Tuesday, May 30, 2017

June 4 -- Pentecost Sunday

"The same power that raised JESUS from the dead lives in you." Romans 8:11

This Sunday, June 4, 2017, is PENTECOST SUNDAY. It marks the day when the believers in CHRIST who would become the CHURCH received the power HE had promised to them.

Pertinent information about the HOLY SPIRIT and HIS significance to PENTECOST is found in the BOOK OF ACTS.

ACTS 1:8 "You shall receive power when the HOLY GHOST is come upon you, and you will be witnesses to ME, in Jerusalem, and in Judea. and in Sumaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth."

ACTS 2:4 "They were all filled with the HOLY GHOST and began to speak with other tongues as the SPIRIT gave them utterance."

ACTS 2:16-21 "This is that which was spoken of by the Prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the Last Days that GOD will pour out of HIS HOLY SPIRIT upon all flesh; your sons and daughters will prophesy and your young men shall see vision and your old men shall dream dreams...I will show wonders in Heaven and signs in the Earth...and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved."

ACTS 2:38, 39 "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of JESUS CHRIST for the remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the HOLY GHOST, for the promise is to you and to your children and to all those who are afar off, as many as the LORD our GOD shall call."


Many CHRISTIANS believe that the outpouring of the HOLY SPIRIT with the evidence of speaking in tongues is passe. They quote the verse that says, "...when that which is perfect is come," these things will be done away.

Since CHRIST (the ONE who is PERFECT) is come, they affirm that the gifts of the SPIRIT are already "done away," but they don't go on to negate other gifts of the SPIRIT, such as love, which, to be consistent, they would have to do.

It seems the gifts are indeed in effect until CHRIST returns, at which time HIS LOVE and HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT of SALVATION will pervade the entirety of HEAVEN and all that exists.

Until that wondrous day, may we receive HIS GIFTS with joy and may we employ them for HIS GLORY.

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TODAY IS A PROPHETIC MILE-MARKER IN THE HEBREW CALENDAR. DO YOU KNOW ITS MEANING?

50 days ago Passover was celebrated. Pentecost occurs 50 days after Passover. The Hebrew calander celebrates Pentecost today. Jesus died as the Lamb of God on Passover. He appeared to His disciples over a period of 40 days after His resurrection. Before He ascended Jesus told the Apostles to "tarry in Jerusalem till you are endued with power from on high!" They prayed 10 days and on the day of Pentecost (50 days after Passover) the power of the Holy Spirit filled the young leaders of the first century Jesus movement. They were transformed.

I think we miss something by not marking the key dates celebrated in the Hebrew calander. This month and last month are perfect times to evaluate what you need to pass out of. Passover occurred when the Jews left Egypt. What are you leaving behind? The month after exiting Egypt the Hebrews transitioned thru the wilderness. What is God saying in your transition? And then on Pentecost they encountered God at Mt. Sinai. Gods will was made clear at the Mountain and Gods power to live it was poured out in the Upper Room.

But this is a time with even greater prophetic historicity. ( I think that's the right word.)

Within a week we will experience the 50th anniversary of Israels 6 day war in 1967 - the war that fulfilled prophecy as they regained the city of Jerusalem. Donald Trump, the surprise President of the United States is walking out his role as a modern Cyrus who Isaiah 45:1-3 describes as a wrecking ball to gates of bronze and a force that impacts the belts of KINGS or leaders of nations!
(Check it out for yourself; Isa 45:1-3)

With this year being the 70th anniversary of the formation of the nation of Israel and the 500th anniversary of the Reformation you would almost get the feeling that God is orchestrating something significant in this specific time.

We should ask, "what specifically did the disciples receive in the Upper Room? They already walked in healing and miracles under the apprenticeship of Jesus but this "endument of power" (I like KJV language) gave them an augmentation of this power PLUS something else- the power of UTTERANCE! Their words had power to fix an impression on the hearts and minds of people with such intensity that it produced an instant harvest!

Would it not make sense that in this season God will begin to visit us with a fresh baptism of power? And if so, we will be given a vast augmentation of power to speak, to have "utterance" that prevails over every other voice! This is the meaning of tongues of fire! I look for this plus a supernatural upgrade of illumination to enter the Mind of Christ for our assignments in the nations. God will give us the ability to proclaim truths with such force that they pierce the hardened hearts all around us. That will be needed in this Hebrew year 5777- the year of the clashing of swords in the heavens.

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