We will be looking at the ministry of the Holy Spirit the next Sundays in honor of the upcoming Pentecost Sunday. The following true story penned by Evangelist ET Quanabush that appeared in the May 20, 1956, edition of the Pentecostal Evangel illustrates a beautiful truth regarding the Spirit’s coming.
When the Norwegian explorer, Fridtjof Nansen, started on an Arctic expedition in the late 1800s, he took with him a strong, fast-flying carrier pigeon. After two years in the lonely wastes of the north, Mr. Nansen wrote a little message, tied it under the pigeon’s wing, and flung her up from the ship into the icy winds. She made three wide circles, then headed straight for Norway, some two thousand miles away. The bird flew on and on, over two thousand miles of ice, snow, death, and desolation where scarcely a living creature was in sight.
Finally, it dropped into the lap of the explorer’s wife, with the message under her wing. Mrs. Nansen knew, by the arrival of that bird and the message it carried, that all was well with her husband.
A study of types and shadows in the Scriptures will reveal that a dove is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which is shown in each of the four Gospels. (For example, we read the Spirit of God descended on the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of a dove.) The heavenly Dove had a definite message under His wing also. It was a message similar to the one delivered to the explorer’s wife. It told that Jesus was alive.
Jesus promised His disciples (John 16:7): “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” The coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) let the disciples know that Jesus was fulfilling His promise. He was following through with what He told them would happen. Jesus, due to dwelling in a human body, could only be in one place at one time. The Holy Spirit, not limited to a body, could be anywhere – and everywhere – at any time.
The Early Church was absolutely dependent upon the Holy Spirit. He directed them, anointed them, empowered them, comforted them, strengthened them, protected them. It is very evident reading through the Book of Acts to see the life-changing and transforming work of the Spirit in and through the lives of the 1st-century Christians.
The late Dr. A. W. Tozer, well-known pastor and author, famously observed, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95% of what they did would stop, and everyone would know the difference.” Well said, Dr. Tozer!
We need the Holy Spirit’s empowering work in our lives and ministries today more than ever! We cannot operate via human reasoning and strength. We need the supernatural wisdom and anointing that only He can give. May we be surrendered to Him every hour of every day. Let’s not live in the natural, but continually live in the Supernatural.
This Sunday, May 21, we will celebrate the Holy Spirit with the challenge: “Be Transformed by the Spirit!” from 2 Corinthians 3:7-18. Please invite someone to join you at 10:35am either in the building or online for the Live broadcast on Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday morning at 10:35am to both locations. (PS: The 9:30am Adult Bible Class will continue its study of the Book of Romans.)
Note: I promised last week that we would have all the technical glitches for Sunday’s Livestream resolved. Unfortunately, we had even more this past Sunday (including no sound at all), which was especially disappointing since Shirley’s Mother’s Day message was powerful! We will work on it again this week and, hopefully, everything will be ready for this coming Sunday. Mahalo for your patience!
Coming Up: May 28 is Pentecost Sunday. Father’s Day takes place June 18 and Paul & Kristi Robinson, missionaries to Colombia, will be our special guests that day.
Aloha ke Akua!