Does anybody remember what happened on the Day of Pentecost? Check out Acts 2:1-4 :
On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
—ACTS 2:1-4 NLT
One scholar in The New Spirit-Filled Life Bible describes it like this:
“The original creation began with the BREATH of GOD; now the new creation begins with the BREATH of GOD the Son!” —Siegfried Schatzmann [1]
On Pentecost, God breathed on a room full of 120 followers and they became living souls filled with life, creativity, insight and the power of God Himself!
What would happen if the power of the Holy Spirit — the very BREATH of GOD — began to blow through your life in an unprecedented manner?
What would happen if His power began to heal marriages, knit the hearts of parents and children together, and knit the hearts of husbands and wives?
What would happen if He began to liberate people from the destruction of sin and addictive behavior patterns?
What would happen if He was allowed to unleash the Spirit of love and generosity in the lives of the people in your life like never before?
I don’t know exactly what it would look like, but I know I want to be a part of it!
The Wind Is Blowing Again
(Lanny Wolfe Trio)
Chorus
The wind is blowin’ again! The wind is blowin’ again!
Just like the day of Pentecost, the wind is blowin’ again!
Verse 1
There was a crowd gathered ’round from all over town,
They came to see what it was all about.
There was a sound that came down from the upper room,
Where the Holy Ghost was being poured out.
It sounded just like the roar of a mighty wind,
As it fell on every one of them.
And the wind that blew at Pentecost keeps blowin’
and blowin’ again!
Verse 2
The wind of God is blowin’ through the world today,
Like the prophet Joel said it would do.
For Peter said on the day of Pentecost,
“It’s for you and your children, too!”
So open up your heart and let the wind blow in,
You’ll never, never, never be the same again.
And the wind that blew at Pentecost keeps blowin’
and blowin’ again!
What would happen if the power of the Holy Spirit — the very BREATH of GOD— began to blow through your life in an unprecedented manner?
The Story of Ten Bridesmaids (Matt 25:1-13)
Matthew 25:1-13 contains one of the most interesting stories Jesus shared. On the heels of sharing about cataclysmic events that will “rock” the last days in Matthew 24, Jesus shared a story about ten bridesmaids — five were wise and five were very foolish.
The bridesmaids who were described as wise were wise because they took their lamps to meet the coming bridegroom and brought with them an extra supply of oil.
The bridesmaids described as foolish were foolish because they didn’t “take enough oil for their lamps.”
In the Bible, oil is another symbol of the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:18; Acts 10:38; 1 Sam 16:13; Isa 61:1).
Others include fire (Matt 3:11; Ex 3:2; Isa 4:4; Lk 3:16-17; 1 Thess 5:19), wind (Jn 3:8; 20:22; Acts 2:2), water (Jn 3:5; Ezek 36:25-27; Jn 4:14; Isa 12:3; 44:3; Hos 6:3; Jn 7:37-38; Ps 1:3), and the dove (Matt 3:16-17; Mk 1:10; Lk 3:22; Jn 1:32).
It’s interesting that while Jesus often lauded the virtue of generosity, when the bridesmaids who had failed to bring a personal supply of oil asked the five wise bridesmaids for some of their oil, the five wise bridesmaids refused. Jesus doesn’t paint them as stingy or greedy… because this story isn’t about greed or generosity.
This story is about the necessity of making certain we are filled with the Holy Spirit — that we are filled with the LIFE of God, the CREATIVITY of God, the INSIGHT of God, and the POWER that He longs to give.
Jesus understood that when it comes to our relationship with the Holy Spirit and the presence of God, this isn’t something we can “borrow” from someone else. This is something we have to pursue and make ourselves available to personally.
Nobody can do this for you!
Building a life and relationship with the Holy Spirit is something only YOU can do.
What would happen if the power of the Holy Spirit — the very BREATH of GOD — began to blow through your life in an unprecedented manner?
I can’t think of a better way to conclude this series than with this prayer:
St. Patrick’s Breastplate
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness,
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom…
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near…
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.
St. Patrick, 433 AD
[1] Siegfried Schatzmann, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1480