Text: Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
The Power of Pentecost and Apostolic Identity
Have you been in a new home that is under construction?
Bare studs and the smell of pine fill the space.
Then the electricians come in and they start running electrical lines for lights, outlets, HVAC, hot tubs, etc.
However, all those lines will be useless if the Lineman does not come and connect that house to the power grid.
The potential for power is there, but that house has to receive power.
The Power Lines in your neighborhood sometimes go out.
It might be windstorm, ice on the lines, a car wreck taking out an electric pole, or a blown transformer.
The need is still the same – you need a Lineman.
The Power Lineman is a skilled line installer and repairer, who is trained to construct, maintain, and repair electrical power systems.
They work with high-voltage lines, often at great heights in varying weather conditions, to keep electricity flowing to homes and businesses.
Their main job is to make sure that all the residential and commercial buildings in the area receive the electrical power they need to operate to their full potential.
Acts 2:38-39, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
The late Robert Bayer, known as “The Walking Bible” said, “Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us.”
Statistics regarding Pentecostals today (5/23/2026)
There are 130 million Pentecostals globally, which represents 1.63% of 8 billion.
There are 2.66 billion Christians globally, which is 32.3% of the 2025 population.
Christianity is growing at a rate of roughly 0.98% annually.
As of 2025, the global number of Oneness Pentecostals is estimated to be approximately 30 million (.375% of population).
This figure represents about 1% of total global Christianity and roughly 4% to 5% of the broader Pentecostal-Charismatic movement, which includes over 644 million people (8.05%).
If Christianity grows at .98% annually while the global population grows at a rate of .88%, it would take approximately 1,027 years for the faith to represent 90% of the world population.
Based on current demographics and growth projections, it would take Oneness Pentecostals anywhere from 70 to over 500 years to reach 25% of the global population, depending on which growth rate persists.
While the broader Pentecostal movement already makes up about 25% of global Christianity (roughly 644 million people), Oneness Pentecostalism is a specific subset with approximately 30 million adherents.
Using a 2026 global population estimate of 8.1 billion and a world population growth rate of 0.8% annually, here is how long it would take at different sustained annual growth rates for Oneness Pentecostals to make up 25% of the global poplutation:
- At 7.0% Growth (High Estimate): Approximately 71 years. This rate is seen in some specific high-growth regions or individual denominations but is difficult to sustain globally over decades.
- At 4.0% Growth (Moderate Estimate): Approximately 135 years.
- At 1.58% Growth (Conservative Estimate): Approximately 546 years. This rate is closer to the current average for the broader movement.
Before the Lord Comes for His Church/Bride There She Will Fill the Earth
Daniel 2:31-35, “(31) Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. (32) This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, (33) His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. (34) Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. (35) Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.“
Isaiah 2:1-3, “(1) The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (2) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (3) And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Jesus speaking: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).
Are You Connected?
“Who could ever forget those hours when we were hunting for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost? Days and nights were spent in seeking God and nothing else mattered. Then came that climactic day when we spoke in tongues and glory filled our soul. We had arrived-and most of us are never again so earnest in waiting on God, so the tragedy of modern Pentecostalism is that most of the saints are more spiritual just before they get the Baptism than they ever are again! One is reminded of giant powerhouses. The river of God is moving the turbines in the unseen realm, feeding the generators with prodigious potential power, but there are no lines to get the power out to a lost and needy humanity.”[1]
Apostolic Linemen
We Apostolics have done ourselves a great disservice.
Regardless of how or where it originated, we have sent the message to our people that the operation of the Spirit is limited to service times.
We have the power, but our power lines have been cut, disconnected or never installed.
We have forgotten that any believer, anywhere and anytime has the potential for miraculous and evident signs of salvation and deliverance following them.
The Old Testament was potential, but the New Testament is power.
Two Types of Power in the New Testament:
- Dunamis = Power (energetic, explosive, demonstrative)
- Exousia= Authority (delegated right, privilege – it’s about position)
- His authority to exercise His power comes from His position as the Christ.
- Our authority to exercise that same power is given to us by Jesus Christ:
- Mark 16:14-20, “(14) Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. (15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (19) So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (20) And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
- They had humbly received the rebuke of Christ.
- They preached every where = They Proclaimed the Gospel.
- Propelled by a faith strengthened through the power of the Holy Ghost that they received in Acts 2.
- Signs followed as the Lord promised they would.
- Acts 1:7-8, “(7) And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power [exousia = authority]. (8) But ye shall receive power [dunamis = power], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
- 2 Corinthians 13:10, “Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power [exousia = authority] which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.”
- NLT, “…I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.”
- Mark 16:14-20, “(14) Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. (15) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. (16) He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (17) And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; (18) They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (19) So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (20) And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
- I do not have the power to stop an automobile, but that police officer driving behind me in the car with the lights flashing has something that will stop me – authority.
Apostolic Authority Abandons Apathy – Pentecostal Power Perpetuates Passion
There are twin powers, two sides of one coin, are the very means through which the Church will fulfill its purpose of reaching the world as it manifests its Identity.
Some alliterative statements:
- Apostolic Authority Abandons Apathy
- Pentecostal Power Perpetuates Passion
What will happen to our world when Oneness Pentecostals actually become concerned for the world?
People today are obsessed with AI (Artificial Intelligence), but what this world needs is for the Church to allow the Power of the Holy Ghost to produce the real AI – Apostolic Identity.
The real AI (Apostolic Identity) that we need today is:
- Apostolic Intercession
- Apostolic Influence
- Apostolic Impact
Apathy (Indifference) is the sin of our age, and for true worldwide growth, renewal and revival to occur the Church needs to reconnect to the power of its Apostolic Identity.
Elie Wiesel, holocaust survivor, author, and Nobel Laureate wrote:
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”
As a movement, we have a present day Pentecostal problem:
- Feeling over Faith
- Excitement over Evangelism
- Entertainment over Introspection
We need to learn to follow the line to where it meets and connects to Jesus.
It’s a “Follow me” faith that we have. We follow Jesus.
Nowhere in the Bible does it tell you to be Apostolic, or Pentecostal.
All Jesus ever said was, “Follow me,”
Paul simply wrote, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”
That’s our injunction. That’s our directive: to be born again of water and spirit and follow Jesus.”
When you follow Jesus in that fashion, you will be full of Power and you will take on that Apostlic Identity.
You first need to make sure the power lines are connected and the current of God’s Power is flowing to and through you.
You have the potential for power and authority, but are you connected?
Do you have an Apostolic Identity?
- Apostolic Intercession – Are you burdened for the world?
- Apostolic Influence – Are you reaching your family, friends, peers?
Apostolic Impact – Are you effecting you w
[1] Lennard Darbee. (1959?). Tongues: the Dynamite of God.
