Acts 1:4 (NKJV) “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In this passage it is noticeably clear that Jesus has promised us that Holy Spirit. The work of the Spirit is to empower us.
Remember, yesterday we discussed the three feasts: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles. The fulfilment of Passover was fulfilled on the day Jesus died. On the day Jesus died it was Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First fruits in that first feast. Passover is when a lamb was shed for the sins of the world. At Passover, the lambs were killed at nine o’clock. That’s when Jesus was nailed the cross. At three o’clock, the lamb was prepared. At three o’clock, they took His body off the cross and laid it down in the tomb.
Then, they would take the unleavened bread, and the father would hide it somewhere in the house. It will be pulled out the morning after the Sabbath. And he would wave it before the Lord as a symbol of the first fruits harvest. It was a symbol of the harvest to come. When Jesus came out of the tomb as the symbol of the first fruits of the harvest to come, He completely fulfilled Passover.
We spoke about the feast of the Tabernacles. The feast of tabernacles has not been fulfilled yet, but it will be fulfilled one day when the trumpet is going to sound then we are going to go to tabernacle with the God for all eternity. By receiving Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you can have eternity.
Let’s now focus on Pentecost. To the Jews, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the giving of God’s law. In the book of Acts, it says that when Pentecost had fully come, God gave not the law but the Holy Spirit.
In Act 2:38-39 Peter shows us what is needed to receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38-39 (NKJV) 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
John baptised with water but you’re going to be baptised with the Spirit, so the promise is that you will receive the Holy Spirit. Anyone can be filled with the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is nothing to be afraid of. It’s when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and to anoint us.
*“Bethlehem was God with us, Calvary was God for us, and Pentecost is God in us” – Robert Baer
Invite the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit into your life today.
