Get Ready For A Great Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit

The King's Church International Audio Podcast

Are you ready for a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Are you prepared to experience the power of God at work in your life and generation? Well, you need to get ready because God is about to shine a great light into a world of increasing darkness.

As we sense God is preparing us for a move of God that we have never seen before in our church and in our nation, it is helpful to see how the first disciples were prepared for the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. The coming of the Holy Spirit did not happen out of nowhere. It followed a process of preparation.

Acts 1 tells us that a lot happened in the 50 days between the resurrection of Jesus and the Day of Pentecost. For 40 of those days, they were in a period of accelerated teaching from Jesus. Then for the next days they had to take some actions. It took just over seven weeks for them to be positioned for what was to come. So much can happen in a short space of time. We see some significant factors in the preparation for the Day of Pentecost:

1. We need to clearly understand God’s plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3; Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43)

2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8)

3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14)

4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26)

Apply

1. We need to clearly understand God’s plan to establish His kingdom (Acts 1:3). Jesus made sure His disciples were thoroughly grounded in their understanding of the Kingdom of God - God’s new society. Throughout His ministry Jesus had repeatedly taught about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 4:23; Luke 5:43). In a kind of revision school before He returned to heaven, Jesus wanted His disciples to understand that He never came to start a new religious order. He came to announce a new whole new world order known as the kingdom of God. That is why He taught His disciples to pray, ‘Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.’ Christianity is not just a matter of personal faith. Kingdom Christianity will affect every area of life and shape our vision, values and how we act and react. To truly be a subject of the Kingdom of God means that God rules over every area of our lives and that He wants us to advance His kingdom in every area of life: home life, business life, political life, cultural life, educational life etc. So we must understand the big vision that we are part of.

2. We need to stay focussed on receiving the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). Jesus was trying to impress on His disciples the need to be focussed on the Holy Spirit, but they were distracted by earthly and political matters. As Christians we too can easily focus too much on this life and the state of the world around us or even get caught up in trying to figure out when Jesus will return. Of course it is important to do our best as Jesus taught to be salt and light in the world. But the first thing is to be sure that we receive the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:7-8). Jesus knew the disciples needed the power of God in their lives and ministries and so do we. Just as we need to be baptised in water, so we also need to be immersed with the Holy Spirit. We need to receive a new dimension of spiritual authority when we know God’s power has come on us. Only when this happens can we be energised to be witnesses for Jesus in cities and nations. That’s why we must wait for the promise and not rush off in our own strength. So let’s get real: how much power of the Holy Spirit do you have? If you need the Holy Spirit, then you need to really hunger and thirst for this happen. You must no longer live in defeat, allowing the devourer of your finances to steal from you, you cannot accept that the enemy steals your home, your health, your love. You must cry out to God for His power. This is how you get ready for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

3. We need to unite in continuous prayer (Acts 1:12-14). They all joined together constantly in prayer. They didn’t just pray now and again. They prayed constantly. They kept on praying towards the fulfilment of their goal. And it was not some of them who prayed but all of them. Here was a group of people joined together with a common desire to seek God. This included:

- The disciples: All of the disciples in every life group should pray together.

- The women: These were not just ladies who lunched together but faithful women who prayed together.

- The family of Jesus: His mother and brothers all joined in the prayer. It’s so powerful when families pray together.

Every move of the Holy Spirit can be traced to small groups of people getting serious about prayer (i.e.: 18th Century and John Wesley; Welsh Revival and Evan Roberts; Berkshire with Thomas Russell and John Ride). Such zealous praying is what is needed today at every level of the church and in every home and family. Revivals grow in ground that has been well prepared through prayer.

4. We need to strengthen teams of 12 leaders (Acts 1:15-26). Why was this so important? Because 12 represents governance. In the Old Testament when God wanted to establish the kingdom of Israel He chose 12 Tribes. When Jesus wanted to establish His Church, He chose 12 disciples and when one betrayed Him, they did not just keep going with the 11 faithful disciples. Peter said in Acts 1:21 that it was ‘necessary’ to replace him, so they considered those who had proved faithful in following Jesus. Then they chose Matthias to take the place of Judas. Now the 12 were back to full strength and soon they would stand together on the Day of Pentecost when 3000 people became believers. You need a strong team in place to deal with that kind of harvest. If we are to be ready for many new people to come to Christ and into the church, we too need to develop strong teams of 12 faithful people. So first be part of a team and then build a team of 12. Together we can be prepared to move forward when the Holy Spirit brings great growth and acceleration. Make the most of the time we have to get ready for a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.