United Church of God

Letter from the President: May 28, 2019 - Focus on Pentecost

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Letter from the President

May 28, 2019 - Focus on Pentecost

We are on the final countdown towards the Feast of Pentecost, which will be observed Sunday, June 9. It was a momentous day in the history of the New Testament Church with what occurred on the first Day of Pentecost. The Church exploded in growth and quickly began to expand outside of Jerusalem and Judea. Jesus Christ had ascended to heaven just 10 days prior.

But consider the state of the Church before Pentecost, and the transformation that happened afterwards.

Jesus Christ conducted a three-and-a-half year ministry on the earth. He specially selected a team of 12 disciples that became the original apostles—mostly from Galilee. Andrew, Peter, James and John worked as fishermen. Matthew was a tax collector for the Roman government. One was identified as a zealot. Judas Iscariot was an embezzler, and committed suicide shortly after betraying Jesus.

Amazingly, shortly before Jesus’ death there was vying for position among some of his most-loyal followers, and Christ had to teach them what greatness really was: “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:24-27).

In Jesus’ last hours before being arrested, He took Peter, James and John to the Garden of Gethsemane. There He passionately prayed to His Father in anticipation of the most crucial event of all history—His death and sacrifice for all mankind. His disciples were there to give Him support. But instead, while Christ was praying, they all fell asleep! Christ woke them up and chided them, but then they fell asleep again. They didn’t seemed to grasp the gravity of the events taking place in their very midst.

After Christ was arrested and taken to the High Priest, Peter impulsively unsheathed his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s servant. Jesus’ last miracle on the earth was to restore the ear so violently severed. Peter then went on to deny knowing Christ three times when questioned about being a part of the company with Christ. Then later in the day, as prophesied, Jesus was brutally crucified after a chanting crowd endorsed His execution.

A miraculous transformation

But look at what happened next. A miraculous transformation of the heart of Jesus’ followers took place on the Day of Pentecost! Jesus commanded His followers to wait in Jerusalem because the Holy Spirit would come and give them power (Acts 1:8). In Acts 2 we see the beginnings of that power delivered to the Church. What is most notable is how that transformation took place and what a contrast it was to what preceded this day.

Here is how the Day of Pentecost was ushered in: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:1-2).

Visually, they first saw tongues of fire representing the Holy Spirit. Then, they were enabled to speak in other languages in such a way that people of various languages understood what was being said in their native tongue. People marveled at this and even said, “Aren’t these men Galileans?” This was a slur, as people from Galilee were not regarded as well educated as people were in Jerusalem, for example.

Then Peter, who earlier denied Christ, stood up and started preaching courageously to the same crowd—which in an environment seven weeks earlier had chanted “Crucify Him, Crucify Him” and got their wish.

Peter started his sermon by quoting from the book of Joel about how the Holy Spirit would be poured out and how this was one of the fulfilments of this prophecy. He then quickly started talking about Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection. He indicted the crowd for crucifying Christ (Acts 2:36). His delivery was so powerful that the crowd accepted responsibility for what Peter said and asked what they should do. He immediately answered: “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” (Acts 2:38). Three thousand people were baptized on that Day of Pentecost—with another 2,000 following shortly thereafter!

The grace of God

Notice this remarkable statement about the early Church in Acts 4:33: “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all” (emphasis added). This is describing the work of the early Church at the very beginning. If anything could be described as a big help that God gave to the early Church, it was His grace—giving them His Holy Spirit and opening unbelievable doors for them to get off to a fast start. The apostles had great power as they gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the power of God.

How might that apply to us today? Have you considered praying for some of the same grace that came on the early Church to be multiplied in God’s Church today? Do you regularly ask for God to open doors, for Him to give His power, for Him to give us greater and deeper understanding, for Him to multiply our strength so His work can be done in us and through us and His Church?

It is also through God’s grace that He opens the hearts and minds of people who listen and on whom the Word falls. A person’s heart and mind opening up is part of the goodness of the gift that comes from God.

As we observe the Day of Pentecost, let’s think about the historic precedent and what God can accomplish with our human weaknesses and flaws—as He did with Jesus’ disciples. The messages did go out, but it was with God giving His power to them.

In His Olivet prophecy, Jesus declared this about His Work in the end-time: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). To do that will require the kind of action that took place on the first day of Pentecost!

I would like to conclude with the words of Paul to the Church at Rome: “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ…Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:5-7).

May you observe a meaningful Day of Pentecost 2019.