a child of god
this is the way, run in it
I'm reading in Acts at the moment, and in Chapter 2, we see God's Pentecost Suddenly unfold. We are so familiar with this passage, I am so familiar with this passage, that I was surprised to see new aspects in it this time round. He gave me a God light-bulb moment in His word.
The disciples were being obedient! I love that! They were obeying Jesus, their Lord's, last words to them, "...to wait for what the Father had promised , 'Which,' Jesus said, 'you have heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now' " (Acts 1:4-5). So the disciples had seen Jesus being taken back up into the sky, through the clouds, to heaven, and told by some angels that Jesus would come back for His own in just such a fashion, and they had then obediently gathered together in Jerusalem and were waiting. Waiting and praying. And God brings a suddenly. We love it when God breaks in and does something we can't do, when He comes in power and lives are changed and we feel His presence in a way we don't always. We wait and we pray for suddenlies, when God gives us a promise and we wait and pray for it to happen. This one, though, was BIG. It was so BIG that the sound of a huge rushing wind that came down from heaven, "a violent rushing wind" the word says, not only was it heard and felt by the disciples, but the people who lived around them heard it. Verse 6 says that "when this sound occurred, the multitude came together (outside)" to see what had happened! The disciples not only heard and felt the wind of God, the Holy Spirit, but something like tongues of fire distributed themselves on each one of the disciples. And then the word says, "and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues" (other languages), as the Spirit was giving it to them to speak (vv. 2-4). And the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place on Jesus' disciples, sent by God the Father, bringing God the Holy Spirit to fill His believers with power and supernatural gifting to preach the gospel to those around them. This was the start, and it required a suddenly of God, of the activity of the Church for the Kingdom of God. For the disciples, and for some of the crowd, this was an amazing act of God, and they believed. Sadly, for others, they didn't believe but made fun and mocked the disciples, refusing to believe the evidence before their eyes and ears. This is our job now, as the Church, as believers in Jesus, carriers of the Holy Spirit of God. As we allow Him to move in power through us, as we are obedient and wait and pray, and then act when God provides the right moment - speaking out the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ which does not change, for He does not change, people have an opportunity to believe in Him, or not, as they choose. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me" (John ). And the bible says that Jesus is "the same, yesterday, today and forever" and that He will come again for His own, the people who say yes to believing in Him. This requires accepting the fact that we are sinful people by nature, that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that we need a Savior. Jesus, who did not sin ever, died for the world, for us, so we could say yes to Him as Lord and Savior, and be part of God's family. I know that a lot of us know this already, but it is our testimony and it is the truth. We need to speak it out where God provides the opportunity. I need to speak it out where God gives me an opportunity. And we can be faithful to wait and to pray for God's suddenlies - where He does break in and open a door.
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Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
January 2019
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