Help! Love, MOM

Sunday is Pentecost.

Pentecost Sunday is the day on which Christians celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within believers.

That first Pentecost brought jubilation and was an indication that God had brought to pass the ancient prophecy of His indwelling.

What is Pentecost?

The pente of Pentecost means 50 in Greek and refers to fact that the holiday is observed 50 days following the first day of Passover.

Now called Shavuot, Pentecost was, then, a completely Jewish ” holiday that commemorated the single most important event in Israel’s history: the giving of the Torah (the first five books in the Hebrew Bible) to Moses at Mount Sinai,” according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

[Shavuot] marks the crucial moment when the Israelites received the Torah at Mount Sinai, an event that transformed them from a group of freed slaves into a nation bound by divine law and purpose.

This covenant with God is central to the Jewish faith,
making Shavuot a celebration of spiritual renewal and commitment.

International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

In the Bible this celebration had several names, including the Festival of Harvest, the Festival of Ingathering, and the Day of Firstfruits, and was a time to be grateful for one’s harvest.

In a Christian context, Pentecost commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit and is celebrated 50 days after Easter.

The Promise of the Spirit

During the 40 day period after His resurrection, Jesus not only gave proof to His disciples that He was alive but He also instructed them about the coming Holy Spirit:

• Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

• John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

These instructions are repeated and expanded in Acts 1:8:

And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them [the disciples] not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he [Jesus] said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” parentheses mine, Acts 1: 4-5, English Standard Version (ESV)

Picture it. Jerusalem would likely have been thick with holiday arrivals.

When Peter stood up at Pentecost, after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the former fisherman cited a scripture from Joel about, not a drenching of water, but of the Spirit:

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy… Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days…” (Joel 2:28–29)

According to the scriptures, what occurred in Jerusalem that day was foretold. Yes, Jesus had told the disciples. Certainly, God, through the prophets, alerted the Nation of Israel previously.

Thus, the arrival of the precious Holy Spirit was not an unexpected twist in a detective novel. It was the next chapter in a long, unfolding story of God’s intention to dwell with and within His people.

And not only the Jewish people.

Back in Genesis 12:3, God told Abraham, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

This verse is a scriptural indication that the Gospel, ie the blessing, would eventually include more than one nation and would be multinational, multi-lingual, multicultural.

Psalm 22:27 declares, “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down [in worship] before him.”

Isaiah 49:6 goes even further: “I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.“

God has his arms open to the world.

Therefore, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost wasn’t only a gift—it was a signal. A clarion call: this Gospel is for you!

The First Multilingual Sermon

If you have ever been in a meeting where translation is taking place you know that it can be a lengthy process.

Acts 2: 1-12 tells us that, as the Spirit filled believers, they spoke in other languages.

That is to say that the believers spoke in “tongues” – hence the phrase “speaking in tongues.” These were languages the speakers did not know.

People from all over the Jewish diaspora—from Africa to Asia to Europe—heard the Gospel, immediately, in their own language.

No waiting for translation.

Some Implications for the Coming of the Holy Spirit

EVERY GROUP IS INCLUDED

The coming of the Spirit was, apparently, noisy and spectacular. It was a sign pointing to God removing religious, social and generational barriers.

That sermon wasn’t delivered in just one language. The divine message was delivered to the mind and ear of every person—in the language they understood and could receive.

THE ANCIENT NAME AS AN INDICATOR

It appears that the names for Pentecost: the Festival of the Harvest, the Festival of Ingathering, and the Day of Firstfruits would continue to see fulfillment in a “harvest” of 3000 souls being filled with the Holy Ghost.

Thank God that, by His grace, the harvest continues.

MESSY MIDDLE, TRICKY TRANSITION

However, the transition from a Jewish mainly to a mixed Jewish/Gentile model of belief and worship was not always smooth.

Indeed, we know that the movement of the Gospel into Gentile spaces became a source of tension and controversy in the new, Spirit-filled community.

For example, just a few chapters forward in Acts you’ll observe:

~accusations of inequities as it pertained to food relief for Grecian widows (Acts 6:1-7);

~criticism of Peter for preaching to Gentiles (Acts 11:1-18) ; and, the

~the pivotal, controversial and successfully resisted call to require Gentile believers to submit to circumcision (Acts 15:1-29).

We must notice that the work of the Holy Spirit as He guided believers through these thorny, first-century concerns is both important and relevant today, modeling that the modern Church and present-day believers cannot progress without Him.

In every Church era, we dare not attempt to lead without the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit Sends Us Out

If we believe the scriptures, it is abundantly clear in Acts and elsewhere that the Holy Spirit is for the whole world.

It follows, then, that taking the Pentecostal mandate public will require making moves that include, yet, also go beyond, joyful church services.

These are some potential action steps.

~Let’s update our understanding of Pentecost from personal experience only to, include that of public mission.

~Let’s show genuine concern, interest and curiosity about our neighbors, friends, co-workers and community.

~Let’s pray to have a burden or strong desire to share the Gospel message of Jesus’s Divine rescue from and forgiveness of sin.

~Let’s become knowledgeable about and be able to coherently speak to both sides of at least one of our community’s most pressing concerns, eg, crime, healthcare, identity, immigration, populism, DEI, the role and size of the Federal government, and America’s place on the world stage (American hegemony) are just a few cultural touchstones bursting with meaning for many.

Avoiding debates is probably wise. However, being aware of and caring about the concerns of others is essential. It builds bridge to conversation and relationship.

These are a few ways in which we can begin to “make moves.”

The Holy Spirit Guides

Observe the Holy Spirit guides the Church through people.

This is the Holy Spirit speaking to Peter just before he preached to Cornelius, a non-Jew, and his household. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Acts 10:19-20

This is the Holy Spirit speaking to a church as they worshipped giving instruction on what to do next. BTW – It wasn’t to sing another song. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Acts 13:2

What if every church service ended not only with coffee and handshakes but with an urgency to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance and do what He says?

The Holy Spirit, working throughout the week, not only through amazing Sunday sermons, raised my soul from death to life and brought me out of darkness into light.

Let’s Live Pentecost in the Public Square

We need a public Pentecost.

The same Spirit who translated the Gospel into many languages on that first Pentecost will help us translate it into our languages, or, algorithms- whichever.

TikTok, IG, podcasts, reels and blogs, Substack and vlogs, community service, hard conversations, bedside visitations and brave acts of love are all languages worth learning and using for the glory of God.

That Gospel message didn’t stop with Peter’s sermon: Philip preached it to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), the persecuted Church preached Jesus as they ran from Jerusalem (Acts 8:4).

Then, the Holy Spirit passed the baton, not only to Paul (who, it seems, preached to everyone, Acts 19:1-6), but also to you and to me.

I am advocating for obvious Christians — not “ugly” Christians.

Let’s allow the power of public Pentecost to ignite our passion to tell someone about this Jesus. The Christ whom we serve and love, let us also proclaim Him.

The power of Pentecost moves us out and into the lives of people hungry for something dynamic and real. Let’s present Him in a language they understand.

The world is hungry for something like public Pentecost.

I’ll meet you out there in “the streets.”

Blessings!

xoxoKimberly