One of the most momentous events
to ever occur upon the earth happened the day that the Lord
was pleased to send His Spirit down to lead His people into
all truth. Now we are quite certain that
there has never been a day in the history of the world when
the Holy Spirit has not been present in the earth. Even in
the creation, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The Lord our God is one, and wherever He is, then His Spirit
is there as well. David certainly knew something
of what it was to be indwelt by the Spirit of God, and feared
His departure when he prayed, Take not thy Holy Spirit from
me. Yet the Lord promised to send His Spirit, which He called
the Comforter, in a manner which was heretofore not specifically
and particularly known to His disciples. For the Holy Ghost
was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
Joel prophesied of this occurrence when he said, 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. The Lord prepared his disciples
for this event when he met them in the upper room after his resurrection,
just before his ascension. As of yet they had no clear understanding
as to exactly what it was that he came into the world to accomplish.
Thus he gave them this glorious promise which had implications
beyond what they could even imagine at the time. But ye shall receive
power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,
and in Samaria, and into the uttermost part of the earth.
In this fashion he described that to which he was sending
them, and the fact that he would provide them with exactly what
they needed to perform the task to which he sent them. Just prior
to his ascension he had met with them one last time. He revealed
that it was not in his purpose to send them forth at that moment,
but to have them tarry or wait at Jerusalem until this momentous
event would occur, which had never taken place in the earth
before or since. Thus, when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, he brought to pass that which he had given
Joel to prophesy. And just as suddenly as the Lord
Jesus was taken up from them as they stood gazing, so now
he comes to them opening their understanding and giving them
languages which they had never spoken, which is an illustration
of the fact that they were declaring a new message which they had
heretofore not spoken. Peter, who not many days before
had denied that he even knew this man Jesus, stood up boldly
in the midst of the multitude and declared the gospel of the
glory of the blessed God in no uncertain terms and no equivocation
as to the purpose for which the Lord Jesus had come into the
world. Prior to this event, the disciples
of Christ were still convinced that Messiah would restore the
kingdom of Israel politically and geographically. Their understanding
caused them to see the nation of Israel after the flesh as
being at the center of God's purpose. Amazingly, many teachers
and preachers today still believe the same thing. Yet the Lord
told His disciples in John chapter 16 that the Spirit would be sent
to them to lead them into all truth. He said the Spirit would
glorify Him. This is the exact purpose for
which Christ came, that his name might be magnified in the earth
as the redeemer of that people which he loved from before the
foundation of the world. Thus we see the glory of Christ
as the center of God's purpose in the earth. This is the reason
that the gospel is to be proclaimed. For when the Spirit is come,
He will speak of Christ. He will magnify the Savior's
name. He will magnify the Savior's
work. He will magnify the Savior's
purpose and accomplishments. The gospel is not an offer. Rather,
it is a message that declares the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
It is a message which declares the glory of Him who died in
the room instead of sinners. It is a message about the faithfulness
of Christ. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.