Most of the time, we are caught up in the challenges of daily life.
This is also true for the church.
We are consumed with the opportunities and challenges of just dealing with the pastoral needs of the members or with the needs of those around us.
So when Pentecost comes around each year we tend to look up from our concerns and say, “Wow, times flies! It was just Easter, now it’s Pentecost! How did that come so fast?”
I invite you to step back, pause for a few minutes, and think afresh about Pentecost and what it means for us today.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus says to his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
In Acts 2 we see this happen: The Holy Spirit falls upon the disciples, they are filled with the Spirit, and Peter stands up and preaches about Jesus the Messiah.
The result?
Thousands come to faith and then,
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles.
Acts 2:42-43 (NIV)
The result of Pentecost?
People came to vibrant faith in Jesus, healings and other miracles were part of the daily experience of believers, people were set free from evil spirits, Satan’s kingdom was pushed back, and believers engaged in rich fellowship and earnest prayer; all this was the result of the Holy spirit coming upon men and women and empowering them to be witnesses to Jesus.
At PRMI we have been blessed to see people filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to be witnesses for Jesus taking their places in fulfilling the great commission.
This happens every time we offer Dunamis, Ignite, Upward Challenge, or With The Wind.
Worldviews get stretched by the teaching, the fellowship and prayer cover make it safe to be open to experience the Holy Spirit, and people’s lives are transformed.
Here are words from a recent participant in Dunamis in Nicaragua.
Vincente writes to teacher Chris Walker:
The most common questions I asked myself were: “Why some speak in tongues and not others? Why some are healed when they pray for them and not others?”
When I was in the seminar of Dunamis, the most shocking idea to me was that the Holy Spirit acts on the person (empowerment) and within the individual (growth in Christian character) and both are important.
The work of the Holy Spirit upon a person is episodic and is to minister to others.
This was what I liked, because I think [it’s] a well-balanced explanation: that God wants us to grow internally, but also uses us with power at specific times to minister to others. Now, Chris, I’m trying to apply what we learned. Learning to collaborate with the Holy Spirit.”
Chris said that watching this man during the Dunamis was amazing; he was transformed by the teaching. “He’s like someone experiencing snow for the first time–the novelty and power of this explanation has impacted him.”
We share these stories in our publications and hope that as you read them, you are inspired by them. We are.
We pray that this Pentecost you experience anew the Holy Spirit coming upon you, empowering you to be a witness and equipping you to do the works that Jesus did (John 14:12).
Below is a link to four brief videos which may help you as you prepare to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh.
May you know the Holy Spirit’s work within and upon you and find your place in fulfilling the Great Commission and advancing the Kingdom of God.
