THE DAY OF PENTECOST THE SEASON OF SHAVUOT: BAPTIZED WITH FIRE OF WHICH SPIRITS? BY: BISHOP STEVEN MAXWELL LIBERTY SR. Sometimes it puzzle me to see the various preparations and fanfare we put into celebrating religious holidays; as if we are living or even trying to live as those who were present during those times. Take Pentecost for instance; if you ask many why they are celebrating this day; they would quickly state it was the day the Holy Spirit descended like fire upon the disciples. Go a little further and ask them if the were baptized with the Holy Spirit and they with shout yes. Check their dressing and you will think they are dressed for a feast in Heaven. See those jumping speaking in tongues or singing and you will yearn to be a part of their congregation; but go a little deeper and you will be shock that they are so dirty underneath it all. In fact they are so dark inside the only demons dwell in such places. The Spirit of God is on their lips but absence from their lives. They do not even know who the Holy Spirit is nor where to place Him in their lives. Today many individuals and churches have turned away from the original and truth way of serving God and embraced a new form of worship which includes the usage of manipulating and seductive spirits if possible. These spirits are called upon to produce temporal signs and miracles, produce an electrifying atmosphere after using a particular chant which professing to be speaking in tongues. I have learned during my time of thousands who have received socalled healings from these crowd drawing crusades; that in fact are in the same state they were before been pronounce healed, if not worse! These lying spirits are fast over taken the territories of the Holy Spirit and today if you asked the question: Who is the Holy Spirit and what part He plays in your life today? How can we differentiate the Holy Spirit from seductive or manipulating spirits; you will be amazed at the answer you will receive. Don’t take my word for it; ask your next door neighbour, husband or wife. What is Pentecost and why is it unique to True Christianity, Pentecost is define in the following manners by the following persons: “Pentecost (pĕn`təkôst) [Gr.,=fiftieth], important Jewish and Christian feast. The Jewish feast of Pentecost, in Hebrew Shavuot , the Feast of Weeks, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, arose as the celebration of the closing of the spring grain harvest, which began formally in Passover 50 days prior; there are numerous references to it in the Bible. From Rabbinic times, the festival commemorates the giving of the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai. On the Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus (50 days from the Passover in which He was crucified), the Holy Spirit, according to the Acts of the Apostles, descended on the disciples in the form of tongues of fire accompanied by the sound of a rush of wind, and gave them the power of speaking in such a way that people of different languages could understand them. The Christian feast of Pentecost is an annual commemoration of this
event, and it is solemnly observed as the birthday of the church and the feast of the Holy Spirit. In ecclesiastical calendars Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter and closes Eastertide. In the Western Church there are special observances, e.g., a penitential vigil, and in ancient times neophytes were baptized at this time. From the white garments of these converts comes Whitsunday, an English name for Pentecost. The great liturgical Latin hymns Veni Creator Spiritus and Veni Sancte Spiritus were composed for Pentecost. The Sunday after Pentecost is Trinity Sunday; until Advent the weeks are counted from Pentecost or Trinity.” (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia® Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/) (from Greek pentecoste, “fiftieth day”) Christian festival commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus, occurring on the Jewish Pentecost, after Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. The disciples began to speak in the many languages of the people assembled there, a sign that the disciples should spread the Christian message throughout the world. Jewish Pentecost was a thanksgiving feast for the first fruits of the wheat harvest and was associated with remembrance of God's gift of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Christian Pentecost is celebrated on the Sunday concluding the 50-day period following Easter. It is also the name of the Jewish celebration of Shavuot (“Festival of Weeks”). (For more information on Pentecost, visit Britannica.com. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Copyright © 1994-2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.) Pentecost 1. a Christian festival occurring on Whit Sunday commemorating the descent of the Holy Ghost on the apostles 2. Judaism the harvest festival celebrated fifty days after the second day of Passover on the sixth and seventh days of Sivan, and commemorating the giving the Torah on Mount Sinai (Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005)
I do not know what Pentecost means to you as a person, as a church, as a believer; but I do know it is a period that a freshness and renewal of your old relationship with God begins. I will not be dealing much with the event here because this has cause many good folks to lost track of the substance. The event is Pentecost while the substance is the Holy Spirit that filled the believers that day. The book of Acts tells us that out of all those believers who saw Christ after He resurrected from the dead only one hundred and twenty gather in the Upper Room to await the promise of a comforter. What happen to the rest? Were they asleep as many today who will not take the word of God seriously until death comes knocking at their door? I do not know, but what I do know for sure is that these 120 were gather in the Upper Room during this same period (a few days difference) praising, praying, fasting, and restructuring their Ministry while awaiting the promise of the Holy Spirit because the believe in the Word of God and were willing vessels that were clean and sparkling white after their faith had been tested and their eyes had been opened through the happening of the last two mouths.
Today so much emphasis is placed on the baptism of the Holy Spirit; but it is very interesting to note that many of those who claimed to have been baptized by the Holy Spirit know absolutely nothing about the Holy Spirit. Oh yes I do not doubt that they were filled after giving their lives over to Christ and the Servant lay their hands upon them; but I doubt if the Spirit remain in most of them. There is a saying “by their fruits you shall know them”. Many will be celebrating Pentecost Sunday for the disciples who were gathered in the Upper Room but have not an iota of the Holy Spirit in them. How can you learn from a teacher if you do not know how to behave as a student? Pentecost should be celebrated by those fill with the Spirit of God to bring in a harvest as it happened on the first Pentecost. As far as many are concerned there was a great outpour of the Spirit in their meetings and from that day forward those who receive the Spirit are left to fend for themselves; they have a Spirit living in them but do not know anything about the Spirit. The result is we have a lot of empty vessels running around claiming to be caring a stranger within themselves that they know nothing about. Many of them refer to the Holy Spirit as it, when conversing; while other believes The Holy Spirit was born on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is not an IT not a thing. The Holy Spirit is God Himself and I am not referring to the Trinity. First of all the Spirit of God is unchangeable and if that is truth than it is save to state that indeed the Spirit of God that filled the disciples that day and continue to filled and reside in vessels worthy of His presence is the same Spirit the moved over the face of the waters before the creation of the Heavens and the earth “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen1:2) Now that we have established that fact we must go back to the very beginnings of the Spirit dealing with man to fully understand the true importance of the day of Pentecost and what it means for us today. When we encountered the Spirit of God next in the Bible we see Him numbering the days of our lives on the face of the earth.: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years”.(Gen 6:3) The Spirit of God resided within the bodies of worthy men before long before the day of Pentecost; but they were selected and Worthy vessels chosen by God. These vessels prove beyond reasonable doubt that they were worthy of the Spirit of God through the way they live for God; regardless of the circumstances they found themselves in. However when the Spirit of God is present in a person; it is like a light that can be seen and felt as in the cases of Joseph and Joshua in Bible. You can not have the Spirit of God in you and do not bear fruits of the Spirit. What are some of those fruits I am referring to? When the Spirit of God
fills a person the attributes of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and various other talents needed (like interpreting dreams in the case of Joseph). “And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship”(Ex 31:2-3) “And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;” (Num 27:18) Above all you will be obedient to the word of God. Those that are obedient to the Word of God do justice and keep the commandments of God, they shall show mercy at all times and unbelievers and strangers shall submit to them. They shall fear God at all times because: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”(Ps111:10) For those who encountered the Spirit of God and allow it to take residence in their temples/bodies; they will find it as a worthy instructor always ready to instruct, a listening ear. Their lives will be lead by and controlled by the teaching they received daily from the Holy Spirit. It is an every day affair. It is not because you were baptized by the Holy Spirit somewhere and you go back to your evil ways and yet claim that the Spirit resides in you. The Spirit of God does not reside in a dirty vessel. No, no The Spirit of God does not work that way. The Spirit only resides in vessels clean and willing to accept His presence. He does not force His presence upon anyone but instructs and releases His blessings upon those whom He dwell. “Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.” (Neh 9:20) If you are instructed by the Spirit of God you will not walk in the dark However you cannot claim to have the Holy Spirit residing in you if you hate instruction and cast the Word of God behind you. You will always yearn for His statues because the Spirit prompts you to prepared your heart; cleanse and sanctify it to seek the law and teach it to others. The Spirit of God keeps record of our every movement, every word that comes out of our mouths, every action and interactions; our thoughts and even our most intimate desires. Isn’t that frightening? Yes it is for those who do not understand the Spirit of God. However once you understand the Spirit of God and allow it to instruct you; you will be happy for it’s presence at every breath you take. Job proudly boasted about the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life:
“Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high”. (Job 16:19) For Job the Spirit of God inspired all he did and increased his understanding to understand one fundamental truth; that he was created by God and is accountable to God alone. It was the comforting nature of the Spirit of God that Job refers to as the breath of God. The Spirit of God relaxes our every move and incorporates it and takes control as He directs us to the destiny and purpose of our existence. “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” (Job32:8) “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life. (Job 33:4) But the Spirit of God must be fear and respected because it inspires and instructs but also can be a consuming fire for those on the opposite side of it. The Spirit of God is also a Spirit that judges and at times destroy through burning in order to cleanse. Now isn’t that something that we don’t want to be associated with the truth of the Spirit of God; therefore many do not even mention it these days. Oh yes! The Spirit of God creates, gives wisdom, instructs, and resides within worthy vessels but also judges and burns in order to cleanse. It hates dirty places, dirty people, sin and filth. “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” (Isa 4:4) We must beware of provoking the Spirit of God because we will surely face the judgement throne one day and either the Spirit of God will testify on our behalf or witness against us ; for as I mentioned earlier all we do, think, say , is being witnessed by the Spirit of God. Yes Christ has indeed wash away our sins on the cross and we were baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit but if we go back to our filthy lives we are dirty and filthy and the Spirit of God will judge us and condemn us to burning like the Devil we serve. If the Spirit of God should dwell in you everyday and night you must walk as best as you can in the right path. Oh yes all have sinned, all will continue to sin but if you follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit much of those sins and dirt will avoid you and you will be worthy of the Spirit of God. The word of God says: “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin” (Isa 30:1) Only the covering of the Spirit of God makes life worth living. Everything else is vanity and leads to the pits of eternal destruction. The Lord pours His Spirit from on high upon those servants and vessels He finds worthy of His calling and dwells within their bodies directing and counselling and teaching because He delights in His elect. Now the key question is when the Spirit of God is pour upon you what becomes of you. What are your own responsibilities? Is it poured upon you just for nothing? There were millions living Israel and it surroundings on the day of Pentecost and many more disciples scatter around
but the outpour only came upon those who were willing and ready to receive it. Of those original disciples who were in the Upper Room and among the early Christians were those who receive the power and out pour of the Holy Spirit and were baptized but were so dirty the Holy Spirit struck them dead (Acts 5:1-10) With the out pour of the Spirit comes responsibilities. The responsibilities to spread the Word to the gentile’s ands thus bring judgement to them, pour waters of life upon those that are thirsty and wet the dry and patch grounds. When the Spirit of God dwells in the worthy; He extends it to their seeds and mightily bless their offspring. The promises of the Lord are mighty towards those who are obedient to His word and found worthy to receive the power of the Holy Spirit. “And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” (Isa 54:13) Those whom the Spirit of God dwell in have no worry about what the plans of the enemy are for them for they are insured, assured, protected and covered. That’s why Christ called The Spirit of God a Comforter. They have no fear for the truth that comes out of their mouths concerning the Kingdom of God, His blessings to the just and wrath upon the unjust. They speak with a boldness and fire that drives out both physical and spiritual enemies into hiding. For it is written: “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” (Isa 59:19, 21) I think you can now see for yourself that the Holy Spirit is more than just a one day event. It is more than been baptized with fire and the Holy Spirit; it is living with that fire in the temple of your bodies’ everyday and night and walking in accordance to its mandates. Now let’s go to the event a little before retuning to the substance once more; for in order to fully understand the event that you called the Day of Pentecost, it is necessary to note that what takes place from that day forward in the lives of the Believer is very important. The disciples had been taught all the while that Christ would die, resurrect, and leave them to carry out the mission one day. However they did not take His Words seriously and were very surprised, frightened, and astonished when these things actually took place. We can see it in Peter’s denial, Thomas doubt etc. Now before ascending He give Word that they should assemble and wait for the Power that would enable them to carried out their mission boldly to the ends of the earth. This time Peter, Thomas and those around them would not be taken unawares as we can see from their assembly in the Upper Room and their restructuring the number back to twelve; by replacing Judas. They were willing, ready, and anticipating a new day in their lives. They were waiting to be among the first in
their days; after the death of Christ to receive the Spirit of God. However this time it was with a difference. The Spirit of God was going to come as a rushing wind to be poured upon all flesh. What does this new wave means? “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 2:2829) All flesh? Yet there were those who were out of the Upper Room that did not received the Spirit of God that day. If you go through all the passages of the Bible relating to the Spirit of God before the day of Pentecost ,you will note that it was being poured out on a selected worthy vessels of a particular nation. Now God was releasing His Spirit upon all nations upon the face of the earth to guide, instruct, etc. those who willingly, believed, and accepted Him in their lives. I have never read a passage in the Bible where there was a baptism of the Holy Spirit upon people who were not ready to receive it. It ushers in a new period in the lives of those who it resides in. Now was the time for both men and women of all nations of the earth to prophesy about the things of God to come with a new boldness. I am not referring to empty vessels with a title, I am not referring to witches and magician using tricks and evil charms to claim the title, I am referring to something so transparent, beautiful and pure that when released in your presence you know that that vessel houses the Spirit of God. Yes Pentecost usher in a new way of life for all to received the Spirit of God at any given time in their lives, both young and old, men and women, slave and free, Jew or Gentile. It was restoration time! If you go to the passage referred to by Peter in His speech that day; you will note that there were many things relating to restoration and the end of days that we live in today. It was a promised of a new day. “But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God that hath
dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.” (Joel 2; 20-27) A new day had come; a new period for the day in God to arise and live again with God dwelling within them; a period for the old to be instructed through their dreams. Oh what a beauty! But how will they dream went they are drunk with power, wine, lust, and things of the world most of the time. It ushers in a period for young men to have visions. I laugh the other day when some young man asked me about my vision. They play with words so much these days. Those who were filled with the Holy Spirit were filled with signs and wonders; even their shadows healed at times ; but here you are dying of stroke and all manners of diseases and playing with magic and evil charms you call power , drunk with the blood and sweat of those you exploit daily for material gains , oppressing the poor ,giving deaf ear to the fatherless , and engaging in everything contrary to the Word of God and yet you claim to have visions. The time had come for young men to visualize the things of God through a manner that would bring wholeness to their lives; because only in the things of God can we find the real true about life. The time had arrived when the Spirit of God took control and not the might of man. “….Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” Oh yes, we boast that we were baptized with fire and power and have received the power of the Holy Spirit. We wear long dresses and respect table clothes, we sit properly and outwardly when you see us or hear us talking about the Holy Spirit , singing so beautifully you will think we are okay but just go one layer deeper and you will find our truth selves most of the time. The Holy Spirit is only on our lips and absence from our hearts and lives. We have as many secret lives as it is claimed that a cat has nine lives. Many claiming the Spirit of God are fakes. Many think by dressing in white garments, shouting, dancing, and speaking in tongues means baptism of the Holy Spirit. Remember the Devil is a good counterfeiter. When you are actually baptized with fire of the Holy Spirit it refines you and gives you a new direction and that brings us to the Day of Pentecost. My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ; let us not relent in our efforts in seeking the Spirit of God to take up residence in our lives. You might have been baptised with the Spirit but have lost it through your associations and interactions with the things of the world. You made have been baptized with the Holy Spirit but lose it because no one told you the real truth about the Spirit of God. Let Pentecost be a time of rekindling that fire in your life. The coals are there as long as you live. All you need is a single spark to make that light blaze so brightly within your life that you will be unable to contain it alone but will pass the surplus on to others. It is the will of God that you old men dream dreams
that will bring about peace and stability in all our lives and you young men have visions that will make life worth living in the presence of God. It is the will of God that everyone received this Spirit regardless of colour, status, or location as long as you are a willing vessel. Great signs and wonders, healings and unity are expected to take place among those who the Spirit of God resides. It is my innermost wish that you benefit from your encounter with the Spirit of God and not let it be a one day affair but one that will impact your life forever. Today we live in an era where the Spirit of God is denied and replaced by other spirits. I will not hesitate to liken our days to the days of the “Mark of the Beast” ;for indeed those who does not associate with the presence of these false spirits to entice the crowd are not consider to be worthy of their calling. Bishops, pastors, Apostles, teachers either join cults or Masonic or other societies, visit native traditional doctors, sorcerers, withes etc for charms to have power to exploit their congregations. Those who dare stand in their way with the truth of God word are crush if not strong, persecuted or marginalized because the sect has now more territories in the church then the Children of the Most Highest. Carry the “Mark”; a fat bank account, an air plane or convoys of vehicles, material wealth or chasm to move the crowd through seductive and manipulating spirits and you are recognized as a part of the whole. Dare you raise the banner of Truth, Salvation, Repentance and forgiveness and they poke fun at you and try to discourage you. Hypocrites, vipers, as Christ refer to them move among the crowd spreading their poisonous venom. Where do you stand Dear Friend? On Whose side of the divide are you right now? Watch and pray for you do not know the hour of reckoning for your life!