life-changing about Acts 1:8 by way of Minister David Humphrey, an amazing teacher of the Word as well as an author, who is part of the same church with which I am partnered.  He pointed out in a recent Bible study session that the word "receive" in that verse of scripture is the Greek word "lambano" (pronounced läm-bän'-ō), which in addition to its translated meaning "to receive (what is given)" also means "to take".  This literally blew my mind!  I never before thought about this from the standpoint of actually taking what is being given.  But now I truly believe the one major thing that has held us back, as believers, is this idea that we've not taken the power GOD has given us.  We acknowledge that GOD has promised to give power to us and that it's been made available to us; however, too many of us have just left it sitting there untouched and unused.  We've not taken it!

So, if we then upgrade our understanding of Acts 1:8, we can better see that it's GOD's desire that we take the power that comes with the baptism of the Holy Ghost and use that power to testify that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the Christ. THIS is the responsibility of the redeemed!  We receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, so we can then take the power GOD gives us with every intention of allowing the Holy Ghost to shift us from a state of powerlessness into a state of being in which we are now able to respond to WHATEVER circumstances that may arise, as a testimony that GOD is indeed real and that He sent His Son Jesus to make it possible for humanity to be reconciled to the Kingdom of GOD.  When sickness arises, we have the ability to respond with healing.  When demonic influences arise, we have the ability to respond by commanding their subjection.  When chaos arises, we have the ability to respond with peace.  Our response is the testimony that brings reconciliation; and until we begin to take the responsibility we've been given more seriously, many souls will remain lost and unreconciled to the Kingdom as a result of our negligence.