Today is Pentecost
Sunday, the day that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus
Christ in the form of cloven tongues of fire.
So, today we want to look at “FRESH FIRE FROM
ABOVE!”
Acts 2:1-8 says, “And
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one
accord in one place. 2 And SUDDENLY
there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all
the house where they were sitting. 3 And there
appeared unto them CLOVEN TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE, and it sat upon each
of them.
4 And they were ALL filled with the Holy Ghost,
and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance…”
At
the Passover, God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to be offered as a
sacrifice for humanity. God gave His best seed. 50 days after the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the grave, the Day of Pentecost came. At Pentecost God
gave the Holy Spirit. He supernaturally poured out His Spirit upon all flesh.
Held
50 days after Passover, Pentecost was also called the Festival of Harvest. It
was one of three major annual festivals (Deut. 16:16), a festival of
thanksgiving for the harvested crops. Jesus was crucified at Passover time, and
He ascended 40 days after His resurrection.
The
Holy Spirit came 50 days after the Resurrection, 10 days after the Ascension.
Jews of many nations gathered in Jerusalem for this festival. Thus, Peter’s
speech (Acts 2:14ff) was given to an international audience, and it resulted in
a worldwide harvest of new believers - the first converts to Christianity.
In
Joel 2:28-29 God promised saying, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I
WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days
will I pour out My Spirit.”
Pentecost
Sunday is a day you can receive a supernatural visitation from heaven. God’s promise to the world was fulfilled at Pentecost. In Acts 1:8 Jesus
promised that we shall receive power when the Spirit of the Lord comes upon us.
This power will enable us to be witnesses to the name of Jesus all over the
world.
It
is possible to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, speak in tongues and not have
fire. And it is impossible to do the work of God without the fire. It is like
trying to swim without water.
For
your Christian life and ministry, you need to receive fresh fire from above.
Every Christian must receive the baptism of fire if he will do anything
meaningful for the Lord. The fire of God in the life of a Christian is the sign
of divine approval, that indeed he has been called, appointed and anointed by
the Almighty God for the work of the ministry.
Talking
about Jesus, the Bible says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth (1) with
the Holy Ghost and (2) with power: who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).
Luke
4:14 says, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and
there went out a fame of Him through all the region round about.”
In
Luke 4:18-19 Jesus declaring His mission statement said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon
Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent
Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
We
have talked and prayed enough without results. What we need right now as
Christians is to get the fresh fire so that we can demonstrate the power of God
to a dying world. The world is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God
(Rom. 8:19). The only way the evil stronghold in many lives will be destroyed
is by fire.
In
Mark 16:17-18 Jesus said, “And these signs shall follow them that
believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; 18. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
“And
these signs shall follow them that are on fire……”
The
reason many undergo deliverance every day is due to the lack of the fire of the
Holy Ghost in their lives. The moment you possess this fire from heaven, it
marks an end to the harassment of evil forces in your life, and your life will
constitute a serious danger to the kingdom of darkness.
In Matthew 3:11 John the Baptist said,
“I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you (1)
with the Holy Ghost, and (2) with fire.”
I
want to emphasize 3 points today:
1.
Zechariah said He shall fall like rain. Zechariah 10:1 says, “Ask ye
of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make
bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to everyone grass
in the field.”
The
former rain speaks of every anointing before Pentecost. Everything from
Pentecost till now speaks of the latter rain [anointing]. We are living right
now in the time of the latter rain.
Ask
. . . rain—The abundance of grain promised in Zechariah 9:16, 17 depended on
rainfall, a necessity to the people of the ancient Near East. The Lord alone
was able to supply this, and He did when the people prayed to Him (Jeremiah
10:13; 14:22). Rain in . . . time of . . . latter rain—or “rain in the
springtime” (NIV, NRSV, NASB). In Palestine, there are two major seasons of
rain each year: in the fall, when the rain helps the grain to sprout, and in
the spring, when the rain helps the grain to ripen (Joel 2:23). If there is
good rainfall, good harvests are the natural result.
So
God’s promise of rain was also a promise of rich harvests, prosperity, and joy.
When there was poor rainfall, the natural result was famine and poverty. Thus,
to maintain peace and prosperity, the people are urged to be in constant touch
with God through prayer. Bright clouds . . . showers of rain - Lightning is
a warning of heavy rain, and the word translated here as “showers” would
best be understood as “downpours.”
The
sense of this passage is that when men ask for something from God, He not only
gives them what they ask for, He gives far more than they ever dreamed He would
(Eph. 3:20).
Joel
2:23-26 says, “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for
He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down
for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24
And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall OVERFLOW with
wine and oil. 25
And I will RESTORE to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the
cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent
among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name
of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and My people shall
never be ashamed.”
What is the rain? Isaiah 11:2 says, “And
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the Lord.”
1
Corinthians 1:24 says, “But unto them which are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
Wisdom
is the ability of God on you to enable you know what to do at any point in time
no matter the circumstances surrounding you.
2. The Holy Spirit is also referred to as wind. Acts 2:2 says, “And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting.”
3.
The Scriptures always use fire as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 12:29
says, “Our God is a consuming fire.”
For
instance, on Mount Sinai, God confirmed the validity of the Old Testament law
with fire from heaven (Ex. 19:16-18). Exodus 19:18 says, “And mount Sinai was altogether on
a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.”
At Pentecost, God confirmed the validity of the Holy Spirit’s ministry by
sending fire.
Malachi
says that the Lord whom you seek shall SUDDENLY come to His temple.” In Malachi
3:1-3 God said, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and He shall prepare the way before
Me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall SUDDENLY come to His temple, even
the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come. 2 But
who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? FOR
HE IS LIKE A REFINER'S FIRE, and like fullers' soap: 3 And He shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and
purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an
offering in righteousness.”
Firstly,
the Holy Spirit shall come on you suddenly. Secondly, when He appears, He shall
sit as a refiner and purifier. He will refine and purify us.
When
the fire of the Holy Ghost comes on you, it will refine and purify you by
burning off every ungodly thing in your life, so that you may be worthy to
offer unto the Lord an offering [worship/praise; evangelize] in righteousness.
The fire of God fell to consume the sacrifice. In 1
Kings 18:24 Elijah said, “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I
will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him
be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.”
1 Kings 18:30-39 says, “And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the
people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was
broken down….38 THEN THE FIRE
OF THE LORD FELL, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones,
and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all
the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, He is the
God; the Lord, He is the God.”
In the New Testament the Holy Spirit appeared unto
people in cloven tongues of fire.
In Acts 2:3 the Bible says, “And there appeared unto them
cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”
This same fire is still available today. What looked like flames or tongues of
fire appeared and settled on each of the 120 disciples that were in the upper
room.
At
Mount Sinai, fire came down on one place; at Pentecost, fire came down on many
believers, symbolizing that God’s
presence is available to all who believe in Him.
This
was a fulfillment of John the Baptist’s words about the Holy Spirit’s baptizing
with fire (Matt. 3:11; Lk. 3:16) and of the Prophet Joel’s words about the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).
Why tongues of fire? Tongues symbolize speech and the
communication of the Good News.
Fire
symbolizes God’s purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements
in our life and sets our heart aflame to ignite the lives of others. The fire purifies. Only the fire can
transform us by removing every ungodly thing from our lives. Only after the
fire has burnt off every chaff in our lives can we rightly be presented to God
as a living sacrifice.
Romans
12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.”
Realize
that not only were the disciples baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence
of speaking in tongues, but the accompanying fire destroyed every yoke of
bondage in all of them. The fire burnt off timidity from Peter Apostle such
that Peter preached with such fire that in a single sermon, 3000 souls were
added to the Kingdom of God (Acts 2:14-36; 37-41).
This
fire also destroyed the yoke of doubt in Thomas such that Thomas was the one
that started the Church of Christ in India through a visible manifestation of
the raw power of the Almighty God as he preached the Gospel.
Fire
is the symbol of the power and the presence of God. It is the only thing that
will convince the world of the awesome power of God. The unbelieving world
wants to see the demonstration of the power of God.
In
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 Paul said, “And my speech and my preaching was not with
enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power: 5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God.”
Paul
had received the fire of God. He was immersed in fire.
When
we have the fire of God, we will not be able to keep quiet, we will not be able
to sit still. Jeremiah said, “Then
I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak in His Name anymore. But His
Word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary
with forbearing, and I could not stay” (Jer. 20:9).
“The
Word of God was like fire in His bones.” It was such a powerful and
compelling force that he could not hold it in. When you receive the fire of
God, people will know. It is not something you can hide. The burning desire and
the zeal for the Kingdom of God will consume you. We need this fire daily. We
need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Eph. 5:18).
The work of the Lord must be done by fire.
Hebrews
1:7 says, “And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His
ministers a flame of fire.”
As
potential ministers of the Gospel, we should pray to become flames of fire, so
that we can give light to a world full of darkness.
Acts 1:4 says, “And, being assembled together with them,
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.”
Which promise?
In Joel 2:28-29 God said, “And it shall come to pass
afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men
shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in
those days will I pour out My Spirit.”
In Luke 24:49 Jesus said, “And, behold, I send the promise
of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on high.”
When will you receive the power from on high? Acts 1:8
says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 2:1-4 says, “And when the Day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where
they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them CLOVEN TONGUES LIKE AS OF
FIRE, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were ALL
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.”
And suddenly there was
power over economic distress. And suddenly there was power over sickness. And
suddenly there was power over sin. And suddenly there was power over poverty.
And suddenly there was power over marital discord. And suddenly there was power
over failure.
The Church was born by fire on the Day of Pentecost. Therefore, it should live
and grow with this fire.
As
we pray today, fresh fire will fall from heaven and fill every department of
your life. You shall get on fire from above today.
Even
right now, I hear the sound of abundance of rain. God is getting ready to flood
you with new ideas, wisdom, and power.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
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