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A Mighty Rushing Wind is Coming
As I read the Scriptures, I'm
reminded of how powerful God is. His
omniscience and omnipotence are laced
throughout the Scriptures in both the
Old and New Testaments. We see how God's
holy vessels did mighty exploits
throughout the Scriptures, especially
during strategic seasons when God
fulfilled His prophetic purposes. Our
Father God is not selfish with His
power. He desires to pour it into our
lives as He has done through His
faithful messengers throughout the ages.
The promise of His mighty working power
is available to all who seek it.
Ephesians 1:17-19
that the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give to you the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of Him, 18 the eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that
you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the
glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power toward us who believe,
according to the working of His mighty
power.
It appears that we are
entering a season of which Jesus spoke
of called the "Beginning of the Birth
Pangs," which is a pre-cursor to the
tribulation He spoke of. This time is
also the season in which all the
prophetic purposes the prophets of old
prophesied will be fulfilled. The Father
will withhold Jesus's second coming
until all that was predicted passes.
Acts 3:19-21 Repent therefore and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted
out, so that times of refreshing may
come from the presence of the Lord, 20
and that He may send Jesus Christ, who
was preached to you before, 21 whom
heaven must receive until the times of
restoration of all things, which God has
spoken by the mouth of all His holy
prophets since the world began.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He
gave His disciples a tremendous promise.
He said, "You shall receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you." In
the Book of Acts, we discover the
fulfillment of this promise when they
were all in one accord in one place when
they heard the sound from heaven
suddenly coming upon them as a rushing
wind, which resulted in them all
speaking in tongues as the Spirit gave
them utterance. The Holy Spirit coming
like a mighty rushing wind resulted in
these disciples of Jesus going
everywhere doing great exploits for God
and His purposes. Peter made it clear in
his message that followed this
incredible outpouring of God's Spirit.
He said this same power is available to
all who call on the name of the Lord.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is to you
and to your children, and to all who are
afar off, as many as the Lord our God
will call.
Has God called you? If
so, the wonderful promise of the Holy
Spirit coming as a mighty rushing wind
and baptizing you in the Holy Spirit is
still available.
There are many
examples in the Book of Acts of the
disciples of Jesus going forth in the
same manner as Jesus performing great
exploits of God, revealing the kingdom
power Jesus promised.
• Peter
and John healing the lame man at Temple
— Acts 3:1-9
• Peter released from
prison by an Angel of God — Acts
•
Peter's shadow healing people — Acts
5:15
• People from surrounding
regions bring the sick to be healed by
the disciples. All were healed — Acts
5:12-16
• Peter raising the dead —
Acts 9:40
• Stephen did mighty
miracles — Acts 6:8
• Signs and
Wonders by Phillip in Samaria — Acts
8:6-8
• Paul perceiving the man who
had faith to be healed — Acts 14:8
•
Paul on the island of Malta after being
bitten by a poisonous snake and then
healing many — Acts 28:6-9
All of
these miracles, signs, and wonders
resulted from the mighty rushing wind
that came suddenly upon the disciples on
the day of Pentecost. This same power is
still available to all who call on the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
another mighty rushing wind that is
coming. Will we be ready for it when it
comes? Will we be found praying and
waiting in the same manner, these early
disciples were?
Just as God
poured His Spirit upon the early
believers, He's pouring His Spirit on
all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
today, as Paul wrote in his first letter
to the Corinthians. He says of the gifts
of the Spirit, "There are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit. There are
differences of ministries, but the same
Lord. And there are diversities of
activities, but it is the same God who
works all in all. But the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to each one for
the profit of all. — 1 Corinthians
12:4-7
The word "works" means
active operation, effectual, powerful,
active, efficient, fervent, and mighty
in showing forth. The term
"manifestation" means to make visible,
clear, and known.
With these two
definitions in mind, we can see, once
again, how God, in His sovereignty, uses
His instruments of righteousness as
flames of fire to be fervent and mighty
in making His power visible. As members
of His body, we are to be zealous,
active, effectual, efficient, and mighty
in manifesting the gifts of the Spirit
to benefit the body as a whole. With all
of this in mind, let's set our hearts to
be used by God so that we are
sufficiently prepared when the mighty
rushing wind comes upon us suddenly.
The prophecy of Joel was only
partially fulfilled on the Day of
Pentecost as it was intended for the
whole of the Church age, which doesn't
end until the Second Coming of Christ.
Believers everywhere will have
remarkable opportunities to be
strategically involved in everything the
Lord is about to do.
The
prophetic period we're about to enter
requires preparation for God's actions.
Throughout history, when God moved, it
was suddenly without prior notice. He
used those who were ready and willing as
His vessels unto honor. He plans to send
his ministers as flames of fire in His
zeal to complete what He's started. The
faithful laborers are few. Will you be
prepared and ready? You won't want to
get caught sleeping when the Lord
decides to move suddenly.
A
mighty rushing wind is coming, just like
what was poured out on the Day of
Pentecost to the 120 who were in the
Upper Room. Only this time, it won't be
120. Billions of people worldwide, in
every country, city, town, and
countryside, will be busily involved in
the Lord's harvest. It will be an
explosive outpouring of His Spirit and
power that will come suddenly throughout
the earth and require many laborers. The
fields of the harvest are ripe and
ready, but the faithful laborers are
few.
Isaiah 6:8 Also, I heard
the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom
shall I send, and who will go for Us?"
Then I said, "Here am I! Send me.
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