The Power for the Unhindered Life

“Give up the old so God can perform the new in your life.”

• Benny Hinn

As Christians, most of us know the two big holy days we observe and celebrate: Christmas and

Easter. These two holy days are even honored as a major global holiday. Thus, we never go to

work on these special occasions in December and April. However, there’s another holy day that

most of us miss. Pentecost is as significant as Christmas and Easter which make up what we

can define as the Big Three.

On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection

of Jesus Christ. What about on Pentecost?

There must be confusion as it relates to the word “Pentecost” and all the things associated with

1. Where it came from and the explanation of the term itself must have been distorted

throughout generations.

If Pentecost is as significant as Christmas and Easter but we’re not knowing its value in our lives

as a believer, we are probably missing so much!

Pentecost has its root in the Scripture. It refers to the arrival of the Holy Spirit who was promised

by Jesus Christ. It commemorates the beginning of the New Testament Church that multiplied

unstoppably. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that made the early Christians live an

unhindered life with Christ.

If you think you cannot live the life God desires for you or live out the destiny He has for you, the

Holy Spirit is the one who can help you. If you think you can live your God-given dreams on your

own with your own power, you will always come up short. You need the Holy Spirit to enable you

with His power. You need the Holy Spirit to guide you on your God-given destiny. You need the

pursue your God-given dreams. The Holy Spirit is the promised Helper that Jesus Christ gave

us so we can live the unhindered Christian life!

The same Spirit that was poured out to the early Church then is the same Spirit we can receive

today!

PENTECOST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

Pentecost means fifty days. It has been a season of celebration in the Jewish calendar as it

refers to the culmination of the seven weeks after the Passover.

The Passover reminds us of the time when the Israelites were once enslaved in Egypt and how

God led them out by way of their freedom fighter named Moses. As Moses led them out of the

hands of Pharoah, there were a series of different plagues that God delivered them from.

On the last plague which was the death of the firstborn in Egypt, God commanded the Israelites

to smear the blood of a lamb on their doorpost. As the sacrificial lamb’s blood was placed on

their doorpost, the Bible mentions how the angel of death passed over the household where the

blood was located. Those who were under the blood were saved, redeemed, and spared.

Pentecost is also known as the Feast of Weeks where Jewish celebrates this feast as a

thanksgiving experience. Also called the Feast of Harvest, the Jewish people observe the fiftieth

day of the Passover as a joyous time of giving thanks to God and presenting offerings for the

new grain of the summer wheat harvest in Israel.

Before they eat, they would express a prayer of thanksgiving to God who blessed their hands to

harvest their food.

Pentecost is indeed a high and holy time of celebration. If you will take the time to read the

Scripture, I encourage you to appreciate the value of Pentecost written in Exodus 34, Leviticus

23, and Deuteronomy 16.

PASSOVER PRECEDES PENTECOST

In the Old Testament, each household had to apply the blood of the sacrificial lamb on their

doorpost to be spared from death. However, because of the love of the Father, He sent His Son,

Jesus Christ to be our Passover Lamb and be spared from eternal and spiritual death.

… knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with

perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb

without blemish or spot. - 1 Peter 18-19

The celebration of Pentecost points us to our personal Passover through Jesus Christ. This

means that you need to accept Jesus and all of what He has done on the cross. You need to

accept the truth that He shed His righteous blood so you can turn from your sins and ask Jesus

to change your life. You can’t have a personal Pentecost until you, first of all, had a personal

Passover.

In other words, we need to come to a point of surrendering our life to the altar of sacrifice. We

need to lay our lives to God as a living sacrifice, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:1,

saying, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies

as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, it means we need to give freely, frequently,

and fully. We can only do this comfortably when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. We can

live the unhindered life where we are not the ones in control but the Holy Spirit. So, we ought to

submit our heart, soul, will, and control to God through the Holy Spirit.

PENTECOST PROVIDED

The celebration of Pentecost is not merely about the event itself but it is actually a celebration of honoring the person of the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus left His disciples, He promised them a

Helper, a Comforter, and a Teacher who would empower them to live the unhindered life as His

followers.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all

things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. - John 14:26

Pentecost is the fulfillment awaited by Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. The arrival of the Holy Spirit was

undeniably powerful. The unhindered life with the Holy Spirit is described in Acts 2:17-21. It

says, “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and

your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days

I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to

darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent

day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be

saved.’

HOW TO GET THE HOLY SPIRIT

We cannot manufacture the Holy Spirit. He is a gift from the Lord after receiving Jesus Christ.

As I stated earlier: Passover precedes Pentecost. Before you get to have a relationship with and

power of the Holy Spirit, you need to be in a relationship with Jesus.

I’d like to highlight that Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit is available to ALL! He’s no respecter of

gender, achievements, political position, or wealth status. Just like Jesus, the Holy Spirit is

available to all (Acts 2:17-21).

If you don’t know Jesus yet, He assures that salvation is available for you too if you’d call on

Him: everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21).

When we offer our lives at the altar of sacrifice, we are renouncing our self-sufficiency and

declare our dependence on the Holy Spirit freely, frequently, and fully all the days of our lives.

If you want to live an unhindered life, I encourage you to declare your need for the Holy Spirit.

You can start with this simple prayer that you can take as your guide or adapt as your own:

Father, our Breath of Life, we ask that you would breathe afresh on us again. Make our hearts

tender to your touch. We hunger for the life-changing power that Your Holy Spirit brings. May

our lives exemplify the fruit of the Spirit: love over hate; joy over sorrow; peace over confusion;

patience over intolerance; kindness over meanness; goodness over wickedness; faithfulness

over unfaithfulness; gentleness, and self-control.

Holy Spirit, lead me. Guide me along the way.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Living a holy life is impossible apart from Jesus Christ. All of us are not perfect. But here’s the

good news! God works on imperfect people so we can live unhindered life!

Before you receive God’s promise of the Holy Spirit, having a relationship with Jesus Christ is

the starting point. If you’d love to know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, our

church family here at EBC will be happy to journey with you. Click this link

https://elizabethbaptist.org/connect/next-steps/get-connected to get connected with us