2-11-14. Acts 2:1-13.   PENTECOST-my devotional

Acts 2:1-13                                                                                                                                                                        Kevin E. Jesmer

Key verse 2:4                                                                                                                                                                    2-11-14

“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Dear Lord, thank you for patiently listening to the cry of our hearts. You are concerned about our feelings, our hurts and our desires and hopes. You listen intently and seek to understand and in such a wise way, shepherding our hearts by imparting to us your wisdom and showing us the way. Most of this is done with a still, small whisper. Lord, we have failed so much in our communication to our loved ones. Help us, from this day forth, to be the same way towards others in our lives as you are with us. Help us to engage in godly conversations. Increase the quality of our relationships. May our counsel pave the way for healing in other people. Help us to relate to the young people you have brought near. Give us compassionate, empathetic, patient, gentle and wise words to speak. Make us instruments of your peace.  Lord, please fill my heart with your life giving truth. I pray in the empathetic name of Jesus Christ. 

Part 1: The Coming Of The Holy Spirit (1-4).

Verses 1-4, “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

    Pentecost takes place fifty days after Passover and is also called the day of firstfruits. The Holy Spirit came on this day as firstfruits of our new life in Christ. It marks the birth of the Church and of a new era. The apostles were all together in one place (probably the upper room). The sound of a violent wind filled the whole house and tongues of fire separated and came to rest on each one of them. They began speaking in other tongues (foreign languages) as the Spirit enabled them.

This is a new era in the God’s history. There was the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, but the Holy Spirit was imparted to some people, at certain times, in order to strengthen them to accomplish a particular purpose. It was not freely bestowed on everyone. But in the New Testament times, the Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in Jesus. Why? The Holy Spirit is Holy. He cannot dwell in a place that is unholy. Before meeting Jesus, people are not forgiven of their sins. Their hearts are still holding unforgiven sins. The Holy Spirit can not dwell there. There is no way that anyone can make their hearts a holy place by their own efforts. Even, feverishly doing all kinds of good works can never make your heart holy. The only way to make your heart holy is for God to make it holy for you. And he accomplishes that through the complete forgiveness of sins.  When Jesus died on the cross his innocent, holy, sinless blood was shed. The Father accepted his sacrifice as fully sufficient for us to be declared forgiven. This was shown by the fact that when Jesus died the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Now the way to the most holy place in the Temple, the place where the glory of God dwelled, was open for all to enter. In the same way our hearts were made holy by the grace of God. Since we are totally forgiven, the Holy Spirit can now come and enter into our hearts, through faith. Jesus can dwell in us as our Lord, King and Savior. Our bodies become the temple of the Lord. And that is why these first believers were able to receive the Holy Spirit. They were all forgiven by faith. God was now dwelling in them. They were being strengthened and empowered for a great purpose, the preaching of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

These people, in the upper room were not perfect, only forgiven. They were recipients of the Holy Spirit, not because of the holy life they lived or because of their superior morality. It was only because they believed and were forgiven by God. I learn here that I must accept as a Christian anyone that God deems fit to forgive and make a member of his fold by grace. Some Christians may not be part of my culture. They may not “do” church like I do. They do not have to be super disciplined Christians. If God, my heavenly Father, accepts them and forgives them, then they are my brothers and sisters in Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is valid in their lives. I need to recognize that and respect that.

How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? Again, it is not by doing all kinds of disciplined good works or living a disciplined church life. I first became filled with the Holy Spirit at the 1986 UBF- Michigan State Summer Bible conference. At the beginning of the conference I was not a Christian. I was trying my best, not to believe. But after listening to several messages from John’s gospel, and engaging in some spiritual conversations with other Christians, I realized that the Bible was too deep to be written by people. I repented of my unbelief. I accept Jesus was alive and real and the Kingdom of God was real and the Bible was the book I needed to study in order to know more about Jesus. Repenting of my unbelief was enough for the Holy Spirit to come and enter my heart. God completely forgave me and the Holy Spirit entered in. I began to cry. I wanted to learn more about Jesus and be a Christian. My whole world view was changed in a moment. The course of my live was radically changed also. This all came about when the Holy Spirit came to dwell in my heart.

Am I filled with the Spirit? (Eph 5:18) I have the Holy Spirit of God in me, yes. I believe in Jesus. I have assurance that I am forgiven and accepted by God. I desire to live for his glory. I love Jesus. My heart yearns for the kingdom of God. I get great joy meditating on spiritual things and being in fellowship with the people of God. I have a desire to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth and to pray for the raising up of disciples of Jesus. And so I can say with confidence that Jesus is with me. The Holy Spirit dwells within me.

But notice that I did not say that I am joyful all the time. No. Having the Holy Spirit does not mean that a Christian is joyful all of the time. There are times when I am sad. There are times when I am on the verge of tears. But that does not mean that the Holy Spirit does not dwell within me. It just means that I am going through a time of growth.

The Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in other tongues. In this passage, this means other languages. God was equipping the early church to be filled with “mission” right from the beginning. God wanted all people of all nations to hear the Gospel message. He wanted the gospel to spread quickly, across every corner of the Roman Empire and Arabia. God gave them the world mission command and he would equip them with everything they need to fulfill the world mission command. God is good personnel manager.

We can not do much without the Holy Spirit. We will lack the wisdom and the flexibility and discernment. When I was not following the Holy Spirit, I spent many years doing what God didn’t want me to do. God blessed our house church ministry in so many ways. But as the years unfolded I was not able to adapt. I could not discern the times and follow the Spirit’s leading. I struggled hard at trying to keep the same framework. I was inflexible and dragged my family along with no true wisdom. I was empowered by human self discipline. But that crashed and burned after a decade. I learned I cannot carry on without the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I pray that any missionaries that go up North will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I pray that they will have a close relationship with the Holy Spirit and be flexible and dynamic enough to follow the Spirit’s leading. And that is what the early Christians were being equipped with on the Day of Pentecost.

 Part 2: What Does This Mean? (5-13). 

Verses 5-13, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

There happened to be staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation. During the Passover, I heard that there could have been about 3 million people in Jerusalem. They heard the apostles declaring the wonders of God in their own languages. It was a supernatural phenomenon produced by the work of the Holy Spirit, for these men were unschooled Galileans. They asked each other, “What does this mean?” It was a sign that the Holy Spirit had come and that the new era of the gospel had come to earth. It was a sign of God’s world mission command being unfolding and being fulfilled by God.

God wants the Gospel to be preached to all people of all nations. God does not want us to just sit on our comfort zones and simply take care of ourselves. He wants us to work towards crossing cultural and language barriers. He wants us to be incarnational and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is God’s heart. This is his desire. God is on a mission and he invites and equips all of his people to be on this mission with him.
Actually God’s desire to reach all peoples of all nations is a reflection of what it will be like in heaven. Millions saw the parade of nations in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. It was amazing to see all the athletes, beaming with joy to simply be part of it all. How much more will be the parade of nations that enter the Kingdom of God? Revelation 5:9-10 read, “9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (NIV)

God is concerned about all nations…even nations within a nation. The Kingdom of God is not just going to have members from the middleclass of the western world. No. It will contain all peoples of all nations. The First Nations people of Canada are truly a nation within a nation. They have their own languages, culture, aspirations and history. They too are on Jesus’ mind. They too will be part of the parade of nations in the Kingdom of God. There will be people of all expressions of Christian faith also and not just the nondemoninational Christians of the west. We will all be together, worshipping the Lord Jesus together, side by side. We really need to embrace God’s bigger vision for his church and for his world.

Lord, continue to dwell in my heart as the Holy Spirit. Draw me into a deeper relationship with you. Help me to be filled with your vision for all nations.

One word: Be filled with the Holy Spirit by God’s grace.