'When the day of Pentecost came ...' (Acts 2:1-3)
Over a million 'Jews from every nation under heaven' ( Acts 2:5) had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (Greek: Pentēkostē means fiftieth), the fiftieth day after Passover and the Exodus from Egypt when 'the Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai' to meet with his people. ( Exodus 19:20) 'Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire.' (17-18) But little did the Jews, who had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the old testament Pentecost, know that on the fiftieth day after 'Jesus, the Passover Lamb', was sacrificed, the new testament Pentecost was about to happen, coinciding with the other, but this time in Jerusalem, for God was about to descend again, not on the top of any hill in Jerusalem, but upon a group of people who were praying together in an upper room and were ready to meet with God. Just as the Lord had said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all people" ( Exodus 19:10-11), even so, Jesus had told his disciples to get ready for that day when they would meet with the person of the Holy Spirit. 'Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit ...' (Acts 2:2-4) 'When the the Jews staying in Jerusalem heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment' (2:6) and found a group of 120 believers on fire! 'Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd' (2:14) in a bold new style! 'When the people heard this, they were cut to heart' (2:37) and 'those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3000 were added to their number that day.' (2:41) The day of Pentecost set into motion a revolution that transformed lives, not only in the nation of Israel but also in the nations of the world, for those who caught the fire, set others on fire, wherever they went. The coming of the Holy Spirit in a violent wind and tongues of fire may not be replicated again because the person of the Holy Spirit is already here on earth for over 2000 years. Infact he is the most important person on earth and is the governor of the Kingdom of God who has been sent from heaven to colonize earth and to establish heaven on earth! Since the Holy Spirit is here on earth now, the Pentecostal experience of being filled with the Spirit has been replicated many times, throughout the Church age. The modern day Pentecostal movement can be traced back to the Asuza street revival which had a very humble origin, when a group of seven people in a prayer meeting led by William J Seymour were suddenly struck by the power of God and they began speaking in tongues. Soon the word was out in Los Angeles that "Pentecost has come".
https://charlesasullivan.com/4247/the-apostolic-faith-newspaper-on-the-azusa-street-revival/ Soon people from all over America and even from many nations, flocked to see and hear for themselves and many who caught the fire, took it to their nations. Just as the Apostles left for the nations, so did those who volunteered at Asuza street revival. Robert F Cook, came to Kerala and set into motion the Pentecostal movement and established the Church of God in India. A book was published about his work in India by the Church of God Foreign Missions Department in 1955. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1908-robert-cook-azusa-street-1800770835 It's time to set into motion another Pentecostal revolution, this time in India, that would transform our nation and the nations of the world. It's coming! Let's get ready! Amen.
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