On Pentecost Sunday, Pastor Troy Brewer of OpenDoor Church in Burleson, Texas, delivered a message that spanned continents, Scripture and the hearts of the broken. His sermon reminded the global body of Christ of both its spiritual identity and its mission to confront darkness with light.
“Pentecost Sunday is actually the birthday of the church,” Brewer said. “It’s really the day that the mystery of the bride of Christ was truly made manifest.”
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Brewer reflected on being in Jerusalem seven years ago when the U.S. Embassy was officially moved from Tel Aviv, a historic event that took place on Pentecost Sunday. “I was never so proud to be an American as I was that day there in Jerusalem,” he said. “It was truly a prophetic marker of something incredible.”
But the message of Pentecost, Brewer noted, isn’t just historical or political—it’s deeply personal and spiritual. He laid out a compelling path of Christian growth:
1. Servanthood
This is where every believer starts—learning obedience and discipline through daily surrender. “You just say ‘Yes, sir,’ and you respond immediately,” Brewer said. Servanthood trains us to follow Christ even when we don’t understand the full plan.
2. Friendship
As we grow in intimacy with God, He begins to reveal more of Himself and His plans to us. “When He moves you into friendship, He starts to reveal to you His secrets,” Brewer said. Friendship with God invites us into His heart.
3. Sonship
Maturity in the Spirit brings us into our inheritance. “Friends do not receive the inheritance. Sons receive the inheritance,” Brewer said. As sons and daughters of God, we live not as outsiders but as beloved heirs of His kingdom.
4. The Bride
This stage is not about the individual but the body of Christ. “The bride of Christ has nothing to do with our individual walk,” Brewer said. “It has to do with who we are as a corporate body.” It’s a call to unity, love and global responsibility.
That body includes persecuted believers across the globe. Brewer called out the injustice facing Christians in North Korea, Nigeria and India. “The media says Christians are the problem. No, my friend. The media is a liar.”
He then turned to his team’s active mission to rescue children from trafficking. “We’re taking on hell with a water pistol,” he said. “If we don’t show up for these kids, nobody else is coming.”
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Yet, even in the darkest of stories, Brewer points us back to hope: “God the Father is God for us. Jesus is God with us. And the Holy Spirit is God in us,” he said. “Every human being gets as much Jesus as they want.”
Pentecost reminds us that the power of the Holy Spirit is not a past event, it is a present promise. You were born for such a time as this. Let the Spirit lead, empower and commission you to make a difference.
James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
