“There is a distinctive magic to Pentecost — full-blown ecstasy, an almost illicit experience of God. That first Pentecost, after tongues as of fire rested on everyone and Jesus’ friends and family spoke in other tongues, people gathered around to watch at nine in the morning. What they saw didn’t look like many Sunday morning church services. What they saw looked more like the aftermath of a party.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? But others sneered and said, They are filled with new wine.’ They weren’t drunk, of course, but they looked like it. Wouldn’t that be something, to be so taken up with God that onlookers think we’re drunk with sweet wine? Wouldn’t it be remarkable to ride the edge of ecstasy?” –Jack Levison
“Pentecost . . . The Holy Spirit fills the disciples and they speak in tongues they likely do not understand themselves. It is an uncontrolled public witness – uncontrolled by human agendas – as well as a transformative movement of God. It honestly feels like choosing between someone’s corporate controlled image of a smooth, efficient machine and the somewhat chaotic, yet entirely creative, dynamic movement-making frenzy produced by the Holy Spirit’s uncontrolled presence in the lives of a group of believers willing to risk it all for the Kingdom. I’ll take the latter any day of the week.” –Bill Mefford
“Do we measure up to the standard of Pentecost? The gift of the Spirit is the gift of power, and the lack of power is due to the absence of His indwelling fullness.” –Samuel Chadwick
“Pentecost means the glory of God’s power and the power of God’s glory. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you and enters into you, as He came in that Upper Room, filling the house and those sitting in it, you too will know both the glory of God’s power and the power of His glory, and will worship Him.” –Marie E. Brown
“We need faith in the power of the God of Pentecost to convict and convert three thousand in a day. Faith in the mighty God who can quicken a dead soul into life in a moment; faith in moral and spiritual revolution.” –A.C. Dixon
“Look down and see this waiting host,
Give us the promised Holy Ghost;
We want another Pentecost,
Send the fire today.”
–William Booth, co-founder of The Salvation Army
“When you strip it of everything else, Pentecost stands for power and life. That’s what came into the church when the Holy Spirit came down on the day of Pentecost.” ―David Wilkerson
“I’m sick and tired of (only) reading about church history; let’s make some by the grace of God!” –Leonard Ravenhill
“That which happened at Pentecost is the biggest thing that ever happened. And now the biggest question of all is, has it happened to you and me? Have ye received the Holy Ghost?” –Samuel Chadwick
“Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power.” – J. Hudson Taylor
“Pentecost offers a chance to confess our failure to live by the Spirit and to ask the Lord to fill us afresh with His power.” –Mark D. Roberts
“Pentecost is an invitation to dream. For when a community of faith quits dreaming dreams, it has little to offer either its members or the wider world. These dreams involve adopting a new perspective on what’s possible, rousing our creativity to free us from conventional expectations. They help us see that maybe what we thought was outlandish actually lies within reach. –Matthew L. Skinner
“Pentecost has not created an alternative mythology with which to secularize and commercialize it. It has not created a figure like a fat, jolly man in a red suit or a large bunny. Stores don’t stock special items for the Feast of Pentecost. In fact, the Feast of Pentecost comes and goes in the church year without the world even noticing.” –Mark Surburg
Want to bring Pentecost back to the 21st Century church? Check out my new book, Beyond Church — An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible — Ekklesia; available at Amazon.
