I am convinced that one of the greatest tragedies in the lives of most professing Christians today is the absence of the power of the Holy Spirit. During my 43 years of pastoring 9 churches in 5 states, I came to realize that most believers had only learned about the Holy Spirit. But there were a few in each church who had come to know the power of His indwelling, cleansing, empowering, and freedom.
And then when I left pastoral ministry and took on a ministry of traveling the nation and the world for nearly 30 years, I realized that the majority of professing believers in most of the churches and cities where I ministered knew very little about a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Trying to live the Christian life our own strength is to fail. This is why Jesus, just before He ascended back to His Father in Heaven, told His disciples to not start trying to spread the Gospel on their own strength. Jesus told them why they must be filled with the Spirit: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NKJV) And when Jesus had been caught up to ascend to the Father, the disciples stood frozen, looking into the sky where He had disappeared. So, two angels had to break their gaze and urge them to obey Christ’s last command to pray for the Holy Spirit. “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet … And when they had entered, they went into the upper room where they were staying….” (Acts 1:12 – 13, NKJV) In the next chapter we learn that “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, NKJV)
Following His resurrection, Jesus made it clear that His disciples must not begin spreading His Gospel message until they were “filled with the Holy Spirit!” And that’s exactly what they did. We read in chapter 2 of Acts that once they were filled with the Holy Spirit, those 120 believers filed out of that upper room and went down on the streets of Jerusalem to find thousands who needed to hear the Gospel.
The apostle Peter, who had denied Jesus, but was now filled with the Holy Spirit, preached the first Gospel message of the newly born church of Jesus Christ. He preached with power, and we read that those Jewish listeners were “cut to the heart” with conviction, realizing they had been wrong in crucifying Jesus on that old rugged cross. So, they asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” And the apostle Peter had the answer—“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38, NKJV)
We learn from this that every true believer in Christ receives the Holy Spirit when they repent and trust in Christ as their Savior. Actually, it is the Holy Spirit who conditions the sinner’s heart and mind for repenting and believing. But Jesus taught His disciples that believers must “be filled with the Spirit.” Being born of the Spirit brings about the miracle of eternal life. But it is essential that the new believer soon learn how to relate to the Holy Spirit. New Testament Scriptures emphatically speak of “the fullness of the Spirit.” This is what Jesus meant when He promised “abundant life.” We read in the Gospel of Luke that God wants to be generous in giving us the Holy Spirit. Jesus put it this way: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13, NKJV) The Holy Spirit is a given in our new birth, but as we grow in faith we realize the need of more power for resisting temptation, understanding the Scriptures, and taking our stand for Christ as we face the daily problems of life. In fact, we are called to become hungry and thirsty for the fullness of the Holy Spirit! This is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9, NKJV)
When I think of the millions of American professing Christians sitting in their worship services on Sunday morning who wonder why they are there—empty, bored, trying to think of a reason for being here—I feel the Holy Spirit calling me to fervent, passionate, persistent prayer for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the greatest revival known in the history of the American church! And then I think of God’s promise in II Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV): “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Please know, dear praying Christian prayer warriors, the hour is late, and America’s only hope is Spirit-anointed prayer warriors responding to God’s conditions for sending the kind of spiritual awakening that will bring a falling of the Holy Spirit on His church and a charging of the atmosphere of our entire nation with “conviction of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8)
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God’s divine Helper, can bring this 21st century church back to the power which the early church demonstrated after coming out of that upper room to proclaim the Gospel with power to convict of sin and save the lost. So let us pray for multitudes of believers to respond to an upper room call to prayer that will bring back the Divine Helper for empowering us to experience what God has promised for preparing His church and making a lost world ready for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
We learn from this that every true believer in Christ receives the Holy Spirit when they repent and trust in Christ as their Savior. Actually, it is the Holy Spirit who conditions the sinner’s heart and mind for repenting and believing. But Jesus taught His disciples that believers must “be filled with the Spirit.” Being born of the Spirit brings about the miracle of eternal life. But it is essential that the new believer soon learn how to relate to the Holy Spirit. New Testament Scriptures emphatically speak of “the fullness of the Spirit.” This is what Jesus meant when He promised “abundant life.” We read in the Gospel of Luke that God wants to be generous in giving us the Holy Spirit. Jesus put it this way: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13, NKJV) The Holy Spirit is a given in our new birth, but as we grow in faith we realize the need of more power for resisting temptation, understanding the Scriptures, and taking our stand for Christ as we face the daily problems of life. In fact, we are called to become hungry and thirsty for the fullness of the Holy Spirit! This is what Jesus meant when He told His disciples, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9, NKJV)
When I think of the millions of American professing Christians sitting in their worship services on Sunday morning who wonder why they are there—empty, bored, trying to think of a reason for being here—I feel the Holy Spirit calling me to fervent, passionate, persistent prayer for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the greatest revival known in the history of the American church! And then I think of God’s promise in II Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV): “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Please know, dear praying Christian prayer warriors, the hour is late, and America’s only hope is Spirit-anointed prayer warriors responding to God’s conditions for sending the kind of spiritual awakening that will bring a falling of the Holy Spirit on His church and a charging of the atmosphere of our entire nation with “conviction of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (John 16:8)
This outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God’s divine Helper, can bring this 21st century church back to the power which the early church demonstrated after coming out of that upper room to proclaim the Gospel with power to convict of sin and save the lost. So let us pray for multitudes of believers to respond to an upper room call to prayer that will bring back the Divine Helper for empowering us to experience what God has promised for preparing His church and making a lost world ready for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
