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The early church looked radically different from the world around them . . . to the point others were drawn to ask, “How can this be?” In the Book of Acts, Luke records, “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!”(1)
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Several years ago my wife and i had the rare privilege of spending ten days in the heart of Jerusalem for a personal spiritual retreat. We stayed in an apartment on the second floor of a home that had been transformed into a prayer center. Though it was late June/early July, the temperature was moderate and we kept our windows open to enjoy the refreshing light breeze that was present most of the time. Throughout our time there – and since – we couldn’t help but think about the disciples as they waited in their upper room for ten days, in light of the experience we were having in our “upper room”. Here are some thoughts i captured in my journal as our time was drawing to an end:
“Today i sit in an upper room in Jerusalem. It is not ‘the’ upper room where the apostles gathered; but for me personally, it is ‘my’ upper room because it is a place where the Lord has permitted me to wait before Him, to hear His voice, to experience His presence and to be renewed with a fresh filling of His Spirit. Though i know that He is able to do those things in my life wherever i am – whenever i am willing to be still before Him – it is an added blessing to do so here in Jerusalem where the Lord Himself says He will make His home among His people.(2) i hear the joy of children laughing and playing in the near distance, mixed with the sounds of gentle breezes and the chirping of birds. i envision – as best i can – what that day will be like when our Lord returns to make His home among His people.
“We are here at the Lord’s invitation – not only to spend this time with Him, but also to do so in this place. He made the way for us to be able to do so. Otherwise, we could not be here. As clearly as He instructed the apostles to wait for Him, He instructed us to come to this place.
“Truly the Lord has enabled us to be still in this place, and know that He is God. There have not been any flames or tongues of fire – and i have not been given the ability to speak in other languages – or even to improve my proficiency in the English language J. And yet, i have some small sense of what the apostles felt on that day – having experienced the rush of wind and been visited by and indwelt by His Spirit.
“i know that i was indwelt by His Spirit many years ago at the moment of my salvation, but He has allowed me over these past several days to experience a fresh renewing of my spirit and a fresh filling of His presence. i know i cannot tarry here – any more than those select disciples were able to tarry in His presence on the Mount of Transfiguration.(3) The time will soon arrive for us to come “down from the mountain” or, if you will permit, from our ‘upper room’. Life awaits at the base of the mountain – the day-to-day demands of life, the many opportunities of ministry, and the activities that i can allow to so easily distract me. But i know that just as He has allowed us to be in this upper room with Him, He allows us to walk down the mountain and into the day-to-day with Him, enabled, guided and empowered by His Holy Spirit.”
That is the closest i will ever come to knowing how the disciples felt as they awaited the arrival of the promised Helper. And then the “sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm… filled the house”. The Helper had come! He filled them to the point they overflowed. His filling was conspicuous. People came running because they knew there was a difference in these followers. They looked different. They spoke differently. They were ignited by the Holy Spirit. And the people knew the difference wasn’t of the disciples’ own making. They were “just Galileans” after all!
That same Holy Spirit dwells within us, if we have become followers of Jesus. So, is the world around us seeing that same difference? Is it seeing a group of people who look different, talk differently and reflect the presence of His Holy Spirit? And if we name the name of Jesus, we don’t need to wait in an upper room for the Helper to come. He entered into our lives at the moment of our salvation.
When i originally wrote this chapter for my book, i had just received an email from The Barna Group. Barna is an evangelical research group based out of Ventura, California. Based upon their polling, they shared the following facts in that email:
One-quarter of practicing Christians say there is a person who they cannot forgive.
Almost half of practicing Christians say mercy doesn’t influence their thoughts or actions or they haven’t thought about whether it does.
Christians grapple with whether certain people deserve compassion or forgiveness, and they are not all that different from non-Christians when it comes to embodying merciful attitudes and actions.
Their conclusion was that the Church was struggling to embody mercy. And since that research was conducted pre-pandemic, i would imagine that the response would be even more startling today. Our struggle is because we have relegated the Helper to the back row of our lives instead of the driver’s seat. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to enable and empower us to embody Him, His love and His mercy. If our lives don’t reflect His presence or His power, it is because we have quenched the igniting of His Holy Spirit. Even the early church struggled. The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica: “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit,”(4) and to the church in Ephesus: “Be filled with the Spirit.”(5) We would do well to heed his counsel.
The Helper has come! We are not awaiting His arrival. He has come like the roaring of a mighty windstorm. Jesus, ignite Your Spirit within us. Fill us to overflowing. So that the world might again see You . . . Your Person . . . and Your glory reflected through our lives – and once more ask, “How can this be?”
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Portions of this post have been taken from my book Until He Returns, chapter 4.
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(1) Acts 2:1-8 (NLT)
(2) Joel 3:21
(3) Matthew 17:1-9
(4) 1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NLT)
(5) Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)
Copyright © 2023 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Personal photo of Jerusalem.