On the day of...
Illustration
Object:
On the day of Pentecost they spoke in many languages so that all the visitors there heard and understood. There were no translators. That alone must have astounded everyone. Some accused them of being drunk, but the disciples made a joke out of that. They said, "Why would they be drunk if it was still only early in the morning?" It is so natural to make humor out of things we don't understand.
It was a great holiday that brought people from all over the "then known" world, but they were not prepared for what they would experience that day that would change their lives! This time they were only preaching to Jews. The time to reach Gentiles had not yet come, though there were some converts in the crowd.
There are some today who speak in other languages that they have never studied. I have talked with some and heard them. That is not the point. The message they preach is what is important. Most missionaries must learn the language of the people as my wife and I did in Nepal, but our message was what astounded them. It was so radically different from the faith they had been brought up in. It was a message of hope.
It is also true that we may see mysteries that are far beyond our ability to understand. The New Testament tells us that Jesus' followers will do amazing acts that are even more amazing then the ones he performed.
God's working in this age might not always seem like miracles to us. When I was a chaplain for the jail system, I had a prisoner tell me that he heard me say God would answer prayer. He was not sure, but when he got in trouble with another prisoner and was sent to solitary confinement, he told me that he couldn't stand it. Maybe he had claustrophobia, but whatever it was, it drove him crazy. Then he remembered me saying that God answered prayer. He had nothing to lose so he begged God on his knees to get him out of that hellhole. It was only a matter of minutes when the cell door opened and they yelled at him to get out and go back to his cell. When he asked why, they told him that they thought he had enough but that he had better shape up if he didn't want to go back. From that time on, he never missed a prayer meeting in the jail. He had become a believer.
I'm sure that many of us have had experiences of God answering prayer, but maybe later we attributed it to a coincidence or forgot about it. We should keep a journal of those experiences so we can look back and see that he does answer prayer.
Yes we are saved when we call upon the Lord, but sometimes it may take a miracle to make our faith firm.
It was a great holiday that brought people from all over the "then known" world, but they were not prepared for what they would experience that day that would change their lives! This time they were only preaching to Jews. The time to reach Gentiles had not yet come, though there were some converts in the crowd.
There are some today who speak in other languages that they have never studied. I have talked with some and heard them. That is not the point. The message they preach is what is important. Most missionaries must learn the language of the people as my wife and I did in Nepal, but our message was what astounded them. It was so radically different from the faith they had been brought up in. It was a message of hope.
It is also true that we may see mysteries that are far beyond our ability to understand. The New Testament tells us that Jesus' followers will do amazing acts that are even more amazing then the ones he performed.
God's working in this age might not always seem like miracles to us. When I was a chaplain for the jail system, I had a prisoner tell me that he heard me say God would answer prayer. He was not sure, but when he got in trouble with another prisoner and was sent to solitary confinement, he told me that he couldn't stand it. Maybe he had claustrophobia, but whatever it was, it drove him crazy. Then he remembered me saying that God answered prayer. He had nothing to lose so he begged God on his knees to get him out of that hellhole. It was only a matter of minutes when the cell door opened and they yelled at him to get out and go back to his cell. When he asked why, they told him that they thought he had enough but that he had better shape up if he didn't want to go back. From that time on, he never missed a prayer meeting in the jail. He had become a believer.
I'm sure that many of us have had experiences of God answering prayer, but maybe later we attributed it to a coincidence or forgot about it. We should keep a journal of those experiences so we can look back and see that he does answer prayer.
Yes we are saved when we call upon the Lord, but sometimes it may take a miracle to make our faith firm.
