Pentecost Sunday marks the birthday of the Christian church when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first disciples. Almost 2000 years ago, Jerusalem was the scene of a supernatural demonstration of the Holy Spirit that had been prophesied many years before by the prophet Joel.
For the first Christians, what was to become known as Pentecost, from the Greek word “pentekostos,” meaning 50, this day was to be the beginning of a great harvest of people into the Kingdom of God.
Fifty days after Easter, at the Jewish festival of Shavuot (‘the festival of the harvest’) when the disciples were praying together, there were supernatural manifestations of wind and fire and people speaking in tongues that were impossible to ignore. People came running from everywhere to see what was happening. By the end of the day the church had grown from a small group to over 3000 committed believers.
Acts 2:1-4 famously recounts: “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 as the Spirit enabled them.”
From this moment, the church was launched rocket like, into global mission as the disciples were transformed into fearless ambassadors of Christ.
Just as everything changed when the fire of God came on the first Pentecost, we too can experience a spiritual revolution in our lives, families and in the church. Today it is estimated that around the world there are over 800,000 Holy Spirit Christians and you can be one of them if you are not already.
For the Holy Spirit is not just for a special few but for every Christian who has turned from their sins to follow Jesus. To see how this can happen and keep happening we need to learn some simple lessons from what happened to and with the early disciples.
1. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4)
2. They prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14)
3. They received the power of the Holy Spirit (Malachi 3:1; Acts:2 16-18)
4. They changed the world in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:13-14; Acts 5:28; Acts 2:38-39)
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They needed the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them to wait because they were not equipped to face the challenges of the evil world around them. They were weak and fearful. Peter had denied Jesus. The disciples had run away in panic as the events of the crucifixion unfolded. Afterwards they were meeting behind closed doors ‘for fear of what the hostile Jewish religious authorities would do to them.’ The disciples knew from first-hand experience that Jesus had the power of God, but they didn’t have so much. They knew they needed a lot more spiritual authority. They were not ready yet to go and change the world hence Jesus commanded them to wait for the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4). They were totally on the defensive like many Christians and declining churches today. That’s why Jesus told them that when the Holy Spirit came to them, they wouldn’t feel like abandoned orphans. They would discover that the Holy Spirit was willing and able to help them. For He would come alongside them. He would befriend them. He would stand by them. He would be their comforter, counsellor, guide, advocate, encourager. These are all meanings of the Greek word for the Holy Spirit ‘parakletos’. When they came into partnership with Him, no more would they feel lonely and afraid. Through the Holy Spirit they would know the presence of Jesus in a close way. They would have the power to live as a Christian and be an effective witness for Christ. Now it is this presence and power that we need today. For the Holy Spirit to come we must first recognise this.
- We need to know God in a deeper and personal way
- We need the help of the Holy Spirit every day
- We need to know his love, his joy and peace and so many other characteristics
- We need to have His gifts to discern spirits and to work miracles.
- We need a new boldness to speak for Christ
- We need to see Him work in power in our world to convince people of sin, righteousness and judgement and bring them to a place of humility and repentance.
They prayed for the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). This wasn’t a mere saying of prayers but a calling on God to receive what they were promised. They were focussed on receiving the Holy Spirit. Every revival in history can be traced back to small groups of people, hungering and thirsting for a move of the Holy Spirit in their day and generation. It was true with the Wesley brothers and about 60 others in 1739 when Britain was in a place of huge moral and spiritual collapse. It happened with Evan Roberts and a group of young people prayed for years before the great Welsh revival of 1904. The Salvation Army’s General William Booth was so aware of his need for the Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit that he wrote a hymn ‘Send The Fire’ which is also a prayer.
They received the power of the Holy Spirit. After their time of waiting, suddenly the Spirit of God came on them. God is the God of suddenly. There are many Bible verses that speaks of this (e.g. Malachi 3:1). God has his time for everything. Often that involves His people waiting for many years. But there comes a moment when suddenly everything accelerates. On the day of Pentecost all the church community was suddenly changed. They were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit. Think about that: Peter, who had denied the Lord, was filled with the Holy Spirit. Thomas, the doubter was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mathew who had wasted so much of his life just focussed on money was filled with the Holy Spirit. Simon the Zealot, formerly part of a violent revolutionary group, was filled with the Holy Spirit. The ambitious brothers James and John were filled with the Holy Spirit. The new recruit Matthias was filled with the Holy Spirit. The women who had followed Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. The family of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit. Not one seeking disciple, irrespective of their past hurts or failures, was left out. Everyone was affected by the fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:16-18). When the Holy Spirit comes, old divisions have to go. Women as well as men are empowered. Young people as well as older people are energised and mobilised. People of all nations and races are united as one family. As one expert theologian stated: ‘non racism is one of the clearest signs that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit.’ From the moment the disciples were baptised with the Holy Spirit, Christianity came out of the private sphere and became a public, unstoppable force for God.
They changed the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. The authorities were forced to recognise the disciples’ boldness in proclaiming the message of Salvation through Jesus alone and the healing of a poor man who had been unable to walk since birth. They, like everyone around, could see that something fundamental and undeniable had happened to the first disciples (Acts 4:13-14). Within weeks Jerusalem was a different place (Acts 5:28). Within a generation major cities all over the Roman world were changed as large Christian communities of many thousands of disciples established. From then on throughout the centuries, history was changed through the spread of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. Today our cities can change. Our nations can change. Our families can change. We can change as we are all filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). This promise is for you and me and each one of us. Today then is your moment when you and your families can receive the promise of the power of the Holy Spirit.
