The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)

The Day of Pentecost – The Promise Fulfilled (All Saints Anglican Church; Peachtree City, GA)

In 1900, a Roman Catholic Nun obeyed the voice of the Lord, and she wrote to Pope Leo encouraging him to pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This request began a chain of events: a nun wrote a letter; a Pope and his Cardinals prayed; and the world received a Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit through many Christian denominations during a great revival in the early twentieth century.

Today, the world, along with all of us, needs to be renewed with a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, initially, was about: people being filled with the Holy Spirit; people received Spiritual gifts; and people witnessing for Jesus. On this initial day of Pentecost, Peter stood up and preached a sermon. Afterwards, he was asked: “What must we do to be saved?”. Peter responded in Acts 2:38-39: “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’". These events of the initial Pentecost and from the various revivals of the 20^th Century relating to the Charismatic Movements are normal Christianity; this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is what God intends for His people. If we are going to have a growing relationship with Jesus, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to know and commune with the Lord. The Holy Spirit will never lead followers of Jesus in any thing that contradicts the Bible, God’s Word. In recent times, there have been teachings, regarding the Holy Spirit, that do not conform to the Bible.

Too many of us are trying to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. The question is asked: “When do we receive the Holy Spirit?”. We cannot put God in a box regarding a timing for the receipt of the Holy Spirit. However, a better question is: “Have we received the Holy Spirit?”. We are told in John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.". Therefore, the real question should be: “Does the Holy Spirit have me?”. Until we surrender our lives to Jesus, the Holy Spirit cannot indwell our lives and lead us. The best answer to the timing our receipt of the Holy Spirit is: “We should receive the Holy Spirit every day.”. We should pray every day for the Holy Spirit to fill us.

We know that, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given the “fruit of the Spirit”, as described by Paul in Galatians 5:16-26: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruits of the Spirit and not the flesh. However, if we sin, we are not in the Holy Spirit. Pentecost reminds us that if we yield our lives to the will of God through the Holy Spirit, we are filled with the Holy Spirit; and we are given Spiritual gifts to witness for Jesus. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit; others see Jesus in us – this countenance of Jesus, seen through our lives, is the most powerful tool a Christian can have for evangelism.

Are you grieving the Holy Spirit or are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

 

TODAY’S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus’ name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD’S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Acts 2:38-39; Galatians 5:16-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Philippians 4:13; John 3:8; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 12:9-31; Ephesians 4:30-32.

A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org.

WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “To Be a Jesus Follower, You Must First Enter the Only Door to God’s Kingdom and that Door is Jesus – the Door to Eternal Life”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/

DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB