I JUST FEEL LIKE SOMETHING GOOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, Part II

Acts 2:1-4—“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

I JUST FEEL LIKE SOMETHING GOOD IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN, Part II

While the disciples were gathered together in the temple courtyard, they were in one place and in one accord, seeking the Lord for something that they really did not understand. All of a sudden from out of nowhere, something took place that literally changed the world forever. It began on what is known as the day of Pentecost. The word Pentecost in the Greek literally means “fifty” or the “fiftieth day” for the waving of the sheaf of the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:15-16). This was done at the very beginning of the Passover, which, as many of us would understand, was another one of the feast days. It took place seven weeks after the Passover Feast, and it marked the completion of the wheat harvest. There were seven different feasts in which the children of Israel participated, which all represented Christ. However, today, the Christian doesn’t need to participate in these different feast days as all have been fulfilled in Christ. Each feast represented Christ in some fashion, and was either completely fulfilled by Christ in His first advent or will be fulfilled in the not so distant future. It was during the Feast of Firstfruits that God sent the promised Holy Spirit to His disciples.

THE COMFORTER
Before I get into what took place on that momentous occasion, I want to take us back to the days before the crucifixion of Christ. In the days leading up to His death, Jesus taught more on the person of the Holy Spirit than at any other time in His three and one-half years of earthly ministry. Why? I think that is pretty obvious. He knew that He would be crucified, and He knew that He would be raised from the dead. He even went so far as to declare this to His disciples, but they did not quite understand what He was saying (Luke 9:22; 44-45). Knowing that He would be crucified, buried, resurrected, and then ascend, He reassured His disciples that as He was going away, He would be sending down to them the Comforter, One who would walk alongside to help (Jn. 14:15-18). To me, this is an interesting tidbit. Back in the time of Christ, if there was an individual who had a following of some sort—whether large or small—when the leader of that following passed away, the ones left were referred to as “orphans.” In John 14:18, Jesus expressed to His disciples that He would not leave them comfortless, or helpless. In other words, He was telling them that as He would be leaving, He was not going to leave them orphans—those who are without a leader. He also informed them that this Promised One would dwell “with you, and shall be in you” (Jn. 14:17). This means that the Holy Spirit, the One who was promised, would literally be able to take up residence in the hearts and lives of believers, changing the disposition of everything.

THE CROSS MADE IT POSSIBLE
Let me add something to this: The only way that the Holy Spirit could be able to take up residence in the hearts and lives of believers was solely through the means of the finished work of Christ. It was the Cross that made this possible, for beforehand, the Holy Spirit could not and would not be able to reside in the lives of believers simply because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin but only cover it. With the emergence of the Cross, this made it possible for the Holy Spirit to reside because the blood of Christ was able to take away sin completely and cast it as far as the east is to the west. The Cross made this possible, and we should never forget that.

A DIVINELY INSPIRED DISRUPTION
Following the command of Christ, many gathered together in one place, no doubt, starting in the upper room and then venturing down to the temple courtyard. They were in one accord, seeking the Lord for what they did not quite understand, when out of nowhere, something happened. The Bible says, “and suddenly,” and means without warning. Those who gathered that day did not know anything special would take place. They were not told by God or anyone else that something spectacular would happen. It all happened suddenly and without warning. Personally, I like to explain it this way: What took place on the day of Pentecost—this “and suddenly” experience—was a “divinely inspired disruption.” It was this divinely inspired disruption that ushered in the Holy Spirit in a dimension never known before on Planet Earth. In all honesty, as there was a divinely inspired disruption then, we need a divinely inspired disruption now. The church today has never been more lethargic than at the present time, and neither has the church ever been in a greater mess than now. The church as a whole is desperate for a divinely inspired disruption, and it can only come when the church repents, turns from its wicked ways, and comes back to the Cross of Christ.

THE LAST DAYS
I do believe that we are living in the last of the last days, and I do believe that the rapture of the church is on the horizon. We are looking toward that great, coming day with anticipation. However, at the same time, I do believe that the Lord is about ready to send the greatest move of God to this world that we have ever seen.

As Joel prophesied so long ago, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). There is coming right ahead the greatest move of God the world has ever known, with the greatest harvest of souls coming into the kingdom of God than ever before. At the same time, I believe that as we are going to see the greatest harvest of souls come into the kingdom, we are going to see the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit, with more believers being baptized with the Holy Spirit than ever before.

A DREAM
Several years ago, I believe that the Lord gave me a dream regarding people being baptized with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking with other tongues. It took place in a large auditorium of sorts, and it was completely packed to the walls with people of ever race, creed, ethnicity, culture, and socio-economic background. I was standing stage left as the music was coming to an end, and in the dream, right before I was to minister, I was praying that the Lord would give me something to preach. I stood there in the dream with nothing to preach, with no word at that moment for the people, and I knew the music would be ending at any moment. Then, as I walked up to the podium, and I was overlooking the sea of people, the Lord dropped something into my heart. I do not remember the text, but I do remember the title of that message—“The Power of the Holy Spirit.” The very moment that I quoted my title in the dream, there was an “and suddenly” experience. Without warning and without anyone forcing the issue, in the very center of the room stood a young man. When he stood to his feet, the power of God came all over him, and he began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit of God gave the utterance. Then, in a moment, it swept over that large room, with every single person being baptized with the Holy Spirit. I felt at that time, and still do presently, that God was/is going to use this ministry through the media (television, radio, the Internet, and satellite) to see tens of thousands of people baptized with the Holy Spirit during one single service. We are in need of an “and suddenly” experience like never before, and I am anticipating the day when it happens.

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