ON THE VANGUARD

THE POWER OF THE WIND
“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.”
Acts 2:2-3

Living in Tennessee for almost thirteen years now, I have found myself waiting through and taking cover during quite a few tornados. I have been fortunate enough to not have one hit my apartment or personal property, but I have seen the damage first hand that a tornado can cause. The damage is not just on the place it sweeps through, but also on the people. And during the height of the tornado season I find myself sleeping with the weather radio on as an extra measure of caution. There have been times when the loud siren awakes me from sleep to save me from potential disaster. And with that jolting alarm, I find myself like a mother hen gathering my children and rushing into the closet for safety. But I will admit that there is one violent wind that I want to know and embrace anew. I want to know again the wind that swept through the Upper Room and carried in it the tongues of fire from the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was released and came through with probably more force than an F5 tornado. There was no stopping this wind. In Acts 2:2, Luke’s account shares that while the disciples were all together in the Upper Room as Jesus had ordered (Acts 1:4) that suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind filled where they were. Again, not having been fully exposed to the sweeping of a tornado, I have heard it expressed that when a tornado comes through a building it sounds like a train passing through. I wonder if this is the expression of sound and force that Luke writes about. But riding on the wind, or more so blowing the wind with force, was the Holy Spirit. When it rested on all those in the Upper Room it did so as tongues of fire.
It is hard for me to say what happened in the Upper Room just as it is hard for me to explain the true magnitude of a tornado not being fully immersed in one before, so I will refer to the words of Luke when working to explain what happened next. As the Spirit rested on each person, each person began to speak in a new language. To one the language of the Medes was given, to another the dialect of the Persians, and still to another the words of the Parthians. Yet all the disciples knew was that they had just experienced the power of God that followed in the wind. It wasn’t until they stepped out from the Upper Room with a new boldness that they were considered drunk and making a scene. But when the Holy Spirit is on you, there is no stopping you. We see this in the Old Testament. When David was under the influence of the Spirit, giants fell. When Samson was under the influence of the Spirit, a donkey jawbone busted a few thousand heads. And now, as the disciples were under the influence of the Spirit, an altar call of a supposed ‘drunk’ brought three thousand into a relationship with Christ. I want God’s Spirit to fall afresh on me.
In the Old Testament, when Moses stood at the base on Mount Sinai, the mountain rocked with the power of God. A roar and fire and smoke was seen and heard according to Exodus 19:18-19. To Israel this meant stay back. But thousands of years later in Acts 2:2-3, sounds and sights were heard and seen again. This time it was not a warning to stay back but rather an invitation to come closer. I choose to be one who will come closer and I urge you to also be of that same mindset. I am done with the desire to be status-quo and am ready for a fresh in-filling of the Spirit of God. God, rock my world with your tornado-like winds of renewal and fall on me once again like never before.