This week, we celebrate Pentecost, the event found in the book of Acts in which Jesus’s followers received the Holy Spirit.
Luke tells us, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8). This is not a quake, an emotion, a feeling, an opinion or even a religion. Let’s set the record straight: Jesus said you will receive power.
Holy Spirit people believe. They do not beg. As Holy Spirit people, we should be known for our appointments, not our opinions. The Holy Spirit is the most significant empowering force in the universe. I’m not talking about just any power. I’m not talking about corrupt, coercive or controlling power. I’m not talking about temporary, tantalizing or transitional power. I am talking about the power that Jesus said will flow like rivers of living water (John 7:38).
In this passage, Jesus was prophesying about the Holy Spirit—the same power that descended upon Jesus when he was baptized in the Jordan, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. Christ-followers have the same ability to speak into the storm and say, “‘Peace, be still'” (Mark 4:39b).
Because the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we have the power to speak life to ourselves, strangers and friends. With conviction, we can say, “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11b). The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you (Romans 8:11). Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, came out of the tomb. In his power, you can come out of anything. You can come out of addiction, anxiety, fear, confusion, bondage, depression, discouragement, shame and sin.
You cannot rightfully claim powerlessness and the Holy Spirit. You can’t have the Spirit and be defeated. Holy Spirit people are people of supernatural power to overcome this world.
Back in the Old Testament, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was only temporary. It would come and go as it pleased. The Holy Spirit would visit and partially fill, but never wholly and never permanently. Now, because of the atoning work of Jesus, the power that you and I have is not temporary. It’s final.
No longer must we rely on the Holy Spirit falling upon us. We depend on Him filling us to overflowing. The third person of the holy Trinity now permanently resides in you. He is your comforter and advocate forever and always.
When the people of God lean into this reality, we will see an unprecedented outpouring of his power. COVID is not more powerful than the Spirit of God inside of us. No cancer, no depression, no political power, no religious ideology can outsmart or outmaneuver the strength and will of God inside of you. Nothing hell can conjure is more powerful than the Holy Spirit of God inside of you. Because of God’s indwelling Spirit, you can confidently say, “Greater is the one living inside of me than he who is in the world” (see 1 John 4:4).
When we as the church choose to embrace this truth, we will experience a revival like we’ve never seen before. Entire cities are about to experience an awakening; more people will come to Jesus than ever before. We’re about to see not just a revival within a building but entire cities and nations.
Get ready—because nothing can stop the Spirit of God from moving if we believe. This Pentecost, join me in praying for holy dynamite, an undeniable explosion of power in every nation. In Jesus’ name, do away with every single vestige of darkness, that each person would be washed afresh with the Holy Spirit—every family, every church, every ministry, every city, every community, every nation, baptized anew with the precious Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. {eoa}
Samuel Rodriguez is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization with 42,000-plus U.S. churches and many additional churches spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora. He earned his master’s degree from Lehigh University and received honorary doctorates from Northwest, William Jessup and Baptist William Jessup and Baptist University of the America’s. He also serves as senior pastor of New Season Church, one of America’s fastest growing megachurches and No. 13 on Newsmax’s Top 50 megachurches in America, with campuses in Los Angeles and Sacramento, California.
