Jesus - Our King of Glory.

 It's Pentecost Sunday!! What a day to commemorate!  

Jesus had told his disciples that it was better for them that he go away (John 16:7)- he was referring to returning to Heaven. BUT that He would not leave the disciples (or us for that matter) as orphans (John 14:8). Jesus promised a Helper. The Holy Spirit.

John 16:1-14 Jesus shared that the power of the Holy Spirit would:

• Enable the disciples (and consequently us as well) to do even greater things than Jesus
• Convict the world of sin AND of Righteousness
• That the ruler of this world has been judged
• Guide them/us into ALL truth
• The Holy Spirit (who has Authority) will NOT speak on His own Authority, but will speak whatever He hears. He will speak regarding things heard from the Father's heart. Conversations from the throne of God - to us!!
• He will speak of what is to come
• HE WILL GLORIFY JESUS
• He will take all that Jesus has and declare it to them/us.

 In John 20 we read that after the resurrection, Jesus appeared to his Disciples behind closed doors. The Disciples were so afraid because of all that had happened. Mary had shared the good news that He was alive - but they were unsure. I can picture the scene - where every little noise is frightening. They knew Jesus' body was "missing" and the authorities were on a rampage. And Suddenly - without doors opening - their Beloved Jesus is standing WITH them!!  And in absolute Father/Jesus style - His first words are tender and full of love: "Peace be with you."  He then begins the great commission "As the Father has sent me, I also send you,"  Then, Jesus breathes on them and says: "Receive the Holy Spirit."  He also shares they have authority to declare the forgiveness of sins.

What a glorious day! The transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant is made. The old creation began with the Breath of God; now the new creation begins with the Breath of God the Son.

Hear me - they'd received the Holy Spirit - yet in Acts 1 they receive further instructions: they are to WAIT for the PROMISE OF THE FATHER "

 In the words of JESUS: which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

BAPTIZED: from Strongs: baptizo (g0907) to immerse, submerge, to make whelmed; referring to our union and identification with Christ, becoming truly changed,  From BAPTO (g0911- a primary VERB which means there is action:  To cover wholly with a fluid. 

We don't hear the word 'whelmed' so I had to look it up: to engulf. (it also refers to being submerged or buried) No wonder Jesus used the same word used for water baptism in speaking about waiting for the Holy Spirit to come a baptize the the disciples.

In essence Jesus was saying WAIT - the Father has promised to immerse, submerge, and wholly cover you  with the Holy Spirit to change you and bring union and identification with ME.

They didn't discuss the theological implications of how this could be or if it's true. They didn't try to figure it out. Instead they gathered with about  other people in the upper room someone's house and WAITED. Acts 1:12-14 says there were about 120 people there including women. 

SIDENOTE: The Feast of Pentecost was an annual Jewish Festival, know as the "Feast of Weeks" or "Day of First fruits." It was a celebration of the first buds of the harvest. People were required to go to Jerusalem three times each year to celebrate the major feasts (Deut 16:16). People from the nations had gathered in Jerusalem. Some were probably bilingual, perhaps some were not. At any rate - a miracle was about to happening God's great and loving timing.

SUDDENLY - there came a sound from heaven LIKE a rushing wind - suggesting the mighty but unseen power of God. And as if that wasn't enough - there appeared divided tongues LIKE 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. Acts 2: 1-4

And now, not just having received the Holy Spirit - they've been FILLED. They've been baptized from  the inside out. Immersed, engulfed, whelmed -from the INSIDE out - filled to overflowing!!

In a flash they became new creations. This may be a silly example - but you'll understand what I mean. Think of a cucumber to a pickle. The same but with complete change! 

The first change I see is PETER!! Not that long ago he'd denied Jesus and lived in utter terror. Now, a few weeks later, he preached to the entire crowd and is fearless. That kind of change only comes from the supernatural power of God!!

Peter and the others are filled with a new joy and boldness to GLORIFY Jesus and share the good news.  The change is so radical, that people are willing to die to share the truth of Jesus. 

In Acts chapter 10 - we read of a truly amazing account that applies to all of us who are not Jewish. Up to this point, The Apostles were reaching out to Jews. Then Peter has what seems to be a weird dream in which God shows him that all food are ok to eat. At first, this was offensive to Peter; as a Jew he knew very well about foods that were permissible (you can research this on your own). But the Lord spoke to him and said; "what God has cleansed you must not call common" 

The Lord knows Peter and knows that now, Peter is all in. He is so "all in" that he will need some direction to go "all out." So he speaks directly to him. And while Peter is wondering what this vision could mean - people from a Gentile household show up asking Peter to come with them because their master, Cornelius, a Roman Centurion who feared the Lord had actually heard from he Lord to send for Peter.

Because Peter had listened to the voice of the Lord, he understood that he needed to do the unexpected. Even though he'd walked with Jesus and saw Him reach out to women, samaritans and gentiles; until this vision he'd been unprepared. Peter goes to his house, and begins to share when: 

"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God."

This passage always makes me smile - Peter, the great interrupter was interrupted!! The unimaginable happened again. This time, those baptized with the Holy Spirit began to speak in tongues to glorify God. 

Remember Jesus said that one of the purposes of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory to Him. 

Peter realized the PROMISE of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not limited to those in the Upper Room. Not only that, it wasn't limited to JEWS.  The gift had been poured out on the Gentiles too. How did they know this: 

Acts 10:45 (of the circumcision means Jews)  because they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

People, the greatest lie of Satan is that God has changed his unchangeable character. That this was a gift for 'those days' - that is absolutely NEVER implied in Scripture. Over centuries, the wonder and the supernatural gifts of God have been explained away out of fear, out of political correctness, out of control. But God IS the same yesterday, today and forever. It's not my desire to be contentious or focus on one gift to the exclusion of others. The point is - the baptism of the Holy Spirit is alive and active and we need His gifts more than ever before. We don't need to overthink it all. Just read what Acts says. 

When you read Acts - you'll see it can happen more than once - and you may learn that when Paul exhorts us to "be filled with the Holy Spirit" it's a verb that implies ongoing filling. The beauty of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that it's the evidence of the Ascended Christ. You may have had an experience of immediate baptism when you made Jesus the Lord of your life, or like me, perhaps it's a separate experience. If you  truly desire to be clay for God - to allow him mold you and make you - then search these scriptures out. Ask and WAIT for His baptism of the Holy Spirit. Don't have preconceived ideas about what that may "look or feel" like. Trust the Lord and remember it's not about you - this Gift is to Glorify Jesus. It's about being empowered to live like Jesus and be like Him - working greater works (John 14: 12) and advancing the Kingdom of God on earth. 

I pray for you the same prayer that Paul prayed over the Ephesians-

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

Jesus, be glorified in our lives as we yield our clay to You.