Muddy waters rushed through the lower levels of our housing development not long ago. Unprecedented rain, wind and gravity caused a small creek to pass flood level, and it became an unstoppable force. It was fascinating how quickly this placid creek could transform into a powerful force. An unnoticed, quaint little stream, overfilled with rain, had become something uncontrollable. Nothing could stop it and as it moved through lawns and streets, it demonstrated its newly acquired power sweeping away everything in its path.
Power is the most sought-after commodity in our world. From the construction of great dams, atomic bombs, windmills and generators, mankind never ceases to seek for power. Without power, scarcely anything can be accomplished. Power is essential to our modern life. Our machines, vehicles, houses, food, armies, and even our relationships and politics are wrapped around the commodity of power in some nature.
Power is also the fundamental foundation of being a Christian. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you” (Acts 1:8). It really is that simple. The church cannot fulfill its commission without the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is our essential source of power. It cannot be generated merely by our programs, our events, our educational efforts, our money, our buildings, our political connections, nor our social activities, our good works or our personal talents. The Holy Ghost ALONE is our power and the force of our spiritual life. The success of everything else that we do is dependent upon our connection and relationship with the Holy Ghost.
This is a time of revolution throughout the world. Not only with regard to politics and evil empires but the dark web and the invasive impact of the Internet that has captured the time and minds of our children, weakening their connection to basic reality. Life through the screen creates a kind of deadness toward the physical world. Much of our lives, especially the lives of our children, is now experienced from behind the computer and comes at the expense of the real or true.
The more our church services lean toward entertainment and our preaching toward philosophy and positive thinking, the weaker we become and the more confused. Especially when pulpits no longer make clear the consequences of sin and omit that fact that the church needs the power of the Holy Ghost, the anointing for its very survival. The Spirit seals us into a covenant with the Almighty God. Something happens to us. It is real and allows us to say that we have experienced the power of God – we have tasted, and we have seen.
Therefore, we cannot forsake the power of the Holy Ghost. Without it, without the presence of God, the Church becomes powerless and self-serving. It is no longer a life-altering force that brings salvation and deliverance but a club for social interaction. It was said that those in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost “turned the world upside down.” The danger of our day is to give any thought to the idea that we might find such power apart from the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water”
(Jeremiah 2:12-13).