On the Day of Pentecost, three major things happened. First, there was the sending of the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord came into the house of the meeting and into the hearts of members. The promised had been possessed! Second, there was the sermonizing of the saint. Peter was changed. At one time, Peter denied Christ; but now he defended Christ. His sermon preached Jesus to the Jews and propagated the Gospel to the Gentiles. The preacher was powerful! Third, there was the saving of the sinners. The Church became a crusade. It evangelized sinners and edified the saints. Three thousand people were saved on the Day of Pentecost….

The early New Testament Church was in the blaze of glow of revival. The Church was experiencing an earth-shaking, mountain-moving, devil-drying, soul-saving, holy-healing, and rater-rattling revival. The revival tides were running high, the apostles were preaching with great boldness, and thousands were turning to Christ. Can you imagine the stir all of this caused in Jerusalem? If newspapers had been published in those days, the headlines would have talked about the strange things that were happening. The radio commentators would have blared forth their news about these matters. Television talk shows would be interviewing people who had been healed, saved, and delivered by the power of God. The Internet blogs…

In the first three chapters of Acts, God has been marvelously blessing the early Church. They have seen the Savior go up. The Spirit come down. The saints go out. And, the sinners come in. In chapter one, the disciples listened to the Lord. In chapter two, they liberated the lost. In chapter three, they lifted the lame. At the beginning of chapter four, they lived under the load of persecution. The Sanhedrin had threatened Peter and John not to preach and teach in the name of Jesus anymore. They were guilty of healing a lame man and heralding the name of Jesus to lost people. Some of the most…

We need an epidemic of Pentecostal boldness. We read in Acts 4, verse 13: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). If you’re one of those who wish that you had more courage to testify and witness for Jesus, then my prayer is that you will learn the lessons necessary and begin to live by them. I am convinced that millions of Christians want to share their faith, and want to tell others about our Savior, but have been intimidated, and have…

Dear Visionary Leader: The world is not impressed with our lameness, tameness, and sameness. They desire and deserve to see the Church perform what it proclaims. There was a story about a man who caught a glimpse of the need for a spiritual awakening in our churches. He first drove to Last Assembly by the gas station. In this church, you will find vacant-eyed guild gathers. These people really do a lot for a pastor or an evangelist. They come expecting something. They expect to get out by noon. Next, the man decided that this must be an exception, so he went over to the Church of Immaculate Perception. In…

Dear Visionary Leader: It has been said, “The Church has been to Calvary for pardon, but not to Pentecost for power.” This is the day for Pentecostal substitutes. Instead of taking the real power of Christ, we were to produce our own fireworks. We live in the day of programs, propaganda, pep, and promotion. We try to duplicate what the Holy Spirit did on the day of Pentecost. Vance Havner once said, “The average one of us is so afraid of going out on a limb, that we never bother to climb a tree.” On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon. His sermon touched the hearts of thousands…

Dear Visionary Leader: When God began to outpour the Holy Spirit at the turn of the 20th century, there were those who were saying that it would blow over, and they were right. It’s blown all over the world. Did you know where there is great evangelism, the Holy Spirit is being outpoured? It is not by accident. It is part of God’s plan—God’s plan for their life and God’s plan for our life. You see, I am excited about these last days. I believe the greatest days of harvest are yet ahead of us. I don’t say that because it is positive; I say it because it is true. I believe in these last days we are…

    More than two thousand years ago, Mankind nailed his Maker on a cross of wood. On that horrific day, the devil laughed, the people sneered and the Father turned His back on his Son. Jesus Christ did not die and rise again for a percentage of the world, but for the whole world. While Jesus was dying on the cross, there were many miracles that happened to demonstrate Why Good Friday is Good. Easter is God’s grace for the human race. As we approach Good Friday, consider Why Good Friday is Good. According to Matthew 27:45-54, when Jesus died on the cross: He touched the sun. In Him,…

Dear Visionary Leader: The early New Testament church knew that their success in soulwinning depended on the coming and consuming power of the Spirit. In fact, their service, soulwinning, and sermons were done through the Spirit.  When Pentecost came, that early church had something that swords could not silence, water could not drown, storms could not stop, fire could not burn, demons could not defeat, and jails could not hold! It was the convicting and convincing power of the Holy Spirit that overcame the imperial might of Rome, the sagacious sophistication of the Greeks, and the religious bigotry of the Jews. The Holy Spirit crossed all cultures, broke all barriers,…

Dear Visionary Leader: Last week we began looking at the daybreak of faith I have no doubt that the Hebrew writer was thinking of Elijah, when he wrote, “Women received back their dead by resurrection.” One of the most colorful characters of the Old Testament is Elijah. God used him in a mighty way in a time when spirituality was at an all-time low in the land of Israel. James tells us this about Elijah. James 5:17-18 “Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months….