“And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. And there appeared unto to them cloven tongues like as
of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy
Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 KJV)
Sunday, May 24, is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the birth
of the Church. It is a day of joy, a celebration of God’s gift of the Holy Spirit
to His children.
Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the Easter
Season—when the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the church (see Acts 2).
The Holy Spirit came to those who had been waiting and praying for the One
promised by Jesus before His ascension.
Likewise, we too, may have to wait for the Holy Spirit to
baptize us, to empower us to live a Christian life and to do the ministry God
has equipped us to do. (This many times is separate from the Holy Spirit’s
indwelling in us at the moment of our conversion. At some point in the future,
I will address this in an additional blog post or series of posts.)
The color red, symbolizing the tongues of fire that came
down upon the apostles and those gathered together, is the color of the church
at this point in the year.
What else does the symbol of fire represent to you?
What comes to mind?
What does fire do (cleanse, purify)?
Yet, Pentecost is much
more than this. Pentecost is when Jesus’
promise (John 14:15-17) to send a Counselor, a Comforter to be with and empower
those He left behind was fulfilled. It was at this point that the apostles had
the power to preach, to heal, to speak in tongues (unlearned languages and
spiritual languages), and to cast out demons.
Without this gift of the Holy Spirit, the disciples would
have remained fearful (and stayed in hiding) of the religious/political
authorities. We, likewise, without the Holy Spirit are weak, yet when we are
filled with the Holy Spirit, we can do great things! Consider the great men and
women of faith who have done great things for the Lord (a few were mentioned in
last week’s post).
I believe this gift—the baptism of the Holy Spirit—with the
speaking of tongues and everything else received by those early followers of Jesus
is still available to us today. It has not died out as some believe. Just
because we do not see certain things much, if at all, today does not mean that
the gift given at Pentecost is no longer available to us. More likely, it is
due to us getting too smart for our own good! Fear gets in the way too. The
Holy Spirit is not to be feared; He is a gentleman and will not come where He
is not welcome, nor will He behave in ways that would cause fright.
What experiences have you had with the Holy Spirit?
Have you experienced Pentecost in your life?
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient that
I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I
depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
(John 16:7-8 KJV)
Please join me in prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank You for fulfilling
Your promise of sending the Holy Spirit to us. Thank You for the work that the
Holy Spirit does in our lives. We realize our need for the Holy Spirit’s
empowerment to live as a Christian and to walk as You walked, Lord. Without the
Holy Spirit baptizing us, we will rely on our flesh to live as we are to live
and to fulfill the ministry that You have called us to; something that we
cannot do for the long haul. Come Holy Spirit, fill us with Your presence and
empower us to do what we cannot do on our own. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Come Holy Spirit, Come!
How I've experienced the Holy Spirit? Reading my blog posted today will certainly give an answer for that! :) Great post today, Kim! I've shared it on FB.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings, my friend!
Martha, I'll look forward to reading your blog post a bit later today. Thank you for the encouragement on this post. It's hard to find the words to communicate what I want to communicate at times, particularly on this subject. Thank you for sharing on FB too!
DeleteLove and blessings, my dear friend!
Hi Kim! Happy Pentecost this Sunday! I think that anytime I have an 'intuition' about something, or reach out in to help someone, that's the Holy Spirit working in me. It's exciting to cooperate with God in that way.
ReplyDeleteI have experience with people speaking in tongues, and I agree, that gift hasn't gone away at all!
Have a blessed weekend,
Ceil
Hi Ceil! Happy Pentecost to you too! Yes, the Holy Spirit does, likely, work through intuition about something or someone. It's amazing to cooperate with God in what He's doing in the world and in those around us. I'm finding more people who are aware that speaking in tongues hasn't gone away--a true blessing--I've been on both sides of the fence.
DeleteWishing you a blessed weekend!