No Mission Without Power

The Coming of the Promised Spirit

In the first of the morning Bible expositions from the Lausanne 4 Congress in Incheon, South Korea, VOX magazine brings you a summary of the message from Rev Dr Femi Adeleye on Monday 23 September.

We thank God for making possible for us to be gathered in this significant congress. We all have great expectations for what the Holy Spirit has to say to us as the Lausanne Movement.

Our overall theme is, “Let the Church declare and display Christ together.” All our morning Bible expositions are based on the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Today we will reflect on the coming of the promised Holy Spirit.

No mission can be accomplished without the power of the holy Spirit. Every generation receives the power of the Holy Spirit who makes it possible for us to witness to the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Every church is called to share in God’s mission – local, regional and worldwide.

The book of Acts is an account of the work of the Holy Spirit who is mentioned at least 50 times in this book. In the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ, our commission is to proclaim good news to the poor, release for the prisoners, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. This can only be accomplished by the enabling power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

The coming of the Holy Spirit
- Acts 2: 1-3

Our Lord Jesus commanded his disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. As they waited in the upper room, the disciples were obedient to Jesus. Mission requires full obedience to the Lord of the harvest. But they did not just wait. They joined together constantly in prayer along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and Jesus’ brothers. Prayer is non-negotiable for mission.  All through history significant missionary impact is always preceded by prayer. 

The Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. He came with signs and wonders with a mighty sound from heaven like a great rushing wind, with tongues of fire and the outpouring of speaking of various tongues in diverse languages.

Today the Holy Spirit continues to come in similar ways in various parts of the world.

In 1904, Evan Roberts of Wales wrote, “I had a vision of all Wales lifted up to heaven. We are going to see the mightiest revival that Wales has ever known – and the Holy Spirit is coming just now. We must get ready.”

In 1906, the Azusa street revival was birthed in in a prayer meeting. That revival would not only be experienced by them but also birthed the whole Pentecostal movement.

Several decades later the East Africa revival swept through several East African nations in the late 1920s and 1930s. We cannot replace fervent prayer with strategies, logistics and plans.

The Response of the Crowd
- Acts 2: 12 – 13

Their immediate response was amazement. This was the dawn of a new era. They marvelled and wondered about the miraculous signs. This crowd was diverse and they all heard what was being spoke in their respective languages.  The Holy Spirit is for all nations.

God is not disdainful of any ethnic group or mother tongue. The evidence, represented by the diverse languages is that the goodness of God crosses borders – it is for all tongues,. All this has implication for local and global mission.

Peter’s Message - Acts 2:14 – 36

The signs of Pentecost were not an end in themselves, they were followed by faithful proclamation of the saving grace of God. Peter was given boldness to proclaim the truth of the gospel that day.  His message was three-fold.

1)    The coming of the Holy Spirit was a fulfilment of Joel’s prophesy. (Joel 2:28-32)

2)    Jesus was crucified but is risen from the dead

3)    God has made this Jesus, both Lord and Christ

Note the response – there was deep conviction and the people asked, “what shall we do?” Today the Holy Spirit comes convicting the world of sin, and righteousness and judgement.  Peter’s response to the crowd is,  “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Today repentance is a missing world from our pulpits. Repentance must continue to be preached!

The Holy Spirit came as promised. He came with signs and wonders. The gospel was proclaimed and the crowd was convicted. It is important to bear in mind that even today, signs and wonders are essential for mission and that continues to be the case in diverse contexts of our world but they are not an end in themselves they must be accompanied by a proclamation of God’s saving grace.

Proclamation must be faithful to the content of the gospel, leading people to call on the name of the Lord Jesus for salvation. Miracles are not enough. Christ must be proclaimed. This is the same Holy Spirit who instructed Philip to witness to the Ethiopian. The same Holy Spirit dispersed the early disciples from their comfort zones to the ends of the world.

All this has implications for us today. Mission, local or global is not possible without the full conviction, affirmation and experience of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. The manifestation is not ancient history. The Holy Spirit remains current and active in contemporary times as evidenced by revivals throughout history.

For instance the 18th and 19th century outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of evangelists such as David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, Charles Finney, Jeremiah Lanphier and Dwight Lyman Moody led to significant transformation.

There was the Korean Pentecost in 1907, the Manchurian revival of 1908, the 1930s revival in New Zealand, the Hebrides Islands in Scotland 1949 and more…

The Holy Spirit is alive and well and continues to work in our world today.  Even in 2023, there was revival in the Asbury University in the USA.

Today may I challenge us to make a bold declaration. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Holy Spirit is the same yesterday today and forever.

Those who claim, despite the proven evidence, that miraculous signs are over, are greatly mistaken.  The Holy Spirit transcends cultural dictates.

Those of us who believe in the work of the Holy Spirit but sideline Him by a mindset the depends primarily on modern management techniques, finances and human resources, need to repent.

We can neither impact the so-called secular sphere of engagement like the workplace nor be effective advocates of justice without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

We need a repentant return to full affirmation and wholehearted commitment to the person and power of the Holy Spirit as indispensable to local and global mission.

There is more that unites us in Christ than what keeps us apart. What does collaboration look like? It starts with the seed of relationship and trust that grows into the tree of interaction.  We desire to see greater collaboration between all parts of the global church. As the Lausanne movement, we are committed to standing shoulder to shoulder to reach every person with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Rev Femi Adeleye is Director for Christian Impact and Africa Director for Langham Preaching.  He holds a PhD from the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, Akropong Ghana. Femi has served with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and the International Board of the Lausanne Movement.