Receiving Kingdom Power

The greatest promise given through Christ our Lord besides the promise of eternal life was the “Promise of the Father” which was the Promised Holy Spirit’s fullness which is being immersed or baptized in Him.

The receipt of this promise required men to wait in Jerusalem and here a great test of patience was set before them all. As we read in the scriptures upon our Lord’s ascension 500 people were gathered upon Mount of Olives and of whom only a remnant waited for the promise of the Father and they numbered 120.

The scripture in Acts chapter 2 speaks of this event in this way.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, meaning the day of Jewish feast of Shavuot, which is the feast of the first fruits.  When this day had arrived and all were in one accord in one place, suddenly there came a sound from heaven.

This sound was as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues of fire. And one sat upon each of them.

Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This unique experience of God’s promised Power of His Holy Spirit marked the beginning or the birth of the Church era.

The greatest evidence of this Promised gift was the power or the dunemous it possessed. This power is the source of all enablement Christians need to boldly preach, and share the gospel in an impacting way. This also is the source of victorious living in this side of heaven, and it is through this power that we are able to maintain an obedient This promise from the Father not only brought power to demonstrate the age to come, but gave its recipients the strength needed to walk in love and patients to overcome all obstacles of faith while here in this body of flesh. Through this great promise from the Father through His Son Jesus, men received three great aspects of God’s work on earth.

In John chapter 16 verses 5 through 9 our Lord also plainly explains the essence of this great power in men’s lives. In these few verses the word tells us all that this promised Holy Spirit would bring for us.

The Lord Says here in verse 8 that when He the Promised Holy Spirit comes He will do these three things

1. – He will convict the world of sin

2. – He will convict the world for righteousness, and…

3. – He will convict the world of judgment.

Now the Lord’s explains why…

Walk here on earth. This is also called the Kingdom Power, since it manifests all the virtues and the gifts of the age to come. This powerful Kingdom Power or the Promise of the Father sent by the Lord Jesus is the greatest of all gifts men ever received from The Heavenly Father.

Here also is the most awesome aspect of this power and that is the conviction that is given to men of sin. To an unregenerate sinner it is the admittance of the original sin and to the beleiver for continual awareness of personal sins after their conversion. Although the Devil comes to steal, kill and destroy this in us by many forms of malice, yet we must be ever thankful to God for His continual power of conviction through Hiseverlasting love for His own children.  Although the Church is always emphasizing the outer evidences of these powerful act of God’s mercy in its evidences of speaking in different tongs and all the other eight gifts of this precious Holy Spirit, but I believe the greatest of them all is the gift of conviction of any sin in us.

This magnificent first fruit of God’s love for me and you is evidenced through a life of love in obedience of His truth revealed through this power of conviction in all righteousness.

Without this power the Church would have been very weak in knowing the power of His righteousness, and it is through this righteousness and power that the prince or the ruler of this world stands judged.

(John 16:11)

It is also through living with such a power from God that even the world around us stays condemned with its ruler totally judged for his opposition to this truth.

I remember the morning of the 27^th of March 1995 when I first encountered this incredible Heavenly gift and that how immediately after being immersed in its truth the feeling of unworthiness was lifted up from me. I felt this unfathomable acceptance with God and Peace.

It felt as though the heaven’s windows were opened just for me and the waters of His refreshing Spirit were powered out on me. I felt justified and accepted in the Beloved immediately and all my problems seemed as none existance. I immediately felt clean and washed from the filth of my sin and ready to live or die for this Heavenly Master, Who chose to visit me in my sorrow and grief. When my only daughter upon her return from school asked me, dad what if people do not believe this change in you? I firmly said I really do not care, since I felt accepted by a higher standard of acceptance. This gave me a new power to live the life I formally had no strength to live. This conviction brought me closer to an everlasting love I am not able to describe through mere human words. This was the power to make me live and walk in obedience to Him. All of sudden it seemed all problems insignificant in comparison to what I had just received through grace.

I too like the Apostle Paul had a Damascus road experience that Monday morning right in middle of our living room. We were all in one accord me, my father and my wife. You might say how? Were you praying? Did you receive a command like the Apostles to tarry in Jerusalem? No, but this was the Lord’s miracle and His mighty hand to have kept me and my wife to stay together for almost 17 years. It was my earthly fathers dream to see me walk straight in life. Yes we were all caught up in the harmony of God’s predestined will to be in one spirit of expectancy that morning. Yes we were on one accord, since we all needed that change and the divine mercy, which did visit us for His own glory.

Oh that I would see Him act that way again! It was an amazing day of Pentecost in our upper room on California Street, in Glendale. It was as though the roof of our living room was invaded through huge fire balls of God’s mercy and justice upon a wretched sinner like me.

Church did we plan it? Absolutely not. It was completely a surprise to us, and it is the same with all God does out of His divine will and according to the fullness of His time according to life as the scripture says. Yes, but we were in one accord in heart in needing such a miracle and our lives were ripe to receive it I trust.

Patience was a hidden gift in all of us, especially in my wife. My elderly father was secretly and divinely kept to be a witness of this marvelous visitation from God. We were in His rest in regards to see this miracle happen, since we were all powerless to perform, or to make anything right in our broken and shattered lives.

It was His divine justice that came to rescue us from our own predicaments of our own choices in life.

Our lives were ripe to receive the first fruit of God’s divine act of grace in our lives and none of us were in opposition to its work.

We were suddenly transformed from death to life. Were others praying for our family? Yes many did. My own 16 year old daughter was, but it came in as a surprise through a great trial. What am I saying now? Am I trying to preach myself as Paul says God forbid. But I want to remind us of His unfathomable mercies when we are least expecting them.

You see while we have our lives and others on the wheel of our efforts nothing seems to be working. When we try to change ourselves or the people around us we resist  this great work of God’s divine justice through His Holy Spirit of Power from on high. Yet when we enter into His rest, in a twinkling of an eye all is changed. When we work, He stops working, but when we rest in Him He does what you and I for years tried to do in our own strength in one day.

Therefore let us stop from trying and call upon Him Who can do it all.

So let us tarry in the Jerusalem’s of our faith and wait on Him who is able to send the fire of His marvelous baptism on us and our situations.

Yes to tarry means to have long suffering and patience, a virtue many of us are unwilling to have its work completed in us.

Pentecost I believe is all about patience endurance and love.  Apostle John in his 2^nd letter is saying about love in this way.

“ This is love that we walk according to His Commandments. This is the Commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”                                   ( 2 John:6)

Now here is where I would like to close this day and my prayer for all of us is to come into to this great love that by His Spirit of Power, we too could receive the fullness of His Spirit’s of Fire once again.

God Bless you.   Happy Pentecost day.