The Spirit of Pentecost

BY WAYNE ALCORN

Who I am today is a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in me. When I dedicated my life to Christ, just after my 20th birthday, I knew I wanted to follow Him but, to be honest, I still struggled.

Then one night in my bedroom, I said to God, ‘I’m not going to make it on my own; I need your Holy Spirit’. I had rationalised that the Holy Spirit was just for ‘weird Christians (give me a break, I’m a preachers kid). But that night, my prayer was, ‘God, I’ve read it, I believe it, and I need it. Pour out your Spirit on me.’

And in that room in East Ipswich, I had my Day of Pentecost. He filled me with the Holy Spirit.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not some bizarre doctrine that a certain part of the Church conjured up. It is the promised gift of the Father – His power from on high that He’s given to His Church.

Jesus gave His disciples specific instructions on how to prepare for it. He said, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you’ve been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

Jesus was clear that until the power of God is upon you, don’t go anywhere. Then He told them that after the Holy Spirit has come upon you, don’t stay. Once you receive His power, you will become His witnesses, locally and to the ends of the earth ( Acts 1:8).

Only a few weeks earlier, Simon Peter had denied Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, there was a shift within him – from someone who would deny Jesus, to someone who would declare Him boldly. He’d received power to be a witness.

The Day of Pentecost Acts chapter 2 describes the phenomenal events that happened on the Day of Pentecost. A bunch of defeated people were waiting, praying “quiet” prayers. Suddenly, there was a sound of a mighty wind from Heaven, and they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

Fire is contagious. A small flame can start a major blaze. In that moment, the Church was birthed and spread like wildfire, across the globe.

They also heard something they’d never heard before. They all began to speak in other tongues. It was a Spirit-filled prayer language. When you’re baptised with the Holy Spirit and fire, it turbo-charges your prayer life.

God’s Spirit is poured out to build us up, and empower us, to reach a world that He loves. Great Sunday services are not the only reason for this outpouring. The end game is that believers be empowered to reach lost souls everywhere.

That night when I received the power of the Holy Spirit, He showed me things that a shy kid from a country town like Mundubbera could become. He showed me pockets of fire breaking out in our nation, and from those fires young adults being sent to the nations of the earth.

What God is doing is because of an extraordinary work of His supernatural power. I’m convinced that if God can use me, He can use you. And it’s not by our might or by our power. But if we’re going to expand the Kingdom of God, we need Kingdom power. We need another Pentecost outpouring.