Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

We see here that when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, there were four distinct signs. First, it says that the work of the Holy Spirit is like a violent wind that filled the whole house. The work of the Holy Spirit is like wind - be it a violent wind or a small breeze, we know when the wind is blowing. We may not know where it came from or where it is going, but we know when the wind has come. In other words, we can feel the work of the Holy Spirit. Contrast this to the teaching of the cults who believe that man can be their own gods, but do not believe in experiencing the work of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, the wind can be unpredictable and has absolute discretion to blow wherever it wishes to blow, and however hard it wants to blow. Similarly, when the Holy Spirit moves, He has absolute authority and discretion. The Holy Spirit never works in the same way, so do not put God in a box. Another thing to note is that the wind leaves traces behind when it has blown. Where the wind passes by, things will be shifted. In the same regard, the work of the Holy Spirit brings about changes. Perhaps you may think that it makes things more chaotic, but sometimes Holy Spirit needs to tear things down before He can rebuild. The process of tearing things down can seem chaotic.

Second, other than being like wind, the work of the Holy Spirit can be like fire. A fire cannot be hidden. The people of Jerusalem were shocked to see what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of the believers. Although they could not understand or accept what was going on, it shows that a fire cannot be hidden. In addition, fire can spread. The fire of Pentecost did not stop in Jerusalem, it spread through Judea and to the Gentiles. Although the religious and the legalistic keep trying to extinguish the fire, God's fire kept spreading to Europe, America and Asia. It burned from the Pentecostal church to the traditional church and to the Catholic and Anglican churches.

Third, the fire brings about power. Just like fire brings light and heat, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit brings about immense power. We see in Acts Chapter 4 that the early churches used the fire of the Holy Spirit to bring about truth and light, and also revealed God's miracle power. We see today that the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is like fire.

Four, we see is that when the Holy Spirit comes, we start speak in tongues. We see the gift of words. The truth is when the Lord Jesus was on earth, he never spoke in tongues. However, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples this gift so that we may be able to preach the gospel everywhere. Ephesians 4:10 says because of the work of Christ, he set the captives free and gave gifts to men, to equip us for the expansion of God's kingdom.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Dear Lord, we thank you for the Pentecost, because the Holy Spirit Lord came among us and the fire of the Spirit is still burning today. By faith we receive the work of the Holy Spirit inside us and through us, and we pray that we may be your vessels in the expansion of God's kingdom. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!