CONTRASTING PENTECOSTS
Joel 2:28-32
“And afterward [Blessings spoken over both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel], I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.
“Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
“But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”
Fifty days after the first Passover, 3,000 people died in the first Pentecost (Exodus 32:28). God wrote His Law (Ten Commandments) on stone tablets for Moses on Mount Sinai. Meanwhile, the Israelites got impatient waiting for Moses to return. They were worshipping a golden calf!
Moses lost his cool upon returning. He threw down the two stone tablets that broke into pieces (Exodus 32:19). Moses tossed that calf into the fire. He ground up the burned gold into powder, scattered it on the water, and made the people drink it (Exodus 32:20).
Fast forward about 1500 years to the Bible’s New Testament. God gave His Spirit and 3000 people got saved on Mount Zion. (Acts 2:41). God taught that the Law kills but His Spirit gives life. God’s Holy Spirit came as a rushing wind that perched tongues of fire on the apostles (Acts 2:3).
Jews flocked to Jerusalem from every nation. They heard the whooshing wind, but had no idea what it meant. When they spoke, the apostles understood their speech and shared the wonders of God with them in their own native language! (Acts 2:5-12).
“They had too much wine,” some said, poking fun at the apostles. Mingling amongst the people, Apostle Peter stood up, eager to address the crowd:
“These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!” Peter used the opening Scripture to preach God’s kingdom, the same gospel that Jesus preached.
Take Home Nugget
When people try to keep God’s commandments, they operate from Mt. Sinai and death reigns: health, friendships, every choice fails. However, those who grasp the Spirit of grace operate from Mt. Zion. They find breakthroughs and miracles (See lesson linked below).
Operating from Mt Zion brings salvation through faith from grace.
“Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” Galatians 3:5
Adapted from “Continue in God’s Grace” by Rev. Joseph Prince. www.josephprince.org. May 30, 2017. South Carolina.
And “The Spirit Among Us” by Mrs. Alena S. Guagenti. Portals of Prayer Family Devotions. June 4, 2017. Missouri.
J.D. Grifith
Click here for an Interactive-Online-Lesson for Contrasting Pentecosts
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