A Rushing Mighty Wind

Dear Weekly Readers!

God’s Peace!  

I have not been writing personal notes or any of these articles personally for the last few weeks.  The reason is that I have been on an extended trip into Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, and Estonia.

This trip was so very blessed! I pray that all that was done gave Glory to God and to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.   

All of our strength and anything good that comes out of our mouth is only from HIM!   The weak or poorly chosen words, those were mine, but anything good is from God, so I ask him to bless His Holy Word!

Now this week I am traveling to South Carolina USA.  Pray that God’s Word would be spoken there during the Southern Mission Services.  Again, we pray and plead for God’s presence through the Power of His Holy Spirit.    

May God Bless your Week!  Please pray for us in the USA.   John R.

We have just celebrated the Day of Pentecost.   Please enjoy the below article called:

A Rushing Mighty Wind

He (the Spirit) shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:14)

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh… (Acts 2:17)

Pentecost, meaning fiftieth day, was celebrated by the Jews as the Feast of Weeks, in which they commemorated the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. Many people from many nations had gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. They were to witness the unveiling of the living Church of God, the birth of the New Testament Church.

On the day of Pentecost, a great change came to the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus had already revealed the great power of God. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, caused the lame to walk, the lepers were cleansed, the dead were raised, and to the poor the Gospel was preached (Luke 7:22).

He said, Many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. (Luke 10:24)

Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Christ announced, "On this rock will I build my Church." He was not building it on Peter, but on his confession that Jesus was the Christ. To this Church He promised great authority by giving the keys of the kingdom

of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16:19)

Jesus didn't send His disciples out in their own power. He said, 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. (Luke 24:49) Though they had been with the most excellent teacher for three years, they needed heavenly power for the work that was before them.

On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were assembled in one accord when the Holy Spirit descended on them as a rushing mighty wind. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:4)

On this day, Jesus, who had ascended to the Father ten days earlier, fulfilled His promise of sending a counselor to teach them (John 14:26). Like the creative breath of God in Genesis, the Spirit filled the disciples, showing them how the Old Testament was fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Peter had recently denied the Lord for fear. Now, Peter was no longer afraid but had received power from on high to boldly preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. That day 3000 souls were saved, and they went on to turn the world "upside down" through the power of the Holy Spirit. It was clearly God's plan from the beginning that the Church, His called-out people or the Body, would be made known to the world by gathering together to fulfill His mission. 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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the godhead, which proceeds from the Father and the Son. The work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Christ. In a practical sense, the Holy Spirit is the living Lord Jesus within us as a Spirit. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. (John 17:23)

As God is in Christ, Christ is in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 16:13-14) Jesus glorifies the Father, and theHoly Spirit glorifies the Son.

The office of the Holy Spirit is not to speak of Himself. The Spirit shows us the truth found in God through Jesus Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit is where Jesus is lifted up. The first work of the Spirit is to awaken us to our sin and bring us to repentance. Then He reveals to us the greatness of the living Lord Jesus, who has completed our redemption and reconciled the sins of the whole world with His blood. Our Pentecost begins when we are able to believe our sins forgiven in the name and blood of Jesus.

Where the preaching of the blood is heard, there the power of the Holy Spirit is moving. The blood of Jesus is, from the fall of man to the end of the Revelation, a red cord that goes through the Bible. Through the Word, the Holy Spirit brings us into a union with God. Then the Spirit comes to live in us, to enlighten, sanctify and preserve us unto everlasting life. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost… (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

The Church is an assembly of those on earth in whom God dwells through the Holy Spirit. God instituted His Church on earth to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins to penitent sinners. The Church will continue here until the end of time and He will come again, just as He ascended, and receive us unto Himself.

The disciples could never recall the day of Pentecost without thinking about what they were before and what they were after the day had passed! The same is true for every one born of the Spirit.

Has this miracle happened to you?

May we pray as Luther, "May God, our Father, through Christ Jesus, send the Holy Spirit into our hearts, there to begin and to complete the work of salvation!"

Amen.

Pastor Elmer Yliniemi
Wolf Lake, Minnesota