What Happened That First Pentecost When Jesus Christ Poured Out The Holy Spirit As He Had Promised?
In May 2008 we will celebrate that exciting season of Pentecost which has been regarded as one of the most neglected seasons in the Church of Jesus Christ.
It was thirty nine years ago, in March 1969, when I experienced something of what these disciples of Jesus Christ experienced at nine o’clock in the morning in the Temple in Jerusalem.
We read all about what actually happened in the New Testament book
It is a vital and essential experience. It is part of that experience which Jesus Christ refers to as being ‘born again’
This is much more than just history. This is relevant today and is happening all over the world among Gentiles and now among Jews again in an amazing manner!
Without a clear understanding of Pentecost - what actually happened and what the consequences were - much of the rest of the New Testament can remain something of a mystery.
It was Pentecost that got the Church of Jesus Christ on the move. It was at Pentecost that Jesus Christ birthed and launched the Church. We need to know this and have our faith based upon facts and not fables or feelings. Fables are just stories. Feelings fluctuate.
Facts remain the same when everything is well or when the going gets tough.
Pentecost is the only Festival referred to in the New Testament.
At the end of Acts Chapter 1, we read of a group of disciples of Jesus which has so much and yet they do not have enough. They know that Jesus is risen from the dead and alive. They are studying the Scriptures. They are faithful, prayerful, united, obedient and eager to do the Will of God. Some would give a lot to see that today!
But, these men of God need the fire of God. They need the power of the Holy Spirit. So does the Church today!
Seven weeks after Passover, when Jesus rose from the dead, thousands of Jews from all over the Middle East are in the Temple in Jerusalem, and 120 disciples of Jesus Christ are present in that massive congregation. It is nine o’clock in the morning. The disciples are waiting for something to happen but they do not know exactly what, and they do not know when it will happen. Today, tomorrow, next month? Jesus had instructed them to wait in the city of Jerusalem until it happened. It is about to happen! Jesus is going to baptise these believers in the Holy Spirit as He had promised to do.
Jesus Christ always keeps His promises - always!
Suddenly there is a sound from heaven described as like the rushing of a mighty wind. Now, you know when the wind blows upon you. There appeared what seemed like “tongues of fire” on each of the disciples.
The risen living Jesus was pouring out the Holy Spirit as he had promised to do. Each was so filled that he overflowed at the mouth and each began to speak or praise God in languages they had never learned.
Now, this is what happened to me and you can read something of the details of that mighty experience “A very personal story which is part of my spiritual journey” published on Ezine on 17 March this year - in this same category “Inspirational”.
Now, notice that as this medical doctor, Luke, writes the account in Acts Chapter 2, he gives us the facts. There is not a word about feelings. There is no emotionalism surrounding these 120 disciples of Jesus.
The onlookers however react differently. A crowd gathered around the disciples to observe and now we read of quite a lot of excitement, feelings, emotions - even mockery and ridicule.
Some of these religious people became bewildered and afraid. Was God drawing too close? Was God becoming too real? Some doubted and were perplexed and questioned the validity of it all.
Others actually made fun of the disciples of Jesus Christ accusing them of being drunk. Yes, you will always find some people who will try to explain it all away.
Peter arose. So far not one disciple had moved. Peter ably described what was happening and what Jesus Christ the Son of God was doing.
This continued throughout the whole of the New Testament - it continues today - and will continue until that day when Jesus Christ returns.
Without understanding this vital, crucial, and essential event, much of the rest of the New Testament can remain a mystery. This is much more than history. This is spiritual reality and grounded in the Word of God.
But - do not only understand it. Experience it for yourself at this Pentecost season.
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.
Sandy Shaw
sandyshaw63@yahoo.com
Tags: Bible, Fact, God, Jesus, Philosophy, Psychology, Spiritual, Truth, Leadership