The Power of the Holy Spirit

'All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.'
Acts 2:4

'The wind of change is blowing through Africa.' In this memorable phrase, former British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, speaking to the South African Parliament, signaled that the days of the British Empire were over, and that former colonies would soon become self governing nations.

Today, there is a new wind of change blowing through the world and it is the wind of the Holy Spirit bringing multitudes into the kingdom of God.

Two thousand years on from the day that the early disciples suddenly heard 'a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven,' a new day of Pentecost is here.

Pentecostalism was once labelled the third great force in Christianity alongside Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. But now all branches of the church are experiencing a new work of the Holy Spirit.

Today there are well over half a billion Christians who would describe themselves as Charismatic or Pentecostal.

Burgess and McGee state that Pentecostals and Charismatics, have 'ushered in a new era of Christian spirituality,' and proclaim 'that the spiritual power of the first century church can be the norm for Christians today.' i

Historian Mark A. Noll writes, 'in the second half of the twentieth century, Pentecostal and Charismatic currents have been central in the rapid expansion of Christianity mainly outside the West, but also in the West.' ii

Many new churches, such as the 300,000 strong International Charismatic Mission in Bogotá, Colombia, attribute their rapid growth to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Without doubt the church needs the Holy Spirit. As Charles Spurgeon once said, 'We must have the Holy Spirit's power and presence; otherwise our religion will become a mockery before God, and a misery to ourselves.'

I want to look at why we can be confident that the wind of change will blow wherever Christians recognize their need of the Holy Spirit.

1. Pentecost Shows Us That God Keeps His Promises

Hundreds of years before Christ, the prophet Joel had predicted a great move of God in Joel 2:28, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.' In Acts 2:14-17 Peter states that it had come to pass. What God had promised would happen, had happened. The long standing promise had been kept.

So too had the promise of Jesus just a few weeks before. Acts 1:7-8 states, 'He said to them... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.'

God always keeps His word. The promise of the Holy Spirit is still open for every Christian in every generation.

Acts 2:38-39 is quite clear. 'Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-for all whom the Lord our God will call."'

2. Pentecost Shows Us That God Wants To Equip All His People

Some very simple words keep cropping up in the book of Acts-words like 'all' and 'full.'

Acts 2:4, 'All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.' Acts 2:17-18, 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people (that is people from every nation and ethnic group). Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.'

Look who is included here:

  • Young people: sons and daughters
  • Old people
  • Men
  • Women
  • All ethnic groups

God does not want to leave anyone out or empty! Acts 2:4 states: 'All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.' In Acts 4:31 we read, 'they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.'

God wants every Christian and every church to be full of the Holy Spirit, including you and me. We cannot afford to just know about the Holy Spirit, we must be FULL of the Holy Spirit.

This was the secret of the advance of the Early Church. Being filled with the Holy Spirit was an essential qualification for ministry at any level. In Acts 6:3 a core requirement for administrators was that they must be 'known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.'

3. Pentecost Shows Us That God Releases His Power

The day of Pentecost was some experience. 'Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them' (Acts 2:2-4).

The impact of the Holy Spirit was so immediate and so great that people were 'utterly amazed.' So much for the idea of the 'gentle Holy Spirit' who always comes ever so quietly!

Notice the 'manifestations' or signs that the power of an awesome God was at work.

  • The blowing of a violent wind: you don't know where the wind comes from or where it is going but you certainly know something is going on.
  • Tongues of fire: This was visible and supernatural.
  • They began to speak in new tongues: so much so that travellers to Jerusalem all heard their own languages.
  • Behaviour that made them think the disciples were drunk!

As we read on in Acts there are further unusual manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Even the building that they were meeting in was shaken (Acts4:31).

Acts 4:33 states that, 'with great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.'

The greatest power in the world is not political power or military power or financial power; it is the power of God.

When one of America's leading generals of World War 2 met Kathryn Kuhlman - a healing evangelist who carried a strong anointing of God's power - he crumpled in a heap!

When the Holy Spirit came on John Wesley and 60 others on January 1st, 1739 they 'fell to the ground,' overwhelmed by the power of God.

Bradford plumber Smith Wigglesworth recalled what happened to him in Sunderland at 11am on October 26th, 1907.

'My body became full of light and holy presence. An irresistible power filled me and moved my being 'til I found to my glorious astonishment that I was speaking in other tongues clearly. After this a burning love for everybody filled my soul...Today I am actually living in the Acts of the Apostles time.' iii

In the Hebrides 'Pentecost' in 1949 the 'whole building literally shook with wave after wave of Divine power.' iv

Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: 'we must cease to have so much confidence in ourselves... We have got to realise that we must be filled with God's spirit.

We have got to realise that... what we need is not more knowledge, more understanding, more apologetics, more reconciliation of philosophy and science and religion, and all modern techniques-no we need a power that can enter the souls of men and break them and smash them and humble them and then make them anew.

And that is the power of the living God. And we must be confident that God has this power today and we must begin to plead and yearn for it.' v

Are you ready to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit for yourself and for a world that needs to witness the proclamation and demonstration of the good news of the gospel?

Are you ready to repent of any words, attitudes, actions and relationships that may grieve or quench the Holy Spirit? Are you hungry for the reality and power of God?

Then draw near to God with confidence, as Luke 11:13 puts it, that 'your Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.'

  1. Stanley M. Burgess and Gary B.McGee (eds.) Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 1.
  2. Mark A. Noll, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity (Grand Rapids: Inter-Varsity Press, 1997), 300.
  3. Quoted in Donald Gee, Wind and Flame (Nottingham: Assemblies of God Publishing House, 1967), 25.
  4. Colin Whittaker, Great Revivals (London: Marshall Pickering, 1990), 162.
  5. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Revival: Can We Make It Happen? (Basingstoke: Marshall Pickering, 1986), 19.