Let Your Spirit Fall
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Let Your Spirit Fall
Today is Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31).
Significance
Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus; birth of the Church
Pentecost is the most important feast of the Church after Easter and Christmas. The word Pentecost means fifty in Greek because it occurs fifty days after Easter.
Pentecost, as baptism, is a gift God gave to the whole church, the whole body of Christ.
Pentecost began as and remains one of the major holidays on the Jewish calendar that occurs 50 days after Passover. The word Pentecost literally means “50th or 50th day.” For Jews, Pentecost was the time when they celebrated the first harvest of the agricultural year. It was a time when they gave thanks to God for what the land had produced and for what their labor had yielded.
For Christians, Pentecost marks the birthday of the Christian church, the day when Peter preached and in response to that sermon there was also a harvest of 3,000 souls converted.
Remember Peter preached the first sermon about Jesus as recorded in Acts 2. This is the same Peter who 53 days earlier had said about Jesus; “I never knew Him.” This is the same Peter who had nothing to say about Jesus when someone asked him directly if he was one of the followers of Jesus. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, stood before a crowd of the same people he once feared, yet he boldly declared the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Going further, Peter stood before many of the same people who had shouted, “Crucify Him,” on the day Jesus stood trial before Pontius Pilate in the city of Jerusalem. Now Peter declared in no uncertain terms the Man they had ordered to be crucified was, in fact, the Son of God.
How did Peter go from being frightened to being fearless? How did Peter go from being cowardly to being courageous? How did Peter go from denying Jesus to defending Jesus before the very same people in the very same place?
Peter did not simply change his mind; Peter himself was changed. Something happened to Peter and to the other apostles, as well to set them on fire for Jesus Christ to such a degree that it was soon said about them, “Here are those who are turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). What happened to them, and what needs to happen to everyone who calls him or herself a disciple of Jesus Christ is what Pentecost is all about.
Pentecost marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by which human beings are equipped to do the work of God. We are not by our own natural resources going to save the world, establish God’s kingdom. If any of these things does happen, it will be because we have acknowledged, embraced and moved under the power and conviction of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Consider these three events this way: If Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, Pentecost marks the birth of the church; if Easter marks the day when Jesus was raised from the dead, Pentecost marks the day when that message about Jesus began to make its way to people and places all over the world.
That is what Pentecost is all about; it is the day Jesus officially transfers to His disciples the responsibility of spreading the message of salvation. Pentecost is the day when God begins the process of converting the world to faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Quote: "The Spirit, the living memory of the church, reminds us that we are born from a gift and that we grow by giving, not by holding on, but by giving of ourselves," - Pope Francis, 2020
Trying to Save Ourselves
Many years ago, in New York City they launched an ad campaign called “Stay Safe. Stay Put” to educate people on how to stay calm and be safe when trapped in an elevator. Experts reported that some trapped passengers had died when they tried to pry open the elevator doors or attempted exiting by some other way. The best plan of action is to simply use the alarm button to call for help and wait for emergency responders to arrive.
The apostle Paul spelled out a very different type of rescue plan—one to help those trapped in the downward pull of sin. He reminded the Ephesians of their utter spiritual helplessness—being truly “dead in [their] . . . sins” (Ephesians 2:1). They were trapped, they were obeying the devil (v. 2), and refusing to submit to God. This resulted in them being the subject of God’s wrath. But He didn’t leave them trapped in spiritual darkness. And those who believe in Jesus, the apostle wrote, “by grace you have been saved” (vv. 5, 8). A response to God’s rescue initiative results in faith. And faith means we’ll give up on trying to save ourselves by works and deeds and to call on Jesus to rescue us.
By God’s grace, being rescued from sin’s trap doesn’t originate with us. It’s “the gift of God” through Jesus alone (v. 8) that we are saved.
By Marvin Williams adapted by me
Quote: Without Pentecost the Christ-event – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus – remains imprisoned in history as something to remember, think about and reflect on. The Spirit of Jesus comes to dwell within us, so that we can become living Christs here and now.
- Henri Nouwen
Quote: We do not need to wait for the Holy Spirit to come; he came on the day of Pentecost. He has never left the church.
- John Stott
Quote: Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us.
- Robert Baer
Putting the Pieces Together
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
While our family quarantined due to the global pandemic, we took on an ambitious project—an eighteen-thousand-piece puzzle! Even though we worked on it almost daily, often we felt like we weren’t making much progress. Five months after we began, we
finally celebrated adding the final piece to the nine-by-six-foot puzzle that covered our dining room floor.
Sometimes my life feels a bit like a giant puzzle—many pieces in place, but a whole lot more still lying in a jumble on the floor. While I know that God is at work transforming me to be more and more like Jesus, sometimes it can be hard to see much progress.
I take great comfort in Paul’s encouragement in his letter to the Philippians when he said he prayed for them with joy because of the good work they were doing (1:3–4). But his confidence came not in their abilities but in God, believing that “he who began a good work . . . [would] carry it on to completion” (v. 6).
God has promised to finish His work in us. Like a puzzle, there may be sections that still need our attention, and there are times when we don’t seem to make much progress. But we can have confidence that our faithful God is still putting the pieces together.
By Lisa M. Samra
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
Paul’s exuberance over the church at Philippi is made more remarkable by the fact that he wrote these words from prison (see Philippians 1:13–14). Amid confinement and, no doubt, a certain amount of mistreatment, he found joy and celebration as he considered his friends at Philippi. Why? Primarily because of their partnership with him in the work of the gospel (v. 5). The Greek word translated “partnership” is koinōnia—the word
normally translated “fellowship.” This is a reminder that fellowship in the body of Christ is much more than just enjoying being together or building strong friendships with other believers in Jesus. It means to share something in common. Not only do we share a family relationship with one another through being part of God’s family, we also have a shared mission—to take the message of His love and forgiveness to the world (Matthew 28:18–20).
Bill Crowder
Quote: Pentecost is a celebration of God… a celebration of God’s power… a celebration of God’s desire to empower us and to dwell within us.
- Mark Hart
Drenched by the Spirit
Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.
- Ephesians 5:18 kjv
Author Scot McKnight shares how when he was in high school, he had what he calls a “Spirit-drenched experience.” While at a camp, the speaker challenged him to enthrone Christ in his life by surrendering to the Spirit. Later, he sat under a tree and prayed, “Father, forgive me of my sins. And Holy Spirit, come inside and fill me.” Something mighty happened, he said. “From that moment my life has been completely different. Not perfect, but different.” He suddenly had the desire to read the Bible, pray, meet with other believers in Jesus, and serve God.
Before the risen Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His friends: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). They would “receive power” to become His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (v. 8). God gives the Holy Spirit to indwell everyone who believes in Jesus. This first happened at Pentecost(see Acts 2); today it occurs whenever someone trusts in Christ.
God’s Spirit also continues to fill those who believe in Jesus. We too, with the help of the Spirit, bear the fruit of changed character and desires (Galatians 5:22–23). Let’s praise and thank God for comforting us, convicting us, partnering with us, and loving us.
By Amy Boucher Pye
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
This passage marks the second time Jesus had given the disciples their mission statement—the Great Commission. Christ had earlier given them the crucial assignment to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Here He says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). At this point, the church has yet to be formed. In fact, at this time the believers are drawn predominantly from the Jewish community alone. The apostles had been waiting in Jerusalem, as Jesus instructed them. Soon, however, Pentecost would take place (ch. 2). The church would take shape and would include people from “the ends of the earth.” We who believe their message are the beneficiaries of their obedience to Christ’s
command, and we too are tasked with continuing to take the gospel message to the world.
Tim Gustafson