THE “DAY OF PENTECOST” EXPERIENCE
“And
behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49 ESV)
“For
John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not
many days from now.” (Acts 1:5 ESV)
“But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.” (Acts 1:8 ESV)
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they
were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound
like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were
sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one
of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 ESV)
The last article emphasized
the importance of being led by the Spirit.
What does the Bible say about living in
the Spirit?
A major
waterway of this country is the Mississippi River. Waters from 39 different States
flows into this conduit. Some of the main tributaries are the Missouri, the
Ohio and the Illinois rivers.
I have
crossed the Great Mississippi at several different locations, the Twin Cities
of Minnesota, the Quad Cities of Iowa/Illinois, and the city of St. Louis in
Missouri. I have also seen the river as it enters the ocean at New Orleans,
Louisiana.
The river
gets wider at every point south, and also gets dirtier. By the time the water
enters the Gulf of Mexico, a person does not want to swim in but be rescued
from the cruddy stuff.
Suppose you
are on a life-raft at the end of the dirty Mississippi. The current of the
filthy and pungent waters is working against you, preventing you from getting
home to your clean and sweet-smelling dwelling place. Someone throws you a rope
from the shore and offers his help going against the stream. Would to take
it?
Similarly,
the smelly and slimy currents of society are working against you getting to a
heavenly home. God has thrown you a lifeline to assist your struggle against the
numerous repugnant social trends. He has sent the Holy Spirit. The help is available
but will you take it? Will you allow yourself the help God has provided?
An
important dimension of church life is the presence the Holy Spirit, the third
person of the Godhead. On a special festival day He came with power to those
already following Jesus to help them flow in the presence of God and
passionately fulfill the purpose of God. The early disciples were filled with
the Spirit of God.
One way to
describe the church is with the acrostic
GIVE. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The
church exists to: G—Glorify God in worship; I—Invite others to Jesus; V—Validate
the day of Pentecost experience; E—Equip believers for life and
ministry. Out of worship for God comes enthusiasm to tell others about
Jesus, energized involvement in what God is doing, and greater gains in
spiritual depth. These are not only attached but inner-related, and the Holy
Spirit is the bonding Agent.
Many today embrace
the day of Pentecost experience, some
historically and others in practice. Having heritage does not always translate into having a fire burning in the furnace, having God-endowed
passion.
Several
years ago the classic work The Master Plan of Evangelism, by Robert
Coleman, was studied extensively by evangelical churches. Coleman, a scholar
and conference speaker, was credentialed with the Methodist church. The Pentecostal
church has clearly recognized historical links with the Wesleyan Holiness
Movement.
The early Methodists were fiery. Church
members not only affirmed good preaching
with shouts of “Amen” but would occasionally give a “hooping” response, leading
to the unsavory name “The hoopin’ Methodist.” Robert Coleman, out of this
context, spoke as a man with a fire in his furnace.
I invited
him to speak at a minister’s gathering in the north part of Chicago. His passionate
presentation was inspiring. Afterwards I lightheartedly told him there was a
place for him in the Assemblies of God. He replied, “You guys took the fire and
left us the stove.” What happened to his church movement can happen to any
church.
Richard
Wilke, another Methodist minister, authored the book, And Are We Yet Alive?
He wrote, “Once we were a Wesleyan
revival, full of enthusiasm, fired by the Spirit, running the race set before
us like a sprinter trying to win the prize. The world was our parish; we were determined
to ‘publish the glad tidings in the full light of the sun.’ Our Wesley-inspired
dream and directive was to ‘spread Scriptural holiness’ across the continent.
Circuit riders raced over hill and valley. New churches were established in
every hamlet. Our missionaries encircled the globe.
“Now we are tired, listless, fueled
only by the nostalgia of former days, walking with a droop, eyes on the ground,
discouraged, putting one foot ahead of the other like a tired old man who
remembers, but who can no longer perform. We sing ‘O For A Thousand
Tongues To Sing’ as if it were an anthem instead of a testimony.”
Losing the
passion of the Holy Spirit happens to both churches and individuals. The challenge
for every believer is to vibrantly follow Jesus, requiring heavenly fire.
The day of Pentecost experience comes with a
promise and a miracle.
The promise
The physician
Luke, a traveling companion of Paul, wrote a two volume edition of the Gospels.
The gospel of Luke shows the Christ
executing His mission in the power of the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts shows the
body of Christ executing His mission
with empowerment by the same Spirit.
Those with
faith in God are heirs and successors to a Spirit-driven ministry initiated by
Jesus. For His work to advance, broaden, and multiply, believers must be filled
with the Holy Spirit.
The gospel
of Luke and the book of Acts refer to the day of Pentecost experience as “a
clothing … a baptizing … an empowering … a filling … an outpouring.” These descriptive
terms give clarity to the event.
The day of
Pentecost experience is referred to as “clothed
with power.” Clothed describes the putting on or
wearing of garments. John the Baptist wore clothing
made of camel’s hair. The father of the prodigal son commanded for his best
robe to clothe him. At Jesus’ trial
the soldiers clothed Him in a purple
robe.
These New
Testament recordings use the same word in the original language as the clothing
with power on the day of Pentecost. Followers of Jesus are to be covered with heavenly
power just as people are clothed with garments.
The promise
of power is consistent with the commissioning of the Twelve recorded in Luke 9. Jesus gave them power over demons and
diseases. Through the exercise of this power the disciples partnered with God
in manifesting His kingdom.
Early
disciples would have associated the promise with the same power that
characterized the ministry of Jesus. It was the ability recorded in Luke 6:19 –
“And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed
them all.”
The day of
Pentecost experience is also referred to as “baptized with the Spirit.” John the Baptist contrasted his
ministry with the coming Messiah – “I baptize you with water, but he who is
mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16 ESV) When Jesus came to John to be baptized, the special covering
was manifested – “…and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a
dove….” (Luke 3:22 ESV)
The Spirit baptism to believers in Jerusalem in Acts 2
parallels His coming upon Jesus at the Jordan River in Luke 3. Both Jesus and His disciples acted in obedience to God.
The Spirit descended after a season of prayer.
There was a physical manifestation of the Spirit.
Both ministries began after the Spirit was upon them.
The day of Pentecost experience is also referred to as
“empowered by the Spirit.”
This power is not some kind of impersonal force but a
demonstration of the person of the Holy Spirit. The
gift of the Spirit is for more
effective witnessing, equipping believers for greater service. To be empowered with the Spirit is to possess an assurance
that Jesus has not abandoned His followers to personal resources.
You are fully equipped for every divinely-given task. You have
received the same empowerment Jesus exercised in His early ministry. This is the promise.
The miracle
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was poured out upon
the waiting disciples with sudden and dynamic impact. They heard but did not feel the force of wind. They saw tongues of fire that did not consume. They were ecstatically worshipping God. The unusual behavior of the disciples is attributed to
being “filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:4)
What does Scripture reveal about the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit?
The infilling of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was not
an isolated event. The occurrence was one
of several occasions, both prior and following that day.
Before: “And when
Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41 ESV)
After: “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were
gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 ESV)
The infilling of the Spirit is both an individual and group
phenomenon.
Individually: “And his
father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit….” (Luke 1:67 ESV)
Group: “And the
disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52 ESV)
The infilling of
the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience. The incident reoccurs throughout a lifetime.
Acts 9 makes reference to Paul’s initial experience: “So
Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother
Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent
me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts
9:17 ESV)
Acts 13:9 makes reference to a later experience of Paul: “But
Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at
[Elymas]….” (Acts 13:9 ESV)
The term “filled with the Spirit” describes supernatural
inspiration. Three types of divine
inspiration is recorded in Scripture – worship, judgment and witness.
Supernatural worship is described in 1 Corinthians 14, involving learned and
unlearned languages. The Spirit is the inspiration behind praise and adoration.
Supernatural judgment was seen when Paul pronounced to Elymas a season of blindness
in Acts 13.
Supernatural witness was seen when Peter healed the lame man in Acts 4.
The miracle of Pentecost is the unexpected and energetic impact
that occurs when followers of Jesus are filled with and living in the Spirit.
No one is
ever the same after the day of Pentecost experience.
The priorities of life change. This is the miracle.
Living in the Spirit
A
genuine deepening of worship and ministry occurs with the infilling of the Holy
Spirit. Followers of Jesus are to experience the full and vibrant blessing of
the day of Pentecost experience.
Ian
Macpherson wrote in the book, Like A Dove Descending: “On December 23, 1965, I went into the
building in the center of Los Angeles which houses the Department of Water and
Power. In one room I came upon a large glass barrel containing desalinated
sea-water. I tasted it and found that it was perfectly fresh.
“A notice on the barrel read:
‘Desalted Sea-water … drink all you want, there’s an ocean-full more where this
came from.”
To
all who are thirsty for the fullness of God drink as much as you wish! If
anyone is deprived, the Holy Spirit is not doing the depriving. There are no
heavenly restrictions or limitations. By becoming filled with and living in the
Spirit infinite resources are at your disposal.
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