May/June 2008

May 11 is not only Mothers Day. It is also the Day of Pentecost, one of the high festival days in the Church year. It is the day we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had promised before he ascended into heaven. Acts chapter 2 records the events of the day for us.

The chapter begins by telling us: "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they (the apostles) were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and beagn to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The chapter goes on to explain that the apostles were able to speak the Gospel message clearly in other languages they had not previously learned. There were many residents from other foreign countries in Jerusalem at that time for the Feast of the Harvest. By the Holy Spirit they were able to use the language of the people to tell of "the mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11).

It seems the same kind of thing can happen today. The fact that we know Jesus is our Lord and Savior; that we know the mighty works of God through Him in His life, death and resurrection, is evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We may not be able to speak instantaneously in a foreign language we have not previously learned. We are, however, equipped by the Holy Spirit to speak of the Gospel in the language of the people. Recognizing that may make us more sensitive to the opportunities God gives us to do so as He brings people across the path in our life.

There is a certain language of the people you work with and who live in your neighborhoods. There is a certain language of your friends and those you socialize with. They communicate in ways that are unique to the environment they are in. God the Holy Spirit has equipped you to tell of the mighty works of God, to give a reason for the hope that you have, in the language of the people. God the Holy Spirit has equipped you to meet them where they are at with the Good News of Jesus.

Christian parents do this kind of thing with their children all the time.They tell the Gospel in the language of the people. They communicate the Gospel in the language children understand. For example, they will talk about the baby Jesus at Christmas and probably never use the word "incarnation:" Children, then, hear of the mighty works of God in their own language.

We have been filled with the Holy Spirit and are equipped to share the Gospel news of Jesus in the language of the people, winsomely and understandably, in a way that may pleasantly surprise those who hear it. God intended it for all and has equipped you to speak it in the language of the people in the opportunities He provides every day.

Pastor John

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