Jesus is risen from the dead.
Forty days later, Jesus ascends back to His Father in Heaven.
Ten days after His Ascension, the Holy Spirit descends from Heaven; the promise of the Father occurs.
Acts 2:2 begins with these words, “And suddenly…”
There are a group of the followers of Jesus who have been waiting in an upper room as Jesus told them to do.
Outside in Jerusalem, away from those in the upper room, the city is bustling with activity. It is the Feast of Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost is the second of the three mandatory annual feasts to be celebrated each year. The city is a bee-hive of activity. God’s people have come to make offerings and sacrifices, according to the Law, honoring and worshipping God for His goodness and mercy to them under the OLD covenant.
But, in an upper room, a small group of Israelites are not celebrating the mandatory Jewish festival according to the Law. They are being obedient to Jesus’ words.
Outside, the nation is observing the OLD; inside, the assembled followers of Christ are observing the words of Christ which are going to usher in a startling experience in the NEW.
Let me reiterate again, OLD things have passed away, behold all things have become NEW.
The same Holy Spirit that descended from Heaven like a dove upon Jesus at His water baptism at the Jordon River is now going to descend on this gathered assembly in an upper room in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. However, His entrance is not going to be in the likeness of a dove (John 1:32) that descended upon Jesus; but the Holy Spirit is described as coming as “divided tongues. as of a fire, and sat upon each of them.” (Acts 2:3 NKJV)
Let’s reflect upon the whole scene. The text is Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) I am not a theologian. I want to encourage you to set aside your presuppositions and doctrinal teaching regarding the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
“And suddenly…”
Today, as I compose these thoughts, it is the last day of April, 2021. Counting 50 days on our calendar since the celebration of Easter, the Day of Pentecost is scheduled for May 23, 2021. That means if we move backwards ten days, then the recognition of Christ’s Ascension would be on May 13. So, in type, we are in the forty day period between Christ’s Resurrection and His Ascension.
Question: Has the Lord been dealing with anything in your walk with Him during this forty day period? Has there been any direction for the future or significant understanding regarding changes that may be imminent?
The Day of Pentecost is coming.
Question: What is the significance of the Day of Pentecost in your life? Is it just an historical event to keep, just like the nation of Israel, a mandatory annual festival? Is it a celebration of the birthday of the Church, a matter of tradition? or, Is it a remembrance of the third Person of the Trinity sent by God to empower Christ’s followers in a NEW way?
Question: Is it possible that most of Christianity reverently remembers to celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost as three annual festivals on the Church calendar?; but the significance, application, and meaning of the three events are more obligatory than worshipful.
If that is true, then our experience as the believers might be no different than the Jewish nation keeping the OLD, and not experiencing the NEW. What do I mean? We are bogged down by the traditions of men. We are satisfied with the ways of the world. And we do not worship God in spirit and in truth. Strong words, but I believe that they are worthy of our consideration.
If the Church were truly filled with the Spirit of God, what would the Church look like, and how would it be different than what many are experiencing today? I am not trying to create a New Testament Church. That has been attempted many times down through the ages.
At this point, I would like to ask you again to lower your radar concerning your doctrinal beliefs regarding ‘being filled with the Spirit’.
Jesus had told them in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witness to Me, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. “
Most of us, when we hear and/or read this verse we concentrate on the word power. I would like for us to take our minds off that word regarding being ‘ with the Spirit’. I have just recently been reminded that the Holy Spirit is a Person not a power. I think many of us have forgotten that , or have not been taught that the Holy Spirit is a Person .
Does the Holy Spirit enable us with His power? absolutely. But what is the purpose of that power? Jesus said that “…you would be My witnesses to me…”.
So! How your witness. Doctrine is not a witness. Recently, I read the following quote by T. Austin Sparks, “It is all argument if its doctrine, theory, teaching, interpretation of truth; but a living witness–you cannot argue that. Your mouth is shut when you have a person standing right there in the good of things.” [We are headed there in a later blog.]
Think back over your past year. The year of the covid pandemic. Many Christians, in fact, most of the entire Church have been in their own upper rooms. Has Jesus been there with you? The world outside was not bustling; it was shut down because of the pandemic. It appears that at this time, the restrictions are being lessened and there is more freedom of move.
What has the Church learned during this waiting time? What has the Lord been saying? What adjustments have been made in your life? When you return to assembling yourselves together as the Church, will the gathering be the same or will it be different? Will you be the same or will you be different because of changes that the Lord has made during this ‘down’ time?
Let me ask it again using different words. What took place in your upper room experience? What adjustments have been made in your walk with the Lord? Has the Lord processed out OLD things in your life and made things NEW?
SELAH
Let me challenge you in a specific direction.
The celebration of Pentecost is coming May 23. What if God initiated a fresh outpouring of His Spirit upon His Ekklesia? What if there was an outpouring of His Spirit upon the whole world; not just a few, not just one church building, one community, township, state, region, nation, or continent? What if God shook things up? Remember the Epistle to the Hebrew details the comparison of the OLD with the New.
Hebrews 12:18-24 compares the OLD covenant with the NEW covenant.
Hebrews 1:25-27 sets our focus on Christ, the embodiment of the NEW.
Hebrews 12:28-29 tells us that God is going to ‘shake’ this world
When this shaking occurs, doctrine about the Holy Spirit will be meaningless.
The question will be: What kind of witness will the Ekklesia be in their own ‘Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and unto the end of the earth.
Matthew 24:12-14 states things clearly for us, the Ekklesia.
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of man will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come.”
Is the Ekklesia ready? Are you ready? Am I ready? The Father is ready. Jesus is ready. The Holy Spirit is ready to empower the Lord’s Church to be His witness in the earth.
For some of us, we may need to reflect and heed the words of Hebrews 13:1-25.
Read and meditate on this chapter. I especially commend to you Hebrews 13:13.
“Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what these words mean.
the Lord richly bless you, a brother in Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 