What Is Pentecost Sunday?
If you’re like me, you often overlook the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Some days, I read my Bible, pray, or go to church without once recognizing the Lord’s presence and power. It’s days like “Pentecost Sunday” that I’m reminded of my constant need of the Holy Spirit. So, what is Pentecost Sunday?
Read Acts 2:1-11.
Pentecost was celebrated by Jews 50 days following the First Sabbath after Passover (put simply: 50 days after Easter Sunday). Here are 3 takeaways from this passage:
1. Pentecost is the day the church was born.
On this day, there were many ethnicities present who all spoke different languages. This is the state of the world traced back to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Who could unify one church under one gospel with such a diverse group of people? God, through His Holy Spirit, communicated the gospel to them all at once in their own languages–an inverse of the Tower of Babel! In this power, Peter preached a sermon and “that day about three thousand people were added to them” (Acts 2:41b). The early church was unified and birthed by the Holy Spirit!
2. Pentecost is the day the Holy Spirit indwelled believers.
The Holy Spirit filled the believers that day, and He fills us, too! Ephesians 1:13 says, “When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He’s not a force or feeling. He is the Spirit of the Living God. When God saved you, the Spirit took your dead heart and made it alive. Now, God’s presence is always with you, and you are a child of God!
3. Pentecost is the day the disciples received power to make more disciples.
Our definition of a gospel conversation is “sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with the lost and searching–trusting the Holy Spirit with the results.” That’s exactly what is happening here at Pentecost! Notice how the people around the early disciples said, “We hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues” (Acts 2:11b). That same Spirit is now empowering us to share his gospel with the lost and searching around us.
He’s Alive Today!
The same Holy Spirit, who breathed over the church on Pentecost almost 2,000 years ago, is alive in us today. That’s why we are going out in fervency to multiply disciples and plant churches–not because of our great culture, systems, and human strength–but because of the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. I pray that you recognize His presence and power in your life today!
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