After an all-day Presbytery meeting on church governance, someone rose up and stated that reform was impossible. The old structures were too entrenched, he complained. People are just too slow to change, he continued. Et. cetera. Finally, in exasperation, he asked those of us in the room, “What gives any of us any hope that something new would be accepted?” We sat in silence for a moment. Then a voice from the back of the room yelled, “THE HOLY SPIRIT!” We all had to say, “AMEN!”
Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday. We read in John that Jesus would provide an Advocate, a Counselor, the Holy Spirit to accompany us in His absence. Thank God we aren’t forgotten! And thank God that we are not left to our own devices and schemes to get things done.
In Acts 2, the Pentecostal test for prophecy is how many people the church has produced who are able to say no to evil, who can speak the truth to power, and who can dream dreams and have visions, no matter how young or old they may be (And who don’t mind telling the world about them!).
On Pentecost, God promised that the Holy Spirit would descend on all. Everyone would receive the power to speak and to tell the whole world what had happened in Jesus Christ. My question: Have we been letting God’s Spirit work in us? Have we been speaking up for Jesus? We are all God’s prophets. Now, let’s get out there and prophesize!
Pastor Gary