Imagine that two adult brothers plan to trim some branches from a tree in their mother's back yard. “I'll stop by your house and pick you up. I'm bringing my saw,” said one brother (we'll call him Sam).
“OK, Sam,” said his brother (we'll call him Bill). “What time are you coming to pick me up?”
“I'm not sure; some time mid-morning,” said Sam.
“OK,” said Bill.
Bill got out his hand saw and waited, but after a while he decided to go to their mother's by himself. He started sawing away with his saw; it was a lot of work, and he was just finishing when Sam showed up.
“Why didn't you wait for me?” asked Sam.
“I guess I got impatient,” said Bill. “ Anyway, I’ve been working like crazy. This is exhausting; I’m ready to quit.”
Sam exclaimed, “Bill! You used that hand saw? I brought my chain saw! You should have waited for me!”

I made up this story to illustrate what Jesus told His disciples one day. It was the day He promised His disciples that they’d receive a special, helpful gift.

JESUS PROMISES A GIFT
On one of the forty days Jesus spent with the disciples after His resurrection, He said, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; . . .” (Acts 1:4-5, 8)

This is recorded in the book of Acts, a historical account of the lives of Jesus' followers and of the church immediately after Jesus' days on earth. It was written by the disciple Luke, who was a physician. Luke also wrote a gospel, and in it he recorded much the same conversation: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

Jesus had much for His followers to do — specifically, to spread the message about Him — but it would have to wait until Jesus left earth and they were given the power from God to do that work. They were to wait for a gift from the Heavenly Father: the Holy Spirit of God. They were not to leave Jerusalem without Him!

Think about our imaginary character named Bill and how much easier it would have been if he had only waited for his brother who had the chain saw! The disciples did what they were told: they waited, for ten days.

THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The tenth day of their waiting time was a special day in the Jewish community. It was the Feast of Weeks, which was sometimes called the Day of First Fruits, and it was held fifty days after Passover. About 120 disciples were gathered in a large room somewhere in Jerusalem. The historian and physician Luke told us what happened: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit . . . .” (Acts 2:1-4)

The disciples were minding their own business when suddenly it sounded like there was a windstorm in the room. Then fire appeared all around them, and it divided into separate tongues of fire that were targeted on each of them! The windstorm/firestorm was an outward manifestation that became internalized in each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

This was the day that the Holy Spirit came into the world. What Christmas is for Jesus, Pentecost is for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came into the world — and He has never left! He still comes and dwells in any person who’s receptive to Him.

THE PURPOSE OF HIS POWER
One of the wonderful things about God is that He doesn't leave us on our own. He doesn't tell us to grit our teeth and try to do everything on our own. He wants to help! Actually, He insists that it's the only way to live!

The first challenge Jesus' disciples faced after Jesus left earth was spreading the word about Him. (In fact, that's still the major call of anyone who follows Jesus.) However, Jesus didn’t want them to do it on their own; that's why He told them to wait for power from on high. When that power came — the gift of the Holy Spirit — the disciples were immediately empowered to do what they had been called to do. The very first work of the Holy Spirit that day was to allow all of them to speak in one or more foreign languages instantaneously. Luke wrote, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4)

The celebration of Pentecost brought crowds of Jewish people from far and wide. Many of them lived in places where they had grown up speaking a different language. (In the second chapter of Acts, verses 9-11 list some of these places.) Luke recorded that “each one heard them speaking in his own language.” (Acts 2:6) It was like the tower of Babel in reverse!

The very first task for the followers of Jesus was spreading the word about Him, and that’s what the Holy Spirit empowered them to do! Jesus had told them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Jesus was describing a ripple effect: the disciples would eventually take the message of Jesus to Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth — which is where you and I live. (Aren't we thankful the message got this far?) One scholar stated that chapters 1-7 of Acts are about the message of Jesus being taken to Jerusalem, chapters 8-11:18 are about the message being taken to Judea and Samaria, and the rest of Acts is about the message being taken as far as Rome. The call of the disciples was to spread the message of Jesus far and wide, and the Holy Spirit helped them.

What are some of the things you’re being called to do? What are the challenges immediately at hand for you? God has given us the same gift — the Holy Spirit — to enable us to do what He wants us to do.

Like those first disciples, we’re meant to be witnesses for Jesus. This doesn't simply mean talking about your faith, though it means that, too. It means that the Holy Spirit wants to help us so that our lives are a testimony to God, who dwells within us and loves us — and whom we love.

In what area of life do you need help? What do you need more power to deal with? It might be coping better with a relationship that can't go on the way it is; it might be a relationship with a mate, a friend, a parent, or an adult child. Perhaps it's dealing with your small children or your teenagers. Teenagers, it might be dealing with your parents or your friends. Perhaps it’s a challenge involving health, money, or a job. Maybe you're struggling with some kind of addictive behavior that you can't seem to overcome; maybe it's some other issue that seems overwhelming. No matter what it is, God's goal is that the way we deal with it will bear witness to His presence in our lives. All of life is to be a testimony to God’s working. This is why we need to avail ourselves of the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit of God.

IMAGES OF HIS POWERFUL PRESENCE
It's hard to picture a spirit, so it's difficult for us to comprehend who the Holy Spirit is. Fortunately, there are several images of the Holy Spirit that can help us appreciate who He is and how He wants to work in our lives.

Wind: What the disciples experienced that Pentecost was like the sound of a mighty wind. “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house . . . .” (Acts 2:2)

Wind has tremendous power, and giant windmills are being built all over the country to harness that power. Thousands of such windmills are being built in southern Minnesota; they stretch for miles and miles, and it’s an eerie, surreal sight. A windmill works because its blades are designed and tilted to catch the wind.

The wind exists; it's just a matter of harnessing it. The Holy Spirit is with us; He’s within anyone who has opened his life to a relationship with Jesus Christ. It's up to us to avail ourselves of His power. We need to remember that we do have the Holy Spirit to help us in dramatic ways, though sometimes we act as if we don't have His presence!

Fire: The other physical manifestation that the disciples experienced was fire. “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)

Fire represents cleansing. The Holy Spirit is holy, and He wants to cleanse. If you need to sterilize a pin to get out a sliver, you hold it in a flame, because nothing can live in fire; it’s cleansing. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:” (John 16:8).

It isn't much fun to feel guilty, but if we're in the wrong, in some way being disobedient to God, it's a good thing to experience that uncomfortable feeling of guilt. It’s much better than continuing in our sinful way and experiencing the inevitable disaster that sin brings!

Water: Two more images of the Holy Spirit emphasize the power He can bring to our lives. One of them is water. The gospel writer John recorded that Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Then John added his commentary on Jesus' words, writing “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” (John 7:38)

Jesus was talking about living water running from within. On our trip to the Holy Land we toured the ruins of the city of Megiddo. The Israelites often buried their water source so that enemies couldn't cut it off. We actually walked through part of a tunnel that was dug out of solid rock in the 9th century B.C. It’s an amazing piece of engineering: a tunnel tall enough to walk through and 200 feet long that led to a spring outside the city. The spring had been covered over and disguised to hide the source of water for the city. During a war, all an enemy had to do to defeat a city was to cut off its water supply. If a city had an internal, flowing stream of water it wasn’t vulnerable to such an attack.

We should picture ourselves as having an internal artesian well that provides us with refreshment and life: that living water is the Holy Spirit of God! When He’s within us, we can withstand anything outside!

Oil: Kings were anointed with oil. God said of King David, “I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him.” (Psalm 89:20-21) Anointing a person with oil was a symbol of God's anointing that person to serve Him with authority and power. A prophecy that Jesus applied to Himself says, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.” (Isaiah 61:1)

When you have Christ in your life He comes to you through the presence of the Holy Spirit. You have His anointing on your life to be who He wants you to be and do what He wants you to do!

LIVING IN THE POWER
We have the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in us; we just have to be open to Him! We can choose whether or not to access His power in our lives. Remember the image of the flame for the Holy Spirit? The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not put out the Spirit's fire;” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

We have to believe that we aren't just living under our own power: God can give us His power through the presence of His Holy Spirit. Then we have to act on that belief!

The word “power” in Greek is “dunamyn.” Some people suggest that the power we have in the Holy Spirit is like dynamite, because that word is derived from the same root word in Greek. Of course the power of the Holy Spirit isn't destructive; it’s positive and creative. Author Calvin Miller once wrote that he has an old box that someone gave him years ago. It originally contained dynamite, and printed on the box in large, bold, red and black letters are the words “Danger: Dynamite!” Miller uses it as a storage box for odds and ends like bits of twine, a half-wound roll of tape, a screwdriver, and various other items.

Miller wrote, “My old dynamite box is a parable of Christians' spirituality. The human spirit is either a treasure chest or a junk box. We were designed to bear the power of God, but the debaucheries of our hearts can quickly fill the space intended for God. Many a saint-in-intention winds up at last only a junk receptacle haphazardly filled with the trivia of superficiality.”

The Holy Spirit has come, and He lives in every believer! We aren’t meant to be containers filled with useless junk: we’re meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit! Believe that, and act as if you believe it — this week and always!