There have been all kinds of explanations suggested for what happened at Pentecost. When God first poured out his Spirit’s Life upon the church it became obvious that God was at work. Many explanations of what happened at Pentecost have reduced this spiritual phenomenon to a list of things we ought to be doing. What this approach to ministry forgets is that Pentecost was not about what we need to be doing. It is about what God was doing and what God continues to do by bringing Christ to dwell within God’s people. Pentecost show us that you can’t reduce the mystery of life in the Spirit to a ministry model that can be duplicated whenever we want. If it could wouldn’t that have happened by now in America? May I ask you to consider whether any ministry program has brought lasting revival to this nation? What I believe we have seen is the hope for revival being shared; and we are very passionate about that. But our passion or our programs will not produce life in us or in others. Only God can do that! What we need is a fundamental transformation of our lives and ministries. Only the Spirit of God can cause a person to be born again (John 3:5-7). Only the Spirit of God can enable a walk with Jesus (Galatians 3:1-3). And only the Spirit of God can bring about the awakening and revival that this nation needs (Acts 4:31). Pentecost teaches us that it is not about having the right model for ministry. If anyone had a model for ministry that could not be improved upon it was Israel. God told Moses to make their ministry after the “pattern” he had seen on the Mountain as he met with God (Exodus 25:9, 40). And while this ministry was to be preformed it had no power to transform the lives of those believers who faithfully sought to maintain its ritual because their hearts could not be changed by the outward observance of any law (Hebrews 7:19). The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it this way, “This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain’” (Hebrews 8:5). “But God found fault with the people and said, ‘The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’ By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear” (Hebrews 8:8-13). So it is not about getting our model for ministry right or about having the right program or is it about knowing Christ and walking as he did; but only the Spirit’s presence in our lives can do that! The book of Acts shows this over and over again. Luke had already written the gospel named after him and he refers to this as “my former book” when he starts his preface in Acts (Acts 1:1). He says that the gospel of Luke recorded, “all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven.” He then wrote Acts which recorded what Jesus continued to do and teach, except now it is through the agency of the church as empowered by his Holy Spirit. Luke’s record is a diary of what happened as God’s presence returned to earth with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the church. Jesus was on the throne in glory but he
When it comes to having a desire to see things change, it is obvious that most Christians are ready for it! The problem is that churches have tried every program available, and yet they still feel that there is something missing from their ministry. This book takes a fresh look at ministry and challenges us to consider that we may have actually left God out of the ministry equation, by not realizing how desperately we need for God's Spirit to set us on "fire!" Take a journey through the Bible and discover for yourself, how God's fire is present when God is on the move! Discover how God's fire reveals his character as well as our calling to be transformed into the image of Christ! You will also discover how being one of God's Fire Starters can be one of the most exciting adventures of anyone's life! Donald A. Broadwater was born in Roanoke, Virginia and spent most of his early life growing up around the Blue Ridge Mountains. He graduated from Covenant College and Westminster Theological Seminary, and for the past three decades, Don and his family have been on an adventure that has taken them from America to Australia. He is married to Gloria and has two grown children from their 37-year marriage. God has unfolded a unique ministry of discipleship that has sought to encourage people to take their next step on a Journey in Jesus. This ministry is needed because our journeys are as unique as God who is fashioning them for us. He has also spoken for church camps and seminars, which have included the international conference, "Fire on the Mountain," on Mt. Tambourine in Queensland, Australia. Contact him at www.journeyinjesus.com for additional information or for scheduling seminars for your ministry.
This book considers the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit as he transforms the cracked canvases of our lives into becoming living portraits of grace. Jesus did this with his disciples while he was here on earth and his Spirit continues to do this now that Jesus has ascended to heaven. Once we realize just how committed God is to paint grace in our lives we discover fresh hope. We may have thought that we would have to figure out the Christian life on our own. But now we discover that God has never left us alone at all. In fact his Spirit's work in us has guaranteed that the portrait he is painting will reflect his presence forever! We also realize that there are countless others who have also been called to be part of God's living portrait. He is painting in all nations on the earth and one day believers will join the hosts of heaven who have cheered us on since God first took up his brush to paint in our lives.
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