Pentecost

John 20:22 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

As well as my reading through the bible this year, I have been spending time reflecting on the Eastertide season, the time between the resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost.  I was interested in the final words and actions Jesus had with His beloved disciples the 40 days He walked among them in His resurrected body before He ascended into heaven.  I was also very interested in the promise of being filled with the Holy Spirit and how it relates to each of us in the world in which we live today.  

All through Scripture, Old Testament and New, we see people empowered to do incredible acts that they could never accomplish on their own.  In the Old Testament, “Ruah”, the word used to describe the Spirit of God, hovered over the waters of creation bringing form and diminishing emptiness, it enabled Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt, it gave the craftsmen of the tabernacle knowledge, skill, and ability to create all kinds of items for the tabernacle.  Later, in Numbers it was shared with others in the community to help Moses carry the burden of caring for people entrusted to him, it brought wisdom to Joshua to lead God’s people into the Promised Land.  It filled Prophets, Judges, Gideon, Samson, Saul, David, Solomon and numerous others to lead and govern God’s people.  It took Elijah up into heaven and in Ezekiel we see the Holy Spirit bring dead dry bones to life…

After 400 years of silence, we see the Holy Spirit — “Pneuma” — once again active and still performing incredible acts of creative power, as it filled Elisabeth and her unborn child, empowering them to prophesy the coming Saviour, Jesus, who was growing in Mary’s womb and was miraculously conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. We see throughout Jesus’s life His close relationship with the Father and the Spirit, and the ways the Spirit filled Him at His baptism, led Him into the wilderness to be tempted and tried, and returned in “the power of the Spirit” to be about His Father’s business—to seek and save the lost. Notice, too, the time Jesus spent with His Father in prayer, and, I think, in surrender to the Holy Spirit’s influence in and through Him.

It is this very Spirit first promised to us in Joel 2:28-29 that Jesus is referring to as He speaks to His frightened dismayed disciples in the upper room.  The very same Spirit John foretold of in Matthew 3:11…the very same Spirit Jesus referred to earlier when they ate their last Passover meal together before His death and resurrection.  The Counselor, Spirit of Truth, who would fill and empower them to testify about Jesus through many trials and tribulations.

Just a little aside, my attention was drawn to the fact that in John 20:22 that Jesus “breathed” on them and then said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The word used for Jesus’ breath here is “emphysao” only used one time in the New Testament.  It is the same word used by the Septuagint translators of Genesis 2:7 where God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of Adam and he became a living soul or being…Man was complete by this act of God and here the resurrected Jesus, the last Adam, breathes life, spirit, into the “new creation” ushering in the new order of things in the Kingdom of God.  1Cor 15:45 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[a]; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. A further filling of the Spirit would come soon.

Jesus instructs His disciples to “wait” in Jerusalem for the gift promised by the Father…Jesus’ post resurrection instructions to His beloved apostles was empowered by the Holy Spirit and Jesus made clear that their work could only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The same is true for us today.  If we take time to do an in-depth study of the Spirit and what He offers us as God’s people we would be less likely to try to go it on our own with our limited weak efforts lacking the necessary power, intensity, or dedication to accomplish much of anything of lasting value or merit.  

Our founder, AB Simpson, discovered this to be true himself.  He found himself in a place of burnout after a number of years of ministry in his own power.  Simpson himself describes the emptiness of his early years of ministry, “When I was a young pastor, I had no acquaintance with sorrow. I was superficial and shallow like all young men and used to go to sorrowing mothers and friends with words of sympathy, which were honestly meant, and yet which I felt did not touch one responsive chord. I tried to do my duty, but oh how empty and useless it was.”

He struggled with stamina and general health, and experienced a serious breakdown early in 1881, brought on by overwork. He was told that if something did not change, he would be dead within six months. Although Simpson had a life-altering encounter with the Holy Spirit in 1874, it was during his much-needed time of rest and reflection that he experienced divine healing and further explored and developed his strong beliefs and teachings on the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis. He concluded that being filled with the Spirit was not a one-time event, but rather a continuing process of surrendering to the Spirit’s influence.

Simpson wrote extensively on being baptized with the Holy Spirit.  This is a quick synopsis in his own words: “It is scarcely necessary to say that baptism of the Holy Spirit is our union with the living personality of the Spirit…It is not an influence, a notation, a feeling, a power, or a joy, but a heart of love, a mind of intelligence, a living as real as Jesus of Nazareth, and as real as our own personality.”  He also states: “Some of the effects of being filled with the Spirit are: 1. Holiness of heart and life. This is not the perfection of the human nature, but the holiness of the divine nature dwelling within. 2. Fullness of joy so that the heart is constantly radiant. This does not depend on circumstances but fills the spirit with holy laughter in the midst of the most trying surroundings. 3. Fullness of wisdom, light and knowledge, causing us to see things as He sees them. 4. An elevation, improvement and quickening of the mind by an ability to receive the fulfillment of the promise, We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). 5. An equal quickening of the physical life. The body, as well as the mind and soul, were made for the Holy Spirit. 6. An ability to pray the prayer of the Holy Spirit. If He is in us there will be a strange accordance with God's working in the world around us.”

So, for us today, just as the disciples experienced at Pentecost, we too can embrace the life altering power of being baptized in the Spirit, being filled and empowered with a spirit of love on an ongoing basis.  Filling our hearts with devotion and devotedness to God…completely transforming our lives. Creating in us a tender consideration for others.  Equipping us fully for our calling and vocation. Aiding us to direct people to Jesus Christ through the Spirit’s power and His power alone.  Our only requirement is a personal longing or desire to be filled and to intentionally and willingly be emptied of our selfish desires and gratifications to make room for the Holy Spirit in all aspects of our lives.  In doing so we too can live the “deeper life” Simpson often spoke of - emphasizing a more intimate and powerful relationship with God…now who doesn’t want all that!!  I urge you to pray today for a fresh infilling of the Spirit of God…our world desperately needs us.

Fondly,

Melody

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