Good News. Week 23. The Good News of Pentecostal Power

For the 120 disciples in the Upper Room 10 Days after the Ascension of Jesus, the Day of Pentecost meant the outpouring of the Holy Spirit for a harvest of Souls.

Jesus was the seed planted in the ground John 12:24-25

John 12:24–25

Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

That seed that was placed in the ground rose up out of the ground and is bearing fruit.

Souls are the fruit of the seed.

And Pentecost is about the harvest.

Pentecost is about the sowing of seed in the hearts of men and women, sons and daughters, young and old, every race and creed, tribe and tongue.

That Pentecost Sunday was about Power.

Power to be witness.

Power to sow seed.

Power to gather a great harvest of souls.

Pentecostal Power.

As a good Pentecostal one of the very firs verses I memorized was Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

That word Power in Greek is DUNAMAI, related to DYNAMIS and DYNAMAI.

Think Dynamite.

Power.

Explosive power.

Power that causes something to happen.

Power that moves things.

Power that shakes things.

Power that awakens things.

Power that transforms things.

Power.

Wonder working power.

That is one of the functions of Holy Spirit - to empower the people of God as both the Church and the individual.

It’s this power we see at work in our passage this morning in Luke chapter 8.

Sick, Tired, & Broke

Luke 8:40–55 (CSB)

When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’s feet and pleaded with him to come to his house, because he had an only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying.

While he was going, the crowds were nearly crushing him. A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any, approached from behind and touched the end of his robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped.

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”

“Someone did touch me,” said Jesus. “I know that power has gone out from me.” When the woman saw that she was discovered, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she declared the reason she had touched him and how she was instantly healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

When Jesus heard it, he answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.” After he came to the house, he let no one enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother. Everyone was crying and mourning for her. But he said, “Stop crying, because she is not dead but asleep.”

They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. So he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he gave orders that she be given something to eat.

Here’s the scene.

A Crowd Welcoming Jesus.

A Request from the Leader of the Synaguoge to heal His daughter.

The Crowd grows and presses in on Jesus.

But in this crowd is a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years.

It’s likely that this bleeding would have made her unclean.

She was exhausted, weak.

She was tired of doctor visits.

She couldn't afford any more doctor visits.

She needed healing.

Jesus was her last hope.

But Jesus was her only hope.

When Jesus becomes your last hope Jesus becomes your only hope.

Some of you this morning are like this woman.

You are sick, tired, and broke.

And you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired and broke.

This is hope for you like there was hope for this woman.

This woman was willing to go low to be healed.

She was willing to reach down to touch the hem of Jesus garment.

Jesus has healing in the wings of His garment.

This women pressed thru the crowds.

I imagine it took all the strength and faith and determination that she has just to fight her way thru the crowd to get to Jesus.

Hear me, do what you must do to get to Jesus.

You may have to crawl.

You may have to fight thru the crowd.

It may take all the strength you have but don’t give up until you have reached out and touched Jesus.

Don’t give up.

Don’t give in.

Don’t let your weakness and exhaustion keep you from pressing in.

Just touch the hem of His garment.

When she touch the hem of His garment something happened.

Power Went Out

“Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.”

Jesus says he felt power go out of him.

He asked who touched me?

The disciples think that that’s an absurd question.

Everyone is touching you Jesus.

But this woman’s touch was different that the others.

This woman touched Jesus out of desperation.

This woman touched Jesus out of faith.

This woman touched Jesus out of brokenness.

This woman touched Jesus out of hope.

This women touched Jesus believing that this Jessus was different.

That this Jesus could do something.

That this Jesus heals.

And Jesus said this touch was different because when this woman touched Him POWER went out from Him.

Power went out.

You know this word Power is the same word in Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 CSB

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The same word.

This power is supernatural, Holy Spirit power.

This power is power that we don’t own.

This power is power that we don’t possess.

This power is power that we can’t create.

This power is power that we can’t manipulate.

This power is power that explodes in creative, resurrecting, restorative, energy.

This is Holy Spirit power.

This is power that heals and delivers and transforms.

This is power that works when nothing else works.

This power that came out of Jesus is the same Holy Spirit Power that baptized the 120 disciples in the Upper Room that Pentecost Sunday.

We need that Holy Spirit Pentecostal Power Today.

Pentecostal Power

And Jesus doesn't leave us powerless as witnesses for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus sends Heaven to us.

"It's not for you to know the times or seasons, but you will receive power to be my witnesses when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!"

That why the Holy Spirit baptizes believers.

Not for show but for go.

Not for enjoyment but for empowerment.

So Jesus tells them to wait for this baptism in the Holy Ghost.

Acts 1:9–11 CSB

After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”

So they wait.

Ten days after his ascension they are gathered in an upper room.

Praying.

Worshipping.

Seeking.

Hoping.

They're hope is the Promise of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-41

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

[1] When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. [2] And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. [3] And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Power.

Fire.

Wind.

Languages.

The Holy Spirit did a work that day that no man could do.

The Holy Spirit filled the house, and filled the hopeful.

And immediately they became witnesses.

They couldn't help it.

God fill us so profoundly with our Holy Spirit that we can't help but testify of all we have heard and seen.

Baptize us so completely that we can't help but spread Your name to those around us.

More than tongues. Give us the language of the hearer - that when we speak they hear the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus.

Make us evangelists. Compelled to speak. Empowered and transformed.

Make us the hopeful.

God let us put our hope not in our schemes or our plans or our leaders, or our abilities, or our might. God let us put our Hope in the Holy Spirit's ability to do what we can not do on our own.

We are weak, powerless. We need you to emblazon hearts, to inflame our souls, to ignite a passion within us.

Put us in the streets of the city for the harvest to hear and see the power of God.

[5] Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. [6] And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. [7] And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? [8] And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? [9] Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, [11] both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” [12] And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” [13] But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

God already had a harvest in place.

God, set up a harvest.

As we go in the power of the Spirit, put a harvest before us.

The harvest is all around.

Make us laborers in that harvest.

Let us be witnesses.

Some will mock.

But we have been filled with new wine.

And we want the world to share in the joy of the Kingdom.

Peter's Sermon at Pentecost

[14] But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. [15] For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. [16] But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

[17] “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

[18] even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

[19] And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

[20] the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

[21] And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Church, this baptism, isn't only for the hopeful on that Pentecost Sunday 2000 years ago.

It's for all who Hope in the glorious appearing of our great God ad Savior Jesus Christ.

We hope in that appearing.

But our hope doesn't cause us to forget our mission.

To we stay on mission because we have Hope.

This Holy Spirit empowerment is for everyone.

Young or old.

Male or female.

God longs to pour out His Holy Spirit in a way that stirs us to action for the Kingdom.

Church, we can't be complacent.

We can't be lazy.

We can't be too busy.

We can't be too worried.

We can't be more concerned about the times and season than about the Harvest.

We can't be more concerned with the systems of this world than with being on the Mission of Christ.

Church, it's time we rise up and do what we have been empowered, baptized, to do, and that is to be witness of Jesus until the whole world hears the Gospel of the Kingdom.

If you are one of The Hopeful, longing for more of the Spirit's power in your life I want to pray for you this morning.

The Purpose Of Pentecostal Power

This morning I want to remind us that Pentecost wasn't about our enjoyment but our employment.

Pentecost was about empowerment.

Pentecost was about birthing the Church.

Pentecost was about removing barriers.

Pentecost was about becoming witnesses.

What kind of witness is the church in America today?

Being Witnesses is the result of an empowered Church.

But before Pentecost would come the disciples had to do something.

They had to come together.

Acts 2:1-4

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

Before Pentecost Power the believers were together - unified in prayer and promise.

Pentecostal power requires unity of prayer and promise.

But Pentecost Power was only the beginning.

Acts 2:41-47

[41] So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

[42] And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [43] And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [44] And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [45] And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [46] And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [47] praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (ESV)

After Pentecost the believers were together - unified in prayer, promise, and purpose.

Pentecost doesn't bring unity.

Unity brings Pentecost.

And Pentecost brings power.

Pentecost brings barrier destroying power.

A United Church, a Church United in prayer and purpose gives the Spirit room to work.

When the Holy Spirit shows up, transforms our lives, moves us from enemies of God to friends of God, children of God; He transcends barriers.

1 - We are United In the Spirit.

The Psalmist describes this Spirit Unity like this.

PSALM 33

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil on gthe head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

3 It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

Unity brings anointing.

Like the oil of the priest that saturates and brings purity.

Like the dew of the mountain that runs down as a stream and brings life to all who are near.

Unity brings Spirit Power.

But our enemy, Satan, hates unity.

His favorite scheme to slow down the church is to cause division.

He wants to divide and conquer.

He wants to cause racial division.

He wants to cause economic division.

He wants to cause gender division.

He wants to cause generational division.

The enemy wants black folks and white folks to worship separately.

The enemy wants men and women to not understand their God-given image-bearing nature.

The enemy wants young people to distrust older people and older people to look down on younger people.

The enemy wants rich folk to look without compassion on the poor and the poor to look with distrust at the rich.

He wants to cause vision division.

He wants to get out attention away from what unifies.

He wants to get our attention away from the mission of the church.

He wants folks to focus on nonessentials to slow down the essential work of Kingdom advancement and Gospel proclamation.

But that is not how the church is to live.

That is not who the church is.

2 - The church is called to be United on Kingdom Mission.

The church is supposed to offer glimpses of the Kingdom of God until the King returns.

And part of Kingdom living is living united in Kingdom work while demonstrating the diversity of the body..

Rich associate and give to the poor.

White folks and black folks and brown folks share the Table of fellowship together.

Millennials and Baby Boomers share a common goal.

Republicans and Democrats serve together for the good of the local church and the advancement of the gospel.

We are witnesses, Acts says, of the unity that brings the Power of Pentecost.

We are witnesses.

Look around.

There's racial diversity.

There's economic diversity.

There's generational diversity.

There are 4 generations of folks in this room.

Intentionally.

All who have chosen to be here.

On a Sunday morning.

Together.

The church is one of the only places in our culture were you see generational unity.

And we are witnesses.

The Holy Spirit, the Kingdom Mission, has even more diverse unity in mind.

Galatians 3:27-28

[27] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

The Holy Spirit through the work of Jesus death and resurrection empowers us to become unified with folks we weren't unified with before.

When we are baptized into Christ, we have put on Christ.

We are united in Christ.

And we are United with one another.

Jews and Greeks didn't eat together.

Didn't worship together.

But the Cross brought them together.

Greek slave and free are on equal footing and have equal value in the Body.

It's this kind of radical doctrine of unity in Christ that led to the abolishionist movement.

Male and female are equal image bearers of God..

Both equally qualified and gifted by the Holy Spirit.

Satan wants to bring division.

Division weakens the church.

Satan wants a weak church because a weak church will not live out it's Kingdom calling.

A weak divided church will not walk in love.

A weak divided church will not advance the Kingdom.

A weak divided church will not experience the fullness of the Spirit's power.

Paul Teaches Us That A Lack of Communal Love Within The Church, This Disunity, Grieves the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:25-32

[25] Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. [26] Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, [27] and give no opportunity to the devil. [28] Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. [29] Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. [32] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.(ESV)

Disunity, lack of community, lack of oneness, lack of genuine fellowship and love in the Church grieves the Holy Spirit.

We Pentecostals use that phrase, grieving the Holy Spirit, usually to mean not letting the gifts of the Spirit operate in church.

Paul uses it to let us know the level at which unity, brotherly/sisterly love matters in the church.

Unity matters so much that a church without unity is a church that grieves the Holy Spirit.

A church at war with itself- a church that isn't a gospel-centered, Kingdom-advancing, member-loving community, can never live up to its calling because the Holy Spirit is grieved.

The Spirit isn't free to do Spirit things.

The Spirit isn't free to transform the individual or transform the church.

It's only when the church is unified in Prayer, Promise, and Purpose that Pentecost can happen.

That the Holy Spirit is no longer grieved but welcomed.

Pentecost doesn't bring unity.

Unity brings Pentecost.

And Pentecost changes the world!

If you want freedom- Pentecostal life-changing, world-shaking, Jesus-glorifying freedom - you have to make room for the Spirit, you can't push out the Spirit. (Eph 4:25-32).

A Powerful Helper

8 Ways the Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray

There are so many different ways the Holy Spirit helps us to pray. Here are eight ways:

1. He brings to us the Spirit of the Father. Since the Holy Spirit has the same Spirit of the Father, and since He resides in us, He will convey to us that Spirit, which will help us in prayer.

Andrew Murray views this Sprit of the Father as a gift given to us by the Father in order that we (His children) may reproduce all the things He brings to us by His Spirit. He says,

The best gift a good and wise earthly father can bestow on a child is his own spirit. This is the object of a father in education—to reproduce in his child his own disposition and character. If the child is to know and understand his father, if he is to enter into all his will and plans, if he is to have his highest joy in the father and the father in him, he must be of one mind and spirit with him. It is impossible to conceive of God bestowing any higher gift on His child than His own Spirit. God is what He is through His Spirit; the Spirit is the very life of God. Just think what it means for God to give His own Spirit to His child on earth.

It means of course that we will gain the same heart of prayer that He has, the same burden of prayer. It means that He will show us His mind and His thinking toward us, and that He will give us an understanding of our salvation—our justification and glorification and all His wonderful mercies toward us (Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 2:10-12). Thus, as the Holy Spirit conveys to us the Spirit of the Father we are enabled to pray according to the Father’s will and according to the Father’s loving heart.

2. He brings to us the Spirit of the Son. The Holy Spirit has not only the Spirit of the Father; He has the Spirit of the Son. Therefore He intends to bring the Son—Jesus Christ—to us. James Stewart has said, “The Holy Spirit forms the indwelling Christ in our hearts and minds.” If you remember Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians (Eph. 3:14-21) this is exactly what he prayed for them—that God would grant them, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith.

And the reason why God wants us to have the Spirit of His Son in us, and why we need that Spirit to help us in prayer, is because Jesus was and is our model for prayer. While He was on earth He demonstrated perfectly how to pray. And so God desires us to have that same spirit that Jesus had—the spirit of Sonship, which is a spirit of liberty, devotion, and obedience. This is a spirit that carries with it the humble and perfect attitude any good son has toward his father. Therefore, if you are a child of God, God has sent (by His Holy Spirit) the Spirit of His Son (the Spirit of Jesus) into your heart, by which you can’t help but to cry out in prayer, “Abba Father.” Now what better aid do we have in prayer then to have the Spirit of Jesus crying out in prayer to the Father in us and for us? There is no better aid at all!

3. He gives us access to God and makes our prayers acceptable to God. Because God has given us the Spirit of His Son, this is our evidence that we are His children. For Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” And if we know we are His children then we know that we have been justified through our Lord Jesus Christ; and thus we have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Therefore, because of this work of God in us, the Holy Spirit brings to us (and helps us feel) a new freedom, a boldness or confidence in our spirit to approach the throne of God (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:18; 3:12; Heb. 4:16). But He not only gives us confidence to approach God in prayer, He also helps us pray and makes our prayers acceptable to Him. He does this by His own intercession as He pleads with the Father by reason of the shed blood of Christ for us. Thus, according to the cleansing blood of Christ and by His intercession He makes our prayers rise up to God as sweet incense (Rom. 8:26, 27).

4. He intercedes for us. Our prayers wouldn’t have a chance of reaching God or of being effective without the Holy Spirit’s intercession. Here are three things He does for us in His intercession to help us in prayer:

(1) He makes our prayers acceptable to God. As Jesus is interceding for us in heaven to maintain our redemption, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us on earth to make our prayers acceptable according to that redemption.

(2) He helps us pray according to God’s will. The Holy Spirit is always interceding for us according to God’s will—to the end that we would be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). He also prays for us that we would pray according to His will and thus according to our real needs.

(3) He helps us to wait patiently. In Romans 8 we read that we groan within ourselves, waiting for our redemption. And the Holy Spirit feels our groans and groans with us as He makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:23, 26). Hence, in His intercession He helps us to pray that we would wait patiently, but also eagerly for our redemption; accordingly, that we would spend our time now wisely—to live not according to the sinful nature (Rom. 8:13), but according to His Spirit, and according to how a son would live (as God’s Son), in honor and holiness, as a co-heir with Christ (vv. 16-17).

5. He burdens us. One of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us and encourages us in prayer is by giving us a prayer burden. What this is is simply a desire to pray. It may be a desire to pray in general (to just be in God’s presence, to praise and thank Him, and to lift up many different requests to Him), or it may also be a desire He puts on you to pray for some specific thing or person.

A burden is especially helpful in prayer because it puts life and feeling into our prayers, so that we are not just praying out of habit, but rather, out of a God given desire and inspiration. I like what E. M. Bounds has said: “The habit of praying is a good habit, and should be early and strongly formed; but to pray by habit merely is to destroy the life of prayer and allow it to degenerate into a hollow and sham-producing form. Habit may form the bank for the river of pray, but there must be a strong, deep, pure current, crystal and life-giving, flowing between these two banks.”

Now the way the Holy Spirit burdens us is simply by transferring God’s burden to us as we pray and live in the Spirit. Hence, whenever God is burdened the Holy Spirit transfers that spirit to us so that we groan in prayer with the same burden (Rom. 8:26-27). Therefore, as you allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart and mind as you pray in the Spirit, He will draw you deep into the soul of God; hence He will show you how great some of the needs are and will kindle within you God’s love for others so that you will plead in prayer to God with great desire and love for them.

6. He guides us in prayer. Without the Holy Spirit we are lost when it comes to prayer. In fact, we find that naturally we are unable to pray. But the Holy Spirit is always willing to help us pray. He helps us pray “according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weakness. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot to uttered…He makes intercession for us according to the will of God.”

And how does he help us? Well, for one, as we pray in the Spirit He will put a burden on our heart to show us what or who to pray for. He may also help you to remember certain promises, to give you a basis for your prayers. Then, as you pray, He will inspire your prayers and direct them; consequently, you may find yourself praying words you would not normally pray, words that come from the very heart of God.

7. He teaches us how to pray. Along with guiding us in what things to pray for, He teaches us many things about prayer and how to pray. He teaches us the value of words—that prayer needs the backing of words. He will teach you how to listen to Him, and how He speaks to you through the Word, and through people, and circumstances, and through nature. He teaches you how to approach God in prayer, and what the atmosphere of prayer should be. He also teaches you His will and how to discern His will. Accordingly, He shows you whether or not your prayers are according to His will, and whether your motives are right. Overall, He will teach you the great value of prayer and the great necessity of prayer.

8. He strengthens us in prayer. If you seem to have no strength to pray (that is, no confidence, or faith, or desire, or leading in prayer) then you need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come and strengthen you. Pray first that He will show you His will and a promise to pray by. Then, when He shows you a promise, pray that He will give you faith to believe in it and strength to pray according to it. As you proceed to pray according to that promise, He will give you confidence that God will hear and answer your prayer (Jn. 5:14-15). That confidence is a confidence in God. The more confidence you have in God, the stronger your faith will be, and the stronger your prayers will be. Yes, He will definitely give us strength in prayer if we ask Him for it!

A Pentecostal Posture

Acts 2:1–20 CSB

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.” Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

A Pentecostal Posture is a Posture of Prayer, Power, Proclamation, and Peculiarity

This no Pentecost without Prayer.

The waited in prayer.

There’s no Pentecost without Power.

The were clothed with power.

There’s no Pentecost without Gospel Proclamation.

The went out to proclaim.

There’s no Pentecost without Holy Spirit Peculiarity.

There was witness to the peculiarity of the Spirit’s baptism in their walk and their talk.

WE NEED THIS PENTECOSTAL POSTURE TODAY!

Pentecost changes our walk and our speech.

Come Recieve The POWER from Jesus.

Come and Experience the POWER OF PENTECOST

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