Power from On High
Read: Acts 1, Acts 2, and Romans 15:18–19
There’s something powerful about promises. When someone you trust makes one, it changes how you wait. Before Jesus went to the Cross, He made a promise that would change history: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper—the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16–17) He was saying, “I’m not leaving you. I’m sending someone just like Me to live in you.” Sam Storms wrote, “The Holy Spirit is not a substitute for Christ in His absence, but the extension of Christ in His presence.” The Spirit isn’t a distant force—He’s the very presence of Jesus continuing His work in us and through us.
There’s something powerful about promises. When someone you trust makes one, it changes how you wait. Before Jesus went to the Cross, He made a promise that would change history: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper—the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16–17) He was saying, “I’m not leaving you. I’m sending someone just like Me to live in you.” Sam Storms wrote, “The Holy Spirit is not a substitute for Christ in His absence, but the extension of Christ in His presence.” The Spirit isn’t a distant force—He’s the very presence of Jesus continuing His work in us and through us.
Jesus promised “another Helper.” What stands out to you about that phrase “another of the same kind”?
Sam Storms said, “The Holy Spirit is not a substitute for Christ in His absence, but the extension of Christ in His presence.” How does that truth shape the way we view the Spirit’s role in our lives today?
After the resurrection, Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) That was life. But Pentecost was power. In John 20, the Spirit came in them; in Acts 2, He came upon them. The breath lit the flame, and Pentecost turned it into fire. For ten days, the disciples waited in prayer and faith. No countdown clock, no clear timeline—just obedience. And then, suddenly, heaven broke in. A mighty wind filled the room. Tongues of fire rested on them. The same Spirit that hovered over creation in Genesis now filled believers with divine boldness. Peter—the one who once denied Jesus—now stood before thousands proclaiming the gospel with power. Pentecost marked the moment when timid followers became fearless witnesses.
The Spirit’s fire didn’t just change their tongues—it changed their hearts. Acts 2 says they became generous, united, and devoted. They prayed together, shared what they had, and the Church multiplied. The true mark of the Spirit isn’t just gifts: it’s transformation that makes believers bold, loving, and selfless.
Pentecost wasn’t a one-time event to admire—it’s a reality to live in. The same Spirit who filled that upper room lives in us today. He empowers us to love deeply, serve faithfully, and witness boldly. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to give us goosebumps in worship; He came to give us guts in witness.
The Spirit’s fire didn’t just change their tongues—it changed their hearts. Acts 2 says they became generous, united, and devoted. They prayed together, shared what they had, and the Church multiplied. The true mark of the Spirit isn’t just gifts: it’s transformation that makes believers bold, loving, and selfless.
Pentecost wasn’t a one-time event to admire—it’s a reality to live in. The same Spirit who filled that upper room lives in us today. He empowers us to love deeply, serve faithfully, and witness boldly. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to give us goosebumps in worship; He came to give us guts in witness.
What might it look like for you this week to “walk in Pentecost”—to live empowered, not just inspired?
The breath that filled those disciples is still breathing on the Church today. If your faith feels like a flickering flame, let Him breathe on you again. The same Spirit who gave them power then, gives us power now to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.
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