PURPOSE OF PENTECOST POWER

But ye shall receive POWER, after that the HOLY GHOST is come upon you: and ye shall be WITNESSES unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth – Acts 1:8

Pentecost – meaning the fiftieth day – also known as the Feast of Weeks, was a day-long harvest festival, held fifty days following Passover. It was one of the three pilgrimage festivals when the whole nation gathered in Jerusalem. The second chapter of the book of Acts emerges with imageries of the sound of a rushing wind, fire, tongues and power! These were in fulfilment, not only of Joel’s prophecies (Joel 2), but also of the Lord’s promises. He declared in Acts 24:49, “And, behold, I send the PROMISE of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with POWER FROM ON HIGH.” And in Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive POWER, after that the HOLY GHOST is come upon you…”

In both scriptures, POWER is directly linked with the HOLY SPIRIT. Jesus said we would receive P-O-W-E-R! The Lord had taught the disciples comprehensively on the functions of the Promise of the Father – the Holy Spirit – as our Advocate, Teacher, Reminder and Counsellor (Jh.14:25-26). To receive the Holy Spirit is to receive God’s Power; but power can be dangerous and destructive when it is not directed at PURPOSE. Then we need to ponder on the Purpose of the Power that was released at Pentecost. The primary purposes of the Power of the Holy Spirit are: to FILL us; equip us as WITNESSES to the broken, sinful world; and DISPLAY the Glory of God through us.

In this dry and dreary world, where we so often get emptied and drained by people, situations and circumstances, we must be constantly filled and re-filled by Power of the Spirit. Nothing else can fill us as perfectly and completely as His Power. Ephesians 5:18 admonishes us to “be filled with the Spirit” as we speak to ourselves in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs and melodies of praise and thanksgiving. Our Loving Father cares to fill the different kinds of emptiness in our lives with the power of His Spirit. Being filled with the Power of the Spirit also means: allowing God to empty you of your own agenda and to fill you up with His.