After the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples
of Jesus on the Jewish festival of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter preached a
sermon to help the amazed bystanders to understand what has happened on the
day. His message came from the Book of the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out
my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young
men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will
pour out my Spirit even on my servants–men and women alike–and they will
prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18; Joel 2:28-29)
Peter explained that the Holy Spirit would be given to
every person who turned from their sin and turned to Jesus Christ. Acts 2:38: ‘Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise(of the Spirit)
is for you and your children and for all who are far off —for all whom the Lord
our God will call.’
God began to do what he had promised through prophet
Joel, namely to empower a variety of different people to serve him, in the
power of the Holy Spirit. In Old Testament times a special
anointing of the Spirit was reserved for prophets, priests and kings. But now,
in the new dispensation where Christ is King in heaven, the Spirit would work
through all God’s people – sons and daughters, young men and women, old
people, yes, men and women alike. Every follower of Christ is equipped to
minister for God, irrespective of their gender, age, race, class or any other
“classification” we humans place on each other.
The church of Jesus Christ is the place where every
single person matters. We are God’s instrument to save the lost, change the
world and proclaim that God’s dominion has come.
What are the implications of this truth for each one
of us?
Every believer needs to ask him or herself, ‘am I
serving God through the power of the Spirit?’
‘Do I
use the gift that the Holy Spirit gave me in the Church and in the world?’
During the Pentecost season, and every other time in
the Church year, we ask God personally and individually to anoint us by his
Spirit, that we too may join all his people in the work of Christ – with
passion and power given by the Spirit, in service of the living Christ.
This is a time to renew our commitment to God: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. To worship, to serve and to proclaim God’s Kingdom
with all our hearts, souls, minds and the strength we received through the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church.
And may the Lord bless and keep you, listen to your
prayers and grant you peace!
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