In fifty years the name of the program hasn’t changed. It’s
called the 700 Club, and if you watch it you know that the format has changed
little over the years. There’s news, music, interviews, and always a time of
prayer. And this particular night as Pat Robertson prayed, he stopped and said,
“There’s a woman driving in a pink care who’s been pleading with God to heal
her. And the Lord wants you to know that He’s heard your prayers. Go back to
your doctor, get a complete work-up, and listen to what the doctor says.” Then,
after praying for her, he added, “Please call us and tell us what happens.”
For weeks there’s no call, so everybody forgets about it.
The tape makes its way from Virginia to Atlanta, from Atlanta to New York, from
New York to Detroit four months later. Then one day a woman comes home from the
hospital where she’s just begun the first of a series of treatments. She parks
her pink Cadillac in her garage and come into the house. She turns on the
television when she hears the instructions to a woman with a pink car who’s
been agonizing in prayer for healing. So she calls her doctor and gets an
appointment for the following week.
When the doctor finishes reviewing a battery of tests he
says to her, “I can’t explain it. It’s never happened to me in all my years of
medicine. It’s gone. Your disease is gone. There’s no sign of it!”
Now imagine her reaction. She’s stunned. A man in Virginia
is moved by the Holy Spirit to address a woman he’s never met. She’s a woman
who drives a pink car! When he speaks the word God has given him to speak it
takes four months for her to hear it. But when she hears it, she acts on it and
her faith and trust in Jesus explodes! And that’s exactly what we see happening
in Sunday’s text – Acts 2:1-13.
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It’s the day that the
Christian Church has traditionally focused on the person and work of the Holy
Spirit. It’s the time many point to as the birth of the church; an idea that’s reinforced
by Luke’s positioning of it in the Book of Acts.
However, the One many miss in Pentecost is Jesus. When
Pentecost is examined in its biblical context, it’s fascinating to see how instrumental
Jesus is in all that happens that day in Jerusalem. Moreover, when Pentecost is
examined in its biblical context there comes a fresh apprehension of what Jesus
desires to do in us – in short – Move us!
This week marks the beginning of a six-week series entitled “Move”
which parallels the study the children will be engaged in this year in Vacation
Bible School – June 22-26. Throughout this series we will examine familiar
Scripture texts to see in them how the Holy Spirit moves His people in three
directions: in, up, and out.
In preparation for this Sunday’s message “In Step with the
Spirit”, you may wish to consider the following:
1.
How is the Day of Pentecost understood by the
Hebrews?
2.
What is the purpose of God’s command in
Leviticus 23?
3.
What is the purpose of a feast?
4.
How do the feasts of Israel chronicle God’s work
in His people throughout history?
5.
Does Jesus value the feasts?
6.
How does He redefine the first four?
7.
What is the significance of His command in Acts
1:4?
8.
How is His baptism like what happens to the
disciples on Pentecost? (Acts 2)
9.
What is the significance of the 3000 people
saved? (See Acts 2:41)
10. What
does Acts 2:47 signal to us about the Holy Spirit’s intentions for us?
See you Sunday. Don’t forget to wear your ORANGE!
