June 5, 2022, is Pentecost Sunday!
It is the day that the universal church celebrates the birth of the church, but for Pentecostals, this is also the day that we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 1:8 just prior to the ascension, Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:39, on the day of Pentecost, Peter says that the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is for those present in Jerusalem, and their children and for all who are a far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call—that includes us in the 21st Century!
One of the distinctives of the Pentecostal movement is that we believe the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience subsequent to Salvation. In other words, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit when we come to faith in Christ—but we are empowered for service when we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Most churches go all out to celebrate Christmas and Easter, and well they should, but as Pentecostals, we should also celebrate the Day of Pentecost! What better way to celebrate than to welcome a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your church services this Sunday.
As an encouragement to you, I want to share part of an email that I received from an ACOP Pastor this week:
“The conference was a great blessing to us. It had been a long time since we were poured into.
I’ve been meaning to share what happened at our church the first Sunday back. It was our special “Kids Church Sunday” so the children stayed entirely in kids’ church. The Children’s ministry leader came in to tell me 2 children had been baptized in the Spirit in kids’ church. That was exciting!
At the end of the service, people were invited to the front to spend time with the Lord. During the altar time, I told everyone about the two kids. So we then invited anyone at the front who wanted to be baptized in the Spirit to receive prayer. We prayed for 3 who were all filled—one guy had only started coming at Easter. There was a fourth who came forward but sat in a seat at the front (she’s pregnant and too tired to stand) and she spoke in tongues for the first time without anyone facilitating it.”
I received a call this week, from another ACOP Pastor who was extremely encouraged by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their church services recently.
Could this be the effect of the Solemn Assembly at the ACOP 101 Conference?
If you or your church are experiencing a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit—I would love to hear from you!
Please feel free to send me an email, or give me a call 403.273.5777.