Sunday Sunday (echoing voice)
It seems each week is as great as the week before. This week we were honored to have the Thrive band lead in worship and they did a superb job. Also it is always nice to have Jon Fennel with us.
What a great day!
The message yesterday has provoked some thought and I would like to talk about. Acts 2
There are so many lessons that can be learned from the birth of the first church. However I am intrigued about the action of the Holy Spirit that day and the response from the crowd.
I have been in “Pentecost” all my life and deeply believe in the power of the Living G-d. I love to see how the Holy Spirit guides, directs and even convicts sin. I also love to see the power of the Spirit in healing, miracles, words of wisdom etc.
My interest though is on the response of the crowd that day of Pentecost. If you read in Acts 2:37 the crowd that heard and saw what was going on were pierced to the heart and then asked “what shall we do?”
Wow! That is totally different than responses that you hear about today. I don’t want to even think about the number of people that have come to a Pentecostal church and seen the out pouring of the Holy Spirit and left with a vow to never come back. And most of the fearful attendees rarely darken a door of any church. Sounds a little different than Acts 2. WHY?
Did fear strike the attendee and cause her to shut down? Maybe. Or maybe he was not open to G-d. IDK. But what I do see in Acts is that the crowd was captivated that day and pierced to the heart to change.
Could it be that in this modern day of religion we have lost a sense of the Power of the Spirit? Could it be that we use the Spirit to promote our super spiritual agendas? Could it be that some of the time when we say this is a “move of the spirit” it is actual a move of the flesh? Can I as a Pentecostal person just say the Spirit made me do it with no regards to any person?
The most outstanding picture I see in Acts 2 is found in verse 41. 3000 people said yes to Jesus. Why? Because of the power of the Holy Spirit! A power that brings people in instead of running them off. A power that transcends culture, race and age. A power that unifies. A power that reaches the lost!
Any thoughts
I just talked to your wife on the phone and decided to check out your site/blog. Thank you for the reminder, Steven! We Pentecostals do need to remember God wants worship from the core...genuine!
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought for you...the Feast of Pentecost was to commemorate the giving of the law. The day Moses came down from the mountain after God gave him the 10 Commandments and saw the children of Israel worshipping a golden calf, righteous indignation rose up in him. That day they had to choose...were they going to serve God or not? Those that didn't were killed...3,000 of them! The law brings death, but the Spirit brings life! Praise God that on the day of Pentecost, when they were celebrating the giving of the law, the Spirit was poured on those who would dare wait on Him, and 3,000 were saved! Cool, huh?!
That is very cool dont know that i ever paid attention to that. Thank You
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