Preparation for Pentecost

What is the greatest need of the church today? Is it material things? No. The greatest need for the church today is to have a fresh outpouring of the Spirit of the living God. Why? So that we may bear witness to Jesus Christ in the midst of the world. We need the strength and the gifts of the mighty Holy Spirit so that we can be competent, fearless, confident, and articulate in proclaiming the gospel to the world.

Why do we need the power of the Holy Spirit? Because we are nothing! As I prepared this study I remembered a story the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse told about a minister, Mr. Newell, who had been invited to speak at a conference sponsored by the China Inland Mission. After he preached, Mr. Newell requested the mission director to pray for him so that he would remain humble and consider himself to be nothing. What was the director’s response? “Newell, you are nothing. Take it by faith!”

That is true of all of us. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Paul says that we are by nature things that are not–the weak and despised of the world–but God in his great love and mercy chose us. Jesus himself told us that without him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Therefore, let us acknowledge we are nothing. Take it by faith! But then let us pray, “O God, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us, that we may be able to do what you want us to do.”

We Need the Holy Spirit

Do you remember the state of the apostles immediately after the death of Jesus? They were timid, fearful, and gloomy. Why? They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah who would restore the golden age of the Davidic kingdom, but their hopes were dashed when he was crucified. Not only that, they knew they had not proved loyal to Jesus in his suffering and death, and I am sure that caused them to be discouraged. Peter had denied Jesus three times, and all of the apostles except John did not remain near the cross of their dying Master. Additionally, these disciples were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Even in Jerusalem they stayed inside a room with the doors locked. These disciples were fearful and gloomy because they had given up on Jesus, and they began to drift back to their former occupations.

In Acts 1 we read that the apostles had changed. United together, they spent their time praying and praising God in an upper room in Jerusalem. They were bold and confident, going out continually to the temple to praise God.

What do you think made these apostles different? First, Jesus was raised from the dead, and had given them many infallible proofs of his resurrection. No one saw Jesus emerging from the grave, but his disciples saw him alive many times afterwards. They ate with him, questioned him, heard him teach, and walked with him. They touched him and handled him, as John says in 1 John 1:1. Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit, taught them how to interpret Scripture, commissioned them to preach the gospel, and, before his ascension, blessed them, lifting up his hands. The resurrection of Jesus changed the apostles.

Soon, however, the apostles would experience even more change. Witnessing the risen Jesus alone did not fully qualify them to be witnesses of the gospel. It was a necessary qualification, but they also needed the qualification of the Pentecostal experience. They needed to be clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the same way we need not only the gospel but also the Holy Spirit’s anointing to be effective witnesses of this great gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pentecostal experience totally transformed these weak, despised Galileans and qualified them to fearlessly declare the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It will do the same for us.

Preparation for Pentecost: Submission to Christ

How did the disciples prepare for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? First, they submitted fully to the resurrected Christ, the Lord of the universe.

Before his ascension Jesus commanded his disciples stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father. Motivated by the blessing of their ascending Lord and by the angelic promise of his second coming, the apostles obeyed this command. They returned with great joy, not to Galilee, even though their homes and businesses were there, but to the hostile city of Jerusalem. They were submitting to Christ and fully obeying his command.

The disciples walked three quarters of a mile from the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley to the city of Jerusalem. When they arrived in the city they went to an upper room, which was possibly the same place where they ate the last supper with the Lord Jesus Christ. Upper rooms were the living rooms of the time where people could study, pray and assemble for special meetings. This particular upper room was spacious enough to accommodate over one hundred people.

Why did the apostles need such a large room? Because many people had joined the eleven apostles as they waited for God’s promise. There were other Galilean believers and, probably, Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the disciples who had met the Lord on the road to Emmaus. In Acts 1:15 we read that the group numbered about one hundred and twenty. Why did they gather in the upper room? Because the Lord had said to wait in Jerusalem. All these people were obeying Christ’s command. They had no idea how long they would be there because the Master had not told them that the Holy Spirit will be poured out on the day of Pentecost, yet they waited.

Submission and obedience to the Lord is, therefore, a necessary preparation for the experiencing of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Even though they had every earthly reason to return to Galilee, these disciples obeyed Jesus Christ and waited in Jerusalem. We must ask ourselves: Are we willing to so obey our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Submission to Christ is the first requirement for Pentecost.

Preparation for Pentecost: Spiritual Unity

The second requirement for Pentecost is spiritual unity. As we said, the eleven were joined by many others in upper room, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and her other sons–Jude, James, Joseph, and Simon. Now, we must always remember that Mary was a sinner just like us, but she was blessed of the Lord and had been saved by his unique Son, Jesus. She, along with her other sons, who had also become believers, waited for the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The wonderful thing to note about this assembly of one hundred and twenty people is that they were all of one accord. The Greek word for “one accord” is homothumadon. The disciples were of one mind, one will, one feeling, one plan, one purpose, and one prayer. They lived together, enjoying each other’s fellowship and loving one another. The Holy Spirit was working in them to bring about great spiritual oneness and unity.

These disciples all loved their Lord and trusted in him. They were no longer asking the question they used to ask, “Who is the greatest?” They were no longer seeking to sit on the left or the right of King Jesus. There was no quarreling or envy; rather, they lived together as brothers, and, in fact, the word for brethren, adelphoi, appears many times in the book of Acts. They were of one accord, homothumadon, a word which appears eleven times in the New Testament, ten of which are in the book of Acts.

This assembly was practicing what we read about in Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forever.”

We must understand that God will pour out a blessing where there is spiritual unity. What is the greatest blessing in the whole world? Having the Spirit of the living God poured out upon us so that we may be strengthened by his might and comforted by his presence. Therefore, we must ask if we are of the same mind, plan, and purpose in our homes. How can we ask God to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us if we do not live together in one accord in our own homes? We must have one mind, one plan, one accord, and one Spirit. That is true togetherness and fellowship.

The text says the disciples were united also in prayer. No doubt some of them remembered what the Lord Jesus had taught in Matthew 18:19-20, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Where there is unity, there is God.

I challenge you to seek this spiritual unity for your own homes. Forsake self-interest and self-centeredness, begin to love God and one another, and pray together, having one plan, one mind, one purpose, and one goal. Let me assure you, if you do these things, your home will be a place where God himself will manifest his presence.

Let me make two other points about spiritual unity. First, this word for “one accord” is also used to refer to the enemies of the gospel. Satan is against the church and he often inspires people to be of one mind in attacking God’s church. If that is true, should not the church of Jesus Christ also be of one accord so that she may be filled with the Holy Spirit? Then she can resist the devil and oppose the kingdom of evil. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” We need to believe that.

Second, in Romans 15:5-6 we find the only other place where the word homothumadon appears in the New Testament outside of the book of Acts. Paul writes, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Therefore, we must ask ourselves: Are we united in love for the one purpose of glorifying the Lord in the world, in our marriage, in our family life, in our church life? There should not be divisions in God’s church. Of the church of Corinth Paul heard there were divisions among members: “What I mean is this,” Paul wrote, “One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, ‘I follow Christ'” (1 Cor. 1:12).

Where there is division, we can expect confusion, not the presence or outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The second requirement for Pentecost, therefore, is spiritual unity.

Preparation for Pentecost: Supplication

The third aspect of our preparation for Pentecost is prayer, or what we call supplication. Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem, and they spent that waiting time in prayer.

Most of us do not relish waiting, do we? After all, we are people of action and we would rather be doing something than nothing. But waiting does not always mean doing nothing. Prayer is a form of waiting on the Lord, and those who wait upon God in prayer and meditation of his word will find their strength renewed so they can do further exploits for the Lord.

Therefore, the disciples used their waiting time in earnest prayer. In fact, the text says they devoted themselves–the Greek word is proskartereo–to prayer, meaning they kept on praying with all their might without fainting or giving up. They prayed in faith in Christ’s promise to pour out the Holy Spirit. They prayed with expectation, passion, persistence, and perseverance. They prayed as the Canaanite woman had prayed for the deliverance of her daughter. Even though this woman was put off by Jesus several times, she persevered until her request was granted. They prayed as Saul did when God arrested him on the road to Damascus. The Lord had told Ananias that Saul was praying, and we can reasonably assume his prayer lasted three days.

Now, the Lord had not specifically commanded the disciples to go to Jerusalem and pray, but I am sure they knew it would be the best thing to do while they waited. They had seen Jesus himself throughout his earthly ministry praying and waiting on God, and I am sure, in the context of waiting for God to pour out the Holy Spirit, they remembered how Jesus had taught them to pray especially for the Holy Spirit, as we read in Luke 11. Not only that, the apostles knew that the Father had anointed Jesus Christ while he was praying, as we read in Luke 3:21. Thus, as these disciples waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit they were praying in faith, asking God, “Lord, do as you have promised.”

Have you ever wondered why we have to pray? Many people today ask that question, even some who call themselves Calvinists. But if we do not pray, we will become arrogant and self-sufficient. If we do not pray, we will be setting ourselves against the divine order which commands us to pray. Additionally, if we do not pray, we will find ourselves to be graceless, powerless, and weak.

The Lord said “Wait” and the disciples prayed while they waited. What do you think they were praying? I am sure their prayers went something like this: “Lord, do as you have promised. We have waited here in Jerusalem rather than going back to Galilee. Pour out your Spirit upon us, for we are nothing. Clothe us with power from on high. We are weak; make us strong to face the world and its opposition. Lord, you said the Holy Spirit would teach us; we need that teaching. Lord, you said the Holy Spirit would guide us; we need that guidance. We need the comfort and the gifts of your Paraclete. Lord, you taught us, ‘Ask and you shall receive,’ so we are asking. O Lord Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit from the Father and pour him out upon us that we may be qualified to proclaim the gospel.”

True prayer consists of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and I am sure the prayers of the disciples included all of these elements. Luke 24:50-51 tells us that they “returned to Jerusalem with great joy [and] stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” No doubt they were praising God for all the blessings they had received, especially the gift of Jesus Christ. No doubt they also were thanking God for the forgiveness of sins. Even unreliable Peter, who had failed and denied the Lord but later was restored to the Lord in the presence of his other disciples, prayed these things.

The disciples spent their waiting time in adoration, in praise, in confession, in repentance, in consecration, in thanksgiving, and in specific prayer. They identified their sins and forsook them, which is a vital thing we must do as a preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

What about us? Do we so pray with passion and persistence and faith and expectation, not for material things but for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon us? The greatest need of the church is not material things. (PGM) It is for Jesus Christ to pour out the Spirit of the living God upon us that we may do the God’s will of bearing witness to him in the midst of the world.

Preparation for Pentecost: Scripture Study

The fourth preparation for Pentecost is Scripture study. I am sure these disciples not only prayed with passion, but also spent time studying the Scriptures. We know this by the very words they used. In verse 20 we find Peter easily quoting from the book of Psalms to make his point, demonstrating that he and his fellow disciples were earnest students of the Scriptures.

After his resurrection, the Lord Jesus instructed his disciples how to interpret Scripture Christocentrically. He explained to them that the entire Old Testament speaks about a Christ who would suffer, die, and be raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. Then Jesus said, “I am the one who suffered, died, and rose from the dead.” The disciples could therefore conclude that Jesus is the Christ in whose name forgiveness should be proclaimed to all nations on the basis of repentance. When we interpret Scripture correctly, we see that the entire Old Testament speaks of Jesus Christ.

We find this hermeneutic principle recorded in Luke 24:25-27 and Luke 24:44-47. In Luke 24:25-27 Jesus said to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, “‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?'” Then Luke writes, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” In Luke 24:44-47 Jesus taught his disciples again: “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

We must always acknowledge that Scripture is God’s infallible word. In Acts 1:16 Peter said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David.” There you have the whole biblical understanding of the inspiration of the Scripture. Scripture is the product of the Holy Spirit and a human author. The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of David, and David wrote down what the Holy Spirit said to him. In 2 Peter 1:21 Peter tells us, “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” I don’t worry about what anyone else speaks about the Scripture. The Scripture is the very word of God–infallible, inerrant and authoritative–in which God speaks to us. If we are interested in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we must not only pray but also study the Scripture.

Let me ask you: Do you study the Scriptures? Do you search them for gold, yea, for fine gold? Do you search the Scriptures for treasure? Do you search the Scriptures for life? The disciples knew that Scripture study is a very necessary preparation for Pentecostal blessing, and in Acts 2:42 we read that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, meaning the Scriptures, and to prayer.

In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul wrote, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful . . .” That includes the books of Luke and Acts, which comprise twenty-five percent of the New Testament. Many people say, “Well, we don’t study much from Luke/Acts. The teaching is in the epistles, so we can almost ignore Luke/Acts.” But this view is wrong because the Bible itself says that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable, including the historical narratives, the psalms, and the wisdom literature. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped,” meaning thoroughly furnished or qualified, “for every good work.”

In Romans 15:4 Paul wrote, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Everything! Why do you not have much endurance? Why do you fall apart when a little breeze blows upon you? You are not studying the Scriptures! The Scriptures are written for our teaching so that we may have endurance. Why are you so easily discouraged and depressed? Again, because you are not studying the Scriptures. Scripture is written to encourage us and give us hope–hope in the glory of God, hope that our Lord Jesus Christ will come again, and hope of the kingdom of God.

We must get into the Scripture to prepare for a Pentecostal experience. We must devote ourselves to a systematic study of God’s word, because Scripture study is an essential preparation for Pentecostal blessing.

Preparation for Pentecost: Spiritual Leadership

The fifth preparation is spiritual leadership. Pentecost means revival! When the Holy Spirit is poured out, great things happen. Sinners are converted and the church grows, and a need develops for spiritual leaders in the church.

A powerful witness gives rise to powerful conversion of terrible sinners. Now, I am not speaking about some kind of church growth at any cost. We are not interested in a church that consists of Cain and Esau and flesh. But when the Spirit of the living God comes upon us, we will bear such a powerful witness that terrible sinners like Saul of Tarsus will cry out, be converted, and confess Jesus Christ is Lord.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we will have a vital, personal relationship with Christ. And when we have such a relationship, we will declare Jesus Christ to the world with great conviction, passion, and lack of fear. The Spirit of the living God will cause people to be born again and cry out, “What must we do to be saved?” Then we can tell them, “Repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the one who died for our sins, was raised from the dead, and is the Lord of the universe, coming again to judge the living and the dead. Repent and be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” A Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit, therefore, results in revival and conversions. When many people are converted, they need spiritual leaders to teach, guide and discipline them.

What kind of leaders can minister to new converts? Spiritual leaders. Now, in today’s society, character may not matter for leaders, especially for politicians. Even an antichrist could easily become a world leader because very few people care about character. But Christians need spiritual leaders. Character matters in the leadership of the church of Jesus Christ.

As the apostles proclaimed the gospel, the group of one hundred and twenty grew into a church of three thousand and then five thousand. Within a few years of Christ’s death many churches were started in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Tyre, Sidon, Caesarea, Syrian Antioch and beyond.

The growing church needed leaders, but, sadly, there were few. The disciples began to pray for a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the covenant breaker, who had been one of the Twelve. The Bible says Judas was an unregenerate man, a devil, a thief, and an unclean man led and possessed by Satan. He was called the son of perdition and he broke his covenant with God, betrayed Jesus, and later committed the most ignominious sin of suicide. But the church needed leaders, so the apostles began looking for someone to replace Judas.

In Acts 1, beginning with verse 15, we read how the Holy Spirit guided Peter through Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 to conclude it was necessary to replace Judas with a twelfth apostle, who, together with the eleven, would guarantee the truthfulness of the gospel tradition. The apostles began to pray for a leader who would meet certain apostolic qualifications. What were the qualifications? First, that he must have followed Jesus from John’s baptism to the time of his ascension, so that he could give powerful witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and, second, that he be chosen by the risen Lord to be the twelfth apostle.

Now, have you ever wondered why Judas needed to be replaced, but when James died, he was not replaced? Judas was replaced, not because he died, but because he had become an apostate. Yes, he met with a violent end, but the important thing is, he went to his own place, meaning hell. Judas was not a believer, and therefore, in the will of God, his place had to be filled.

Only two people qualified for consideration. First, there was Joseph Barsabbas, which means “son of Sabbath,” also known as Justus. Second, there was Matthias, whose name means “gift of God.” The disciples prayed to the heart-knowing Lord of the universe to make the choice, which he did through the casting of lots. “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord,” we read in Proverbs 16:33. The Lord’s choice was Matthias. He was counted among the twelve that represented the twelve tribes of Israel, the new Israel, the church.

May God help us to pray for spiritual leaders in preparation for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Spiritual leaders are few; therefore, let us pray that God will raise up new leaders–men who are chosen of God, called of God, gifted of the Lord, uncompromising, confident, fearless, full of wisdom, faith and power, lovers of sinners and lovers of God, ready to suffer and even die for the cause of the gospel.

Today’s church needs leaders also. In Matthew 9:37-38 we read, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” We need leaders. If you are a husband, are you a leader? If you are a father, are you a leader? If you are a wife and mother, are you a leader enough that your children obey you? May God grant us the leaders we need in his church.

Are You Prepared?

In conclusion, let me ask you some questions. First, do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world and Lord of the universe? Do you repent and believe in him? Do you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord?

The Lord of the universe is not begging us to repent and believe. Rather, he is giving us a gracious invitation to come to him. But if we do, the Bible assures us, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Second, will you obey and submit to him, purposing to do his will alone in opposition to your own desires, passions, and convictions? You may want to go to Galilee, but if God says, “Stay in Jerusalem,” will you do his will?

Third, will you submit to him and desire spiritual unity? Will you love one another and be united with other believers? Do you remember how Jesus told his disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. . .”? That part was not new, but then Jesus said, “as I have loved you,” which referred to his suffering and death for our sake. Therefore, we must pray, “O God, make us of one mind, one will, one plan, and one passion.” Each of us must consecrate ourselves to God’s service and forsake all besetting sins.

Fourth, will you persistently and passionately pray for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon yourself, first, and then on your family and your church? An outpouring of the mighty Holy Spirit is our greatest need, not material things.

Fifth, will you commit yourself to intelligent, systematic, and tireless study of the infallible Scriptures so that you may know God’s will, love God’s will and do God’s will?

Sixth, will you pray that God will send laborers, meaning leaders, into his harvest field? Will you consecrate yourself to be used by him as a leader in the days to come?

What is our greatest need as Christians? It is not money nor a better sex life. It is not even a computer with all the latest technology. No, our greatest need is God’s Holy Spirit. We are nothing, and we must take that by faith. Didn’t Jesus say, ” Without me you can do nothing”?

Do you think you need the Holy Spirit? I certainly do. May God, therefore, pour out his Holy Spirit upon us, that we may live for him with passion, perseverance, holiness, faith and in great liberty! Amen.