Pentecost is not a religious denomination. Many Christians have said things that put Pentecost in a bad light. They have been labeled Holy Rollers as an example. If God so moved in the life of a believer to cause him or her to fall on the floor, I would be afraid to belittle or make fun of what the Holy Spirit was doing in their life. Blaspheming the Holy Ghost is dangerous. We may not agree with what is happening or understand it but God doesn’t always do thing the way we approve or understand. The Old Testament is full of incidents where God moved in a mysterious or confusing fashion.
Pentecost is a wonderful experience where the Holy Spirit of God comes into a person’s life to abide. That person becomes the temple of God and the Holy Spirit is there to guide, teach and strengthen that person. None of us are complete in ourselves and need help. God the Father is manifested throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Christ is the focal point in the Gospels. In the book of the Acts Jesus has been resurrected and ascended back to Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus told the disciples to wait for something great was going to happen. On the day of Pentecost there was a sound as from Heaven. It sounded like a mighty roaring wind. It was the arrival of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) and it (He) filled all who were there in that room waiting for what Jesus had declared. The room was full of believers who were waiting and seeking God. Some were meditating, some wondering, some praying and perhaps some were praising God. Suddenly, every life was changed. The anticipation was over. In the place of fear and uncertainty something happened. Power was stirring the hearts of those present. Joy exploded peace resonated and fear raced from the room.
What Jesus had been teaching them suddenly became more real. They were changed from students to participants in the Word of God. It was the Holy Spirit at work stirring their hearts. Certainly they were still students and now more than ever because a deep hunger and thirst to know God, Jesus and the Word but now that Word was coming alive in them. Faith began to take on an entirely new dimension and worship and praise had new life. The shackles of religion fell from them and they began to see through the eyes of their spirit. The old man died and a new creature was born. They couldn’t explain it but they knew it from deep within their spirit. It was just as Jesus had spoken to them. They had received power, power of a different kind. It was an inner, supernatural, spiritual power that enabled them to walk in the spirit and embrace the teachings of Jesus in a personal and intimate fashion.
As it was then; people still laugh, mock, fear or simply do not understand what Pentecost means today. It is spiritually discerned just like the Bible says. It is for everyone the same as salvation but many would rather embrace the rituals, traditions and theologies of religion. It is more comfortable and certainly more predictable. When one is led by the Spirit it is definitely more challenging and exciting.
Planters has a new flavor of peanut on the market. It is called Chipotle peanuts. What does it taste like? You have to find out for yourself. Such are the ways of God, including Pentecost.
Maranatha!
