Heart Meditations

Scripture – Act 2:1-13  When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.  (2)  And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  (3)  And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.  (4)  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.  (5)  Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.  (6)  And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.  (7)  And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  (8)  And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?  (9)  Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  (10)  Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,  (11)  both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”  (12)  And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  (13)  But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Observation – What stood out to me was the line ‘Jew and devote men from every nation’.  Also I was drawn to look up the meaning the words ‘tongues’, and ‘utterance’.

Application-  I have always thought that out pouring of the Holy Spirit was all to do with when the church finally got its act together, got in one place both physically and Spiritually and were ready and waiting.  But this verse reminds me that while all of that is crucial what was equally crucial in fact one could argue indispensable, its the fact that Jews and devote men (gentile converts to Judaism) from every nation under heaven just so happened to be in Jerusalem the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out.  As Christians cloistered in the upper room, trying to get unified and understand the word and waiting for the promise of power it can be easy for us to think that everything depends on us but just as God is preparing us to receive the Spirit He is also preparing the world to be in position for us filled with the Spirit.  Maybe the reason we haven’t seen the Spirit poured out in latter rain power the way we expect is not because we are not ready (which by the way seemingly it only look the church 10 days to sort everything out.  Which makes me wonder what if we had been together at camp meeting for another 3 days…what would have happened?) but because God is waiting for the perfect moment in our world when the greatest number of receptive people have been congregated.  Maybe we should expect the Spirit to fall during the Olympics or the World Cup, some event where people from around the world are gathered who are able to take the gospel seed back home with them.  Maybe today God will use the internet as the world gather around the web these days. I don’t know but we should realise God is playing both ends against the middle.

Secondly, what is interesting is that first the Spirit came like a rushing wind and filled the room, (which is a play on words in the Greek for Spirit is the same as the word for wind) so the Spirit was already there, so why did He choose to show them tongues of fire (and word literally means a tongue like what you have in your mouth) above there heads before they became filled with the Spirit?  I don’t know but I am just thinking of the top of my head, what if it was the same reason that when I download an App it has an icon?  Now the icon really does nothing to aid the App’s function but it helps me to know the main thing that the App will do, so my Bible App is a picture of the Bible and my daughter’s coloring book is a picture of a coloring book etc.  What’s interesting is that the App often does much more than the icon shows but its just a way to get a handle on what I am downloading.

But what if the Spirit isn’t the App, what if the Spirit is the operating system what if He is the OS777?  You don’t really see the operating system, its in the background running everything.  It provides the context and framework for everything.  It runs the Apps.  What if the gifts are the Apps but the OS is the Spirit?  We fixate on the gifts, the Apps, we compare ourselves with each other to see what Apps we have but if we don’t first have the Spirit nothing will work.

Okay so there are all these people from all the different countries gather in Jerusalem who were open to the gospel.  You already have the Spirit, the OS but what App do you need in this situation?  Obviously you need the google translator App.  So the Spirit downloads to them the speaking in tongues App and epically its icon is the fiery tongue that hovers over there head while it is loading.  So here’s the obvious question, what if the people around had happened to be a group of staving refugees who all spoke their language, what App would you need in that situation?  Maybe the multiply the loaves App.  What about if it was a group of muslims?  Maybe the how to see Jesus in the Koran App.  What if the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, and the gift of tongues are only linked because that’s what the context needed most?

Finally it says they spoke as the Sprit gave them utterance, the word utterance means to speak clearly and eloquently (just want to you know I am fighting the Adventist urge to preach against the modern speaking in tongues here :)).  They didn’t simply receive the gift of speaking other languages but the gift of being able to communicate in whatever language clearly and eloquently.  So if english is my only language can I still have the gift of tongues?  Can God give me the ability to speak clearly and eloquently for Him in my mother tongue?  Are we gonna get made in 2013 because God has updated the icons on His Apps which the first century and so they look a little different now then they did then?  What I am hearing loud and clear is that if I have the Spirit then He can download whatever I might need in really time to reach however might be in need whether its the tongues App or the healing with your tissue App or the praying into the life of Pastor’s of little faith App, or the SOAPS HD full version App or just the keep going to my boring dead church and not kill anyone App! Whatever we need He can supply

Prayer – Lord help me to have more faith and to realise that You are fully in control of Your church, of the Gospel, of the World and even of me.  Help me to be filled with the Spirit today and to trust the Spirit to give me what I need when I need it.  Help me to crave the wind more than the fire for there be no fire where there is no wind.  Continue to blow on your young people.

Amen