The Message Alone Is Not Enough

The disciples were eager to start evangelizing but Jesus had instructed them to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from high” (Luke 24:29). Jesus knew far better than the disciples that the equipment needed for the job was more than keen intellect, human talent, and even a sincere heart. So they obeyed Jesus and waited in the upper room, praying, singing, and praising God.

“When the Day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:1-4).

The Spirit was poured out just as Jesus promised. What the prophet Joel predicted had happened. “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams” (Acts 2:17). This meant that a new kind of ability was available. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). This awesome power from heaven was needed on earth to build Christ’s kingdom.

Were those disciples sincere believers in Jesus as they waited in Jerusalem? Yes. Did they have correct doctrine? Yes. Could they have gone out and preached without the Holy Spirit? I am sure they wanted to, but Jesus knew they were not ready. He knew the power of the enemy they would face, the discouragements, and the opposition. If the Holy Spirit’s power was needed then, has anything changed to this very day? Will anything but the Spirit’s power working through us pull down the walls of unbelief and break the powers of sinful behavior as we share the gospel?

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.