The Power Of Pentecost

The Power Of Pentecost
Bishop Jim Swilley
But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth. (Acts 1:8, AMP)
The power of Pentecost is about...
P - ushing limits... The power of the Holy Spirit that was first manifested on the Day of Pentecost was and is all about setting new boundaries... creating new realities... as the Spirit of God brooded over the face of the deep in the Creation, so the same Spirit... the very same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead... brooded over the 120 who waited in the Upper Room for the next revelation of God.
E - mbracing diversity... Jesus said, "It is necessary that I go away, because if I don't go away, He can't come"... the Son of Man was revealed to a particular nation, but when that nation rejected Him, the stage was set for the Gospel to become international...and so, on the Day of Pentecost we see people from Africa, Asia, Europe, Arabia...the entire known world, in fact, all hearing the sound of a rushing, mighty wind, and being drawn together to the Upper Room.
N - etworking nationals... These people from all over the world heard the "wonderful works of God" being supernaturally proclaimed to them in their own native tongues... it was such a bonding experience for all of them that 3,000 of them were baptized together that day in one river.
T - ranscending culture... The power of the Holy Spirit transcended culture on the Day of Pentecost, and it still does today...the prophet Joel declared "I will pour out My Spirit on ALL humanity... ALL people... ALL flesh!
E - mpowering believers... Jesus said, "You shall receive DUNAMIS... power that produces more power, like a dynamo... when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!" This word "dunamis" is the same root word as our origin for "dynamite"... imagine Jesus saying, "But you shall receive spiritual DYNAMITE when the Holy Spirit comes upon you!"
C - ommunicating truth... The Day of Pentecost phenomenon wasn't just about speaking with other tongues... it was about the Spirit's unique ability to communicate the message to every people group... in the modern world that could mean the Nation of Politics, the Nation of Finance, the Nation of Entertainment, the Nation of Youth, etc... each of these "nations" has its own language, if you will, and the Holy Spirit can speak in any and all of them!
O - vercoming divisions... The Holy Spirit can empower people to overcome their doctrinal, denominational and dogmatic divisions.
S - eeing globalism... The power of the Holy Spirit, as seen on the Day of Pentecost, is about the glory of the Lord filling all the earth, as the waters cover the sea.
T - aking dominion... "You shall receive power... ability... efficiency... and might...!" The Holy Spirit is for you...the Helper... the "Paraclete" (Parakletos... the One Who stands by at all times to help) is here right now to help you in your time of weakness and vulnerability to become a world-changer!