For the past several weeks, there has been a greater awareness of the presence of God the Holy Spirit. I do not know if this is simply because of where I am in my journey, or if humanity has crossed a God appointed threshold. I do know that a foundational element of the unexpected journey is a close personal relationship with God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit.
The Bible clearly states in the New Testament book of Acts, that God the Holy Spirit will be the active agent of the godhead on the earth. The second chapter of the book of Acts records his arrival. He came as a promise from God the Son, given to him by God the Father. His arrival was not in secret, nor in some remote part of the earth.
The arrival of God the Holy Spirit as the active agent of the godhead was to a select group of people—those who stood by Jesus’ side while he walked planet earth. The arrival of God the Holy Spirit was in a very populated area, swollen with travelers from all parts of the earth. The promise of God the Son came during a time when Jerusalem was teaming with Jews from across the land—the feast of Pentecost.
His arrival came in the morning as the city prepared for a holy celebration. God the Holy Spirit blew into the city, into a specific portion of the city, into a specific house in that portion of the city. The sound was loud, capturing the attention of many, if not all, of those throughout Jerusalem.
The commotion caused many of them to come running to find the place where this wind came through. Upon arrival, they were shocked to find no damage to any structure, only men and women—about 120 of them—with uplifted hands in joyous celebration, crying out glorious praises to God in their native languages. At first, they stood there awestruck, almost frozen as their minds attempted to comprehend what their eyes were seeing.
Some of them began laughing and shouting that they were witnessing a drunken party. This did not set right with God the Holy Spirit, who moved the Apostle Peter to turn his attention to the huge crowd of people. He addressed the assumption that he and his friends were drunk. He told them that it was only 9:00 am in the morning.
Imagine how this would get the attention of the crowd. Think about how noisy it would be with 120 people shouting praises to God. Consider the likelihood of anyone hearing them besides those closest to the people shouting, “they must be drunk!”
The point in bringing this up is the likely fact that only God the Holy Spirit knew what these people were saying. This is why he moved on Peter—who was most likely oblivious to the gathering crowd of onlookers. I can imagine He whispered into Peter’s spirit, “address the crowd,” causing Peter to open his eyes to see a huge crowd of people—over three thousand—standing there watching them.
There are so many lessons to pull out of this scene; one is that it marks the arrival of God the Holy Spirit over two thousand earth years ago. (If eternity had time, it might be a couple of days). There is no record in the Bible of the Holy Spirit’s departure, although the New Testament book of Revelations mentions that he will depart at the time of the end of the age.
Another lesson is the comment about being drunk. The crowd was witnessing a manifestation of the third person of the godhead, and some were making fun of it. This disrespect of the Holy Spirit could not be tolerated. Jesus taught his disciples God the Holy Spirit was not to be spoken ill of. He is to be revered and respected, therefore, this comment about being drunk had to be addressed. Granted those making the comments had no idea what they were saying, but it was disrespectful to the Holy Spirit all the same.
The next lesson is how the Holy Spirit moved Peter to stand up and address the comment about being drunk. It had to be God the Holy Spirit prompting him to say something. Even if he were aware that a crowd of people had assembled—which is highly unlikely given the enormity of the arrival of God the Holy Spirit—the likelihood of him hearing someone mention being drunk is slim at best.
A close personal relationship with the godhead means being able to discern the voice of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I believe that Peter demonstrates that ability in this story about the Holy Spirit’s arrival.
I also believe this is why my comment about a greater awareness of his presence is important. Something is going on in the unseen realm of eternity. Another lesson from the arrival of the Holy Spirit is the location of his arrival. It was to a specific place—a place where people were waiting for, and anticipating his arrival. Nearly everyone in the city knew about commotion, but only 120 people experienced the purpose of it.
This unexpected journey to simple church has led me up the path to a close personal relationship with the godhead. Being aware of his presence (it is important to add, coupled with a willingness to comply) is necessary in order to follow his instructions.
Wherever humanity is in relationship to the return of Jesus—God the Son—one thing is for certain, we are over 2000 years closer than when the Holy Spirit—God the Holy Spirit arrived.