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In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was given to specific individuals for specific purposes. The same is generally true in the New Testament.
Jesus gave the eleven disciples a mission that must have seemed impossible to them. To go out to the whole world and make disciples.
Imagine the questions that must have risen… is Jesus speaking literally or figuratively? How are we supposed to travel to “all nations”? How will we finance this? What about the languages?
Of course the trump card in all this was the promised Holy Spirit… never seen and barely understood.
Look with me at the drama in Acts 2, 50 days after Jesus was crucified.
They were all gathered in one room and a great noise like a great mighty rushing wind (Pnoe). I don’t know how long it lasted but imagine the sensory stimulation… mydriasis and shock. And then the visual stimulation “divided tongues like fire” sitting upon them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit (Pneuma) and began to speak in other tongues (languages)
The words “wind” and “spirit” are related to each other (Pnoe and Pneuma) doubtlessly the disciples connected the dots.
Recall what Jesus said in Luke 12:49…
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and what do I desire, if it is already kindled?”
When Jesus poured the Holy Spirit (better experienced than explained) on the world he started a fire that could not be extinguished and whatever the doubts the disciples might have had when Jesus issued the “Great Commission” to them were put to rest.
Let it burn baby… let it burn.
In Genesis 11, the whole earth spoke the same language. The people decided to build a great city with a tower reaching toward heaven and make a name for themselves.
God reasoned that if he allowed this then nothing would be impossible for them. So God took away their ability to communicate with each other by giving them different languages. They were babbling to each other and were confused and thus were scattered over the whole earth.
In Acts 2, God poured out the Holy Spirit to allow his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to anyone of any language. Language was no longer a barrier.
At Babel, God confused their languages to scatter the people. At Pentecost, God overcame those language barriers to gather people together in the great name of Jesus Christ.
With a gathered united people God could build his own great city… the Church.
Believe and be baptized, receive God's Holy Spirit, and enjoy life in the greatest city ever built.
There’s a magical mirror mentioned in the scriptures. It’s a mirror that doesn’t reflect physical features but reflects our spiritual condition.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing” (James 1:23-25)
James describes a man who looks in the mirror and walks away unchanged. Paul describes a Christian who beholds the Lord's glory and is transformed.
As we turn our lives over to Christ, something wonderful happens.
Gradually, we eliminate sin and replace selfishness with service, hatred with love and pride with humility.
Until when we look in the mirror we see Jesus Christ looking back at us and the transformation is complete.
Here's a question worth the asking…
Do you want to just get older and uglier or do you want to look like Jesus?
Make-up can’t make you look any better, only looking at Jesus can give you true beauty.
God formed Adam from the dust of the ground, but Adam wasn't alive until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Adam received physical life... but that physical life would eventually end in death.
In Ezekiel 37, God showed Ezekiel a valley of dry bones. The bones came together, were covered with flesh and skin, and became fully formed and functional bodies. But they weren't alive until God's breath entered them. They too received physical life... life that would also eventually end.
Then came Pentecost.
This time humanity was already physically alive but spiritually dead (in sin). God poured out His Holy Breath (Spirit) upon them, offering a new kind of life... spiritual life that could extend into eternity.
Three occasions. Three acts of God giving life.
Adam received the breath of life.
The dry bones received the breath of life.
At Pentecost, humanity was offered the Holy Breath of eternal life.
Physical life is temporary. Spiritual life in Christ is eternal.
And in all three cases, life comes from the breath of God.
Choose God’s breath and live like no other.
God is holy, and it makes sense that He would want a clean place to live in.
In Ezekiel 36:25–27, God promises Israel that He will sprinkle them with clean water, cleanse them from their impurities, and then put His Spirit within them.
Notice the order... first cleansing, then the Holy Spirit.
At Pentecost, Peter told the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38–39).
Again... first cleansing, then the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesians 5:25–27, Paul describes Christ cleansing and sanctifying the church by the washing of water with the word, preparing His bride to be holy and without blemish.
Once again... first cleansing, then a holy relationship.
Even in the Jewish Temple, God would not live in just any part of it. He had to live in the Holy of Holies where the only human who could enter was the High Priest and only once a year and with a sacrifice.
God won’t live in a filthy house. He cleans us so that His Holy Spirit can live within us.
“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26)
Be careful or the Holy Spirit just might move out rather than live in a hog pen.
The Gospel of Luke contains two genealogies for Jesus Christ… his biological genealogy through his physical parents and his spiritual genealogy.
Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:21) concludes with God proclaiming, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”
That’s a pretty short genealogy… a father and a son.
Then notice what happens immediately after this, (Luke 3:23) Jesus’ biological genealogy begins with Joseph and goes back in time all the way to Adam and concludes with the “son of God”.
But look what happens after God calls Jesus his beloved son. Joseph is identified as the “supposed” son of Joseph.
How appropriate that God who became flesh had both his spiritual and biological genealogies identified right next to each other in the Gospel recorded by Luke.
That begs the question then how many genealogies do followers of Christ have? The same as Jesus... two. Our biological genealogy and our spiritual with our Father... God. Hopefully one day he can say "you are my beloved sons..." Won't that be a day!
I had a fellow Christian e-mail me recently who had just sent his child off to college and he didn’t think the kid was attending church. What could he do?
That made me think about how it was when we sent our kids off to college.
first i told our kids they could go to any university they wanted but the only one I would pay for was Texas A&M in College Station. That’s where they both went. For the sake of perspective me and my two brothers paid for 100% of our college. Dad was very encouraging but didn’t contribute monetarily.
then I told our kids they had to do three things to stay up there. They had to go to church, they had to behave themselves and they had to pass their courses. Otherwise they could come back home and go to a local Junior college. Texas A&M is not cheap and they had conditions for me to spend the big money.
I’ve always demanded respect from our children. If they disrespected me or my wife or any other adult there would be serious negative consequences. I don’t recall them violating that rule.
One time a neighbor knocked on our door who was a little irate and said our son had been speeding down our street and he was concerned for his children. I called my son to the front door and asked him, what about this. He apologized and we moved on.
another rule I always required was that if you lived in my home and ate my food you would go to church and at least act like you liked it.
when my kids were in High School and wanted a car I told them whatever money you save up towards a car, I’ll match it. My son saved up $500 and got a $1,000 car. Our daughter saved up $3,000. You do the math. I felt like that was pretty generous. My two brothers and I had to buy our own cars.
I don’t know what my Christian friend’s arrangements with his child were and I’m not going to meddle. I simply advised him to periodically ask how are things at church?
