Pentecost: Receiving God's Power Acts 2:1-47

In case you question such reaching back into the Old Testament to find such a future promise, I refer to no lesser authority than the Apostle Peter who in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:16-21 quotes this prophesy of Joel verbatim.

You and I who have repented of sin and put our trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation are promised God's Pentecostal power. This is not a divine energy that is restricted to some movements and denominations that go by the label charismatic or Pentecostal. How sad it is if we relegate to others that divine energy that God wills for all of us.

Second, let's look at the posture of Pentecost in receiving God's power.

The biblical record tells us that this is a posture of a people who are ready to receive God's power. Acts 1:14 tells us, "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." Acts 2:1 declares, "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place." There is no substitute for Christian community!

Every few months I read the results of polls that declare that a high percentage of Americans are professing believers in Jesus Christ. Add to that the number of people who claim to have a "deep spirituality," and you will find that an overwhelming percentage of our fellow citizens see themselves as the people of God. Why then is there not a greater impact on our society and world?

I am convinced that there is a neglecting of this biblical profile of what is the posture of a people who are open to receive the fullness of the power of God's Spirit and to continue to receive the fullness of that power. This posture has at least four aspects to it.

One aspect is that of being together in one place. You can't go it alone in the Christian life. You need your brothers and sisters. So many people who claim spirituality are pursuing it on a Lone Ranger basis.

A second aspect is the necessity of being in a spirit of prayer. We need times alone in prayer. We need times together in prayer. We need to open our hearts to God, allowing God to capture our attention. Some of us are so busy running around doing things that we haven't taken the time to listen, to be open, to receive that divine power and energy that God wants to give us through His Spirit.

A third aspect is to be taking seriously what the Scriptures have to say. I'm fascinated at the fact that during these days between the ascension of Jesus and Pentecost this group of 120 close followers of Jesus heard the Scriptures taught. Peter expounded the Old Testament teachings to them. It's a posture of receptivity to God's teachings.

And a fourth aspect is that they were waiting expectantly for God to act. Is there that dimension of waiting in your life? We live in a culture of instant gratification. If something goes wrong in our life we automatically tend to blame God, forgetting that God can use those things that are so puzzling to us to actually get our attention.