Jesus said, “I have come to bring fire on
the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled” (Luke 12:49 ).
John the Baptist had introduced Jesus as one who would
baptize His followers “with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew
3:11). Jesus knew what was ahead in His coming crises, but He is looking
forward to the coming Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit that would introduce
the Church age, the dispensation of Grace, the era of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus might have also had in mind the prophecy of Joel:
“… I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will
prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even
on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days”
(Joel 2:28-29).
Jesus Himself,
as a man, was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in the power of the Holy Spirit
He trained His disciples, worked miracles, revealed the truth about God’s love
for lost humanity, and completed His mission by dying an atoning death and
shedding His blood in payment for the sins of all who would believe in Him.
Throughout His life, from the time He grasped His relationship with His
Heavenly Father to the moment of His death on the cross, Jesus longed for the
day the Holy Spirit would be poured out in holy fire to give birth to His
Church and the dispensation of grace that would result in bringing about His
Bride.
Following His resurrection from the dead, Jesus gathered
His eleven disciples for a special order: Then Jesus came to them and said,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew
28:18-20).
Just before His ascension to the Father our Risen Lord
ordered His disciples to go back into the city and tarry, (pray, wait, and
plead) for the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy; wait for the promise of the Holy
Spirit— “stay in the city until
you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
Let all Christians today be thankful to God that Jesus
spoke with such conviction to the disciples that they made the connection
between prayer and the baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire! Had the 11 and
109 other believers not obeyed that order, there would have been no Pentecostal
outpouring, no Church, no Bride for Christ, no Pentecostal power, no redeemed
human race.
The apostle Peter, explained
the secret of apostolic power to those who were persecuting them: “God gives
the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him” (Acts 5:32).
A crowd of 120 believers obeyed
the orders to go back into Jerusalem and start a prayer meeting (Acts 1:15). In
Acts, chapter 2, we find that after they had tarried in prayer for 10 days “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent
wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” The wind is one
of several symbols of the Holy Spirit. It came upon the 120 believers and
breathed the life of the Spirit into them, bringing
the miracle of the new birth.
Then in Acts 2:3: “They saw what seemed to be tongues
of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” Fire is
another symbol of the Holy Spirit. It seems to have first appeared in a solid
cluster and then divided so that the fire rested upon each person. This spoke
of both the unity and individuality of the body of Christ.
But even more important, the fire was holy fire cleansing
the hearts of all the Christian believers in that Upper Room. From the
beginning, Christ would have a people inwardly cleansed and empowered to
represent Him before a lost world for proclaiming His Gospel and reaping a
harvest for the Kingdom of God.
In Acts 2:4 we read that “All of them were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
Holy fire
results in holy, redemptive power. Down below the Upper Room were thousands of
Jewish pilgrims from all over the entire Mediterranean basin who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of
Firstfruits. They would be the first to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ from
those who had been filled with the Spirit. The 120 Spirit-filled believers had
normally only spoken three languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and a few spoke Greek.
But awaiting them down on street level were thousands representing 14 different
languages and dialects.
The Holy Spirit miraculously gifted the 120 with an utterance in all the languages needed for
communicating with those who would hear the saving message of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. The multitudes were about to hear the good news in their own
mother tongues. If the sound of wind signified life
and the sight of fire signified purity and power, the utterance in various
languages signified the universality of the Gospel and its mandate for all
nations.
These 120 Spirit-filled believers filed out of that Upper
Room and were down on street level scattering among the crowds uttering the
praises of God and the good news that Christ had died an atoning death for all
sinners.
Peter, who weeks before had denied Jesus, now filled with
the Holy Spirit addresses the crowds explaining what has happened. He explained
their purpose in coming among them: God had poured out His Spirit upon them
just as their prophet Joel had predicted. He told them that Jesus, whom they
had crucified, had been raised from the dead, and that He had been exalted to
heaven at the right hand of the Father. He continued, “Therefore let all
Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both
Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Luke reports the miracle of the convicting power of the
Holy Spirit on a multitude of the unbelieving listeners: “When the people
heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” Peter answered, “Repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
(Acts 2:37-38).
What was the result of
Peter’s Spirit-inspired message? “Those who accepted his message were
baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They
devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders
and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together
and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to
anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple
courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere
hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord
added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:41-47).
Jesus foreknew the power of Pentecostal prayer. But
first, He must find those who would engage in Pentecostal praying.
In Hebrews 13:8 we read that “Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever.”
If we
Christians of today had an ear to hear the Spirit’s call to prayer and would
engage in Pentecostal intercession, the Church in the last days could have the
greatest spiritual awakening in all the history of the Church. And a final
mighty revival would prepare believers for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ,
and it would also reap a harvest of lost souls for the Kingdom of God.
Christians, let us understand that there can be no
outpouring of the Spirit until we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from
our wicked ways. Only then will He hear from Heaven, forgive our sins, and heal
our land (II Chronicles 7:14).
