REFLECTIONS ON THE DAY
It was a unique occurrence. On that day, the setting was right and the atmosphere was conducive for a mighty move of God. When Jesus came into the world, He came through a family unit. That family became a multitude, made up of people He had nurtured and prepared to continue with the work He had started. The work He left with them was enormous, and could never be done in their own strength. They needed help, not from man, but from God. They needed His presence. He had assured them of His presence saying, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. They needed the tangible presence of God and Jesus had ascended into heaven. Now, they needed the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them that He will pray that the Father sends them Another Helper (John 14:16)
The Holy Spirit is the Promise of the Father. God clearly said in Joel 2:28-29 that He will send Him, “pour Him out upon all flesh”. A phenomenon that was to affect people of all ages, with no one excluded, not even women or slaves.
We celebrate Easter quite extensively and end the celebrations on Easter Sunday. The resurrection Sunday begins the actual journey into understanding the full package given to us by Jesus Christ. After His resurrection, He showed Himself to many and gave us instructions and commandments including the Great Commission. After that, He ascended into heaven, 40 days after the resurrection. Then, ten days after that was when the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost. As such, the Day of Pentecost is exactly 50 days after the resurrection.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST - ACTS 2:1-4
They were in one place, gathered together (the disciples including the mother of Jesus, numbering about 120 persons - Acts 1:12-15). That is not all, these disciples were also in one accord. There was unity among them. They had the same mind, purpose and agenda. We know that people can gather together in one place and yet not be in one accord. People meeting together does not mean they are in unity. There are others with whom you can be completely united and yet, who are not with you in one place. In the Upper Room, they were in prayer. The readiness was clear for a mighty miracle, a miracle that was to affect all humanity. And things began to happen.
First, a rushing mighty wind. This wind was loud and violent. They could hear the sound of it, and the sound came from heaven. You know how we wish we could hide when the sound that follows lightning when it is raining. But this time, there was no rain, and they were in a room upstairs. The wind filled the whole room where they were sitting.
They were SITTING and praying. Some people seem to believe that for prayer to be potent, we must be standing to pray. This was not the case in the Upper Room. they were sitting and the power of God came upon them mightily.
Then there were tongues of fire, which they saw! The Bible says it appeared to them. It did not come as one big flame but the flames were divided, one for each head. Only God can do all these things. They were to go out, with a flame on their head, and change the world for Jesus. Oh that a flame of the fire of the Holy Spirit will rest upon my head, all the days of my life. That I will turn the environments where I live, work and worship upside down for the Lord Jesus!
I think these two sudden events brought them to total surrender, and ready for what was to follow, they were ALL filled with the Holy Spirit and BEGAN to speak with other tongues.
THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. What does it mean that they were filled. The Spirit of God came upon them and entered them. They had been thirsty for the things of God. Jesus said in John 7:37-39. that anyone who thirsts should come to Him and drink. They had drunk of Him and were full. Now, rivers of living waters will flow out of them. In John 14.14; 17, Jesus said the Holy Spirit was with them but later, He will be in them. The time had come. The moment had come. They were ready. They were prepared. And the Lord poured out upon them that which He had promised.
They spoke with other Tongues
This is a sign of the new covenant. It was the first time speaking in tongues occurred in the history of mankind. The Holy Spirit enabled them to talk to God without limitation. He enabled them to speak things that were beyond their human mind.
The Outcome of the Outpouring
Many things happen after the Pentecostal event occurred.
Confusion - it brought so much confusion in the entire city of Jerusalem. The confusion was because they heard them speaking in tongues. Some mocked them on what was happening and what they were hearing. The closest description they could get was that the people were drunk with alcoholic wine (verse 5-13). The Lord enabled the people to hear them in their own language. Not that they spoke their languages but they HEARD them speak their languages. Let us remember that the one who speaks in a tongue does not understand what he is speaking (1 Corinthians 14:2; 14). It means that they themselves did not understand what they were saying nor did they know what they were speaking.
Peter was bold to face the Crowd. This same Peter who denied Jesus is now standing before thousands of people to explain the phenomenon to them and present the gospel in such a dynamic manner that brought thousands to surrender and accept Jesus as their savior. A clear transformation took place after Pentecost.
I REMEMBER
I can never forget 1992 when we had a journey to Pentecost. We fasted the whole week and had morning and evening services at the Parkview Church in Guelph Ontario. I participated in the fast and was in church for each of the services. John Raymer was the invited guest and preached from his heart. On the Friday evening, while he was preaching, all of a sudden, I felt as though I was struck with lightning. I could feel fire striking me all over. Without being aware of it, I began to scream and did not know what happened next. As though in a dream. I heard John Raymer say “do you see how the Spirit of God has fallen beautifully on that sister, He can fall on you also”. When I woke up, I saw people on the floor, some on their knees, and the whole room was calm. The Spirit of God had swept over the entire place. I could feel that power tangibly for more than a week.
CONCLUSION
The Day of Pentecost needs to be observed with preparation through the week and a Sunday that revisits the phenomenon, giving opportunities to as many as possible to receive this beautiful blessing from God. The truth is that, whenever we speak about the Holy Spirit in sincerely and clear understanding, He shows up and touches people. People who never speak with tongues receive the blessing and begin to speak in other tongues. On several occasions, I have seen many people receive both tongues and prophesied. One woman came to me and said “how does God work?”. I asked her what happened and she said “I never prophesied before but as you were praying, I began to speak in tongues and prophecy”. I simply smiled. She has been sharing the gospel in local communities since.
The work of the spread of the gospel begins after people have been clothed with power from on high.
