June 9, 2019 Pentecost

“1 ¶ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 ¶ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 “Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 “Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”” (Acts 2:1-12 NKJV)

Pentecost often is lost to Christians and has even been turned into a denomination rather than a work of God forming and extending His Church. Our reluctance about Pentecost makes sense because Pentecost is really a fearful happening. Pentecost defines Christianity as being an act of God beyond our control and comfort.

Act of God – For 2000 years the Church has spread across the world and despite those who misused the Church for their own power has made the world a better place. Some would disagree but would they choose to live in a non-Christian country? We must remember the history of the Church is His Story, the story of God working in and through the Church.

Losing control – As human beings we can fool ourselves into believing we are in control but in truth we cannot lose what we never had! James reminds us we cannot even control our tongues (OUCH!) and like the rudder of a ship we are led astray and lost!

Fearful – We are fearful of what Pentecost will mean to us and who we want to be! As humans we want to be what we want to be and live our lives our way but that choice destroys not only our lives but our family and our community. What if God calls us to great sacrifice or suffering? This helps me:

“God never asks anything of us He hasn’t already given to us and never calls us to do anything He hasn’t already done for us.”

What do we lose by not accepting Pentecost?

Being close to God – There is no doubt about the change in the disciples and all those who received the Holy Spirit. As the Church moved forward Pentecost came and people were radically change as they experienced the love and presence of God.

Seeing God’s work around us – At Pentecost the disciples spoke in tongues and all were able to hear God’s call to repentance. Some marveled and came to Jesus but others scoffed thinking they were drunk. Some today wonder why God does not do miraculous things but through the Holy Spirit we can see the miracles of God all around us!

Being part of God’s work around us – While seeing the miracles God work in our world is amazing, even more amazing is to be part of it! Possibly the greatest miracle you will ever see is someone accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. While many miracles are temporary in nature salvation is an eternal work of God. There is something amazing to see their eyes and lives change before you!

We must discover Pentecost is not a one time happening but continues happening in lives today! Each person’s Pentecost has its foundation and birth from the first Pentecost.