Daniel K Norris

One of the greatest barriers to experiencing God is the illusion that we have everything under control. The Kingdom does not belong to the strong, the accomplished, or the self-made. It belongs to those who recognize their need for Him.

The moment we stop pretending we have it all together is often the moment God begins to fill what has been empty all along.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3, ESV)

One of the greatest mistakes the modern church makes is believing we have to choose between a spirit-filled church or structured church.

Some people hear the word “structure” and immediately think of dead religion. Others hear the word “spirit-filled” and imagine emotional chaos with no accountability. The Bible presents neither.

Pentecost reveals a different pattern.

Before God filled the upper room, He first formed the people for the upper room.

They prayed together. They waited together. They submitted themselves to one another.

Then the fire fell.

The same Holy Spirit who gave the utterance also inspired discipleship, generosity, accountability, and ministry. The Spirit who moved suddenly in Acts 2 also established patterns that sustained the church in Acts 2:42-47.

Fire and form are not enemies. Fire without form burns out. Form without fire dries up. But when the fire fills a formed vessel, a movement is born.

I am convinced more than ever that healthy systems do not hinder revival. They steward it. They create room for more people to experience the presence of God and help ensure that what God starts in a moment can impact generations.

God forms before He fills.
He fills what He forms.
And He flows through what He fills.

That’s the pattern of Pentecost. That’s still the pattern today. (Acts 2:1-4, ESV)

I like the way the message paraphrases this passage... "A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell."

Guard your heart and guard your words they set things into motion!

I grew up in the rural foothills of South Carolina in a Pentecostal church. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the operation of the gifts of the Spirit.

But one thing I know for certain:

God did not pour out His Spirit and baptize His people with fire so we could become strange.

He sent the Holy Spirit so we would become bold.

Bold in our witness.
Bold in our faith.
Bold in a dark world that desperately needs Jesus.

That is the fire Jesus promised. Not emotional chaos. Not spiritual performance. Power to be witnesses.

Don’t let someone’s bad theology, manipulation, or a negative experience keep you from pursuing the gift Jesus died and rose again to give His church.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8, ESV)