The Way In a Manger

 Luke 2:7, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Christmas and the Holiday Season carry with them a bittersweet experience for many people. Of course, the sweetness is the story of the coming of the Christ child into a world that is lost in the darkness of sin. The most beautiful event in the history of humanity was the day that God robed himself in flesh and became that baby in the manger.

Jesus, who said of himself in John 14:6, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”, came as a baby, grew up to become a man, stepped out into the world, and for 3 ½ years, testified that he was God, come down to this world for only one reason. He came to give his life upon the cross to make the way of salvation for all men who would accept his sacrifice for their sins.

He, who is the Way, came by way of the manger, preached the Way of Salvation, and made that Way accessible to all men through his own death, burial, and resurrection. Now, the Way is made for each of us through Jesus Christ. That’s the real meaning of Christmas, and in fact, the way that Jesus made it is the way that all of life can have genuine meaning. It’s the only way we can have perfect peace and joy in our hearts that cannot be explained but must be experienced individually as we come to Jesus. It is the Way of a fulfilled life, a life of service to others, sacrificing self to Christ's cause. The only life worth living that won’t leave you empty and wondering if your life made a difference.

The other side of this story is that during the Christmas season, much bitterness arises as well. The coming of Jesus in that manger made a way for us to come to know and serve the Lord. Still, he never promised that the Way would be made perfect and that we would never experience sadness and loss in life.

During this time of the year, more than any other, many go through a time of deepened sadness because of the loss of a loved one. That loneliness is magnified when they see the happiness and togetherness that others experience, and they feel so much more alone.

Some are saddened when they think of the fact that even though their loved ones are still on the earth, they can’t see them and be with them on this day. How many families this year will be saddened somewhat because a loved one is on some lonely military outpost, guarding the freedoms of America? And how many families are torn apart because one or both of the parents can’t be with their children because circumstances keep them apart?

It has been proven that more people succumb to depression at this time of year than at any other time. Sadness and loneliness become more than they can bear, and the only answer to their heartache is to take themselves out of this world. The saddest part of that is that after they leave this world, the chances are they enter eternity without God. It’s too late to turn back after they realize their terrible mistake.

Even though we are not immune to experiencing that same sadness and sorrow, we who serve the Lord are truly blessed, for we have great hope even during grief. That hope is Jesus, that Way that came through the manger.

Most of you reading this know what I’m talking about. There’s an empty chair at your table and an empty place in your heart that you can’t seem to fill with anything that will make the pain disappear. You’ve spent many long hours crying out to God for relief from the grief, for a return of the joy of the Lord to your heart that you might enjoy life to its fullest once again. Your only thought is, Lord, If I could go back and do it again, I’d do things a lot differently. I would never take for granted what you have given me that I have lost. But then you realize there’s no going back, only forward, living one day at a time.

You march on one day at a time but in faith, knowing that the Way has been made. You understand that no matter how sad it may get or how much your heart aches, there is a better day coming:

• A day of peace and rest.
• A day of great joy and happiness.
• A day of resurrection when you will be reunited with those who have gone before.
• A day when we will all be with Jesus forever more.

The Way to being reunited and participating in that great day of joy goes through the manger. The Way goes through the blood of Jesus that was shed upon the cross, and finally, the Way leads us to the altar of God, where you will give your life as a living sacrifice to Jesus.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “… lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

The manger has passed into history and become part of the most beautiful story in the Bible. Jesus came and died only once; his sacrifice is sufficient for all sins of all men, forever. The Way has been finished and is forever open to all who will walk in it! No matter what you face today, the Way is before you, allowing you to overcome whatever is ahead.

No matter how much your heart aches today, the Way of healing is made, for Jesus knows your heartache and your fears, and he hears your cries in the midnight hour when no one else is there. No matter how much loneliness you face, the Way has the power to fill that emptiness in your heart, too. The Way is Jesus, and I am so glad I serve a God who cares and can heal any sickness, disease, loneliness, and hopelessness. Through the power of the blood, your healing is already done.

Matthew 8:17 says that Jesus “… took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

Hebrews 4:14-16 – “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Jesus is waiting for you to find your way to him. No man on earth can heal your pain, but He who is the Way can! No man on earth can fill the loneliness and ease the sorrow in your heart, but He who is the Way has the power to answer your prayer, and he will hear your cry, so take it to the Lord in prayer.

The problem for most of us is that we don’t always find the instant relief we seek in prayer. Sometimes, God will answer our cries instantly, but sometimes, He waits, and for many of us, God’s timing is something we can’t understand.

We know that God hears us. We understand that the Way to our answer is already made. We know that Jesus cares and that nothing is impossible with God. We know that our prayers will be answered. Our only question is, “When!” I need an answer, God, and I need it now; not tomorrow, not in the morning, not in January when the holidays have passed…I NEED IT NOW! And then the answer comes, and God says, “Wait, just a little while longer. Your answer is on the way!”

I am reminded of a passage of scripture, 2 Corinthians 12:8, “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”

Everyone carries an infirmity in one form or another; we are all part of the human condition, which means we are weak and frail in many ways. Physically – we are easily susceptible to sickness, disease, pain, and even death. Emotionally – we can become a basket case over even trivial things if we let it get the best of us, much less those things that are really hard to bear. Mentally – all I can say about that is that the older we get, the more that goes too. But for some of us, it starts going very quickly. Spiritually – we were dead in sin, and we’ve been born again; even so, we must ever guard our salvation lest we fall back into the trap of sin once again.

How many times have we prayed for weak things to be made strong? How often have you cried to the Lord to deliver you from despair, loneliness, fear, and heartache? Like Paul, I am sure that you’ve called more than once.

But never let us forget God’s answer to Paul. 2 Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Now, I can accept the idea that God’s grace is sufficient. I can even understand and live with the idea that God makes me stronger through my suffering and weaknesses. But I don’t know about this “glorying in my infirmities” stuff. God, are you sure that part is supposed to be there? Did Paul do a little ad-libbing on his own? Did the Holy Ghost really inspire that part? Yes, that part is still part of the inspired Word of God, so we should give God glory amid our suffering and walk on in faith, believing that Christ in us will help us to overcome it all.

We must remember that God is with us during the battle. We must not forget that He has already made the Way of escape and that nothing we face will have the power to destroy us if we walk in faith before Him.

Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. Although the path of life may seem impossible, Jesus is there, walking with you, and he has already made a way for you to make it all the way to the end of your journey in his presence.

God has not left you as an orphaned child. That’s how he found you, but he has adopted you into the Family of God, and God intends that all his children will be cared for. The Lord watches over you like a mother hen. You are the Apple of His Eye; he loves you so much. If you know the Lord as your Savior, you have found the Way through the manger.

If you don’t know Him, the Way is open for you to step in and become a part of God’s family.

In 1994, two Americans responded to an invitation from the Russian Minister of Education to teach morals and ethics in some public schools. They were also given opportunities to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments, and a large orphanage. The amazing thing was that the Russian Minister gave them permission to teach morals and ethics based upon principles of the Bible, something that America itself was trying to stop.

It was nearly Christmas time when the Americans reached the orphanage. So, they decided to tell the story of Jesus’ birth to the orphans. This would likely be the first time these children had heard the traditional Christmas story. They told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem, finding no room in the inn, and how the couple went to a stable where Jesus was born and placed in the manger.

Throughout the story, the children sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. For the first time, they heard the message of a Savior who had been born in a manger but died on a cross and rose again to make a way of salvation for all men.

As a follow-up activity to the story, each child was given three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manager. Each child was also given a small paper square cut from yellow napkins, which the children tore into strips. These paper strips became the straw in the manger. Small flannel squares had been cut from old garments and used for the baby’s blanket. From pieces of felt, a doll-like baby was made.

As the Americans walked around the room to observe the children, all went well until they got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As they looked at the little boy’s manger, they were surprised to see two babies in the manger. Quickly, they called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the cradle.

The translator said that Misha had very accurately remembered the story that had been told until he came to the part where Mary put Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib and made up his own ending to the story.

This is what the little boy said, “And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no momma and papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. So, Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. Perhaps if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.

So, I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me.’ So, I got into the manger. Then Jesus looked at me and told me I could stay with him – for always.”

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes filled with tears that ran down his cheeks. Then, putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table, and his shoulders shook, and he began to cry. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon or abuse him, someone who would stay with him – “FOR ALWAYS!”

Do you sometimes feel like this little orphan boy, that somehow Jesus has left you, and that no one cares; there’s no one to call out to, and no one to hear your weeping in the night?

You have not been abandoned. You are a Child of God. He hears your cry and will never leave you or forsake you. He is always there, listening, hearing, and comforting you. He has brought you this far and will never let you fall.

No man has your answer, but Jesus does. He will strengthen you day by day. Each morning, when you arise, he will give you the strength to make it another day. Though the infirmity may still be there, His grace is sufficient. He will provide you with the grace for one more day of victory. He will give you the strength to walk one more mile. And every day, that strength will be there, the grace will be there, and Jesus will make a Way for you. You must live for God one day at a time.

Just keep walking by faith with your eyes on Jesus.

Let the Christmas story and the picture of the baby in the manger remind you constantly that Jesus came to become your Way through the manger. Your Way is finished through the blood shed upon the cross, and your Way is clear all the way to Heaven. Just keep walking by faith, one day at a time.

God bless you, and Merry Christmas!

I Am Pentecostal

This is Peter preaching on the first day of church history. He says, "This Jesus hath God raised up whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which you now see and hear." - Acts 2:32, 33

 

When you're a Pentecostal, if anybody knows about it, if anyone's in your presence, there should be something they see and hear. Pentecost changes lives forever. Pentecost is not a denomination. It defies being a denomination. Pentecost defies you to confine it to one church building, one day of the week, or one service.

 

Pentecost is not a heritage that can be passed down automatically; everybody has to get it for themselves. It is for whosoever will. It is for everybody. And I'm grateful and forever changed by the fact that I get to be a Pentecostal. Thank God for the honor; thank God for the great blessing that it is to be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost as they were at the beginning as they were in the original Church. The same Jesus that came in power in the 1st century is here by his power in the 21st century.

 

We live in a very confusing world. In fact, if you've been reading or watching the news, we live in a very violent world. Constant terror attacks around the world. It makes me angry, but it also makes me want to pray that God sends revival to the Church in this world because when the Church gets revived, the world has hope. When the Church gets revived, sinners have hope. And when the Church gets revived, Jesus can do anything through them by the power of his Spirit.

 

I write these things today as a Pentecostal minister. I am a Pentecostal not by birth, by upbringing, by heritage, by culture, by rules, by regulations, or by tradition. I am Pentecostal by experience. I am Pentecostal because Jesus has filled my life with the power of his Spirit.

 

I don't like to argue with people. I'm not trying to argue with anybody. Still, I've got to tell you nothing can dissuade me, confuse me, or convince me otherwise. I am not a proponent of a strange doctrine. I am not paddling my theological canoe upstream against the prevailing current of modern Christianity.

 

I don't make any claim of being 2000 years old. I wasn't there for Acts 2, and neither were you. But, in fact, that is the point. None of us were there. That means if the only time in history that the power of God was supposed to fall was the day of Pentecost, we're all in trouble, and we might as well shut down and shut up.

 

But here's the good news: the upper room was not a one-time experience. It was not a once and never again event. It was not a historical fluke. Pentecostal theology, if that was true, would belong to a museum. But we are not just a historical fluke. We are Pentecostal. We are not different than the 1st-century Church. We're not a branch of the 1st-century Church. We're not kind of like the 1st-century Church; the same power, the same experience, the same doctrine, and the same incredible presence of God is still available to everybody.

 

Many would try to reduce Pentecost to the status of a treasured relic. They honor it but don't experience it. But those people deny its greatest reality, and the truth is that the same Jesus who came in power in the upper room hasn't left us to our own devices to try to scheme and strategize to build a church. He is still in his Church through the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

If God has ever done it, he can still do it. If He ever possessed it, he still possesses it. If he ever distributed it, He still distributes it. The Apostolic doctrine of the 1st century was that every believer should be filled personally.

 

I love going to a church that knows how to worship God. I love going to a church where the services don't put you to sleep. I love going to a church where the worship is exciting, and the singing is powerful. I love it, but here's the point: no believer is filled with the Holy Ghost just because they attend a spirit-filled church. No, you must have this experience personally, or you don't have it at all. You must experience it individually or forfeit the blessing and birthright.

 

That was the doctrine of the 1st century; every believer can be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. That conviction, that holy priority, was at the epicenter of the Pentecostal earthquake that shook the Church 2000 years ago and then shook the Church again more than 115 years ago at Azusa Street and in Topeka, KS. And they began to preach this message that changed lives.

 

I thank God for all the old tent meetings, camp meetings, and the first primitive church buildings with one little tin can microphone. The Pentecostal power that's 2000 years old remains unbroken and undiluted by time.

 

People say well, that was just for that day. That was just in the Bible. That was just for the apostles. It just gave them power to start the Church, but now we're on our own. What a foolish notion.

 

Do you think it ever occurred to the apostle Peter, even decades after the upper room, that the Pentecostal experience is now somehow optional? Do you ever think Peter ever sat down and thought that someday Christianity would try to divide itself into Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals? That never crossed his mind! Do you think Peter ever imagined a non-Pentecostal church in doctrine, power, or experience? Not on your life! That would have been no more imaginable to Peter and Paul and James and John than us imagining a nonelectrified city today with no electricity anywhere.

 

Pentecost is the Church's power. Pentecost is the Church's light. And we are Pentecostal by spiritual birthright. It started gnawing at the edges of people's experiences in the 1600s. Martin Luther came to the forefront. Martin Luther wasn't trying to create the Protestant denomination; Martin Luther was trying to start a biblical movement.

 

And then came John Wesley. He had no idea of starting the Methodist Church in England. Wesley wanted to pray and preach until he began a spiritual renewal in England.

 

The Bible college students in Topeka, KS, and those humble little churchgoers at 312 Azusa Street at the little mission in Los Angeles, CA, weren't envisioning A Pentecostal denomination. They were trying to discover if they could have the same power as the 1st century Church in our century. Can we have the same experience as the book of Acts Church in our everyday lives? Thank God the answer to them and us is still a resounding yes!

 

Every person can receive the Holy Ghost. Every person can be baptized in the Spirit. Every person can have the supernatural ability to speak in another tongue as the Spirit gives you the utterance. We must realize we do not have a new revelation. We have an ancient revelation. That we exist at all reminds us that the same Pentecostal fire that burned in Act 2 is still burning today.

 

It is unextinguished by denominational formalism. It is unextinguished by doctrinal corruption. That flame is still burning no matter what church history tried to do to it. Without Pentecost, the Church in every era becomes hardly more than a glorified Country Club where we all come. We pay our dues, and we hang out together. That is not what the Church is about.

 

Pentecost exists so that the world can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. It exists so that families can be mended, addiction can be broken, and lives can be put back together. Pentecost exists so our kids can grow up and not become a terrorist, an addict, or an alcoholic. It exists so they can grow up, serve God, and go to heaven.

 

Years ago, a scholar named Dr. CI Scofield wrote a reference Bible, some of which is fine. Some of it is even good, but some of it is very misguided and doctrinally incorrect. In Doctor Scofield's dangerously misguided footnotes on Acts chapter 2, he says after Pentecost, "No Christian needs to seek the Holy Spirit because now the whole church is automatically filled with the Holy Spirit the second you acknowledge Jesus as Lord."

 

That is doctrinal and biblical nonsense. The book of Acts makes it clear that it's not enough to believe in Jesus; it was an Apostolic priority that all believers should be filled with the Spirit of Jesus. That they should have a personal Pentecostal experience.

 

Look at Acts Chapter 8: Peter and John are brought out of hiding because of persecution and make the dangerous journey to Samaria. When they arrive in Samaria, they pray for a city full of new converts to receive the Holy Ghost. That would be a wasted prayer if all new believers were automatically filled with the Holy Spirit by virtue of what happened in the upper room several months prior. That would be a wasted prayer. But it wasn't a wasted prayer because they knew that every convert, whether Jew or Gentile, needed the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

 

In Acts chapter 10, you'll see how important this experience was to the 1st-century Church. Peter took an entourage of Jewish men to Cornelius' household. They weren't interested in the Gentiles joining the Church. The Gentiles were unclean to the Jews. What proved to them that God wanted to save the Gentiles at Cornelius' house? It was the moment when the Holy Ghost fell on all of them who heard the word. And when Peter and those men that were with him heard the Gentiles speaking in other tongues, that's when they knew that was the evidence that God didn't just want a Jewish Christian Church. He wanted every nation, every tribe, every tongue, every background, every ethnicity; that's the kind of Church he wanted.

 

 It's ironic to me today that there are actually church denominations that argue against speaking in tongues. When there wouldn't be any non-Jewish Christians. That's the reason they allowed us to come into the Church. Peter immediately looked at those people freshly filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins.

 

The Pentecostal Church still celebrates that you can be baptized in the name of Jesus and have your sins remitted. We still experience and celebrate that you can be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.

 

Peter expected that experience for everyone. If Paul, James, and John expected that experience to show up in the lives of all their new converts, we must preach no less. Look at Acts 19 years later. In Ephesus, Paul still asks a question arising from this holy Apostolic priority: "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed."

 

That's still the question today. I thank God if you believe in Jesus. I thank God if you've accepted him as Lord. But we still ask the Biblical question from two thousand years ago, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed."

 

It's for every believer to receive. First, you believe in Jesus but don't stop there. Then you accept Jesus as Lord, but don't stop there. Third, you acknowledge him as your savior, but don't stop there. Finally, you accept and ask him to forgive your sins, but don't stop there. Because there's a power from on high.

 

It's one thing to ask God to forgive you, but if that's all you do, you know what? I know you're gonna fall back into the same sin. You're gonna stumble, and you're gonna go back to old habits. You're gonna make a mistake, and you're gonna slide back into that addiction. But if you ever get the Spirit of Jesus in you, he'll help you live above all that mess. He'll help you conquer hidden sin. He'll help you live above addiction. The Holy Ghost will break the shackles off your life.

 

It is still the question that must be asked, "Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?"

 

The Church and its doctrines didn't produce Pentecost; Pentecost built the Church and its doctrines. It wasn't the apostles' preaching that brought down power from on high. They hadn't preached yet! Men who were filled with the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost spent the rest of their lives trying to figure out and explain and write down all the great stuff that God had done for them when they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

 

We're still trying two thousand years later to figure out how great the Holy Ghost is. Just how much he can do. It's like they say about your brain. They tell us that studies show that you only use a minimal number of cells in your brain. You've got lots of spares up there. Some people have an incredible amount of spare brain cells. The Holy Ghost is like that. We have yet to tap into one little fingernail of what the Holy Ghost can do.

 

I thank God for everybody who preached to me when I was a kid growing up in Pentecost; I thank God for every sermon preached to others. I thank God for all that, but you listen to me; we haven't begun to scratch the surface of what Jesus can do through vessels surrendered to him. Who are filled up, tanked up, and topped up with the power of the Holy Ghost.

 

Those people, those apostles, those preachers, and leaders were not apologists defending their creed out of a sense of duty to the poor old prophet Joel. They were souls who had been set on fire. And when they wrote down doctrine for us, it didn't come out of their brain. It came fresh from the heart of God through their spirit. And holy men of old wrote the Bible as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 

The doctrine is good. We're admonished to preach sound doctrine, but the tragedy is there are a lot of Pentecostal churches today sinking like dinosaurs into the tar pits. Their doctrines are correct, but they're destined to become nothing more than a museum of a former revival. God help us!

 

I thank God for our history and our heritage. I thank God for the buildings we've occupied and the pastors that have led us. I thank God for the precious Saints who have prayed for us and given and sacrificed. Many of them are gone on the Glory. But please hear me today; we are not here to build a memorial, put up a few glass cases and some old pictures, and say it used to be like that. God help us! It better still be like that! If we preach the right message, it should get more incredible with every generation.

 

Many churches are destined to become nothing but fossils of former revivals. They may have the correct doctrines, but without the right experience, without the real power of God, the doctrine becomes dusty. So, I thank God for every word of scripture, and you better believe I'm gonna preach the scripture and rightly divide the word of truth! But this book can only help you if you obey it. It can only take you to heaven if you have the experience this book points you to.

 

I thank God not just for the letter but also for the Spirit. It's experiential Pentecost, not just doctrinal Pentecost, that is the Apostolic model. The correct doctrine will always follow the right experience.

 

I worry about people who get doctrine before they get experience. They can argue with you, but they've never experienced what they're arguing about. They can paint you to the wall arguing about the oneness of God or baptism in Jesus' name. Still, they've never experienced it for themselves. They're arguing from a theological perspective.

 

It's easy to prove from the Book of Acts and the New Testament that it's a requirement to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins. That's a pretty easy task. It's a pretty easy task to prove that every believer in your Bible was baptized in Jesus' name and every Christian in your Bible was filled with the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.

 

When I received the gift of the Holy Ghost, it wasn't that somebody said oh brother, you've received the Spirit. I don't need you to tell me I've received the Spirit! I want God to tell me! God told me I've got the Holy Ghost when I begin speaking in a language I've never learned. That's God showing up and saying hey Clayton, you just received my Spirit into your life. You couldn't do that naturally, but I can let you do it by supernatural means.

 

Pentecostal preaching of doctrine may ensure that we believe in the Holy Ghost. Still, only spiritual hunger will ensure that we receive the Holy Ghost! A "Believed Pentecost" is good, but a "Received Pentecost" turned the world upside down! And it still works that way.

 

You do not receive the Holy Ghost through your head. You do not receive the Holy Ghost through your intellect. You do not receive the Holy Ghost because you decide, well, I'll try this, learn the technique, and then do it. No, you can't do that. You only received the Holy Ghost by getting hungry for it. When you get so hungry for Jesus to come into your life, you give everything to him. You abandon yourself in worship, and it is in an atmosphere of prayer and praise that the Holy Ghost descends.

 

They pray for ten days in an upper room. Nobody left. They stayed there and prayed for ten days, asking God to fill them with the Holy Ghost. Then it happened, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

 

It wasn't the Church collectively that received the Holy Ghost. Individual believers received the Holy Ghost. In John Chapter 7, Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…" 

 

If you believe in Jesus as 'the scripture said,' not like a denomination told you to, not like a preacher told you, but if you believe in me 'as the scripture has said,' out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. If you believe you should receive. If you believe it's God's will for you to receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given. Jesus was speaking prophetically because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

Are you thankful that Jesus is now glorified? He's now gone back to heaven, and because he went back to heaven, he said if I go away, I'll send you the comforter. And so now we can have that river of living water. The power poured out in the upper room is not optional equipment. It is indispensable equipment. Pentecostals, it's not what we believe about ourselves that sets us apart. In the 1st century, it was what they saw and heard. Peter said, "Being by the right hand of God exalted having received of the Father this promise of the Holy Ghost Jesus has shed forth this which you now see and hear."

 

So, friends, don't tell me what you believe; tell me what you've received! The question in Acts 19 is still the question for today, "have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed."

 

Pentecost is for everybody. I don't care where you come from or how messed up you've gotten. I don't care what wrong turn you took. I don't care if you're suffering from several addictions at the same time. When the Holy Ghost intersects your life and fills you up, all of that is broken. All of that is history. It's over!

 

The same Jesus that came in power to his Church two thousand years ago is available to you now. God wants to fill you with the Holy Ghost. Do you believe in Jesus as the scripture says? If you answer yes, reach out to him today, and he will fill your hungry heart.

The Wind of Change

 

Nothing that God does is ever by chance. He is meticulous in his plans, paying absolute attention to even the most minor details to ensure that everything happens in proper order, at the appropriate time, and in a way that fully complies with God's Word and Law. God has complete control of all things in his infinite wisdom and great foreknowledge, so his perfect will and plan will be carried out.

 

When I think of all the things that God has done in my life, in the lives of others, and in the Church, there can be no doubt that his hand has guided us every step. Considering where he has brought me from in the past, the many paths of life that I have walked, and then to see where I am today, it is nothing short of a miracle that I have been led to this hour and this place to perform work for the Lord.

 

It may seem like life has been just a series of coincidences; things just happened, many of which we had so little control over. You may have felt like a ship driven in the wind, going wherever life took you, out of control, and headed for the rocks. Some of you have even crashed upon those rocks; I know I have, and you saw those days of sorrow and heartache when life became almost unbearable because of the burdens you carried.

 

But somehow, God brought you through it all, and the time came when you heard him call your name for the very first time. It may have been a still, whispering voice in your heart that told you it's time to make a change. On that day, the winds of change blew upon your heart as the Spirit of God began the first steps of turning your life around.

 

When Nicodemus came to Jesus in the darkness of the night in John chapter three, there was great symbolism there. Nicodemus was a picture of humanity being held in the tight grip of darkness through the power of sin. Men dwell in spiritual darkness, and there is no power within them to break free, but then comes the light of the gospel with the power to dispel the darkness.

 

Nicodemus moved among the shadows to avoid being seen by other Pharisees who would certainly condemn him for going to Jesus. Still, something inside of him was pushing him toward Jesus. It was the wind of change, the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing across his path in life, moving him closer to the Lord so that he might find the answer to being set free.

 

When Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, Nicodemus's mind was not ready to receive spiritual truth, and he couldn't understand what Jesus meant or how such a thing could be possible. How can a grown man be born again as an infant? In the natural sense, it was an impossibility, and when we look at the condition of the heart of a man or woman lost in the darkness of sin, it's impossible to break free. Since we are spiritually dead, how can we have any effect at all upon the supernatural? Flesh cannot break spiritual chains. Before spiritual chains can be broken and we can be free, there must be a change in us. We must become more than just a creature of flesh and blood, lost in a world of darkness. Knowing that we can do nothing within ourselves, the Love of God begins to reach out to us as the wind of the Spirit blows and calls us to go to Jesus in repentance.

 

At the foot of the cross, as we behold the Savior and surrender our lives to him, a change happens as the Spirit of God blows across our dead soul and breathes new life into it. We are Born Again of the Spirit, and we become a new creation, a new creature with a new life. This new birth brought about by the wind of the Holy Spirit gives us the power of the supernatural so that now we can break free from the unnatural chains of darkness because the blood of Jesus crushes the force that held us.

 

I'm glad the Winds of Change are still blowing today. The wind of the Spirit is moving across the face of the hearts of men as the Love of God reaches out to those who need a Savior!

 

My prayer is that the Wind of the Spirit will blast through the Church, bringing a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost and Fire! I pray that a mighty wind of revival will sweep across this nation, renewing righteousness and faith in Almighty God! My prayer is that the Winds of the Holy Spirit will tear down walls of doubt and fear, that the Spirit of God will break through the hard hearts of those in our families who don't know Jesus or refuse to serve him, and bring them to the place where they too will be Born Again!

 

We genuinely need a Hurricane force wind of the Spirit, bringing the right kind of change! While a gentle move of the Holy Ghost wind goes a long way, we need a shaking of the very foundations of our society, an awakening to bring us out of our sleep and help us see how far we have fallen. We need a mighty rushing wind again, and it must begin in the House of God! It's time that the Church experiences the power of Pentecost again!

 

We live in a time when it's not popular to be Pentecostal. As you travel the highways, you'll rarely see that word posted on a church sign anymore. "Pentecostal" has become synonymous with strict legalism, and people shun Pentecostal churches because they don't want to be accountable for living ungodly lives.

 

But regardless of whether we have the name "Pentecostal" on the church sign, we need a fresh outpouring of the Holy Ghost and Fire! We need that mighty rushing wind of the Spirit of God to invade our sleeping churches again! We are powerless and weak without the Wind and the Fire of the Holy Ghost!

 

It's not a question of whether God wants that wind to blow. It's a question of whether we, as the people of God, are willing to put ourselves in a position where there is freedom for the Holy Ghost Fire to fall! We have to get ourselves ready and prepare for His arrival. We have to get back to the same conditions that brought the mighty rushing wind in the first place.

 

What are those conditions? Let's examine the description of the first outpouring of the Holy Ghost and see.

 

Acts 2:1 -  "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place."

 

What does it mean when the scripture says the day of Pentecost was fully come? We all should know that the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated 50 days after the Passover. At the Passover, the paschal lamb was sacrificed and eaten, symbolizing the coming Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who would also be sacrificed at the Passover. He is our Bread of Life, and we are to live by the power of his sacrifice.

 

Fifty days after Jesus was crucified, in fulfillment of the commandment of God given to Israel at Mt. Sinai, the Day of Pentecost was celebrated on the day after the 7th Sabbath after the lamb was sacrificed. The Day of Pentecost was observed on the first day of the week, exactly 50 days after Passover.

 

On the morning of that 50th day, 120 people had gathered together to pray in obedience to the command from Jesus just before he ascended into Heaven. The Church was told to tarry in Jerusalem until the Comforter would come, and if there was one thing they needed, it was a Comforter.

 

The Church is powerless without the presence of the Holy Ghost. Without the Fire of God, we cannot conquer sin and death! Without the Fire of the Holy Ghost, the words we speak fall upon the ground and accomplish nothing! The Fire of the Holy Ghost gives sermons the power to touch the hearts of men! That Fire is what makes these pitiful words that I write burn into your spirit and change your life! Without the Fire of the Spirit, there's no power to change anything!

 

It's not by might, not by power, but by the Holy Mighty Rushing Wind and Fire of the Holy Ghost. A heart can be changed, a life rescued from sin, and a soul Born Again into the family of God! We've got to have that Fire!

 

On that Sunday morning, the first day of the week, 50 days after Passover, 120 Jews who had come to believe in Jesus gathered to celebrate the Feast of Passover. They gathered together with their minds set on just one thing! They wanted to see the coming of the Comforter that Jesus had promised.

 

I think that's a priority of the Church that we've lost! Our priority should be that we won't make a move without the power of the Holy Ghost leading us and giving us the Fire of God to do a work for the Lord! We should want that Fire! We should be willing to wait for it, pray for it, and desire it with all our hearts. And when we come together, it should be for one purpose – to see the Mighty Rushing Wind of the Holy Ghost blow in our midst once again!

 

One hundred twenty disciples of Christ were there. One of the reasons there were so many is that they had come together in Acts 1:15 to elect one among them to take the place of Judas. That's where Matthias was selected to be numbered among the 12 disciples.

 

With the election over, the Passover finished, the Day of Pentecost coming on, and knowing that something wonderful, powerful, and great was coming from Heaven. As Jesus had promised, these 120 came together to wait, pray, and prepare themselves as best they could for whatever was coming.

 

There's a clue to seeing the Winds of Change blow in our midst. We have to prepare ourselves, believe that the promise of the Holy Ghost is real, and then pray and wait for him until he comes!

 

So many in the Church come together these days just to be entertained or to ease the conscience of lukewarm and half-hearted Christians! There's no feeling of expectancy that something powerful might happen in the meeting! The program is set! The worship is designed and planned. The recording equipment is in place, and the entire service is so controlled that there is no place for the Wind of the Spirit to blow.

 

We need to throw out the programs! Forget what we have planned, and we must allow the Holy Ghost to move and blow wherever and however He wants!

 

Flashing lights, loud music, jumping up and down, making a lot of noise, and putting on a good show is not the same as a genuine moving of the Holy Ghost! When the real Fire of God falls, all that can't compare! We've got to have the real thing, not a manufactured form, but a Holy Ghost-inspired Worship! I love the excitement, and if the Spirit says flash the lights, jump to the music, then go for it, but the worship needs to come from the heart, stirred by the Holy Ghost and filled with the Fire of God, not some man-inspired pep rally.

 

What does it mean to be in "one accord"? That's our next clue to having a mighty move of God! It means that the desires of their hearts, the thing they prayed for above all else, the thing that their thoughts were concentrated upon, and the whole purpose of their coming together on this day, at this hour, at this moment in time, and the only thing they had to talk about, was the hope and belief that the Comforter would come!

 

No one in the crowd stood there uninterested, not focused on why they were coming together. No one was over in the corner sleeping. No one was in a corner, reading a scroll, discussing sports events, or discussing current issues. There was not one among those 120 whose heart wasn't burning for the promise of God that was to come. No one was lukewarm! They all had that burning desire to see something from God! There was absolute sincerity in every heart!

 

It's no wonder we don't often see the mighty rushing wind of the Holy Ghost in our churches much anymore when there are so many distractions in the midst. There's a ringing cell phone here, a computer game noise coming from over there, a crying child here, and someone snoring over there; someone is staring off into space, daydreaming on the left side, and someone else talking on the right side about things that have no connection with the service. I know that some things can't be helped, but how can we expect God to move when all this is happening?

 

Holy Ghost wind will never blow if there is so much division. When there are so many in the Church with a don't care attitude. They only want to see the service end so they can rush out the door and beat the Baptists to the restaurant or get home before the football game starts on TV.

 

They were all in one place. We don't know where that room was, but most scholars believe it was in the temple complex. Acts 2:46 tells us that they were in the temple daily with one accord, and on this 50th day after Passover, they were probably in the temple at the time of the morning prayer meeting. They did not forsake the assembling of themselves together. Being in one accord, they were too excited, lived in anticipation of something great coming, to miss being there. They understood the importance of coming together for mutual support, edification, corporate worship, and prayer, and they were faithful to meet together as the Body of Christ to be ready for the coming of the Wind of Change!

 

Acts 2:2 - "And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."

 

Suddenly – how can it be suddenly when they've been praying, waiting, and anticipating something for ten days? It was because when the wind of the Spirit began to blow, it happened quickly and in a powerful way. It swept across the room like a storm, bringing a fire, and the voices of praise and worship filled the room!

 

The quiet prayer meeting became a Holy Ghost revival, and those who suddenly became Pentecostal began to shout and praise God as never before! That's why Pentecostal worship is loud and exciting! When the Fire moves, something has to shout! How can we quietly sit there unless there's no actual fire of the Spirit in us?

 

How can we be so quiet if there is a Wind and a Fire down in our soul? Somebody ought to be shouting! Somebody ought to be praising! Somebody ought to be alive and demonstrating the might move of God down in their soul!

 

Lord, give us some life! We need Fire, a mighty Wind, and a powerful move of the Holy Ghost to change us. We need to be a people who are genuinely Pentecostal and full of the Holy Ghost!

 

Acts 2:3, 4 -  "And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

 

How do you know the Holy Ghost is moving – when the people begin to speak in other tongues because of the Fire of God that's inside? When the Holy Fire of God lights on your heart, soul, spirit, and mind, how can you sit still and not let it be known? Let me light a match and stick to your foot, and I think you'll jump and dance a little! Light that match and stick to your hand, and you'll be raising your hand and moving around to get away from it! Lord, light a fire in our seats so we will learn to stand, shout, and worship with real Spirit and in a true heart! Lord, send the Fire of the Spirit upon us and light us on Fire for you!

 

The Holy Fire of God was for each of them, not just a few, but all of them! Nobody was left out! All those who were in one accord, hungry for the coming of the Comforter and looking for the promise, felt the fire fall! If you don't feel the Fire, you must get in the right frame of mind and spirit. You'll never feel the Fire until you want it, are looking for it, believing in it, and crying out to God for it! The Holy Ghost will never come to someone who doesn't want him!

 

Acts 2:4 - "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

 

They were all filled – every last one of the 120 became Pentecostals that day! Do you realize that all 120 members of the early Church in that room became Pentecostals? No, they weren't members of a legalistic, condemning, judgmental attitude religion like so many try to make it out to be. Being Pentecostal means that I believe in the baptism in the Holy Ghost and Fire with the sign of speaking in other tongues, regardless of what they sound like, and that I either have experienced the infilling of the Holy Ghost or I'm doing my best to receive Him!

 

I'm praying and waiting with great anticipation that we will experience the Winds of Change in the Church, not just my home church, but the entire Church! We need the revival of the Holy Ghost and Fire! The Church needs to get in one place, in one accord, and get serious about seeing the Holy Ghost in our midst! Unless the Fire falls, we'll dry up on the vine and cease to have any impact upon our world!

 

Jesus told the early Church to wait for the Holy Ghost before they went forth to fulfill the Great Commission! That didn't mean they didn't try to win converts for fifty days, but they didn't venture out into the world to preach the gospel to every nation until they were filled. They needed the power, the Fire, and the Spirit's wind before they could make a difference!

 

Just as Peter went from a fearful disciple, hiding in the shadows, running in shame from his denial of Jesus, and finding himself living in defeat and trying to find a place of repentance to being a man on Fire for God and winning over 3000 souls in a single day – so will the Holy Ghost empower us to do a greater work for the Lord!

 

If you think you've seen God move, then get ready for the greatest move of God you could imagine as the Holy Ghost and Fire begins to move in your heart and soul! There's no denying his presence when the Fire is there! There's no doubting his power when the Winds begin to blow.

 

I'm ready for the Winds of Change! Are you ready? Do you want to be Pentecostal, or are you satisfied just being mediocre in your experience with God?

 

The Holy Ghost wants to blow across the Church like a mighty rushing wind, but it's up to us to be in the right place, at the right time, in the right frame of mind! He will come suddenly; when he does, there will be no denying his presence as the tongues of fire light on each of us! Wind of change blow! Fire fall on us today!