Pentecostal Power

I spent the first few years of my Christian walk in a charismatic church. That was when I was 12. I switched to a traditional church (Lutheran) when I was 14-15. When I was 16, I tried out a new church which was quite far from home. The third church had a great atmosphere, the congregation shared a huge passion in serving God and to know more about Him. It was a great environment for me to grow. But I couldn't commit myself into attending a church that would be incovenient on both my mother's part and mine, plus the Youth Service every Saturday was from 12 pm till 5 pm. I continued my attendance in Lutheran, but that did not really get me anywhere, purely because I was at a stage in my life when I was just weird, and that traditional churches, if you're not mature enough to understand the approach to traditional worship, you would be lost. This is, of course, my personal view.

Then I went to college. I was 18. During my time in college, I attended City Revival and a Prebysterian church. Both were great, but SL and I chose City Revival, mainly because we love how the services are conducted. I continued attending City Revival till a few weeks ago, when I realised I needed fellowship. I prayed to God for an answer, and felt that SL and I would get more from attending ECF.

So far, I have been to 4 charismatic churches, and 2 traditional churches, so to speak. I'm discounting the fact that I have been to a Baptist church for a few months, which is also a charismatic church. For these enriching experiences, I can find no fault in either one denomination. The truth is, it all depends on what you place merit in. All denominations under the Protestant flag share a common message. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

I did my daily devotional this morning. God impressed on me a very interesting text :-

As believers in Jesus Christ, it’s vital for us to know God’s Word, the Bible. Our goal is not to accumulate knowledge but to internalize His Word so that we can be equipped in our walk of faith.
When we know God’s Word, it keeps our spiritual walk from slipping (Ps. 37:31). It satisfies the hunger of our souls (Jer. 15:16). And it is a key weapon in facing temptations and trials (Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:10-18).
Let’s make it our aim to know the Word. Then, when facing life’s challenges, we can be ready for any situation (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
— Dennis Fisher (Our Daily Bread 22nd May 2008)

I went back to Ipoh last week, so I attended my family church (Lutheran New Life). The pastor shared a wonderful message about the Holy Spirit. His sermon was titled Pentescostal Power.

The Pentecost marks the first event of the manisfestation of the Holy Spirit. As Christians, we are often reminded we are the temple of God, that our body is where the Holy Spirit dwells in us. The perfect example to derive the existence of the Holy Spirit would be from the book of Acts chapter 2. God poured out His Holy Spirit, so that His believers could be filled with His power and serve the Lord in His glory. This event is vital to us. It draws the picture of God's intention for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, that we are enpowered to serve Him.

We are bestowed upon us a brain and all its cognitive functions. Wisdom is given unto men, and with our human mind, we create understanding of words and speeches. We are capable of thinking. We are capable of manipulating facts. If we're cunning and scheming enough, we are capable of twisting the truth and bend it anyway we want it to. Such has been the advancement of the creation that the notion that we are God, we don't need God, forms in our finite mind. The more we have, the smarter we are, the higher we place ourselves above others, the more difficult it is to bow down and kneel on our knees to submit to God as our Lord and Master.

The Bible travelled through thick and thin to end in our hands. Whenever we are in doubt, we should always go back to basics- the Bible. Whatever we're going through and about to go through, we can find solace that God has been with people that had gone through the same difficulties we're going through now. There are infinite examples we can find in the Bible that speak great volumes about the mess we got ourselves into. It does not neccessarily need to be a mistrial or a mishap, we may be faced with questions that we can't answer, and where else to find better answers than from the Bible.

The Renaissance ended the age of ignorance, and sparked an era of inquisition and search for the truth. Gradually, science rise to the ranks and became a force to be reckoned with. How a device works, how our body works; all works are being answered by Science where the rule of physics must apply. Thenceforth begins a new understanding of the Bible. Dissastisfied with the miracalous stunts that were made possible by God, historians twisted biblical events to explain it in their manner. In their minds, they must be thinking, "what God can do must also apply to human laws". What is more miraculous is that people began to listen to half truths and half lies, when the ultimate truth is all in the Bible. For example, Moses and the rest of the Israelites were depicted to cross the Red Sea when there was a low tide, that the sea was never separated as to what was written in the Sciptures.

New teachings suggest that the manisfestation of the Holy Spirit is obsolete. In the modern age, technology rules and miracles are a thing of the past. Miracles were required in the past for breakthroughs, to get the word of God around. To get people to listen to Him. I'm very curious, if God could separate the Red Sea then, should it not also mean He can repeat the exact miracle now? Do we dare suggest that God has exhausted His power from creating miracles during biblical times that He cautioned Himself against doing anything of that sort again, lest He faces a depletion of power so ceasing to exist?

The world population of yesteryear was small. The world population is now nearing 7 billion. More and more deceptions are set by the evil one. Now is the time we need more miracles to happen.

We need reminders to bring us back to moments that made us who we are. Our first love with God reminds us how He first came into our lives. In the same way, the Pentecost (in Acts 2) reminds us that we need to keep in mind that it is God's intention for us to receive the Holy Spirit. Why do we put a lid on our treasure boxes when God wants them to be overfilled? God does not stop blessing us if we maintain our stance towards His unwavering love for us. We need to witness for Christ, and to manage that, we need to be enpowered and filled with the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit does not only belong to charismatic churches. Every believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit so we can witness for the Lord. Now to the question, why do we need the Holy Spirit?

We have weaknesses. They need to be dealt. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, assisting us in making the right decisions, and help us find the right words when we're sharing the word of God. Without it, we feel restrained. Without it, I felt every choice would lead me to a dead end. Ignoring it, I feel losing a part of myself. If you yearn to be transformed, ask for the Holy Spirit earnestly, and wait patiently for Him to manifest.

Before the Pentecost, the apostles and believers and disciples of God were scattered. They believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, and that He was sent by our Father God in Heaven. Still, they feared the authorities. Despite having witnessed the resurrection of Christ, they feared persecution and arrest. They hid, and kept to themselves the gospel.

After Pentecost, one day in a place, there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them" - Acts 2:3. Every individual in the setting was enpowered! With the enpowerment, they began to prophesy and share the word of God, no longer afraid of being imprisoned and whatever the authorities would throw at them.

In Matthew 28, Christ told his disciples first to make disciple of every nation, to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Acts 1, Christ asked His disciples to wait patiently for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that when this gift is given unto us, we will become His witnesses.

The fire of the Holy Spirit indicates God's acceptance of our dedication to Him. In Leviticus, offerings were made to the Lord by fire, that He will aceept the offering. In 2 Chronicles 7:1, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the scarifices". The fire from God indicates God's acceptance of our dedications. Now, we are the temple of God. To dedicate yourself would mean to wait patiently for God to bestow upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit, that He has accepted our dedication.

God wants to enpower us, to dwell within us, so we can serve in His glory. Ask God to fill us!