Pentecost: A Day of Joy and Celebration Brings Hope
Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day we celebrate as a time of renewal, deeper intimacy with God, and revival from the Holy Spirit.
Today more than ever people need hope. Healing and hope come through revival. Many are hurting and need to hear a message of hope and grace. The world needs revival.
We are to become living examples of the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God. Revival will occur when we humble ourselves before God and seek God with all our hearts.
Healing and hope come through revival.
History of Pentecost
As we celebrate Pentecost today, we also consider the history of Pentecost.
In Acts 2 we find Jesus’ disciples and a larger group of Jesus’ followers are gathered together. All Jerusalem was about to celebrate one of the Jewish festivals: The festival of first fruits. It is now 50 days following Passover and the wheat harvest is being gathered. The first crops that were sown, were now being harvested and it is a time of thanksgiving to God for the harvest.
Only 50 days earlier Jesus was in Jerusalem celebrating the Passover with his disciples and shortly after the Passover meal, Jesus was arrested and later was crucified and died. Jesus’ death and shed blood paid the debt of sin in full. When we place our faith in Jesus, we are spiritually covered by the blood of Christ. After His death on the cross, three days later Jesus was raised from the dead. There was a period of 40 days that Jesus appeared and spoke of the kingdom of God and then He was taken up into heaven. But before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He spoke to the disciples and He reminded them of something He had told them: the promised Holy Spirit.
The disciples were to wait for the gift - the promised Holy Spirit. Jesus was taken up into heaven and there were still a few days until the celebration of first fruits. Soon, all Jerusalem would be filled with people from all over to celebrate the harvest celebration.
God’s timing is always perfect.
The disciples and followers of Jesus must have felt a bit down and discouraged. Jesus was no longer with them; the Messiah was gone, and yet they were not without hope. Jesus was not dead he was alive. The tomb was empty, and it had been more than a week that Jesus was gone and still nothing, they were all alone. Soon they were to celebrate with thanksgiving the harvest of first fruits. However, God had something else in mind.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’ 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’ 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say’” (Acts 2:1-14, NIV).
Remember, Pentecost was 50 days following Passover. In the Old Testament this event is called the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Harvest. It was primarily a time to remember and thank God for the blessing of harvest.
Pentecost: The Birth of the Christian Church
Pentecost has a different meaning for the Christian church. Pentecost was the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and all those gathered together. Pentecost was the day the apostles and all those gathered were Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is now thought of as the day that the Christian church was born. It is the day that was foretold by Jesus, when he said “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about” (Acts 1:4). It is the beginning of the evangelism of the whole world.
When the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them, it was heard by those around. The believers were praising God and giving God glory in a heavenly language. They were declaring the wonders of God, and amazingly those around, who spoke different languages understood what they were saying. How was it that these Galileans spoke their language? It was the Holy Spirit speaking through them. The people were trying to understand how this was possible; some people even tried to explain it away saying the believers were drunk.
Persevere regardless of what others say. Today, the message of the Gospel is shared in many ways: books, word of mouth through family or friends, in music, radio, television, and more. The majesty of God is declared and revealed in many ways every day. And still, some people ignore God or explain away miracles. Don’t be discouraged if people don’t believe your testimony.
God has, and will, fill you with the Holy Spirit and you will receive power to be his witness.
Luke is the author of the book of Acts and he tells us that suddenly everything was about to change. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind; suddenly what seemed like tongues of fire rested upon each of their heads and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues as the spirit enabled them (Acts 2:2-4). The sound of wind and what appeared to be tongues of fire that separated and were above each believer were symbols of the Spirit of God.
God was beginning to do something. Revival was beginning to break out. The message of the Gospel was about to go forth in power and boldness. The church was born, and some 3000 people would respond to Peter’s bold message of the Gospel and were saved. God was beginning to pour out his Spirit and it was going to be on all people.
Friends when God is about to do something, He does not need to ask permission. He just does it. This is the first spiritual revival of the church. There will also be a number of revivals down the ages.
Revival will cause people to focus on what is important: God. What was a wheat harvest celebration for the Jew now becomes a day of celebration, of the harvest of souls. Gentiles and Jews alike.
The day of Pentecost is an important day the church and every Christian is to celebrate.
Healing and hope come through revival
During this COVID virus pandemic many are hurting, depressed and feeling alone and without hope. Many people are unemployed and people around the world are having to shelter in place. Fear of sickness and frustration of the unknown is taking a toll on people. We all need to hear a message of hope and grace.
God is real and we are not alone.
We may not be able to meet together in one place and worship together; but we can be one in the Spirit.
Pentecost is when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to fill and equip each believer, to work and gather in the spiritual harvest. Look around, the harvest is greater than ever before; people need to hear the love, grace, mercy, and peace of God. They need to know healing is possible. Each believer has, and is given, gifts and talents by God, to minister to the lost and bring revival to the land. Today, as in the days of Acts, the world needs revival.
Revival begins within your heart and life when you hunger for God. Revival also happens when the spiritually dead is made alive by faith in Christ. The church and every believer were to become living examples of the grace, mercy and forgiveness of God.
The spirit of God was being given to all who would believe and have faith in Christ.
We need a spark of revival today in the heart of every believer. Revival started with the believers in the upper room and expanded across the land.
Through the ages and today people need:
Hope
Deliverance from oppression
Deliverance from spiritual bondage
Deliverance from lies of the enemy
Their spiritually blind eyes and deaf ears opened
The heart of stone removed and replaced with a heart for God—that starts with revival
The same is true today. Just turn on the news and you will see the pain and suffering. You will see the anger in people’s hearts that only God can remove and make new.
We need to pray and wait upon the Lord. Revival is a work of God and is a result of God moving upon our hearts. Revival happens on God’s timetable, and in His timing, not man’s. Revival will happen when we seek and wait upon God. Revival will occur when we humble ourselves before God and seek God with all our hearts.
With revival comes:
Repentance and the desire to live a life set apart unto Christ.
Submission to God’s word.
Obedience and commitment to the plan of God, adding workers to the harvest of souls, no matter the cost.
Revival changes lives and eternal destinies:
Revival reveals compromising areas in your life, and through renewed passion for the word of God, your heart and life is changed.
Revival develops spiritual hunger for the things of God.
Revival increases faith, and expectation increases because people believe and know that God can do all things.
Today more than ever people need hope. People need to hear the message of the Gospel. People need to hear the truth that Jesus is alive, and forgiveness is possible; deliverance is possible; healing is possible; and renewed relationships are possible.
As a Christian, you have the Holy Spirit in you. Begin to pray:
Ask God for boldness to share your faith.
Ask God to fill your heart with the love and grace to share your faith.
Ask God for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and to reveal to you, the spiritual gifts he has given you.
Ask him to show you how to use the gifting he has given you.
Remember the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Learn to pray in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit and live in the Spirit. As you do, you will become part of a revival and be used of God to bring in the spiritual harvest that is ready to be gathered. Pray that God will give you the gift of tongues and use that heavenly language to pray in the Spirit. You may not know what you are praying but God does because the Holy Spirit is praying through you.
I am praying for revival and that God will bless you as you walk in faith.
If you’re not a Christian, are you ready to follow Christ?
If you want know Jesus as your savior, you can pray and trust in Him right now. Romans 10:9-10 says that “if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” It is not the prayer itself that saves, but the repentance and faith behind the prayer that gives salvation.
Pray this prayer in sincere faith for salvation:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.”
I pray that you will consider asking God to reveal Himself to you. Pray for someone to share their experience and faith and then ask God by His Holy Spirit to bring revival to your heart and life. Receive forgiveness of sin and know the true peace of God that comes only by faith in Christ.
Pentecost Sunday is a day of joy and celebration
Be Blessed. Be filled with his presence and peace. Be spiritually bold and on fire for God. And be all that God desires you to be.
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