A Mighty Rushing Wind

The Sunday night service last week was pretty ordinary. I preached my heart out from Elijah’s prayer in [I Kings 18:36-39]. God did not come and move in some extraordinary fashion. We met and worshipped. We dug into the scriptures. We prayed at the end and most went home afterward. We did not experience anything atypical.

I prayed with Brenda and the boys and then spent some time alone with the Lord as others were leaving the service. More and more lately the end of our services look more like prayer meetings. I lay prostrate partly under the first pew and wept before the Lord. I am not sure how long I remained there.

I know everyone else left the sanctuary some to attend meetings and others to go home. My prayers kept being interrupted from a sound like someone pulling and banging on the back doors of the church to get in. As the sound persisted for some time I could not clearly distinguish what it might be.

Then it dawned on me. We saw a great deal of wind Sunday night in Seminole. I deducted the sound had to be the wind blowing against the doors or someone had left the back doors open. When I went to investigate I discovered the back doors had indeed been left open. I felt the wind blowing in the foyer and decided to step outside. My slacks flapped in the breeze and I felt the warm winds blow against my cheeks. I asked God to send the mighty wind of his Holy Spirit through Seminole in similar fashion.

I asked God to blow mightily in FBC Seminole and beyond. God sent a mighty rushing wind of his Spirit after another prayer meeting in [Acts 2:2] “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” Everything changed after that. God’s servants were filled with Spirit of God. The timid became empowered and emboldened. The cowardly preached fearlessly. Those who had once run when Jesus had been arrested now stood firm and suffered much hardship and persecution after Pentecost.

Do we not need the fresh wind of the Spirit of God to blow through our hearts and churches once again mightily? We have grieved and quenched Him. We have ignored His promptings. I wonder if the mighty Wind of God ever blows outside our churches like the wind blew last Sunday night waiting to be wanted and invited to blow mightily. Yet He waits in vain as we go through our familiar program and rituals.

When the wind of God blows things changed. The lost get convicted as well as the backslidden. The comfortable get afflicted and the afflicted get comforted as Vance Havner used to say. People get ushered into the presence of God through music with more intimacy and the word of God is preached more powerfully.

Many believers are scared of the Holy Spirit. People have done many weird and wacko things in the name of being filled with or led by the Spirit of God. In fear the conservative shrink back and never opening themselves up to the Holy Spirit’s leadings. How tragic the church of God seeks to worship and minister without the empowering of the Spirit of God. We must repent and plead with God to send the Wind of His Spirit blowing once again.

We need to Spirit to blow mightily again. We need the Holy Spirit to blow through our hearts and worship services powerfully again. We need the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin and lead them to repentance. We need the Spirit of God to convict and draw the lost to salvation. We must have the Wind of God to blow through our churches to revive the sleeping, apathetic, and cold hearts. We need the Holy Spirit. Will you welcome Him to guide your life and blow through churches all over the land once again? Come Holy Spirit like a mighty rushing wind for we need you.