Acts 1:6-8 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But 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.

Put yourself in the place of those asking this question of Jesus, if you can. Their only concern for that moment was the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Did Jesus answer the question?

If it were me and I was only concerned with the restoration of the kingdom of Israel, I would hear what I wanted to hear. “You are going to receive the power.”

There is a terrible misunderstanding about power. Some do greatly err in believing that having the power is controlling the power and that they can have things their way. “I get what I want, all I have to do is use my power.”

To the majority of you, this sounds absurd, and rightly so, but I have met many who think exactly that way. Rarely do they come to the proper conclusion of the real power of God spoken of here specifically.

“I will give you the power to love the unlovely, to show my love to them and bring them out of darkness into my glorious light.”

But that isn’t what I wanted?

“No, this is better.”

You mentioned Samaria, I don’t want to love a Samaritan.

“Okay Jonah, have it your way. Go on that fishing trip you have planned instead.”