Pentecost and Power

Doug Slay

As a pentecostal, born and bred in the pentecostal fire. As we use to say, I was born in the fire and I cannot stand the smoke.

In all my years of pentecostal experience I heard a great deal about power. Acts 1:8 was quoted about the church receiving power after the Holy came upon them. This has been the hallmark of my pentecostal experience.

And we did have power. I witnessed miracles happen in answer to believing prayer. In answer to pray I saw weather obey the command of Faith. I saw blind eyes open and I witness cancer on the side of a woman’s face come off and left her skin like a like a baby’s skin.

As a teen age boy financial miracles were a natural occurrence. When I needed a pair of shoes or money for a haircut, I simply asked my Father and He never let me down.

I said all that to say this; I think we have missed something down the line. In some ways we have regressed and instead of exercising faith for miracles we have attempted to build a supernatural church, naturally.

This is an impossible task. It is just not possible to build a supernatural church, with natural means. Singularly what the church received on the day of Pentecost was power. Not authority but power.

In all my years of preaching I do not think I ever heard on person point out that on the day of Pentecost the church did not receive authority, but they did receive power.

There is a reason they received power but not authority.

The reason is simple. Authority resides in the head and power to carry out the command of the head resides in the body.

What the church needs today is to put more faith in the name of Jesus and exercise power, the ability to carry out what the head commands.

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