Pentecost
guarantees a complete ministry…
On the first Pentecost Sunday Peter preached a sermon to also help the people
understand that the Holy Spirit was given to all who turned from their sin and
turned to God through Jesus (Acts 2:38). The text of his sermon was Joel 2: 28
– 29: ‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all
people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see
visions, and your old men will dream dreams. In those days I will pour out my
Spirit even on my servants –men and women alike– and they will prophesy.”
This
was a turning point in God’s work on earth. God began to do what he had
promised through many centuries and generations, that all God’s children will
be equally involved in his complete, comprehensive ministry in this world.
Every category of people would now be called to be God’s servants in his work.
In
the Old Covenant the Holy Spirit was poured out on prophets, priests, and kings.
In
the New Covenant, as was promised through the Old Testament prophets, the Holy
Spirit dwells in “all believers.” Everyone who shared the experience of
receiving God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, is empowered to serve in
the Church, irrespective of class, culture, gender, or age. In the new
covenant, in the Church of our Lord, all believers would be priests of God,
doing his work on earth.
The
church of Jesus Christ is God’s strategy to involve every believer, and every
member of the Body to contribute to the work and mission of the Church (Eph. 4:11-16).
The
ministry of God’s Church is being accomplished when we understand God’s purpose
for him/her in his work. Everyone receives gifts according to God’s grace
and all the gifts used as a body, completes God’s work in the world. Pentecost
guarantees this complete ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit that
works through every believer.
I
am therefore challenged with the question whether I am exercising the gifts of
the Spirit in my life. Do I serve God wholeheartedly according to his purpose
for my life and according to the gifts the Lord gave me through his Spirit? This
always remains a time to renew my commitment to fulfilling my unique role in
the ministry of God’s people in the world.
Pentecost
gives us a season to recommit ourselves to be prepared and encouraged for our
service to God. When we desire this and open our hearts, souls and minds, the
Holy Spirit will use the church of Jesus Christ for God’s complete mission and
purpose in the world.
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