Acts 2:1-4 – When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This passage marks the beginning of the Christian church. It amazes me the role spiritual power played in the birthing, expanding, and the sustaining of the body of Christ. It’s obvious that some sort of power had captured those early believers, especially Simon Peter. Everyone knows the story of that fisherman from Bethsaida. He would have to have been one of the least likely candidates to change the world but he was obviously God’s choice to do just that. He went from denying he had ever even known Jesus of Nazareth to preaching salvation in His Name alone in the streets of Jerusalem. No one in their right mind would have done that after what had happened to Jesus in this very city. What changed Peter? You could say it was God’s grace upon grace. The Spirit of God came upon Peter and he found himself drinking of what Peter called God’s fullness, grace heaped upon grace had consumed Peter and he had no choice; Peter had to preach.

A short time later this overflowing grace intensified rather than diminished in Peter’s life. We see multitudes of sick and tormented folks being healed again right there in Jerusalem. Here is a description of this from the book of Acts.

Acts 5:14-16 – “And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.”

The church world today needs a good dose of the power of God. Many churches have continued for far too long with a powerless church, powerless worship, and powerless preaching. The only answer that we have in order to challenge the lawless nature of our world is the power of God. So what is our next move? We have to return to the upper room and seek the Lord and let the full cup of God’s grace overtake us.