When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 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 began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4

Devotion

"Pentecost" is a word that not everyone is familiar with. It is one of those old church words that some people understand fully, some people have no idea about, and most of us just pretend to know when we hear it mentioned. But Pentecost goes all the way back to the Old Testament. It was a command God gave the people through Moses to hold an annual one-day festival, celebrating the harvest, seven weeks (or 50 days) after the Passover remembrance. 50 days after Passover, the Israelites would go into Jerusalem and present their first fruit offerings, the first of the harvest, what God had provided for them that year. But right after Jesus died, as the Israelites were coming back into Jerusalem for Pentecost, something else happened. The Holy Spirit descended upon the people, providing them great power, beginning an incredible work, and giving a gift to the followers of Jesus that nobody ever could have imagined. Not only had Jesus torn the curtain, not only had he risen from the dead, but now the Spirit of God himself, the third person in the Trinity, lives within those who put their faith in Jesus.  

So often the Holy Spirit is not celebrated enough in the church. But we must understand the Holy Spirit to know what this Christian life is all about. A professor of mine, Steve Seamands, once said this about the ministry all of us are called to ias Christians: "The ministry into which we have entered is the ministry OF Jesus Christ, the Son, TO the Father, THROUGH the Holy Spirit, for the sake of the Church and the world." 

As a Christian, each one of us are now in this ministry. It is the work Jesus came to do, for the glory of God and for the sake of the world. But how would he do this? How would Jesus accomplish this great work? He isn't walking the streets with us anymore; he isn't teaching on the sea; he isn't laying his hands on the sick and healing them. How does he work? Pentecost is the answer. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, to live in each of us—to power us, to propel us, to convict us, to encourage us, to work through us—to be the conduits of his grace for the sake of the Church and the world. Jesus doesn't need to physically walk beside us in person anymore because he lives and works in us through the Holy Spirit!  

We must all remember: this gift of the Holy Spirit is not just for the pastors or the ones called to preach God's Word or administer the church. The Holy Spirit, God himself, lives within all who call upon his name, who surrender their lives to Christ. This Pentecost Sunday, may you be reminded of the great responsibility and gift that is within each of you. God has chosen to live within you, to power you, for the sake of the Church and the world.

PRAYER

Father, in this season of the church, may we learn to listen and yield to the Holy Spirit, like so many have who came before us and so many will who come after us. Thank you for sending us the Holy Spirit; thank you for living within us; thank you for doing a great work of redemption in this world. May we be led completely by the Holy Spirit, and may you be glorified. Amen.

Blake Bastin
Pastor, Ministry & Operations

Resources

• Watch Acts: Life in the Holy Spirit by Taylor Rauschkolb.
• Watch Holy Spirit Series by Crossings Young Adult Ministry. 
• Read Ministry in the Image of God by Dr. Steve Seamands.

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