“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”(Acts 2:1-21 NIV).
As some of you may know, Sunday, June 8th, is Pentecost Sunday; and Pentecost is such an important part of the history of the church. Even though I don’t generally have my congregations do all of the bells and whistles in worship for Pentecost like is done for Easter or Christmas (generally because I don’t want to interrupt the sermon series that we are in), I still think it is important for us to know and understand what Pentecost is and why it is important. So, I thought I would refresh everyone’s memory about Pentecost and spend a few minutes with you as you read the newsletter talking about it.
The origins of Pentecost actually begin in the Old Testament as one of the Feast Days established in the Mosaic Law: the Feast of Harvest, or Feast of Weeks. The Feast of Weeks was a celebration of the early weeks of the wheat harvest that came during the months of May or June. The Feast of Weeks is called such because it takes place around 7 weeks, or exactly 50 days, after Passover; in fact, the name Pentecost comes from the Greek word Pentēkostē, meaning “fiftieth.”
After Jesus ascended into heaven, His followers gathered together in order to celebrate this Feast of Weeks; and that is when the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus, filled the house they were in and, appearing as tongues of fire, came to rest on them and filled them causing them to speak in other tongues. This coming on of the Holy Spirit gave them a greater, a deeper, understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel, making them more qualified to teach and preach it to others. Then, as we see in the above passage, the crowds heard all of this talking in different languages going on and went to see what it was. Most of the crowd was amazed, but some thought the apostles were drunk. Nevertheless, Peter began preaching to them and about 3,000 people accepted Jesus Christ and were baptized that day, creating the first church. This is why Pentecost is considered the birthday of the church, because it was the historical beginning of the church.
This is why churches around the world celebrate and honor Pentecost Sunday; it is to remember the day that God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in and among His people. God promised that He would never leave us or forsake us, and the Holy Spirit is His fulfillment of that promise. From that first Pentecost through to this very day over 2000 years later, God has dwelt within each one of His people; He, through the person of His Holy Spirit, has been with us every step of every day of our lives from the moment we accept Christ to the moment we get to be with Him in heaven. Let’s all take some time during Pentecost, during the entire month of June even, to reflect on, and thank God for, the amazing gift that He has given to all of His people; a gift that ensures His presence is always with us, the Holy Spirit.
May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you,
Pastor Keith
