THE PAIN OF A POWERFUL PENTECOST
By Rev. Harold Mauldin
Romans 8:18 Sufferings are not worthy to the glory ...
no pain, no glory
In order to wear the crown, ya gotta bear the cross. There is no easy way. There is no easy solution. There is no shortcut. It's either God's way or the wrong way. There is a way which seems right but it only leads to death. God is powerful. The Holy Ghost actively working in your life is powerful. Pentecost is powerful. There is no true power except God's power. One writer said, there is no victory without a fight, there is no sunrise without a night, there is no purchase without a cost and there is not a crown without a cross. The anointing of God is very precious. It will cost you dearly. To operate in the Spirit, it's gonna be painful. We wanna heal the sick, raise the dead and do great miracles but we dare not desire to be beaten, stoned and left for dead by people you love and try to reach. Plain Pentecost is painless. Painful Pentecost is powerful!
In order for a battery to work, you need a negative and a postive. Both work together to get something started. The same principle works God's economy. The negative is the flesh, the positive is the spirit. Jesus said, flesh is flesh, spirit is spirit. Paul said that those in the flesh cannot feel God. However, their spirit needs a place to dwell so the flesh is necessary. The negative keeps us grounded and the spirit gives us spark in life. Paul tells us to continue in the faith grounded and settled. That does not mean to be in the flesh, rather it means that we need to be grounded in truth and settled as to what we believe. It hurts taking a stand stometimes, but truth lives when all else dies. Painful? Yes. Powerful? Yes!!
In Acts 2 we find that the Apostles were told that they would receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon them. Power in this text is interpreted as dynamite. We have more power than we knew about. We are the power in this world. Nothing can defeat a church with a passion for God. Powerful Pentecost is dynamite. Painless Pentecost is just a firecracker. I want power to my pop!!
In 2 Corinthians 11:22-33, we can compare our lives to Pauls. Glory to glory, pain to pain. Paul was:
1) The best of the best
2) A great minister
3) Labours above all
4) Stripes above measure
5) Thrown in prison
6) Often in deaths
7) Beaten 5 times 39 times
8) Beaten with a rod 3 times
9) Rocks thrown at him once
10) Shipwrecked 3 times
11) Been in the sea all night
We are:
1) Normal at best
2) Great if you can minister
3) Hardly labor
4) Never beaten
5) Drove by a prison once
6) Living the good life
7) Never beaten
8) Cannot stand rod of correction
9) Always treated nice
10) Smooth sailing always
11) Sleep every night
NO PAIN NO GAIN
You name it. Paul saw it. Do you care for your church or is it just a painless ride that cost you nothing and asks nothing of you? My pain is God's glory. My glory shall be in vain. If I will glory, I will glory in the cross. NO PAIN, NO GAIN!!!!
In 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, Paul tells us what to expect when we get a hold of power in Pentecost:
1) Get ready to be offered
2) Get ready to depart
3) Fight a good fight
4) Keep the faith
5) Finish the course
THE PAIN WILL BE WORTH THE GAIN
In the Old Testament, God told the children of Israel He was gonna bless them and give them power. You don't know what you got inside you! You got power. You got victory. God will fight for you if you will let Him. There is power in Pentecost.
In Deuteronomy 28: 1-14, we find that God is giving His kids the keys to blessings and power in His kingdom. Pain only makes us stronger. Who is more awesome than God? Who is like unto Him? The same promises that God gave Israel are ours today. Just Accept them.
Here is what we must do: hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord your God, do His commandments and the Lord will set you so high that it will blow everyone away.
Here's how God will bless you:
1) All these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee
2) You will be blessed in the city
3) Blessed in the field
4) He will bless the fruit of your body
5) He will bless the ground you live on
6) He will bless you at work
7) He will bless your home and finances
8) God will bless you coming in and going out
9) Your enemy will come one way to smite you but will run seven ways
10) God will bless what you store up. God is a God of future blessings.
11) When the things of Earth are finished blessing you, then God said He will cause even Heaven to pay attention to you.
12) You are the head and not the tail. You're a stick of dynamite. It's time to claim and be what we are!!
13) You are on top with God. Let the Holy Ghost reign in you.
14) It's dangerous to go away from what we know we should be doing.
The rest of this chapter deals with what happens to people who refuse to listen to the power of God and keep His commandments. If we do not heed the words of God, His power will blow up right in our faces.
THERE IS A POWERFUL PENTECOST .... IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST.
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