The Power Of Pentecost

THE POWER OF PENTECOST

Last week we looked at THE PURPOSE OF PENTECOST and we found that it is much more than exciting music and a motivational message. Pentecost will certainly:

• Bring to us more of God’s power to live our daily lives,

• Take us to a higher place of worship,

• Cause us to examine ourselves,

• Change the way we think, talk and act,

• Give to us a desire to live and walk in the Spirit.

Whenever we experience Pentecost, there should be a significant spiritual impact on us, and this will cause us to tell others about what Jesus is doing in our lives.

Many Christians are not experiencing Pentecost for a number of reasons, but perhaps the greatest reason is because they are unaware of how rich and powerful it would make their lives.

There is a true story told of a man by the name of Yates that lived many years ago. It was during the depression that he was a very poor sheep farmer living in Texas. He was very close to being bankrupt, and he could not properly feed or clothe his family. Being a sheep farmer was all he knew. He was uneducated and had very little hope left in life. All that was keeping him and his family alive was government subsidies and welfare.

One day he heard about an oil company that was working nearby drilling wildcat wells for oil (with very little success). They came to Mr. Yates and told him that he might have an oil reserve beneath the surface of his land. Mr. Yates was doubtful but gave permission for them to drill a shallow wildcat well. At a mere 1,000 feet depth they struck the first of many oil wells.

The area was far richer with oil than anything they had ever seen and was soon called “Yates Pool”.

Some 30 years, later the technology of oil drilling increased and the size of Mr. Yates pool of oil increased another 50%. There was no end to Mr. Yates wealth.

And what is interesting for many years Mr. Yates lived in poverty on the brink of starvation and he didn’t even know it. Little did he know but that he was actually the wealthiest man in the world.

This is often the case of the spiritual condition of many Christians living today. Because of what Jesus has done and because of what he has promised, every Christian is entitled to all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and God’s energizing POWER OF PENTECOST.

Not only are they missing out on the anointing oil of the Holy Spirit, and are on the brink of being bankrupt and starvation, but they are allowing many other of their friends and relatives to live in ignorance of what God can do for them.

People really do want to know more about the Lord. The problem is that many of your friends and family members want to live a more meaningful life but don’t know how. I have even met those who don’t attend church simply because they don’t understand what Christianity is. And that, my friend, is why they are watching what you do and say everyday.

Question: Have you ever noticed how many people there are who will admit that they do not know that much about God?

There are a lot of people who are watching you, and that is why you need THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Many people are watching you to see if there is a reason for them to want to become a Christian.

Illustration:

The guest speaker at the Prayer Breakfast in Paducah last week told us that many years ago (before he became a Christian) he and his wife had met a Christian couple that impressed them. After meeting this other couple, the speaker said that his wife was impressed with their new friends and made a very simple comment,

“Honey I don’t know what they have, but I want it!”

And that is when their search for Christ began. And that is how the Holy Spirit should be working in us and causing us to be an impact in the lives of the people we know.

Consider this as a possibility: you hold the responsibility of possessing the POWER OF PENTECOST. The Holy Spirit may miraculously send people (who are searching for God) your way. We must be ready to share with them what the Lord has done for us. We can find a situation just like this in Acts chapter 10.

Text: Acts 10:19 – 22

In our text we find a man named Cornelius was at least familiar with what it meant to be a Jew, and may known of God, but wanted to know more.