Being Filled With The Holy Spirit and Removes All Doubt and Unbelief in God
By Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church – Fisher, Arkansas
The day of Pentecost drew multitudes of religious people who came together from every nation to Jerusalem to celebrate the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Pentecost was a major Jewish holiday celebrated 50 days after Passover, marking the end of the grain harvest and, primarily, the anniversary of God giving the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai through Moses. It is one of the three biblically mandated pilgrimage festivals. It is the 50th day after Passover (or the Sabbath of Passover), corresponding with the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), which was a harvest festival celebrated every year by the Jewish people at Pentecost.
At exactly forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He told His Apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Apostles obeyed and went to Jerusalem, and at exactly the “50th Day of Pentecost” they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:4-5
“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.”
When Pentecost had fully come (Acts 2:1), God did something that would change the entire known world. The religious Jews from around the world went to Jerusalem as they normally would, expecting to celebrate the high holy day called the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), a harvest festival. What took place on the first day of this high holy day celebration was not what they were expecting.
What they all witnessed on the first day of their celebration was something miraculous that they never would have expected. They were gathered together expecting to celebrate a “Harvest Festival” and the Torah Law given by God through Moses, and instead a great harvest of three thousand souls took place that day (Acts 2:41).
What took place that day was something extraordinary that left them all amazed and confounded. All the Apostles and believers were gathered in a place called “The Upper Room,” and God poured out His promised Holy Spirit upon each one of them simultaneously, just as Jesus had promised the Apostles while He was discipling them before He was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:49).
The words of Jesus in Luke 24:49 were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Those present were all amazed and in doubt. They were all “confounded” by what had just taken place in their midst. What happened was that as Galilaean people spoke in “tongues,” others heard them speaking in their own “tongue” (language) and questioned how Galilaeans could speak in their own language.
Acts 2:5-13
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Oftentimes many in the body of Christ do the exact same thing that those present on the day of Pentecost did. Many today gather for religious celebrations not expecting God to show up in their midst. And oftentimes when people gather and unexpectedly witness God perform notable miracles that leave them “confounded” and marveling in amazement, they tend to do what those present did—doubt and question the wonderful works of God and try to understand the meaning of what just took place. What makes this matter worse is when we cannot make sense of the power of God, one may do as many present did: they began to come against God’s messengers and accuse them, as we see when Peter stood up to declare the truth to them.
Acts 2:12-13
“And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”
Doubt and unbelief are the number one things that hinder any of us from experiencing the miracles that God wants to do in our midst.
Mark 6:5
“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.”
When God poured out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were all amazed, while some mocked and others thought that the Apostles were drunk with wine (Acts 2:12), not realizing what God had done in their midst. All present were “devout God-fearing men,” yet they did not truly understand that the true harvest God wanted them to celebrate was not how much grain and wheat He had blessed them with, but a new and better way to celebrate the harvest festival—souls repenting of their sins and receiving Jesus Christ, the true harvester of souls, which began that first day of the Pentecost harvest celebration.
When God begins to do wonderful works, some will come only to watch and be amazed, but the miracles they witness God perform have no real impact on their lives because they remain in doubt, not truly believing in the power of God Almighty. Many have seen and heard God do great miracles in their midst but do not truly believe in their hearts the things that Jesus taught and said.
That 50th Day of Pentecost marked the fulfillment of prophecy, with Jesus fulfilling prophecy about being the “Passover Lamb” sacrificed for the sins of mankind. The Spirit of God being poured out and resting upon each one of them (Acts 2:3-4) was the “promise of the Father,” the promised Holy Spirit, which began to be poured out to harvest souls.
Those present were “devout Jews” who knew and read the Scriptures. They should have known that God was going to pour out His Spirit because they read the Scriptures, but their focus was not on what God promised through Jesus Christ. Instead, they were focused on earthly celebrations and traditions they kept year after year. They were not expecting God to “interrupt” their religious traditions and celebrations. The Apostle Peter boldly stood before them and said the following words:
Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
WHEN GOD SPEAKS IT WILL ALWAYS COME TO PASS
As followers of Jesus, we must understand this one thing: when the Lord speaks in His Word about something, it will come to pass regardless of anyone’s disbelief or doubts, because the words that Jesus spoke are “Spirit and Life.” Anything that Jesus spoke of will not only come to pass, but God will accomplish it, and it will not return void.
Isaiah 55:11
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
The words of Jesus are not empty words; they are Spirit and life. There is so much power in every word Jesus taught that nothing on earth or in heaven can stop what Jesus spoke. When Jesus speaks, His very breath is the Holy Spirit that proceeds from His mouth, as we read throughout Scripture.
2 Thessalonians 2:8
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:”
The words of Jesus are words that speak spirit and life to the hearers.
John 6:63
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
The word “spirit” of His mouth refers to breath in the Greek.
Isaiah 11:4
“But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.”
The phrase “Rod of his mouth” is the Hebrew word שֵׁבֶט (shebet) and means rod, staff, tribe, or scepter. It is used for correction, like a rod or scepter.
- A scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively).
The Lord Jesus in Scripture is identified as the “Word of God” literally. Jesus is the living Word of God, as shown in John 1:1.
In Revelation 19:15 a sharp sword comes out of His mouth to “smite” the nations and includes all who oppose the Lord. The rod of iron is the Lord’s scepter to rule the nations.
Revelation 19:15
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
Nothing on earth can stop what the Lord speaks.
Isaiah 55:11
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Conclusion:
What can we all learn from what took place on the day of Pentecost? Was it just another day where religious people met to celebrate an earthly event? Was it a day for people to gather so they could continue living life as any ordinary day not expecting God to work His will and power in their lives? Was the day of Pentecost a day when God chose to change the world to let people know about His Son Jesus Christ, whom God sent to save the world from their sins and turn them from religious acts of worship to true worship of God in the Holy Spirit and in truth when He poured out the Holy Spirit upon three thousand soul present that day?
The day of Pentecost was not just about having an experience of speaking in tongues, as many have made it to be in our day. It was about the Holy Spirit coming upon them with “power” so they could witness that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead to all the world. Speaking in tongues did happen as the Holy Spirit gave the utterance (Acts 2:4), but those who were filled with the Holy Spirit focused on the preaching of the gosple to glorify the Lord, not just the miracle of speaking in tongues. Jesus said you shall receive “POWER” after the Holy Spirit comes upon you (Acts 1:8). This power of the Holy Spirit was for one purpose: to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ in all Judaea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Many today want to “speak in tongues,” which is a byproduct of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, and that is good. But what God truly wants to do is fill them with His Holy Spirit so they can go out and witness the gospel to all the world. Yes, tongues will happen when one is filled with the Holy Spirit, because Jesus spoke of the promise of the Father in Luke 24:49 and this promise was to empower them to go out into all the world and preach that Jesus is alive because He rose from the dead, this is the gospel.
Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Many in the body of Christ do not realize that God wants to fill them with His Holy Spirit so they can go out in the power of the Holy Spirit and reach the lost for Christ. Jesus is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Look at what John the baptist sain in Matthew 3:11 “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”
What the people of God need today is the power of the Holy Spirit to ignite the fire of God in them—“until ye be endued with power from on high”—and not just an experience of speaking in tongues. Yes, speaking in tongues are real and is a gift from God, but the purpose was so they can preach boldly under the inspiration and power of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Jesus, we should renounce all doubt and religiosity and begin doing as the Apostle Peter did on the day of Pentecost: Peter was filled with the power of God and preached repentance and told everyone they needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. – 3000 believed Peter.
Acts 2:29-33
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Ephesians 5:15-21
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
