(Note: I wrote this last summer, but I feel it is most appropriate for this day)
It was a hot summer morning in mid-August in the South. You could say that it was a typical day for the season, high humidity with little to no wind. I went about my business without really giving attention to these details but that was about to change.
I stood in quiet solitude and listened to the trees leaves as they began to respond to a slight breeze. It was as though they were individual instruments in a grand symphony, the pitch and tempo rising and falling but in perfect harmony, each separate but still in sync.
The wind was slight at first, barely noticeable except for the song the leaves sang. I began to feel the cool wind as it caressed my face and hair. The sensation grew in intensity! The wind blew stronger and then subsided. It came in pulsating burst, strong enough to take the hat from my head and then at rest.
I observed and felt this scenario repeated for several moments. And then, a voice spoke into my spirit, “a rushing mighty wind.” Yes Lord, I know it is You and I hear what You are saying! Our Lord, Jesus Christ wants to reveal Himself through the Holy Ghost to change our world. His desire is to fill you and me with the Holy Ghost, endue with power (His Power) from on high, and turn our world upside down. He wants the world to acknowledge His presence in us.
Jesus’ instructions to His disciples had been to go to Jerusalem and tarry (pray) until the Holy Ghost comes. Luke 24:49, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” The Holy Ghost is the power part of our commission to spread the Gospel message. Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Jesus fulfilled His promise in Acts 2:1, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The presence of the Holy Ghost was “a rushing mighty wind.” That is the way Christ wants to affect our world today. This rushing mighty wind of God changed the world in the lifetime of those very disciples.
In Acts 17, the Gospel message had met with tremendous opposition. The messengers of the Gospel put their lives at stake. The unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica were so indifferent to the Gospel that they sought to take Paul and Silas and give them to the angry crowd. Acts 17:6, “And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;” The unbelievers were compelled to declare that these Christians had turned the world upside down and had come to their city to do the same.
I would to God that it could be said of this present generation of Christians, they have turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ. However, if we are to be instruments of this harvest, we must be endued with power. It will take being filled with the Holy Ghost, “the rushing mighty wind,” to fulfill Jesus’ commission and finish our mission in these last days. Only the power of the Holy Ghost can seal and protect us from the darkness and evil that has flooded this world. The Holy Ghost in us will make us victorious in this spiritual war. Lord, send Your Mighty Wind upon us!
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