Jesus did a wonderful thing when he poured the Holy Spirit out upon his followers. Their direct, flesh and bone, right-before-their-eyes connection with God had finished his earthly work and had disappeared back into heaven. The problem for the disciples was that Jesus, their leader, their helper, their instructor, their problem solver, their comforter, and their source of wisdom and supernatural power was now gone! So, in obedience to Jesus’ instruction, they huddled together in prayer and waited indefinitely for the Helper that Jesus said he would give (John 16:7). Well, it happened on the day of the Jewish celebration of harvest called Pentecost. And boy, did it happen! Those folks got filled with the Spirit and fire of God and they came out of the chute bucking and snorting! They were no longer intimidated by religious protocol and political correctness, and, by threats on their very lives. No longer did they hide in a room somewhere. They boldly came out in all public places, in the Jewish synagogues, in the streets, in the market places, in surrounding cities, and in far-away places, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ with signs and wonders, reaping a mighty harvest of souls for Jesus. The turning point in their lives was when they gave themselves to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 and 2).
The book of Acts is a short overview of the early church in which there are at least forty references to the Holy Spirit. Listening to and yielding to the leadership of the Holy Spirit was an integral part of the early church, and, the source of their supernatural power. Jesus had taught and demonstrated before his disciples that yielding to the Holy Spirit in and upon one’s life is allowing God himself to lead, help, instruct, solve problems, comfort, give wisdom, and demonstrate supernatural power for the good and benefit of all. It was through the agency of the Holy Spirit that the early church continued to be in direct contact with Jesus to carry out his ministry in the earth. Today, it is through the agency of the Holy Spirit that Jesus can continue to walk in our midst in a wonderful way. It just takes a yielded believer. 2-20-15