What was Pentecost all about? It was the great revelation of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised.

Acts 1:4 (NIV): "Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift that God has promised..." Luke 24 says, "stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

Today's summary message is about the place of preparation, Jerusalem.

These are the days of preparation. God is preparing us, making us ready to be effective witnesses. Real change only comes through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jerusalem is where God builds us and prepares us for action.

The Apostles stayed in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. Then they were ready to go on to Judea, Sameria and all the earth.

How do I receive the power of the Holy Spirit in my life? I must stay in the city of Jerusalem (spiritual), until Jesus has clothed me with power from on high.

It is here in Jerusalem that we learn what I call the three "Cs":

1. Contentment

Learning to be content in all circumstances:

The Bible teaches us that "Godliness with contentment is great gain". I can only be a consistent Christian if I am content in every situation.

I am content when I am empowered by the Holy Spirit as I know without a doubt that God is in control of my situation and I survive through the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes from prison, to the Philippians, "we must be content in every situation."

In essence, we need to be content in our own situation in order to be effective witnesses to others. I cannot help anyone if I am living with constant anxiety or if I am an emotional "yo-yo", up one minute & down the next; I will be so pre-occupied with my own situation that I would not be able to witness to anyone in this condition.

I need to be consistent to witness effectively. If I operate in the power of the Holy Spirit, I know breakthrough will come and I can be content and rest in God's power.

2. Conviction

I can only be an effective witness if I am convinced of my faith. Conviction comes when I experience a "close encounter" with the Holy Spirit. I cannot share my faith if I am not convinced in my own heart. Deep conviction leads to effective witness. Deep conviction is grown out of deep relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

3. Confidence

I can only be an effective witness if I am confident of who I am in my faith. I cannot be an effective witness if I am daunted by people who persecute, ridicule or isolate me. I must be able to stand firm and know who am in Christ. The Holy Spirit gives us the confidence to know who we are in Christ.

We can stand firm in our faith when we are sure of where we are going and use the spiritual discernment God has given us, among other gifts, to discern the devil's tactics when he seeks to destroy us through persecution and ridicule. But, through the power of the Spirit, we are made aware of the devil's schemes and God enables us to move passed these when witnessing to others. Our goal is to bring the good news of Christ to the lost. Being confident and comfortable in our faith enables us to do this effectively.

This is part of God clothing us through the Holy Spirit. We are clothed in our identity as Christfollowers and comfortable with our "happy clappy" label.

God starts with us, makes us ready to be disciples who can stand firm with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, before we can make disciples of others.

Then we can obey the mandate of Jesus Christ to "Go tell the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ".

God Bless & keep you
Pastor Deborah Bell