Thoughts on a Special Birthday

This weekend marks a very special occasion in Jesus' beautiful Church. It's time to celebrate for all of us around the world who follow Jesus, whether it be those who worship in a mighty, ancient cathedral, those who worship simple clapboard building, those who gather in an old storefront, or those who worship together in a living room. We all love Jesus, and together comprise His glorious body - and it's our birthday! This weekend is Pentecost Sunday, commemorating the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon a gathering of Jesus' believers, and we can read about this very special occasion in the book of Acts. 

But Acts chapter 1 is by no means the first time we hear anything about the Holy Spirit. He is everywhere, all throughout the scripture, both Old and New Testaments. But so many of us, even as followers of Christ, know so little about this third person of the Godhead. One of our friends was known to preach a sermon entitled "The Father, the Son, and What's His Name" because there is too little understanding of the Holy Spirit among Christ-followers. He is not generally on our radar, but should be. 

Once we clue into this, it is amazing to notice how much is said about the Spirit in the Bible. Jesus talked about Him all the time! Look what He said to His disciples the night of their last supper together before His arrest and crucifixion...
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 “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
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- John 14:15-21

Hours after Jesus said this, He was arrested. His disciples must have been so worried and afraid as the events of Easter weekend began to unfold, but try to imagine how full of joy and amazement they were after the resurrection. As time progressed, they began to remember more and more of what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit. 

After His resurrection, Jesus instructed all his followers to wait in Jerusalem for something incredibly special to happen - something He called a gift from the Father! I don't know about you, but I love gifts, and think that a gift from God Himself is incredibly special...
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After His suffering, He presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around Him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

-Acts 1:3-8

Even in those days after the resurrection, Jesus' disciples weren't exactly clear on what was going on. They kept trying to make what Jesus was doing into the setup of some kind of great earthly kingdom, but God had (and has!) so much more in mind than that. So even though they weren't sure what it was about, 120 of them did wait for the promised gift, and I encourage you to read the rest of Acts 1 and 2 to find out what happened on that Pentecost - a tremendous birthday that launched a movement of people who turned the broken world right-side up with the love and hope of Christ. 

If you haven't before thought the world was needing some help, the news lately gives us all a clue. People are desperately hurting and hopeless, and that is precisely why Jesus came - to bring hope, healing, and salvation for anyone who calls on His name. He came and conquered sin and death, and then went back to Heaven so the Spirit could come to continue the work Jesus began. (That's why the book of Acts, written by Luke, begins, "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.") Jesus is still working, doing, and teaching, only now by His Spirit through His followers! 

​We can begin to see why the Holy Spirit is so important when we look at His impact in Jesus' own life. When Jesus was here, He was fully God but also fully man. Look at what the Apostle Peter had to say about what he witnessed after Jesus' baptism...

You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.

-Acts 10:36-38

Even Jesus needed the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in His life to impact others. Once the Holy Spirit anointed Him, His ministry began. And the same is true for you and for me. We can know in our minds all there is to know about God and about Jesus yet remain unchanged and unhelpful to the world around us. We need the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in order for Jesus' help and healing to flow in and through our lives. 

Look at just some of the wonderful work the Holy Spirit does in our hearts...
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-Convicting – to place the truth of the gospel in a clear light before the unsaved so that it is acknowledged as truth, whether or not Christ is received as Savior - John 16:8-11


-Regenerating – The act of begetting by God, which imparts eternal life; He makes us new!  – Titus 3:5


-Indwelling – All true believers are indwelt…a. sinning Christians 1 Cor. 6:19, b. the Spirit is a gift Romans 5:5 and c. The absence of the Spirit is proof of being unsaved Romans 8:9


-Sealing – The HS is the Father’s seal, like a signet ring – the certainty of being God’s and preserved until the day of redemption (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13, 4:30). 


-Baptizing – making us witnesses, a promise available to all believers Joel 2, Acts 1:8
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There is so much more! The Spirit is our advocate, our comforter, our inspirer, and the One who continually, faithfully points us back to Jesus. As we celebrate the coming of the Spirit this Pentecost, I am so mindful of the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who hovered over chaos in the beginning of all things, and brought such beautiful order into creation. He is still able to bring lovely order out of even the worst chaos in our lives.

May the Spirit of the living God fall afresh in your life and home this Pentecost! May you be filled with God's hope and love, and spill out of your own upper room to bring  the Good News of Jesus to everyone around. 

​PS - I used my Ryrie Study Bible to make that list of works of the Spirit and the accompanying scripture references. If you don't have a good study Bible, I encourage you to get one and begin using it - I think you might find it so helpful.