Power Poured Out

Last Sunday was Pentecost, when the church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. As God had previously filled the tabernacle in the Old Testament with glory (Exodus 40:34-38), so He filled His church for the last days! Acts 2:1-4 says,

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

What I’ve been thinking about recently, however, is not this moment particularly, but the result. After the Holy Spirit filled the disciples, they poured out onto the street and crowds gathered. Peter preached a powerful sermon, and multitudes were converted in a day! Peter, who had previously been too afraid to claim his relationship with Jesus in front of a few girls, boldly proclaimed the gospel before thousands! The power of the Holy Spirit filled the disciples, but the purpose wasn’t for them to stay in that upper room. They didn’t begin to discuss the logistics of what the church would look like moving forward or start to write down some rules about speaking in tongues. The power of God took them to the streets and eventually to the ends of the earth.

The Holy Spirit always works to advance the kingdom of God. He points to Jesus and in doing so, glorifies the Father.

In John 16:14 Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

“He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.’

He also said in John 14:26:

“The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Acts 3, directly following Pentecost, tells the story of the crippled man healed at the Gate Beautiful. Peter and John saw him begging for alms when they were on their way to the temple. What happened next is the first recorded miracle of the apostles:

‘Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. (Acts 3:6-7)’

Not everyone rejoiced in this miracle. Peter and John were arrested and stood trial because the religious leaders were “greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2). They thought they’d stopped the ministry of Jesus by crucifying Him, but it was increasing. Acts 4:7-13 records a portion of Peter and John’s trial:

‘When they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”’

The religious leaders were offended by their teaching and concerned, because the crowds were following them, just as they’d followed Jesus. As Jesus’ name was glorified, the same power that was at work in His life operated in His church! The Holy Spirit moving in the church always glorifies the name of Jesus! Do we really understand the power of that name? Heaven and earth respond to it. Demons can’t even say it. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says,

‘No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.’

Philippians 2:9-11 says,

“God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit, and there will come a time that every knee will bow and confess His name, to the glory of God!

The work of the Holy Spirit began in the book of Acts and He’s never stopped. The disciples were said to have “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) and that’s still the call of the church! It’s the call of every believer but it’s not something we can do ourselves. Our job is to be filled and allow the Holy Spirit to do what He does! It was only after being filled with the Holy Spirit that Peter could boldly proclaim the Gospel. The name of Jesus is glorified when we carry the power of God. It’s only by the Holy Spirit that we can walk in boldness and authority!

We should be careful not to assume we’ve experienced everything God has for us just because we’ve encountered the Holy Spirit before. We may have been filled with the Holy Spirit and spoken in tongues, but that doesn’t mean we’re full. The Holy Spirit is the wind in our lungs. He’s the strength in our hearts. He’s the One who pours the love of Jesus in and through us. As I’ve heard it taught many times, fullness is measured by overflow. If you’re overflowing, you must be continually filled! We may have had many experiences with God, but until we’re turning the world around us upside down, there’s more, and there will always be more!

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