Today we reach a crucial moment in our journey. Over the last three weeks, we have dived deeply into the person of the Holy Spirit. We have learned who He is — not a vague force, not an energy, but a Divine Person whom we need to know and with whom we must have fellowship. We have learned how to walk with Him in intimacy and how He transforms us from the inside out, producing His fruit within us. But today, we need to answer one final and urgent question:
Why does God fill us with His Spirit?
Many Christians seek the Holy Spirit merely for the sake of personal well-being. But I want to tell you with all clarity: the Holy Spirit does not fill us just to make us feel good. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the beginning of a journey, yet many believers think that because they have received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, they have already received everything they needed.
Pentecost is not the finish line; Pentecost is the starting line. The filling of the Spirit has a purpose that goes far beyond ourselves.
2. POWER HAS A PURPOSE
In the text of Acts 1:8, Jesus makes a promise that would change the history of humanity: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” The Greek word used here for “power” is Dunamis. It is from this word that we derive the word “dynamite”. It does not refer to a gentle influence, but to an explosive power, a supernatural ability to work miracles and perform the impossible.
God does not waste power. If He releases Dunamis over your life, it is because there is a work to be done. The Holy Spirit gives us God’s power to fulfil God’s purpose. Without this clothing of power, we are merely trying to do the Lord’s work with the strength of the human arm, and the result of that is weariness and frustration.
When the Dunamis of God reaches us, what was difficult becomes possible, and what was impossible becomes reality.
3. POWER TO BE A WITNESS
It is fundamental that we observe what Jesus did not say. He did not say, “You will receive power to become famous.” He did not say, “You will receive power to impress people with your spirituality.” Jesus was specific: “…and you will be my witnesses…” The primary purpose of Pentecost is not the fame of man; it is the mission of God.
Often, the modern church has lost its way, seeking the anointing to build personal empires or to feed the egos of preachers and singers. But the biblical anointing has an address: the mission field, the life of the neighbour, the soul of the lost. God does not anoint us to build our own kingdom; He anoints us to expand His Kingdom.
The power is the fuel, and the witness is the vehicle. If the vehicle does not move towards the mission, the fuel loses its reason for being.
4. PETER: THE PERFECT EXAMPLE
Look at the life of the Apostle Peter. He is the perfect example of what the clothing of power does to an ordinary human being. Before Pentecost, who was Peter? A fearful man, who denied Jesus before a servant girl. A weak, impulsive man. But after Pentecost, something supernatural happened. That same Peter stands before a crowd in Jerusalem and preaches with a boldness that no one could resist.
The result?
“Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41 NIV).
What changed? Did Peter take a public speaking course? Did Peter study new marketing strategies? No. Peter was baptised in the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit descends, the coward becomes brave and the weak becomes a pillar of fire.
5. MY PERSONAL TESTIMONY
I can tell you from my own experience: the Holy Spirit did not just change my character; He gave me courage. Before the Lord touched my life in a profound way, I was a man dominated by fear. Fear of failing, fear of what people would think of me, fear of opening my mouth to share my faith. I felt incapable and small.
But when He filled me, something changed radically. It wasn’t because I became strong or special, but because He became stronger in me. I discovered a liberating truth:
God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. “The Holy Spirit is not looking for perfect people. He is looking for surrendered people.”
If you surrender yourself, He will place within you a boldness you never imagined possessing.
ILLUSTRATION: THE GLOVE
Imagine a glove lying on a table. It may be perfectly made, made of the finest material, beautiful and useful. But on its own, that glove is incapable of doing anything. It cannot move, it cannot lift a glass of water. It is powerless. However, when a hand enters that glove, everything changes. Suddenly, the glove moves, works, lifts weights, and performs extraordinary tasks.
We are the glove. The Holy Spirit is the hand. Without Him, we are just lifeless gloves, limited to our own human capacity.
But with Him inside us, ordinary and limited people become extraordinary instruments in the hands of Almighty God. It is not the glove that does the work; it is the hand inside it. All the glory belongs to the Hand!
6. THE BOOK OF ACTS NEVER REALLY ENDED
Many scholars call the fifth book of the New Testament the “Acts of the Apostles”. But I believe a more appropriate title would be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit through Ordinary People”.
If you read the book of Acts, you will see that the true Hero is not Peter, Paul, or John. The Hero is the Holy Spirit who impelled them, guided them, and clothed them.
And here is the prophetic news for you today: the book of Acts did not end with a full stop. It continues to be written through you and me. The same Spirit who parted the sea, who raised the dead, and who set the early church on fire, lives inside us today. He has not changed, He has not retired, and He has not diminished His power. What He did then, He wants to do here and now.
The great revivalist Leonard Ravenhill once said:
“The only reason we don’t have revival is because we are willing to live without it.” — LEONARD RAVENHILL
This is a sentence that must confront our hearts. Unfortunately, many Christians today are satisfied with a church without power, with prayers without passion, with preaching without anointing, and with a religion without fire. They have become accustomed to the “normal”, to the lukewarm. But God is looking for those who are desperate, who say: “Lord, I refuse to live a Christian life without Your power!”.
7. THE WORLD NEEDS SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTIANS
The world does not need more gospel celebrities. The world does not need more empty digital influencers. The world is crying out for men and women who are truly filled with the Holy Spirit. People who, when they enter a room, carry the presence of God. People who pray and heaven responds. People who love holiness in a world of sin. People who have compassion for the broken and preach the Gospel with a boldness that confronts the darkness.
8. THREE VIEWS ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We need to understand the landscape in which we live. There are basically three groups regarding the gifts:
- Traditional Churches: Many believe in “cessationism” — that is, that supernatural gifts stopped in the age of the apostles. We respect them, they love the Bible, but we profoundly disagree. The Bible never says the Holy Spirit would stop acting in a supernatural way.
- Christians who believe but do not practise: This group believes the gifts exist, but for fear of excesses or abuses, they “shelve” them. But the solution to abuse is never disuse, but rather correct use according to the Word. We cannot throw away the treasure because of those who misuse it.
- Pentecostal Churches: Like our Shalom. We believe because the Bible teaches it and because we experience it. We see transformed lives, real healings, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit happening before our eyes. It is not theory; it is life!
9. PENTECOST AND THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH
The church was not born in an administrative meeting; it was born in a spiritual fire.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4 NIV).
If God chose speaking in tongues to mark the birth of His Church, who are we to despise what God valued? Tongues are not the centre — Jesus is the centre — but they are a precious gift that God gave to equip His children.
10. THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND SPEAKING IN TONGUES
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a “luxury extra” for super-spiritual Christians. It is a promise for everyone!
“The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39 NIV).
It is an experience distinct from salvation. You can be saved and yet not have been clothed with this specific power for service.
We see the early church gathered, being baptised, and speaking in tongues:
- Acts 2:4 — The disciples were gathered (v.1) in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.
- Acts 10 — Peter was preaching in Cornelius’s house, with Jews and Gentiles gathered (v.24-27). The Holy Spirit fell on them, and they spoke in tongues and praised God (v.46).
- Acts 19 — Paul found the disciples in Ephesus and they were gathered (v.7, about 12 men). Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied (v.6).
In all three cases:
- They were gathered as a church/body of believers.
- They were baptised in the Holy Spirit.
- They spoke in tongues as evidence.
The response to those who say “you cannot speak in tongues in church”:
If the baptism in the Holy Spirit happens and the initial biblical evidence is speaking in tongues, denying space for this in the church is denying the very move of the Spirit.
It is like saying: “You can receive, but you cannot express.”
Obviously, Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 14 that there must be order and decency — not confusion. But order is not prohibition.
The same chapter says: “Do not forbid speaking in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:39).
The practical question is simple: How will someone be baptised in the Holy Spirit if, when the Spirit comes, the person is prevented from expressing what the Spirit is doing?
TESTIMONY:
As I said in the first message, in 1985 I received a powerful baptism in the Holy Spirit. I was filled, I felt the power of God in my body, and I began to speak in tongues. But the most powerful thing of all was the fellowship with the Holy Spirit that followed. I continued speaking in tongues and walking in fellowship with Him, and that was when miracles began to happen.
The most important thing was not what I received that day, but the relationship with the Holy Spirit — speaking in tongues every day, at every moment, relating to and having fellowship with Him. And the result was tremendous: people were saved through my message, healings and miracles became something that happened naturally. And through all this, the name of Jesus was exalted and glorified.
“The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a luxury for the few, but a necessity for all. Speaking in tongues is not a minor gift; it is the gateway to the supernatural.”