Pentecost is
Sunday, May 23. Here are four reasons we should celebrate the Spirit’s
outpouring.
I’ve often
wondered why we tend to ignore the historic events of Acts 2. We celebrate
Christmas for weeks, and we pack as many people as possible into our churches
on Easter Sunday. But
in our smug evangelical subculture, Pentecost is just an add-on, if it’s
noticed at all. We can take it or leave it.
Many
pastors will make no mention of the Holy Spirit this Pentecost Sunday, May 23.
““Pentecost turned boring religion into an amazing adventure, and it transformed ordinary people into bold missionaries. It can do the same for us today.” |
It’s
no surprise that many American churches are not Pentecostal in the biblical
sense. If we haven’t blatantly denied the supernatural power of God, we’ve
downplayed it, muted it, limited it or downgraded it. It’s just a blip on the first
century screen that has no meaning for us today. That’s tragic because
Pentecost is vitally relevant for many reasons, including these four:
Pentecost
empowers us.
I’ve often heard ministers say that if the power of the Holy Spirit were removed
from the church, most Christians would never know the difference. Would you?
Was there a time in your life when you were
supernaturally plugged into God’s power? Can you tell the difference now? Or
has your Christian life been a tedious journey of self-effort?
Many Christians view Pentecost as just a symbol—or a
nice image they’ve seen in a stained glass window. Don’t reduce the Holy
Spirit’s work to an event in history. The Lord wants to make Pentecost personal
in every Christian’s life. The early church could not fulfill its mission
without the wind and the fire—and neither can you. Every believer needs to be
baptized in the Holy Spirit.
In some paintings of Pentecost, the fire resting on
the heads of the disciples has been depicted to look like tiny flames from Bic
lighters or birthday candles. I doubt the Spirit’s power looked so puny. When
His anointing flows through us we receive power to share our faith, heal the
sick, cast out demons, speak His inspired message and receive His divine direction.
Don’t minimize the Spirit’s potential in your life. Dare to catch on fire!
Pentecost
interrupts us. The Bible tells us that the wind of the Spirit blew into the upper room
“suddenly” (Acts 2:2)—and His arrival was not on anyone’s timetable. Jesus Himself
said the Spirit is unpredictable. Like an invisible wind He blows where He
wills (John 3:8). We cannot control Him. Yet Jesus expected His early followers
to wait for His interruption.
Waiting for the Spirit is not convenient, and
patience runs contrary to human nature. We would rather run our lives and
ministries ourselves, using our good ideas and clever church-growth strategies.
We’d rather do things on our schedule. Thankfully the early disciples resisted
that temptation. They waited for the suddenly—and the result was the most
explosive, effective and fruitful ministry strategy the church has ever known.
Effective work for God today must follow the same model.
Pentecost
unites us.
When the Holy Spirit was poured out in the upper room, the New Testament church
was born and Jesus redefined who can be anointed for ministry. Under the Old
Covenant, only Jewish males from the tribe of Levi could serve around the altar
of sacrifice. But when the Spirit came, the oil of His anointing was poured on
men and women—and Peter told them that all races and all ages would be
empowered to preach the gospel.
The wind of the Spirit always breaks down barriers
of race, gender, age and even economic class. He dismantled old traditions and
ushered in a revolutionary new day of reconciliation. After Peter was anointed
by the Spirit, he found himself in an Italian house, leading dozens of Gentiles
to Christ in the house of Cornelius. Wherever the fire of Pentecost spreads,
barriers of race, culture, gender, age and class are dismantled.
Is your church truly Pentecostal? It isn’t if you
aren’t crossing barriers and reaching the people who have been sidelined or
oppressed in your community.
Pentecost
propels us.
There is nothing static about Pentecost. Although Jesus told His early
followers to “stay in the city until you are clothed with power from high”
(Luke 24:49, NASB ), He never intended for them to linger there after the fire
fell. Once they had been baptized in the Spirit they were energized with hot
zeal. They could not sit still or keep their mouths shut.
From that moment the book of Acts becomes a blur of
noisy commotion. The newly ignited saints darted back and forth through
Jerusalem like spiritual pyromaniacs, spreading the fire of God as they healed
lame beggars, baptized new converts and miraculously broke free from prisons.
After Philip the evangelist took the gospel to a Samaritan village, he was
literally picked up by the Spirit and carried to Azotus in an instant.
Pentecost was an accelerant—it seemed to speed up
time, and it gave Jesus’ followers an uncanny mobility. Pentecost turned boring
religion into an amazing adventure, and it transformed ordinary people into
bold missionaries. It can do the same for us today.
J. Lee Grady served as editor of Charisma for 11 years and is now
contributing editor. He has been ministering in Budapest, Hungary, this past week.
Click here to read an article about Lee that appeared in last week’s Huffington Post.
J. Lee Grady is an author, award-winning journalist and ordained minister. He served as a news writer and magazine editor for many years before launching into full-time ministry.
Lee is the author of six books, including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe and Fearless Daughters of the Bible. His years at Charisma magazine also gave him a unique perspective of the Spirit-filled church and led him to write The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and Set My Heart on Fire, which is a Bible study on the work of the Holy Spirit.
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