GET TOGETHER- The Power of Pentecost
Lu 24:49 “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” Ac 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV)
I can still remember the first Pentecost Sunday that I preached as a Pastor. When I got in the pulpit and mentioned that it was Pentecost Sunday one of our good and faithful leaders interrupted me. It was a good interruption. He said that he believed that every Sunday ought to be Pentecost Sunday. I think what he was saying was that we need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our services every Sunday. I totally agree with that. I will go one step further we need the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives everyday moment by moment.
It must be particularly important because just before Jesus ascended to Heaven He made it a point to tell the disciples that they were to go to Jerusalem and wait until they were endued with this power. There is not enough room, or time for me to say everything that could be said about the Holy Spirit and the power of Pentecost in this devotional. But there are two things that I will mention in this devotional. One is the power for the Gospel to be advanced. The other is the power for transformation to take place in the life of the believer in Christ.
In the Book of Acts we see the power of the Holy Spirit at work healing. In Acts 3 the Holy Spirit working through Peter heals a lame man. Stephen the first martyr of the church operated in the power of the Holy Spirit : Ac 6:8 ”And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.” The Apostle Paul operated in the power of the Holy Spirit. 1Co 2:4 “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” The Holy Spirit would also use Paul to give us the information and the instruction on operating in the spiritual gifts ( See Romans 12:6-9,1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 1 Cor 14:1-6 and Ephesians 4:11,12). He did this so that we could fulfill what God has called us to do in the ministry that he has given us.
For those of us living in the United States has there ever been a greater need for the power of the Holy Spirit to be at work in the church? Many of us may have let our swords get a little dull during the last year. It is time for a Holy Spirit sharpening of our spiritual swords. There are people that are sick that God wants to use us to lay hands on and be healed. The Bible says that we can do it :Mr 16:18 “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
There are lost people living in destructive lifestyles that God wants us to reach. If there ever was a time in our nation that the church in the United States, and throughout the world needs the power of the Holy Spirit at work in it that time is now.
As I mentioned earlier, we need the Holy Spirit working in our lives to help us to become more like Jesus. There is a popular Christian song out now by Zach Williams “Less like Me.” One of the lines in that song goes:
“ a little more like Jesus ,a little less like me.” The Holy Spirit is at work in our lives getting out those things in our lives that hinder us from loving like Jesus loved and living like Jesus lived. Paul described the way that the Holy Spirit does that in our lives in this way 2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV) Corinth was a very secular, and sinful city. It was full of sexual sin and all other kinds of sin (see 1 Cor 6:9-11) And yet if you read that passage you will see how those in the church had not only been saved from hell, but through the power of the Holy Spirit they had been delivered from the power that hell had over their lives. Their sins had been washed away. They were now in right relationship with God and now they went from being unholy to holy. The Holy Spirit will bring transformation in the life of the believer in Jesus Christ.
So, on this upcoming Pentecost Sunday for all of us may it be a time of rededication. May we be a people that allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives everyday moment by moment. There were 120 gathered in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. There were three thousand saved on that day. The church was added to daily.
. They were a people who faced persecution from the religious and would later face it from the Romans. And in spite of that persecution, they experienced the Holy Spirit’s power and presence in great and mighty ways. How much more in the season that we are living in do we need to experience His power and presence everyday and in every moment? And never forget that in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost that they were in one accord. May we be a people in the Body of Christ that are in one accord in the will of God
Let Us Pray
Lord today forgive us when we have not wanted Your manifest presence with us at all times. Today may all that read this experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in a very special way. Lord help us to do what the early church did. You were their first priority. Lord help us through the power of the Holy Spirit to take the Gospel where you have commanded us to take it. Raise our faith level so that when we pray that we expect to see You do great and mighty things. We personally need a fresh outpouring. Our churches need a fresh outpouring, our homes need a fresh outpouring, our schools, our government, and our nation. May all who read this be filled in a very special way.
In Jesus Name
Amen
HAPPY PENTECOST
Your Friend/Kinfolk
Preston
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