Acts 2:1 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“When the day of Pentecost was fully come” we see an event that was not the ending of all that had taken place. It was the beginning; it set in order the birth of the church established by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. It was 40 days since his ascension. There was one more event Jesus would happen. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would come. He told them to go to the upper room and tarry there. There were 120 that stayed together in one accord and prayed. They didn’t know what would take place or when. They didn’t understand all of it. They didn’t have to. This was so grand and supernatural; all they had to do was trust the Lord and leave the details to him.
It was not a random experience but the actual turning point for the birth of Christianity. God the Father accepted what Jesus the Son had done. The third member of the Godhead needed to do his part. Pentecost is the feast of the first fruits. It was late spring and the first plantings were coming up. It was no coincidence that the Holy Spirit would come at this time. It would be the turning point in the lives of the 120 people there. It was a permanent experience in their lives. We need the presence of the Holy Spirit and his indwelling in our soul. We need to let him have full control. It’s the very presence of the Lord. So many have never experienced it. When we were born again through the blood of Jesus by faith, there was regeneration by the Spirit of God. We can have fellowship with one another, and we should, but we need the ongoing presence of our Lord in us. I’m so thankful for the continuing power of God. He said “I will be in them, and walk with them, and be their God.” We are never alone when the Holy Spirit is in us. We need his advice; he can solve problems; he gives us the power to resist sin. He gives us peace. He provides God’s light to energize our testimony.
It’s good the Holy Spirit resides in this house, in this world. However, in these days it’s easy for us to think God is not in control of the world. He is. Don’t doubt it. He’ll be here until the rapture of the church. Where is he in your life? Is your heart open to him? Are you mindful of him? As verse one says, do you have it all together? Is there unity? Do you practice what you profess? Sometimes we get too secular. At times we think we can do things by our own resources. We are to be different. We’re children of God. If we treat this as only a religious experience, Lord have mercy on us. If the Holy Spirit doesn’t indwell us the devil will. We pray “thy will be done.” Open your heart and let it be done. This happened 2,000 years ago, and we’re still here because of the Spirit of God. If we don’t live life in a spiritual manner, the Holy Spirit cannot be where he should. We have only an empty religion, and the Spirit can’t dwell in an empty tomb. The Lord wants to be connected to us and us to him. Paul tells us, “If we live in the Spirit, then let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Do you have loose ends to tie up? What about sin? Are you holding back? Is there a part you want to keep to yourself? Then the Holy Spirit can’t live in you. Pentecost comes when we act. It’s not some second part of salvation. We have to assume our responsibility and keep our house in order. “All together in one accord, in one place..”
Pentecost cannot fully come to us here without one accord with each other and the Lord. Sometimes we come to church, but our spirit doesn’t come with us. We sleep walk and don’t even realize it. We can do it. He can help us. The Holy Spirit came and filled the hearts of those who were there, from Peter to the one in the room’s far corner. When we get it together, nothing can separate us from each other. It has to be God’s way. It’s a waste of my time and your time if we treat the revival as an event. When we get it together, we can see the manifestation of the Spirit. All will be filled.
Before the the first of the 3,000 were saved that day, there had to be a great movement in each and every believer. There is no limit to what we can do if we let the Holy Spirit have his way. There is nothing we can’t overcome. We’ll see victory and spiritual success…when Pentecost has fully come.
I want him. I must get it all together. I want to be in one place, in one accord, and call out to him. I have to get the old Bob out of the way and let the Spirit work through the new Bob. Are you ready to set the old person aside? Do you want Pentecost to fully come in your life?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 