Learning DAILY
Acts 2:1-4, When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat
upon each of them. And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
“Pentecost was the second great festival of the Jewish year. It was a harvest festival when the
firstfruits of the grain harvest were presented to God. In the same manner, Pentecost symbolizes for
the Church the beginning of God’s harvest for souls in the world.” (The Life in
the Spirit Study Bible)
At Pentecost, there were three observable manifestations that the
Holy Spirit was descending upon those who were gathered in the Upper Room. “There
came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind”. 1 Corinthians 2:4 states that the Holy Spirit
comes in power. All of us know the
power that the wind brings as we have seen the recent results of hurricanes and
tornadoes. The Hebrew word for Spirit is
ruach and the Greek word for Spirit
is pneuma; both have the meaning of
wind. The David Jeremiah Study Bible
tells of the impact of the Holy Spirit, “Just as man did not exist until the
life-giving breath of Almighty God (Genesis 2:7), so the church did not come
alive until God breathed forth His Holy Spirit.”
The second manifestation was the appearance of “divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat
upon each of them”. Fire serves as a
symbol of the presence of God and the Holy Spirit. This visible manifestation rested on each of
those in the room and represents a prophetic symbol that the Holy Spirit was
coming to empower each of them to be strong and powerful witnesses for Jesus
Christ.
The third manifestation that they were being filled with the Holy
Spirit was they “began to speak with
other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance”. They were given a supernatural ability to
speak in a language they had not been able to speak. Read what Jesus declares in Mark 16:17, “And these signs will follow those who
believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues.” They had the ability to speak the languages
of those from the different nations who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate
Passover. This was a prophetic sign that
the Church was to be worldwide. Remember
Jesus said to, “go into all the world
preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).
These three observable
manifestations at Pentecost correspond to what the risen Christ said in Acts
1:8, But you shall receive power “when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you; you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem,
and all the Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
“Power”, “witnesses” and “all the earth” were promises Jesus made
before He ascended into heaven. The
disciples knew that He was fulfilling His promise.
Continue reading to read in
the second chapter in Acts. Remember the
last time Peter was mentioned in the Bible, he was denying that he knew
Jesus. But, after the being filled with
the Holy Spirit, he boldly proclaims Jesus Christ and what has happened to
those in the Upper Room that day. He
does not speak timidly but with power.
And, as a result of his testimony about three thousand souls were saved.
Each of us who have been touched and saved by the Savior has this
same power because of the Holy Spirit.
We just need to allow Him to use us as He desires, in His power.
If you
would like to get this blog sent to you automatically when new posts are posted
please leave your email address with “Follow by email.” Don’t forget to check
Follow as well.
Remember – if you receive this blog through email, you can go to the regular blog page by moving your cursor to the top of the page and click on LEARNING DAILY header. Then you can see the archived articles and comment section. You can also leave a comment by clicking on the date in the Comment Section
No comments:
Post a Comment