Scripture 1 Corinthians12:1-11; John 16:7-15; Acts2:1-4. 14-21
The Christian celebration of Pentecost is a
remembrance of the day when the Holy Spirit came to earth, to enter the lives
of all who call Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, and who began working in powerful
and holy ways to advance the glory of God among us. But initially, the holiday was a time for
Israel to give thanks for the first fruits of the annual harvest. Either way, we can understand that this day
is one to acknowledge the work that God is doing on our behalf, to bring
newness and refreshing to the world through His faithful people.
So what does the Holy Spirit actually do for
us? He is known as our Encourager, our
Comforter, a Helper who we can always depend upon, a divine Advocate on our
behalf, and a Counselor who reminds us of all that our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ taught and did for us when He walked among us. And while the Holy Spirit guides us into new
opportunities in missions and ministry, He will never contradict a single thing
that is founded in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
God’s Spirit is a gift that comes to us on behalf of
Jesus - not to make our life easier, but to make it fuller and more complete as
we live and serve as disciples of Christ.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Paul writes this letter to
the Corinthians to emphasize and give thanks for the differences that each
person experiences in the Holy Spirit, and to reveal the individual uniqueness
that unifies and makes the Church whole and complete. Later in this chapter, Paul makes the point
that no one gift is better or more blessed than any other. While the gifts of the Spirit are all
different, they all work together to bring the church to wholeness in God.
Verse 1 of this passage seems
to imply that questions have arisen regarding the importance of spiritual
gifts, and whether there is a hierarchy and privilege that each one bestows on
the recipient! And the Lord’s gifts are
never given for the sole benefit of the one who receives. They are for the betterment and unity of the
Church, and for the sharing of God’s will and word with the people of this
world. Paul sees the granting of the
various and different gifts as being inspired solely by the Holy Spirit, as an
enrichment of the faith community of God.
The working of God’s
spiritual gifts is what distinguishes the Church from the ways that the world
works and thinks. As we read though the
list of gifts that Paul includes in this passage, many might even sound like
human attributes that anyone might possess.
But truthfully only those gifts that are used to glorify our Lord God
Almighty can truly have come from the Spirit of God.
Paul writes that only those
who have received the Spirit will glorify the Lord, and that they will never
curse or demean the name of Jesus. And
this is what differentiates Spiritual gifts from those of worldly purpose.
Read John 16:7-15
Even though Jesus has given
His disciples plenty of information regarding His leaving – the purpose, the
results, what will happen to bring about His leaving, and what will be coming
to them after He does leave. But
there is still a lot of confusion on their part as to what it all means for
them. It isn’t that they don’t believe
Jesus, or feel that His words must be meant for some other unknown group of
people.
Even after 3 years or so of
listening to the teaching and explanations that their Master brought to them,
these new ways that are being opened up to them are strange and totally
different from anything that they had ever heard before! And who is this Advocate who Jesus is going
to send to help them? And regarding this
Spirit of truth – is this the same person as the Advocate, or is he someone
different? And if Jesus is leaving,
where is He going? And if He is gone,
how will He be able to instruct this Spirit with what He wants him to say? And above all, why does the Lord have to
leave in order for these other “people” to come? Can’t they all work together?
Is it any wonder why the
faithful are so confused? Just as with
any gift, we seldom can appreciate it until it is opened, and we begin to use
it in our lives! And they will never
understand the Holy Spirit until the day when he finally appears to them, to
work within and through each one in the way of Jesus. And it will be then, that the truth the
Spirit brings will begin to become perfectly clear, for it all hinges on
trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read Acts 2:1-4, 14-21
As
Luke writes about this incredible God inspired moment, we need to appreciate
the fact that the Lord was going to make sure that no one was going to
miss out on the arrival of the Holy Spirit!
Not the 100 or so believers who were gathered in that house (Acts1:15-16), and definitely not the Jewish crowds who had come to the city to
celebrate their own Pentecost, otherwise known as the “Feast of Weeks”.
The
Spirit’s coming sounded like a rushing wind, and appeared like
tongues of fire. But the truth is that
it was intended to reveal the power of God at work through His people! And not surprisingly, some accepted God’s
gift, while others tried to assign human reasoning to the entire
event. But the bottom line is that
people of a multitude of nationalities, 15 were actually mentioned, would be
able to understand each and every word that Peter spoke - not through a translator,
but in their own language!
And
Peter begins his sermon with the prophecy of Joel. Of course, Joel’s proclamation had been
offered well over 800 years before, and these Jews were primarily from other
nations and many were unlikely to be well versed with the words of the prophets
or with the teachings of Jesus!
So he couldn’t simply ask them to remember what the prophets said about
an outpouring of this magnitude. They may
have had some knowledge of what Messianic tradition had proclaimed about His
coming, but they would know little else.
But
regardless, the people were being introduced to the significance of this “new”
Pentecost. They were hearing that gifts
of the Spirit were available for all people, and that the signs and miracles of
Messiah’s return were no longer theoretical, but were true signs that they would see.
What
a wonderful lead in for Peter’s message of salvation! Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to
continue with his message for today, but check in next week, and we should have
enough time to consider the remainder of Peter’s Pentecostal words of hope.
