“Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roar of the mighty wind..." Acts 2:2
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Does that have any significance whatsover for me and you? Yes, of course, for today marks the birthday of the Church.
On the day of Pentecost, 7 weeks after Jesus' resurrection, Jesus' followers were meeting as they usually did. But this meeting turned out to be so different, it changed their lives. God manifested Himself visibly with a mighty wind, tongues of fire and the gift of tongues. From that time on, the followers of Jesus, who numbered about one hundred twenty men and women, went out to proclaim His message and to teach His way of life. Colin Smith, in one of his broadcasts, said that God does visibly for some people what He wants to do invisibly for most people. It's like a visual aid, a teaching tool. In Genesis, God shaped a corpse, and breathed His life into a skeletal frame to bring Adam to life. In Acts 2, He breathed not on only one person, but on all the believers present, men and women. He wanted to breathe His life into the Church, He wanted to give them power. That is what He wants to do for us as well. ALL of us, not just the leaders, not just the good speakers, not just the theologians. ALL of us.
God does not change. His Spirit does not change. His purpose does not change. Jesus said in John 17:21, "Father, that they may be one..." The gift of the Holy Spirit is a uniting force. When the Tower of Babel fell in Genesis 11, the people were scattered by different languages. During Pentecost, the people of different languages could understand one another, to speed up the advancement of God's Kingdom. When God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, He wanted to give Moses a purpose, to bring freedom to His suffering people. During Pentecost, each one of the disciples had his own self-sustaining fire. God wanted them to each go out and bring His message of freedom to Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the earth. That is our mission too. And we have to remember that Jesus is with us, and He gave us His Spirit with which to do it successfully. Come Holy Spirit, come!
