Celebrating Pentecost

Pentecost Sunday falls this year on June 4th. But many people, including Christians, may not know why the day is special or what is celebrated.

Unlike Easter and Christmas, when colorful eggs, Easter bunnies, Christmas trees and Santa Claus are harbingers of the upcoming Christian holidays, there are no such social markers by secular society ahead of Pentecost.

For those who wish to have a quick and basic understanding of what Pentecost Sunday is, below is listed 10 things about the holiday.

Pentecost Sunday marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles.
Pentecost Sunday occurs 50 days after Easter.
The Bible records the Pentecost in Acts 2:1-13.
Pentecost comes 10 days after the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
Pentecost is also known as “the birthday of the Church”.
Pentecost fulfills Jesus’ promise to send the “Counselor” and “Spirit of Truth” in John 16-5-15.
Pentecost launches the large-scale spreading of the Gospel after Jesus’ ascension. Acts 2:41 records that after Peter spoke to the crowd after receiving the Holy Spirit, some 3,000 people were baptized.
The Pentecostal movement derives its name from the New Testament event in Acts 2.
Jews also celebrate Pentecost, but not for the same reason as Christians. The celebration by Jews of Pentecost is to observe God giving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai 50 days after the Exodus. The Pentecost in Jewish tradition takes place 50 days after Passover.
In Western Churches, Pentecost is usually represented with the color red, which symbolizes the fire of the Holy Spirit.

The word Pentecost is Greek and it means “50th day.” Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, and the beginning of their Earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations.

At Pentecost, the Apostles and their followers were gathered in a room. Jews from all over the world were gathered with Peter, the leader of the Apostles and the Eleven.

At this time, a great wind blew and a flame appeared as a tongue of fire, which split itself into many individual flames above the heads of all those present. The Holy Spirit came upon these people and each began to speak in tongues. Despite the fact many had no common language, they were perfectly able to understand one another.

Others who were not so blessed, accused those speaking in tongues of being drunk, but Peter arose and addressed the crowd, explaining that it was only 9 o’clock, and that this phenomenon was not intoxication, but rather this was the work of the Holy Spirit, prophesized in the scripture.

Peter then called all those present to be baptized and about three thousand people were baptized that day.

Power, Boldness, and Confidence

Jesus says in Acts 1:5 and 8 that baptism in the Spirit means,

“You shall receive power . . . and you shall be my witnesses.”

This is an experience of boldness and confidence and victory over sin.

Notice that the gift of the Spirit, or baptism in the Spirit, is preceded by faith. The NASB correctly says in verse 17 that God gave the Holy Spirit after they believed.

“Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” Acts 11:17

Receiving the Spirit Is a Life-Changing Experience

Christianity is not merely an array of glorious ideas. It is not merely the performance of rituals and sacraments. It is the life-changing experience of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ the Lord of the universe.

There are two things that do characterize this experience.

A Heart of Praise

In Acts 10:46 the disciples knew the Holy Spirit had fallen because “they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling (or magnifying) God.”

Speaking in tongues is one particular way of releasing the heart of praise. It may be present or may not. But one thing is sure: The heart in which the Holy Spirit has been poured out will stop magnifying self and start magnifying God. Heartfelt praise and worship is the mark of a real experience of the Holy Spirit.

Obedience

The other mark is obedience. In Acts 5:29 Peter and the apostles say to the Sadducees who had arrested them, “We must obey God rather than men.” Then in verse 32 he says, “We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God gave to those who are obeying him.”

It is inevitable that when the object of your heart’s worship changes, your obedience changes.

When Jesus baptizes you in the Holy Spirit, and infuses you with a new sense of the glory of God, you have a new desire and a new power (1:8) to obey. Whether or not you speak in tongues, these two things will be your experience if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit — a new desire to magnify God in worship and a powerful disposition to obey God in everyday life.

HOW TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Peter’s instructions for how to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is in Acts 2:38–41.

First, the Word of God must be heard. Peter preached that God had a plan. He planned that Jesus would be born of the Virgin Mary, he would grow up and be crucified on a cross, raised from the dead, and exalted as Lord over all the universe. Forgiveness of sin and spiritual renewal can be found by having faith in Jesus Christ the crucified one. The Word must be heard.

Secondly, the sovereign God must call men and women to himself, or they will never come. Verse 39 says,

“The promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off,
everyone to whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

No one comes to faith in Christ unless the Father draws him (John 6:44, 65). The preached Word is heard with conviction and power only when the effectual call of God lays hold on the hearers.

Thirdly, we must “receive the word.” Verse 41: “So those who received his word were baptized.”

Receiving the Word means that it becomes part of you so that you trust the Christ it presents.

You trust

His provision for your forgiveness
His path for your life
His power to help you obey
His promises for your future

And that radical commitment to Christ always involves repentance. True repentance is a turning away from your own self-wrought provisions and paths and powers and promises. And when you really turn to Christ for new paths and new power, you open yourself to the Holy Spirit, because it is by His Spirit that Christ guides and empowers.

Finally, we must give an open expression of faith in the act of water baptism in obedience to Jesus Christ. Baptism was the universal experience of all Christians in the New Testament. There were no unbaptized Christians after Pentecost. Christ had commanded it (Matthew 28:18–20) and the church practiced it. So we do today.

Therefore, we invite you to the greatest life changing experience in the world: