THE ARMY OF GOD III (THE DAY OF PENTECOST)

The fact that the disciples in the upper room obeyed Jesus, and tarried in Jerusalem, proves they knew something was going to happen. Indeed, the fact that they replaced Judas with Matthias indicates that they knew there was a future. Jesus had commissioned them to go out and preach the gospel. And they intended to do it. But, first they had to do exactly what Jesus told them to do: Wait and be ready. The disciples, about one hundred and twenty of them, spent these days praying. We read, “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” (Acts 1:14) So, we know they took their calling seriously, and were focused on the will of God. One cannot but help wonder what went through their minds. They had been with Jesus for three and one-half years. Mary had been His mother. What stories they must have shared! They had seen Him crucified and raised from the dead. And then they saw Him ascend to heaven. Certainly, Jesus must have revealed much to them during the forty days between the resurrection and the ascension. There must have been much discussion about that. Much illumination regarding the things which Jesus did during His ministry. There is nothing recorded in the Bible which indicates that the disciples knew that this day of Pentecost would be special; that it would be the day something would happen. Pentecost had been an Old Covenant Holy day which God had ordained for the nation Israel. It falls roughly fifty days after the Feast of First Fruits, depending on how the days fall during Passover week. So probably the disciples celebrated this Pentecost, expecting it to be like most others. When Luke wrote the second chapter of Acts, he chose his words carefully. He wrote, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come…” Or, to say it another way, Pentecost was about to be fulfilled. Everything which the day of Pentecost had foreshadowed was now about to come to pass. The “day” of Pentecost had fully come, the fullness of what was intended by it was upon these disciples. Luke tells us what happened almost casually. He says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4) Now, the intention here is not to examine the gift of tongues. It is not to try to figure out whether these tongues were the same as the “gift of tongues” later spoken of in the New Testament. Or whether tongues are for today. The focus here is upon the fact that these disciples had something happen to them. Something which they did not initiate or anticipate. Something initiated by God. We must see this. Today, people are sometimes “taught” how to speak in tongues. Or taught how a person is “supposed to act” when the Holy Spirit is upon them. People learn how to act, either by direct instruction, or by observing what others do. Most of it is sincere, but out of order. These disciples had no such teachers. They didn’t have a handbook on the spiritual gifts. They never attended a conference or seminary. They had no examples and no experience. And the parts of the New Testament which address the spiritual gifts were yet to be written. They were totally ignorant on the subject. But stuff happened. Lots of marvelous stuff. They spoke in tongues and apparently manifested a behavior which got the attention of many people. Peter stood up and preached a powerful sermon under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it converted many, right on the spot. How? How did this happen? How could a group of “unlearned and ignorant men,” (Acts 4:13) do this? They had no formal training. No education. Or did they? The apostles and the disciples DID have training, didn’t they? Yep. But not in any institution. They possessed no degrees. Instead, they have been with Jesus Christ. And that is the key. Someone who has been with Jesus, and continues to be “with Him,” is able to be used by God far more than someone who has studied about Christ in many books. These disciples had little formal education to pour into their ministry. But they had lots of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the foundation of Christianity. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Head of the Body. Anytime Christians forget this, and begin putting someone or something else at the center, spiritual life suffers. The small group of disciples who were in that upper room did not know how to put someone or something else, instead of Jesus, at the center of their lives. No one had yet come into their midst with such nonsense. They had only Jesus Christ. Thus, God was free to do something special; some earth shaking. We need to see that Jesus Christ as the center was the key here for these disciples. Not the church. Not an organization. NOT Denominations. Not doctrines. Not teachings. Not gifts. Not each other. And not even the great commission. It was Jesus Christ and Him alone. The disciples had a single eye that was single upon Jesus, and were of one mind seeking the will of God. God’s will is that we keep our eyes on Jesus, and let Him take care of the rest. This does not mean we are passive. But, it does mean that we must have an eye which is “single” and focused upon Christ, and upon the will of God. The rest of what happens will be the by-product. It will be motivated by faith and obedience to God. Ever since the apostolic age closed, however, we think we have acquired a better way of doing things. Instead of submitting ourselves to God, and letting the gifts operate out of this submission, we have figured out a way to by-pass submission to God, and have the gifts anyway. Or at least a substitute for the gift. Not the real thing. What we often end up with is a “form of religion” but no power. (see II Tim. 3:5) We end up with something that often looks like the real thing, but is of US, and not God. Now I am not pointing a finger at charismatic groups denominations, non-charismatic denominations have been guilty of this to an even greater extent, regarding some of the less controversial gifts. Instead of allowing God to give His gifts to men and then to allow those gifts to be evidenced, many churches have shown little regard for whether the gift or calling of God is upon someone. Instead, if a person has a degree he is considered qualified to be pastor or teacher. Again, this is not a criticism of education, but education is never the way anyone grows in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. And you cannot drag down a spiritual gift from heaven by getting a degree. Education, at best, is a wonderful adjunct to a real calling. If you want to know what went wrong with the early church generally, and what goes wrong with any church today, we find the core of it here. Anytime a group of people begin to replace the Living Christ with doctrines and teachings about Him, they have Biblical religion, but no resurrection life. Anytime a church begins to make “the church” the center, rather than the Person of Christ, spiritual life suffers. And the most tragic thing of all is that those who fall into this trap usually think they are alive and well. Today’s churches are filled with “church-goers or pew-sitters.” But, how many of us are born again believers who are walking in the power of resurrection life? How many of us are dying with Jesus Christ daily, carrying our Cross? The first disciples had not yet learned how to play church. They had not yet discovered how to play politics in a church or how to put on the guise of a Christian. They were just people, people upon whom the day of Pentecost had come. And they would move forward to turn the world upside down. What does this say to us? It ought to suggest to us that the church has gotten off track. These first disciples did not have doctrines, teachings, and the Bible, not the way we do today. But, they had a relationship with a Person. And, despite the fact that we should cherish our doctrines, teachings, and certainly God’s Word, and preach them boldly, we need to get back to this basic: Christianity is a living relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Written by David Stahl