PENTECOST -- A REVEALING BEGINNING -- Tomorrow:
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)
Devotion 12 of 28
" . . . in one place."
Whatever one may think about gathering together, that is the kind of setting in which the New Covenant was inaugurated, and the Gospel was first preached with power and understanding. If the disciples who were gathered together when the day of Pentecost was "fully come" were suddenly transported to our day and time, one can only imagine what would have happened. For one thing, they would not have met so early. Even when they did come together someone would have suggested having cell groups – perhaps twelve, with an apostle leading each one. They surely would not have remained together for so long, and a lot of people would not be participating.
I know that it all sounds a bit ridiculous. That is because it is! It is ridiculous for those who wear the name of Jesus to seek to find ways to maintain division, or to meet separately, or not to be together in one accord. It is nonsensical to think that a people who are fundamentally divided would be used by God to represent His Son, who is not divided.
In the record to which we are now being exposed, the real God is working among His real children, and the real Jesus is ministering among them. The real will of God is being worked out, and all of it is according to God's eternal purpose and the word of His prophets.
A SOUND FROM HEAVEN
" And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."
Ten days earlier, Jesus had told these disciples, "ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (NKJV). He did not give them any indication of how this would happen, or if there would be some remarkable phenomenon that would attend that baptism. Further, the prophecies about the pouring forth of the Spirit provided no details about any impersonal accompanying phenomenon.
1. "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring" (Isa 44:3).
2. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit" (Joel 2:28-29).
3. "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zech 12:10).
Jesus had spoken more specifically of what they were about to experience. He referred to these, and other, things when He said, "wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me" (Acts 1:4). He had spoken specifically to them about this.
1. "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16-17).
2. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).
3. "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning" (John 15:26-27).
4. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7-8).
5. "Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you" (John 16:14).
For those who insist that God insists on His people operating according to a Divinely stipulated "pattern," the day of Pentecost is fraught with all manners of difficulty.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for revealing Your nature in the way You work.