Last October, I went on a pilgrimage to Turkey for a week. For a while, I didn’t think much of pilgrimages, as I thought it was more important to focus on God’s current works in the present, rather than observing sites where God was present in the past. But this time, I heard that the pilgrimage would look into the footsteps of Paul, whom I respect very much, and that the guide was a professor highly experienced in pilgrimages, so I decided to participate.

While visiting the many regions in which Paul conducted his ministry, I was amazed at how a single man was able to go through so many regions. One day, we went to Antioch of Pisidia and Iconium, which took us two hours by car. I was amazed at how the he was able to travel such long distances – across several cities as well – to preach the gospel and plant churches.

More importantly, looking at Paul’s letters at the time, people considered the gospel of Jesus Christ foolish – not only that, but opposition was fierce to the extent that Paul’s life was in danger. Even so, Paul achieved so much that at the end of his three missionary journeys, he was able to say “there is no more place for me to work in these regions” (Romans 15:23). How was this possible? Simply saying “because he’s Paul” wasn’t enough. And it wasn’t enough just to simply look back on Paul’s footsteps. It was a time of reflection for me, whereby I thought about why I couldn’t live like Paul, and what it was that I was lacking.

I found the answer in Paul’s many letters, as I always want to focus on God in the present, rather than the past. The answer was the Holy Spirit – its presence and power. At the end of his first missionary journey, Paul wrote that “God [gave] you his Spirit and [worked] miracles among you” when they listened to the gospel and believed in it (Galatians 3:5). To the church in Thessalonica, which he visited during his second missionary journey, he wrote “our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5), and to the church in Corinth, he wrote “my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4). In Ephesus, Paul’s ministry started with the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6).

1 Corinthians chapter 12 links this manifestation of the Spirit to spiritual gifts given by the Spirit to each person (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). In the end, Paul was able to plant so many churches, despite the opposition, thanks to the Holy Spirit’s manifestation in his ministry. In present times, the religious order that has worked the most to build churches through evidencing the gospel is Pentecostal church. Spiritual gifts are not all that matters, but they are definitely important. As somebody who is interested in evangelism and completion of the mission in our times, it is only natural for me to desire such spiritual gifts.

I have gotten somewhat used to prophesising after research of the Bible through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I still do not have much experience in the spirit’s power manifesting and evidencing the power of the Word. “Lord, I yearn for the power of the Holy Spirit to be present in my life and my ministry”