Weekly Devotional 2nd of May 2025
by Bruce Billington
Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter. The book of Acts recounts the story of the original Pentecost in Acts 2. Jews from all over gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish feast. On that Sunday, ten days after the Lord’s Ascension, the Apostles and Mary assembled in the Upper Room, where they had seen Christ after His Resurrection.
Acts 2:2-4 – “2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
This fulfilled Christ’s promise to the Apostles that He would send His Holy Spirit. On Pentecost Sunday, they received the gifts of the Spirit. Acts 2 teaches that a sound like a mighty rushing wind came, and tongues of fire appeared, distributing themselves and resting on people. Everyone was confused and afraid.
The arrival of the Holy Spirit unleashed the power of the gifts upon us, making His transformative ability to effect change available to all believers. As a result, we are now empowered to accomplish extraordinary things and achieve outcomes that exceed our natural capabilities.
The Holy Spirit was sent to empower us, enabling us to achieve results far beyond our natural abilities. We should witness many such actions in our own lives. If we merely possess words and good intentions, we lack God’s provision of power. In the Book of Acts, we see that no one who experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit remained the same, nor did those around them. This gift not only transformed their lives but also turned the entire known world upside down. This gift is not an optional extra; we need it today.
The Holy Spirit desires and is empowered to transform our lives, families, communities, and the world around us. He is never short of opportunities. What He lacks most is a willingness among the people of God to step out, trust Him, take risks, and witness His power flow.
Through prayer and action, we can overcome all the obstacles that fallen humanity constantly faces. We can offer hope for the future and the present moment right here and now. We can change the things that most people can only complain about.
John Calvin addresses this well. Concerning the majesty of God, he states,
“This majesty shows itself, by means of power rather than of speech — that is, we do not place confidence on our own intellect, or eloquence, but, furnished with spiritual armour, we speak with a zeal for maintaining the Lord’s honour — an eagerness for the raising up of Christ’s kingdom — a desire to edify — a heart full of the fear of the Lord — a purity of conscience, and other necessary endowments.”
When we share our faith or preach the message of the Kingdom, the power of the Holy Spirit is present to deliver people from the slavery of sin and Satan, renewing them both inwardly and outwardly. This message is not just for the lost; through our words, the Holy Spirit can also bring comfort and strength to those within the Body of Christ who need it. It embodies the power of transformation, meaning that, with our cooperation, we will become more Christlike every day (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our words carry the power of God within them, and this power is such that it will always produce results.
The power of the Holy Spirit expresses and anticipates the entire new creation that is coming. We have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to bring the age to come into the here and now. This means we serve as the antidote and solution to the pervasive corruption present in society. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can bring transformation to all aspects of society.
God bless you.