Tag: pentecost

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Daily Devotion May 31st

SUNDAY 31st

Acts 2

Today if we had been able to be gathered as Church, we would have been considering Pentecost as it is Pentecost Sunday, so instead it will be the theme for today’s devotion. We touched on this subject of Pentecost toward the end of April so there will be some overlap here in the thoughts I will be sharing.

What happened on the Day of Pentecost was a pivotal moment in the experience of the disciples because it was:

1) A fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy (Joel 2)

2) A fulfilment of the promise of Jesus (John 7: 37-39, ‘On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’  John 14:16-17 ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.’)

3) It was the day that the building of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ commenced.

4) It was also the day in which the disciples were empowered for the task in hand, which was to fulfil the commission given them by the Lord Jesus Christ prior to his ascension which was to go into all the world and preach the gospel. (Mark 16:15) Or as it says in Act 1:8 to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

As we read through this chapter and through the book of Acts, we discover that on being filled with the Holy Spirit the disciples and those working with them did amazing exploits for God. Souls were saved, bodies were healed, the tormented and possessed were delivered and in the words of the city officials in Thessalonica, they had turned the world upside down! (Acts 17:6) Some translations say that they had been causing trouble!

It would be wonderful if all over the UK once this Pandemic is over that the local newspapers were to report that those who call themselves followers of Jesus have turned their towns and cities upside down! For it to be a possibility, we who are believers need to be found in a place where we seek God to come afresh and to empower us again with Pentecostal power and anointing so that like the early disciples we can demonstrate the power in the setting where he has placed us with our preaching, witness and testimony.

Back in 1904/05, God poured out his Spirit afresh in various places around Wales, bringing about what we now call the Welsh Revival, I found this quote on the internet ‘The effects of the 1904 Welsh Revival’. Souls were saved, individual lives were changed and Society itself was changed. Countless numbers of souls were saved. No records were kept of the actual number converted, but 150,000 is a very conservative estimate during the first six months. Wales again became a God-fearing nation.’

In reality although the suggested number of converts is at 150,000, this would be small in comparison to the long term effects of the revival, for as a result of that revival, even if it came to an end in Wales, some of the main stream Pentecostal denominations were born and with them being established there was a new and fresh desire for world mission, evangelization. And from out of these newly formed Churches, many went to serve God, sharing the gospel on the continents of the world with the result being that countless thousands have since responded to Jesus.

As the Church in the UK eventually comes out of lockdown, we need to be crying out for the Lord to do it again, as he poured out his Spirit on the waiting Church in Jerusalem, as he has poured out his Spirit in times of revival, we need God to do it again. Do it Lord, in Gateshead, do it in Emmanuel Pentecostal Church, do it in my heart, make me burn with the flame of Pentecostal power so that our nation will be shaken again by a powerful outpouring of the Spirit again.

We have the words again of the well-known hymn, ‘send the fire’

O God of burning cleansing flame:

Send the fire!

Your blood-bought gift today we claim:

Send the fire today!

Look down and see this waiting host,

And send the promised Holy Ghost;

We need another Pentecost!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:

Send the fire!

And make us fit to live or die:

Send the fire today!

To burn up every trace of sin,

To bring the light and glory in,

The revolution now begin!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

It’s fire we want, for fire we plead:

Send the fire!

The fire will meet our every need:

Send the fire today!

For strength to always do what’s right,

For grace to conquer in the fight,

For power to walk the world in white:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave:

Send the fire!

To live, a dying world to save:

Send the fire today!

Oh, see us on Your altar lay,

We give our lives to you today,

So crown the offering now we pray:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

William Booth CCLI788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion May 1st

FRIDAY May 1st

1 Corinthians 12 – The Nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit who himself is a gift to the Church, also comes with gifts. Firstly, there are gifts of service within the Body of Christ. We read of these in Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:27-31

Secondly, there are what we usually describe as the ‘Gifts of the Holy Spirit’ gifts or giftings that are spiritual endowments given to individuals within the Church. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 lists them as:

The utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, the ability to distinguish between spirits, various kinds of tongues and the interpretation of tongues.

Nine gifts which are as explained in this chapter apportioned by the Spirit to individuals as he wills.

I am a Pentecostal believer, and I not only believe in the receiving or the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I also believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that they should be evident in a Pentecostal Church gathering.

Now this is a subject that is too vast for me to cover in these devotions, but too important for me not to overlook! So in this short devotion I want us to be inspired again, I want us to not only be Spirit filled and equipped, I want us to be a Church where there is very real evidence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work.

In verses 4-7, we discover that in the area of the Church and gifts of the Holy Spirit there are a variety of gifts but the source is the same – the Holy Spirit (v4) There are a variety of service – but the source is the same – The Lord (v5) and that there are a variety of activities, but the source is the same – God empowers them all in everything (v6) and then in v7, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit FOR THE COMMON GOOD. Notice the work of the trinity in the bold letters.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are nine in number, usually when someone gives us a gift it is for our own personal benefit, but not when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, whichever of the gifts he may have given to us individually is for the common good of everybody else, for example, in particular to a local Church setting, if one person has the gift of prophecy it is for the mutual good, or for the benefit of the whole assembly.

The gifts have often been divided into three groups and each group identified in this way:

Prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues – voice gifts

Wisdom, knowledge and discerning of spirits – revelation gifts

Faith, healing and miracle – power gifts

Whichever we way we want to group them, does not really matter, what matters is that we seek God for the manifestation of the gifts among us. In our own lives we need to come before God and make ourselves available for the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be used.

Following on from chapter 12, we have the famous ‘love’ chapter. I think that Paul by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is giving to us in this chapter, the secret to creating an environment in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit will be used and the only kind of environment in which they should be used. He ends chapter 12 by listing all kinds of ministries and giftings in the Church, ending with these words, ‘But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.’ And what is this more excellent way? It is the way of LOVE. Read through chapter 13 and note as you do all the good that we can do, but if we do not have love it profits nothing! Paul then continues in the next chapter (14) with, ‘PURSUE LOVE, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.’

LOVE – love must be the characteristic that binds a Church together and create the atmosphere in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit can operate. May we pursue love, so that the Holy Spirit will be pleased to impart gifts that in turn will benefit each one of us in the body of Christ, in the local Church.

Of all the Spirit’s gifts to me,

I pray that I may never cease

to take and treasure most these three:

love, joy, and peace.

The Spirit shows me love’s the root

of every gift sent from above,

of every flower, of every fruit,

that God is love.

The Spirit shows if I possess

a love no evil can destroy;

however great is my distress,

then this is joy.

Though what’s ahead is mystery,

and life itself is ours on lease,

each day the Spirit says to me,

“Go forth in peace!”

We go in peace, but made aware that,

in a needy world like this,

our clearest purpose is to share

love, joy, and peace.

Fred Pratt Green CCLI 788682

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Daily Devotion April 30th

THURSDAY 30th

Acts 1:8 – Power to be Missional

We go back today to Acts chapter one, for when Jesus told the disciples to wait, it was initially to wait to be empowered for mission. ‘Do not go, don’t leave Jerusalem until you have received the promise of the Father, you heard me speak about it, John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit . . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’

Matthew and Mark record for us the commission of the disciples from Jesus, Matthew in 28:16-20 and Mark 16:15-18.

Back in the commencement of his ministry when Jesus called the disciples, he was calling them to be fishers of men. (Mark 1:17) Today we use the phrase to be evangelists, to tell the goods news so that others will hear, respond, and become disciples. Some of the disciples understood the concept of fishing after all that was their occupation, and they would have known that fishing was not easy, it wasn’t a case of sitting in a boat and looking overboard and saying, ‘here fishy, fishy, jump in the boat so that I can catch you’ no, it took a lot of hard work and energy. They needed to be properly equipped. And Jesus had called them to be fishers of men and it was not going to be easy, they would need to be properly equipped. Therefore, after commissioning the disciples to go and to fish (make disciples) Jesus said, ‘Do not go until you have the power (the resource) or the equipping of the Holy Spirit.

And after they had received the power of the Holy Spirit they went fishing. And the Book of Acts records for us their fishing adventures. Yes sometimes it was a smooth run, but at other times it was tempestuous, fraught with danger, literally for Paul as it involved him being shipwrecked, but because the original twelve had been obedient in ‘waiting until’, they laboured through the good times and the bad times by knowing the enabling strength and power and leading of the Holy Spirit.

The men (and the women with them) fished and fished till they caught fish and in so many places, islands, towns and cities and countries far away from Jerusalem. They went to at least Spain which is mention in Romans 15. And thank God, the fishing has never stopped, the disciples made disciples who in turn made disciples until the fishers of men have eventually caught you and I two thousand years later, and the fishing has taken place and is still taking place the whole world over.

I have never been fishing, other than the occasional crab baiting, I have watched others fish, often wondered why they can be bothered when you can go and buy a piece of fish more easily and quicker from the supermarket or even ready cooked at the chippy! Let somebody else do the fishing!

I wonder if we can be like that spiritually, let someone else do the fishing! But Jesus calls us all to be fishers of men (and women) and he doesn’t expect us to go out and to do it alone, he has also given the Holy Spirit to us, to equip us and to empower us in our sharing of the gospel. And like the disciples it will not always be an easy venture, there will be rebuffs, there may be conflict, there will be those who will reject the message, but it is the only way we will catch the fish. If you do not fish, you will never catch a fish! And believe you me, there are plenty of fish out there, and some are almost ready to jump into the net, it just needs us to put the nets out.

In John 21:3, Peter said to some of the disciples ‘I am going fishing’ and they fished all night and caught nothing – sometimes we may feel we have fished all night and caught nothing, I can assure you I have been there. Then it says that Jesus appeared and said to them ‘Cast the net on the right side’ and in doing so they caught 153 large fish.

In Acts we see the importance of the leading of the Holy Spirit in our fishing ventures. It is all about casting the net on the right side, or in the right place. For example, in Acts 8:29 we read of the Holy Spirit telling Philip to ‘Go over and join this Chariot’ In obedience Philip went and fished, and a man was saved. In Acts 16 which is a great missional chapter because there was successful fishing in so many places but in verse 6-7, we read ‘they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. And when they came to Mysia they attempted to go into Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.’

We need the help of the Holy Spirit in directing us, but we need to obey his voice, his leading. Next time you feel the Holy Spirit prompt you to speak to someone – be obedient, who knows you may catch a fish!

Peter said, “I’m going fishing,”

so his friends went out with him.

Through the night, they labored, watching,

hauling empty nets back in.

In the grey of early morning,

Jesus, you came walking by.

From the beach you called a greeting,

“Cast out on the other side!”

Soon their nets were filled to brimming;

someone cried, “It is the Lord!”

Jumping in, he started swimming;

Christ, you met him on the shore.

Guiding them to better waters,

eating fish and sharing bread –

you showed Peter and the others:

You were risen from the dead!

Risen Christ, you send us fishing!

God’s great sea is everywhere.

you have guided us in mission,

you have given love to share.

Through the years, our church has heard you,

we have answered your great call:

“Cast your nets where I have told you.

Bring my Word of love to all!”

Lord, be with our congregation;

by your Spirit, send us forth!

May we care for your creation;

may we work for peace on earth.

In our worship, in our giving,

in our serving those in need,

may we know, Lord; you are living,

guiding us in ministry.

Unknown CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 29th

WEDNESDAY 29th

Acts 3 and 4 – Rivers of Living Water

The ministries or the work of the Holy Spirit within our lives are many and varied. He not only helps us in spiritual ministries, but he helps us in our everyday living, he enables us to walk in his ways rather than in the ways and the desires of the flesh. (our subject in the devotion on April 2nd)

Within the scope of the Church the Holy Spirit not only empowers us and anoints us, he also equips us. He gives us the grace and the strength in our work and service for the Lord.

There is another area that we come to in today’s reading, and perhaps we overlook this when we look at this portion of Scripture, and it is this; I believe that the Holy Spirit makes us more aware of the needs of those who are around us, he sensitizes us to becoming more compassionate toward the less fortunate or those in need. In a sense it is the Holy Spirit working in our lives to make us more like what Jesus was like – it says in Matthew 9:36 that when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.’

Jesus was a man who was moved with compassion. Today we are seeing all around us folk who are harassed and helpless, the easiest thing to do is to pass by them, to ignore them and think to ourselves, ‘someone else can see to them.’

In Acts 3, Peter and John were making their way up to the temple at the hour of prayer. On the journey was a man who was less fortunate than they were, a man who was harassed and helpless, a man who spent his day sitting and begging just to try and get by. He had been lamed from birth.

I think that the first thing that was triggered in the hearts of the two men was a supernatural compassion for the man. It would have been so easy to just walk by him. But he had a need and they could do something about it. But what they were about to do was something extraordinary. They couldn’t help him out financially , their pockets were empty, but because of the encounter that they had had in the ‘Upper Room’ they had something even more important to offer, something that would end the man’s hopelessness, and mean he would vacate the place where he had been sitting every day and do something that he had never experienced before, to walk and jump and to leap about. They had the Power of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives, they had the ‘faith to believe that something extraordinary could happen’ They had authority to minister ‘in the name of Jesus’ and so they spoke to the man (v6) and took the man by the right hand and ‘immediately his feet and ankles were made strong’ This in itself is amazing, but let’s not miss a major point, the healing was wonderful but through it they introduced the man to Jesus.

Now, I am not suggesting that we should go to every person we see begging in the streets, and begin to do this, what I am suggesting is that when we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit we will know and recognise the sensitivity of the leading of the Holy Spirit to go to those who he wants us to go to. It will not always be necessarily to go to someone in the streets, it can be anywhere, for the helpless and the harassed are found in our neighbourhoods, maybe in our families and maybe even within the community of the Church.

At first, this narrative does not seem to end too well for the disciples, they are arrested and put into custody! But it gives them a great opportunity to share the gospel again(4:7-12) and the verdict given was two-fold, 1) The authorities knew something spectacular had happened (4:13-14) 2) They forbade them from speaking or teaching any more in the name of Jesus. Then they were released.

But immediately the disciples were released from custody they reported back to the Church and they have a prayer meeting about the situation and God releases yet again another spectacular outpouring of the Holy Spirt. V31 ‘And when they had prayed, the place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirt and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.’

Hang on, ‘They were all filled with the Holy Spirit’ I thought that that had happened on the day of Pentecost? How come they were filled again? Well, can I suggest that the disciples who had been filled on the day of Pentecost had also been giving out as they had moved under the power of the Holy Spirit. They had received and they had also been giving, and (hopefully not to sound to disrespectful about spiritual things), they needed topping up again! In John 7:37-38, Jesus cried out ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink’, Jesus said that we need to drink so that out of our hearts will flow rivers of living water, ‘this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (V39) This tells us, that for the rivers of living water to be flowing out they first need to be flowing in! We continually need to ‘drink’, to know what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he can overflow out through our lives as rivers of living water towards others.

Going back to where we started, as you picture Peter and John speaking to the lame man, allow your mind’s eye to look deeper, first see Peter and John before they make the journey, drinking the living water, they are filled with the Spirit and as they begin to speak to the lame man, in the Name of Jesus, the rivers of living water are flowing out and a need is met and God is glorified.

I am a big tea and coffee drinker, probably drink far too much and guess what, what goes in needs to eventually come out! The more I drink the more . . .!

Paul says in Ephesians 5:18 ‘. . . but be filled with the Spirit . . .’ Scholars tell us that it should read ‘Keep on being filled with the Spirit’ Keep drinking in the water Jesus offers, keep drinking, drinking and drinking, because, you’ve guessed it,  the more you drink the more the rivers of living water will flow!

Rivers of living water,

Rivers that flow from the throne,

Rivers o’erflowing with blessing,

Coming from Jesus alone.

Rivers of living water,

Rivers of life so free,

Flowing from Thee, my Savior,

Send now the rivers through me.

Whoso is thirsty come hither,

Here is abundant supply;

Water transparent as crystal,

Come without money and buy.

Cleanse me, oh, cleanse me, my Savior,

Make me a channel today;

Empty me, fill me and use me,

Teach me to trust and obey.

Then, and then only, Lord Jesus,

Through me the rivers can flow;

Thus and thus only will others

Learn Thy great fulness to know.

Now I surrender to Jesus,

Here I lay all at His feet;

Anything, anywhere only,

Just for His service made meet!

Unknown CCLI 7882682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 28th

TUESDAY 28th

Acts 2:14-47 – Power

Luke who has written this historical account for us, continues the story. From the thousands that were out in the streets, there had been a mixed reaction. Some were amazed and perplexed at what they were seeing and hearing, others decided to mock them, suggesting it was as a result of having too much wine to drink, even though the evidence was there, that in the tongues that were being spoken the people understood them and heard them describing the mighty works of God.

As a response to the reaction of the crowd, but more importantly, as a result of the Pentecostal Power and the Holy Spirits Infilling, Peter stood up with the other eleven and began to address the crowd. It was only a few weeks earlier they were locking themselves away for fear of the Jews, (John 20:19) but now, what a transformation. When the Holy Spirit comes and fills with power, he also gives spiritual boldness and spiritual strength, and Peter, who blatantly denied Jesus three times (John 18:15-27) is now boldly proclaiming him.

In verses 15 – 36 we have the first sermon preached after the inauguration of the Church, and what a sermon. It wasn’t a motivational talk, it wasn’t a series of quick steps to make yourself feel better about yourself, it wasn’t a half hour talk that tickled the fancy of the hearers, it was a proclamation of the truth, it expounded and verified that what was happening was a fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy,(vv16-21 and Joel 2:28-32) it declared the truth concerning who Jesus was, and that though his life, death and resurrection God was at work, (vv22-28) it was a declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, (vv29-36) it exposed the sins of the hearers, for at the same time as the Holy Spirit anointed Peter to preach the sermon, the Holy Spirit was also at work in the hearts of the crowd, for we read in v37 that they were cut to the heart, conviction had gripped them as they realised the reality of their sin and their need for the Saviour. They responded, ‘What shall we do?’ and Peter answered, ‘Repent and be baptised, everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the Holy Spirit.’ 

We need to know again the Holy Spirits anointing on the preaching of the Word of God, I confess, that I need to know the anointing, I need to know the equipping power, those of us who preach in Churches today need to know what it is to not pussy foot around trying to pamper, but to preach with authority and in power the whole counsel of God so that conviction will fall upon the hearers. In the words of the famous William Booth hymn, ‘We need another Pentecost, send the fire today’ I need it, we all need it, may God visit us again with Pentecostal power and anointing.

The end of the sermon is not recorded for us, as it says that after giving the command to repent and to be baptised, in verse 40 ‘And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ ‘With many other words’ he continued, but the exciting part is there in verse 41, ‘So those who received his word were baptised and there were added that day about three thousand souls.’ What a baptismal service it must have been and imagine the rejoicing that must have been taking place in heaven. And why did it happen? Because they were obedient to the command to wait, and as a result of their waiting they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they preached with power and with authority the Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 39 we read ‘For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are afar off, everyone whom the Lord calls to himself.’

The ‘for you’ was the crowd that were listening to Peter preaching, the ‘for your children’ was to be the next generation, the ‘for all who are afar off’ includes every succeeding generation, the ‘everyone whom the Lord calls to himself’ includes every man, woman, boy, girl who comes to faith during the period which we call the day of God’s grace. This includes you and me, the promise is for us today. What is the promise? ‘You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ Can I re-echo what I was asked on the edge of Lough Neigh, (Monday 27th) ‘Have you received the Holy Spirit?’

I pray that God will create an inner desire, thirst, hunger within us to want more of God, to know what it truly means to be filled so that in whatever capacity we may function within the Church we seek to do it under the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

O God of burning cleansing flame:

Send the fire!

Your blood-bought gift today we claim:

Send the fire today!

Look down and see this waiting host,

And send the promised Holy Ghost;

We need another Pentecost!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

God of Elijah, hear our cry:

Send the fire!

And make us fit to live or die:

Send the fire today!

To burn up every trace of sin,

To bring the light and glory in,

The revolution now begin!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

It’s fire we want, for fire we plead:

Send the fire!

The fire will meet our every need:

Send the fire today!

For strength to always do what’s right,

For grace to conquer in the fight,

For power to walk the world in white:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

To make our weak hearts strong and brave:

Send the fire!

To live, a dying world to save:

Send the fire today!

Oh, see us on Your altar lay,

We give our lives to you today,

So crown the offering now we pray:

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

Send the fire today!

William Booth CCLI 788682

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Devotions

Daily Devotion April 27th

MONDAY 27th

Acts 2:1-13 – Receive

This is one of the pivotal chapters in Scripture, it is a moment of infilling, of impact and of outreach.

The disciples had been obedient to the instruction that Jesus had given them in the previous chapter 1:4, and they waited, and they prayed until the Day of Pentecost arrived ‘and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.’

When we are told here that the ‘Day of Pentecost’ arrived it is referring to one of the feasts of the Children of Israel, which they observed throughout the year. It was also known as the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-16)

But now it was going to take on a more significant meaning, it was to be the moment in which the promised Holy Spirit would arrive and infill the waiting disciples / believers. Pentecost means ‘fiftieth’ and on this day, the fiftieth day after the resurrection a new Pentecost takes place. It is the pivotal moment when we can say that the Church was born, the moment when Jesus began to build his Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18)

I think that it is quite clear that Jesus intended and expects his Church to be Pentecostal, Spirit filled and Spirit empowered. Remember his instruction, they were not to leave Jerusalem until they had received power and the power would arrive when the Holy Spirit came upon them. (1:8)

We see the initial effect upon the waiting disciples in 2:3-4 ‘And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were ALL FILLED with the Holy Spirit and begun to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ They were filled and they spoke in other tongues. It is important to realise here, that they weren’t making up gibberish sounds, they weren’t uttering unintelligible sounds, (even though they themselves may not have understood) they were speaking in other known languages which they themselves didn’t know, languages different to their own language. Such is the incredible power of the Holy Spirit. We know this because of what it says in verses 6-7. ‘And at this sound the multitude came together (Because the Feast of Pentecost was taking place, Jerusalem would have been filled with visitors from afar) and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them (those filled with the Holy Spirit) speaking in his own language. (Italics mine) And they were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own language?’ And the account lists many of the regions and languages. WOW, what an incredible moment in time, what an incredible scene to have witnessed, what a mighty demonstration of the power of God. What a shift in the plan and purpose of God, in a period of 50 days, Jesus had died, had been buried, had risen again, had appeared many times, had returned to heaven and now a movement was born, the Church of Jesus Christ, inaugurated by the coming of the Holy Spirit, infilled with the power of the Holy Spirit and ready to go and infiltrate the kingdom of darkness and to see many delivered from it and brought into the kingdom of light.

They had waited, they had been filled, the power promised had been received, and as a result the disciples were ready to be propelled as witnesses, first into Jerusalem, then into Judea, then into Samaria and then to the end of the earth. Fulfilling the commission given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ. The story continues, two thousand years later and this devotion continues, tomorrow.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

This shall our watchword be,

Upon the highest mountain,

Down by the widest sea.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

To Him shall all men bow;

In city or in prairie,

The world for Jesus now.

The whole wide world, the whole wide world!

Proclaim the Gospel tidings thro’ the whole wide world!

Lift up the cross of Jesus, His banner be unfurled,

Till every tongue confess Him thro’ the whole wide world.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

Inspires us with the thought

That every son of Adam

Hath by His love been bought.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

O faint not by the way!

The cross shall surely conquer

In this our glorious day.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

The marching order sound;

Go ye and preach the gospel

Wherever man is found.

The whole wide world for Jesus!

Our banner is unfurled;

We battle now for Jesus,

And faith demands the world.

Catherine Johnson CCLI 788682