When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)
Whatever the disciples where expecting as they obeyed Jesus’ command to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, I am sure that the sights, sounds and sensations of that first Pentecost must have taken them by surprise.
Whatever the disciples where expecting as they obeyed Jesus’ command to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, I am sure that the sights, sounds and sensations of that first Pentecost must have taken them by surprise. But surprised or not, they were ready when the ‘power from on high’ came to walk out of the room and immediately begin their ministry.
It was the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that changed them from waiting disciples into the mighty men of God we see in the book of Acts. On that day Peter was able to stand up and boldly present the Gospel at the first ever evangelistic rally and see 3,000 added to their number.
As Pentecostals today we know that we do not have to wait for Pentecost Sunday to pray for people to be baptised in the Holy Spirit but we take time to ensure that all new believers understand that he is Jesus’ promised Helper to release each one of us to stand up and speak for him wherever we are – our schools, colleges, workplaces, homes and communities. We will be praying for everyone at the services on Pentecost Sunday to be filled or refilled with the Holy Spirit.
We know also as part of the discipleship cell vision that we need training to help each one to rise up in the calling that the Lord has given them to make disciples of all nations. From Living Free! to full-time IBIOL there is something for everyone! And this month we are introducing a new initiative to give everyone the tools to form relationships with the intention of sharing the gospel, it is called Share Life and details can be found on page 13. As the first disciples heard that they were to be witnesses for Jesus in “Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8) so may we live our lives immersed in the Holy Spirit as we reach out to London and the World for Christ!