A greater pentecost is coming – Part 17

Those who pray and expect another Pentecost may wait in vain because Pentecost has come and gone, but the Spirit and principles of Pentecost live on. While it is true that Pentecost will not be relived again, God will, however, continue to pour out His Spirit upon those who in every generation thirst for His Spirit. The outpouring of the future will be greater than Pentecost.

For instance, after Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, there were other outpourings of the Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles. There was the outpouring in Acts 4: 29-37; another outpouring in Samaria in Chapter 8: 4-25; then the outpouring on the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius in Acts 10: 17-48; and the Spirit was at work in Acts 13:1-3 and beyond.

The Holy Spirit’s outpouring upon any individual or a group of people is the high water mark of any revival, so our greatest desire then must be to seek after the Holy Spirit.

Since after Pentecost, we have had the pre-Reformation Revivals 1300-1500 (by the Lollards, Wycliffe, Hus, and Savonarola); the Reformation in 1517 (by Martin Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, and Knox); the Evangelical Awakening 1727-1750; the Second Evangelical Awakening 1780-1810; we have also had other Holy Spirit’s outpourings like the Wales Revival of 1904, the Azusa Street Revival of 1906. There has been the Charismatic revival and other numerous outpourings we cannot mention here.

At home in Nigeria, we have experienced remarkable revivals: we had the Garrick Isokari Braide revival in 1918; the Holy Ghost revival in 1927; the Joseph Babalola revival in 1930; the Old Umuahia revival 1939; the Latter Rain revival in 1947; revival in Gindiri in 1972; revival in Tiv land in 1972; then the Charismatic revival, which started in the late 1960s extending into 1990s. All these go to show that the Spirit of Pentecost lives on! 

Other revivals would certainly follow because God has said so in His word. In Zech 10:1 the Bible says, “Ask the LORD for rain in the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone” (NKJV). Also see Hosea 6:3. The Holy Spirit’s outpourings are given to the Church to assist her with the work of the harvest on the earth.

In our earlier series No. 16, we had identified repentance (Hosea 6:1-3; Joel 2:12-17); holiness (Hebrews 12:14); and the importance of prayer (1 Kgs.18:41-46) as preconditions for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring. Let us add a few more points.

To experience greater Pentecost, we must have the hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit. God pours out His Spirit upon those who thirst for Him. In Isaiah 44:3, God said, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses” (Isaiah 44:3-5 NKJV).

After praying for the Holy Spirit we must patiently wait for him. As James says, “Therefore, be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain” (James 5:7 NKJV).Those who seek after the Holy Spirit must have faith and hope in whom they seek. Faith and hope sustain us during the period of waiting for the Holy Spirit’s outpouring. Contact:pastoracukachi@gmail.com    

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