Everything Changes When The Holy Spirit Comes In Power

The King's Church International Audio Podcast

Have you ever felt your need for God’s power in your life? Do you know that your whole life and even our world can change when we experience the Holy Spirit?

At many times in world history and in British history, Christianity has been written off as dead or dying. That’s what people think is happening right now. But its not true. Reports of the death of Christianity, including in the UK, are greatly exaggerated.

While it’s true that many liberal and traditional churches are in terminal decline, many others are growing and starting other churches. What’s more, young people are often the biggest grouping in these churches. Today there are an estimated 650 million Christians around the world who would describe themselves as Charismatic or Pentecostal meaning that they have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit (See ‘Fire from heaven; the rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the 21st century’).

Yet for all these many encouraging developments, we also live in a time when there is widespread resistance to God and where paganism and militant Islam are on the march. A greater demonstration of God’s power is urgently needed.

On Pentecost Sunday, we must realise that it is only a spiritual revival that is going to bring about large-scale repentance and fundamental change to our society. Revival has been well described as an ‘inrush of the Spirit into a body that threatens to become a corpse.’

The word Pentecost, meaning 50, refers to the momentous day when the first disciples experienced the Holy Spirit at the time of the Jewish Feast of Weeks or Shavuot in Hebrew. This took place 50 days from the Feast of Firstfruits held at the time of Passover. It’s also called ‘the feast of harvest’ and the ‘day of the first fruits.’

All these names show that the Day of Pentecost came at a time of great significance when Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem. Although the coming of the Holy Spirit had been promised centuries before by the prophet Joel, the events of the day of Pentecost, ten days after the return of Jesus to heaven, changed everything for the previously nervous disciples and for the Christian church which grew immediately with 3000 new believers.

From this day onwards the early Christians became an unstoppable force. Within weeks the whole of Jerusalem knew all about Jesus and within one generation, despite much hostility and, Christianity had spread throughout the Roman Empire. Pentecost was an amazing moment. Acts 2:7 says that people were ‘utterly amazed’.

Whenever there is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes everything changes both in the church and in the world. Time and again in history, when everything has so looked bleak in society, a new outpouring of Holy Spirit has produced what historian Paul Johnson called ‘profound seismic movements.’

We see in Acts chapter 2 some key developments that took place on the Day of Pentecost.

1. The Holy Spirit came suddenly to them (Acts 2:1-2; Malachi 3:1; Luke 2:8,13-14; Acts 9:3; Acts 16:25-26

2. The Holy Spirit came supernaturally on them (Acts 2:2-3; Luke 4:18; John 3:8)

3. The Holy Spirit spoke powerfully through them (Acts 2:4-6,11-18,38-39; 1 Corinthians 14)

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1. The Holy Spirit came suddenly to them. The disciples, who had been continuously praying and preparing to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, turned up for yet another daily prayer meeting only to quickly discover that this day was like no other (Acts 2:1-2). God is the God who acts suddenly (Malachi 3:1). After so many prophecies and centuries of waiting for the Messiah, Jesus/Yeshua suddenly appeared. At His birth, in one moment the shepherds were doing their usual boring work guarding the sheep, then out of nowhere heaven suddenly burst in on them (Luke 2:8,13-14). In another moment in time the Jewish zealot Saul was going about his daily business of persecuting followers of Jesus when his whole life and future suddenly changed (Acts 9:3). And when he himself was persecuted as a follower of Jesus, he again experienced how out of nowhere God could turn everything around in a moment (Acts 16:25-26). This sudden coming of God has been experienced by many in past UK revivals (i.e. George Whitefield, the Wesley brothers; Duncan Campbell). David Matthew in ‘Revive Us Again’, describes revivals like these as God’s purpose going into ‘Turbo Mode’, saying ‘the everyday progress of the church, slowed down by apathy, tradition, mixture and division, suddenly enjoys a surge of power, as the Holy Spirit releases the brake, barriers come down, God’s people glow with life and the lost are gathered into the Kingdom in huge numbers. That kind of suddenly is what we all need today.

2. The Holy Spirit came supernaturally on them. The coming of the Holy Spirit was not just something that was stirred within them but a power that came on them from heaven above (Acts 2:2-3; Luke 4:18; and see 20th Century Azuza St. revival). Have you had this experience of God’s power coming on you? When the disciples experienced the power of the Holy Spirit, there was a loud noise because of a powerful wind. Now anyone who has experienced a hurricane, a tornado or a typhoon knows just how powerful nature can be. You cannot ignore it. The Holy Spirit is also like the wind. In the New Testament, the word for “spirit” is “pneuma”, which can also mean “wind” or “breath.” Like the wind, the Holy Spirit comes in suddenly and seemingly from nowhere, transforming the atmosphere and changing everything. The Holy Spirit, like the wind, moves wherever He want (John 3:8). Also, there were tongues of fire that could be seen. Fire symbolises the purity, presence and power of God which Moses, Elijah and now the disciples experienced (see also T.B. Barratt baptism in the Holy Spirit on October 7th 1906).

3. The Holy Spirit spoke powerfully through them (Acts 2:4-6). It’s important to note that although we can speak in unknown God given languages that 1 Corinthians 14 speaks of, here we see that the disciples spoke in languages that could be clearly recognised by visitors from all over the Roman world (Acts 2:11-12). Speaking in tongues in languages, both known and unrecognised, have been experienced by many Christians since then and can be your experience also when you are filled with the Holy Spirit. But also, you can have a new confidence and authority in speaking of Jesus in your own language. When the Holy Spirit came on them Peter and the disciples lost all their fears and spoke boldly of Jesus (Acts 2:14-18). And he ended with a declaration that the Holy Spirit can be experienced by all people in all generations. (Acts 2:38-39). In other words, every day can be a day of Pentecost. So let’s get right will God and receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. For this is the way that we will be changed, our families will be changed, our churches, and our cities and nations will be changed. Everything changes when the Holy spirit comes in power.