Acts 2: 14-21 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’"
In the above focus, Peter ministers to the people under the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. He connects this phenomenon of what the people in Jerusalem are seeing and hearing in these Galileans to Joel’s prophesy. He wants them to know that what the people are observing is not outside of the Jewish religion, but in fact it is the fulfillment of Joel's prophesy. He quotes this prophesy of what will happen in the last days before the Lord returns and gathers his kingdom to himself: the glorious day of the Lord. In this prophesy we see that God puts his approval on all who call on his name by giving them them the presence of the Holy Spirit. They who are under the umbrella of faith in his name will receive God’s powerful presence: men, women, young and old will be imbued with the Holy Spirit. No longer will they just speak their native tongue, but they will have the ability to glorify the Lord in many tongues and languages, known and unknown. This presence of the Holy Spirit with God’s newly designed people equates well with the cloud by day and the fire by night, for the once slaves of Pharaoh, but now the Israelites are a new people of freedom. In their escape from Egypt, we see a cloud appear to them from God’s domain of life. This presence of God came immediately to the Israelites, protecting them from the intent of Pharaoh to regain his control over them. Pharaoh, the evil one whose heart was hardened against God, pursues the Israelite to the Red Sea, believing he has the Israelites trapped. However, God’s presence separates his chosen from the hands of Pharaoh by dropping his presence down, separating the army of Pharaoh and the camp of the Israelites. On one side of the cloud is darkness, preventing the Egyptians from advancing towards the Israelites, and on the other side of the cloud is an illuminating light, giving the Israelites a way to advance through the Red Sea. We then see the Israelites walking on dry land through the parted Red Sea. The bottom of the sea is not muddy and murky, not hard to walk on, for the east wind from the heavens above has pushed back the water and dried the sea floor. The chosen easily escaped to the land of freedom. God paved the way for them.
Now in Acts in keeping with Joel’s prophesy, we see the chosen of God, those who call on the name of the Lord as they find their lives enveloped by the Spirit of God. They are basking in the light of God, each of them praising God in the language that He gifted them with. As with the Israelites, they will escape the kingdom of darkness and now have a journey to live with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We see the cloud lift after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and then move to the head of the column. Now the cloud will direct their journey, moving ahead, directing Moses to move when it moves and camp where it stops. The Spirit of God is the director of their lives. Sometimes, He places their lives in jeopardy, such as when they were at Rephidim. The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” (Exodus 17:1-2). The people grumbled greatly because they believed they were in the place of their demise due to the lack of water. But God was in their presence richly, and He came to their aid by providing water from the rock: Christ. This water kept them alive and accompanied them throughout their journey in the wilderness. When the Israelites left Egypt, they did not realize that God himself would guide them through their journey to the Promised Land. They did not understand such guidance would be provided for them. God just showed up after they had placed the blood of the lamb on their doorframe. This blood of the lamb was their redemption from the death angel. This was their day of salvation. After this day, the Holy Spirit showed up to guide them through their journey in life, the wilderness. Pentecost reveals this reality. The Holy Spirit is gifted to the people of God. God reveals his presence to each one of his chosen by infilling each one with his Spirit. He shows no favoritism--old, young, servants--all experience the presence of God within them. In this world we have positions of status, of control and honor. However, with the infilling of the Spirit, all are equal, all know God in their lives. Even in the church of the living God there are roles, positions of authority and they should be honored, but in the domain of heaven, there are no special roles in the presence of God. All are introduced by Jesus to his Father as children of the living God; all are accepted into the Eternal One’s presences as his children, begotten through the blood of Jesus. When we see the multitude of the Israelites escaping Egypt, we do not know the condition of each person's heart. We do not know if some are very reluctant to put the blood over the doorpost. We do not know the content of their hearts, but we do know the blood paid the ransom for their lives. They all received the presence of the Holy Spirit by the cloud by day and fire by night. Revealing this presence is a gift of God, not something earned by their own efforts of purity. We who are alive to God because of the blood of Jesus, do not earn the gift of the Holy Spirit. He has not been given to us because we have packaged our lives in an acceptable manner to God; it matters not what bow we put on our lives. What matters is the blood that has freed us from captivity, and because of our freedom, God has come to us through his powerful Holy Spirit. We might have roles here, but God has honored us equally with his presence. Notice, Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. All will reveal they are partakers of the Spirit by the fact they will prophesy. No longer will women and girls walk a step behind the men and boys. All will be blessed equally. All will rejoice for God’s gift of his Spirit.
At the Lord’s table we see the disciples gathered around Jesus. John is leaning on Jesus’ shoulder and others are conversing with Jesus in an intimate way. They are there because they are Jesus’ chosen. All but one will follow Jesus to end of their lives. After the resurrection, they will commit everything to Jesus’ will for their lives. Except for John, they will die as martyrs for the cause of Christ. At this supper, Jesus breaks this one loaf of bread and serves each one a piece of bread. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). No favoritism at the communion table. They all partake of this bread. He then takes one cup filled with wine and tells them to drink it. There is no favoritism in drinking this wine: all will receive it as one cup of wine. For in Christ there is one body, one Spirit. We see on the day of Pentecost; one Spirit fell upon all of them. However, each of them received a portion of what God’s Spirit had to offer him or her. Pentecost as well as salvation is a gift from God, not earned but purely a gift. Salvation comes to all who trust in God’s Word: Jesus Christ. Pentecost comes to all who have the blood over their doorpost. The cloud suddenly appeared to guide God's chosen to the Promised Land. The Spirit of God shows up to guide every Christian to the Promised Land. Some times in life the journey is tough, the terrain is difficult, and food and water are not always readily available. But God tells us through his word, keep in step with the Holy Spirit; do not faint on the way, do not backtrack because you are afraid, hold steady for the ROCK is going with you. Miracles are on the way, keep believing, keep praying, keep assisting the weak, keep announcing that the Lord’s favor has come upon all people. Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11) With the coming of the Lord, the Spirit of God comes to all who take the Messiah as their own. We now know the truth of living in the Spirit of God. He is with us at all times. He has given us a new direction in our lives. We are no longer bound by captivity to sin, but we are free, free indeed to live for God. After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:20-22) How wonderful we have that promise that He is with us day and night. Rejoice in that fact. You are presently sitting in the presence of the Spirit of God. No matter where you are now on your journey in life, no matter where you are camped, the Spirit of God is with you. This is your promise: I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is with you through his Spirit. His words are richly in you. Let your ears be open to his comfort and his direction. Amen!
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