August 24

Read: Acts 1:7-9

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me (Acts 1:8).

Pentecost As A Preparation For Service

We have seen that entire sanctification makes us better persons and prepares us for heaven. But that is not all. “Believers are not sanctified wholly simply for security in the next world, but also for service in this world. Full salvation is not a dead-end street, stopping at the door of the sanctified man’s home. It is not a house where he lives, but a highway where he travels” (J. Paul Taylor). Jesus promises us the gift of the Holy Spirit to prepare us for our share in His work; “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me.” Entire sanctification brings a bundle of possibilities for Christian service as well as an exhaustless grace for holy living.

This ministry of entire sanctification as a preparation for Christian service was indicated by Paul when he wrote to Timothy, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Timothy 2:21).

From all of us who art true Christians, God expects a portion of our income, a part of our time, and a measure of our thought and planning to be given for the furtherance of His work in the world. Christian life begins at Calvary, but effective service begins at Pentecost.

Is my consecration such that God can call On me for some service today? Does the Holy Spirit so fill my spirit that His concerns are also my concerns? Is the song writer’s prayer my sincere prayer also?

Bless me, Lord, and make me a blessing; I’ll gladly Thy message convey. Use me to help some poor needy soul, And make me a blessing today.

— J. H. Zelley