Unstoppable!
A Reflection on the Feast of the Pentecost

No one would dare to stand in the way of a runaway freight train, right?

Why? Because it's unstoppable. All you can do is to step aside.

In much the same way, when the apostles began to preach the Gospel of Jesus after the resurrection, no one could stand in their way.

They were unstoppable.

They took to heart Jesus’ command and took the world by storm. In His farewell message to them in Galilee, Jesus said:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matthew 28:18-20)

Yet, many apostles perished in the hands of those who tried to stand in their way.

Despite these deaths, their message of salvation through Jesus Christ continued to spread throughout the world.

Like a runaway train, nothing could stand in the way of Gospel.

The Seed of the Church

In fact, the more they killed the messengers of the Gospel, the more the Message grew in the lives of those who heard of it.

This led Catholic Theologian Tertullian to remark, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

It seems like there was no stopping the growth of Christianity because of the zeal of the apostles.

Well, I believe that Peter and the apostles would be the first to say that it wasn’t all about their zeal that made the impossible possible. It was something more than sheer human effort.

It was a power like no other.

It was that one-of-a-kind power that they received on that fateful day in the upper room in Jerusalem.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4)

After this, cowering men became courageous.

Fearful apostles became faith-filled.

Helpless disciples became heroic.

When the Divine happened in the upper room, the impossible took place in the streets of Jerusalem which spilled over to the rest of the world.

The Christian Church was born.

And the world was never the same again.

The Good News

The good news is this: The same power which descended in that upper room some 2,000 ago, continues to descend upon us today.

That’s why until today, the impossible continues to happen and the miraculous continues to take place.

A drug addict, in deep prayer on his knees in his room one night, experiencing transformation right then and there.

A young woman is able to minister to her mother's killer.

A man is able to forgive and evangelize his assailants who rendered him without an eye and an arm.

A woman, struggling with a degenerative disease for decades, still doing mission work relentlessly.

They were unstoppable, not because they were such amazing people, but because they received the Spirit of such an amazing God.

Not My Might

I recall my own life.

Into heavy drinking, campus violence and sexual sins at a young age of 18, I had my own “upper room” experience in college and my life was never the same again. Today, I am a missionary serving as a full-time evangelist-preacher. And I am able to do what I do, not because of how good I am, but because of how good God has been to me. He gave me His Holy Spirit that allows me to go full-steam ahead in the call that He Himself has given me.

I borrow the words from scriptures when I say:

“Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)

What is that impossible task in front of you, my friend?

A struggling marriage?

A terminal illness?

A challenging work environment?

An overwhelming and recurring sin?

But By God's Spirit

Find your upper room, close the door behind you and pray.

You see, Pentecost was not just an event that happened thousands of years ago. Pentecost is a minute-by-minute occurrence in the life of one who is loved by an all-powerful God.

Listen closely. Wait for that “mighty rushing wind”.

Just like Peter.

Just like Paul.

When God’s Spirit comes, you too can be unstoppable!

Bobby Quitain, a lawyer by profession, is a full time evangelist-preacher of Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon. He is married to Jeng and has four wonderful kids. He is unstoppable!