Among the 120 gathered for the day of Pentecost was Mary, the mother of the Lord. She was typical of many today who have followed the Lord saying as Mary, “Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.” The prophet said, “A sword shall pierce your own heart,” and so we experience the devastation of the cross before the baptism of the Spirit.
The sword of the Spirit is of two natures: One, it pierces our own heart, cuts us to ribbons, lays open the thoughts and intents of our heart; but in the lives of those that have submitted to that devastation work of that Word, it in turn becomes a sword in their mouth.
The sword that devastates you eventually will be a Word that will devastate others and bring them to face the truth, face God, and meet Him.
Your life either is conforming and being directed into the perfect will of God by the devastation His Word brings to you, or if you reject that Word, you are drifting further and further from the area where there can be any reception in your own heart to hear a Word.
You have heard His Word, and now how you respond to that Word is the most important issue in your whole life.
Where the Living Word is there’s a sword that is personal and piercing. Where the Living Word has been spoken, God will have a people of pierced hearts, and that’s the Pentecost of the Kingdom.
“To be or not to be–have you heard the Word?”
SINGLENESS OF HEART
What is the fullness of Pentecost to mean to us today? Can it mean that the Lord will take many and give them singleness of heart as He did at the beginning?
You see this day that is before you, and the only thing that matters is that you have heard a Word and you walk in it; and because you walk in it you will walk into the age that is before you. It is very important for us right now to see this.
There is a danger that we all face, and that is that we begin to be busy working for the Lord instead of being preoccupied in His Word.
Everything must be involved with getting the Word in our own hearts and getting it out to the hearts of the people.
If you don’t relate everything that you do to the Word, you will become discouraged in time and drop out. It will become a gruesome chore, something that will wear you out and discourage you eventually.
You’re not just doing a task, you’re becoming a channel for the Word of the Lord to come forth. That means that you personally relate to the Lord Himself, and that gives you the bond and oneness to the apostle, or minister who has spoken the Word to you.
You are not important because of the work you do. You’re significant to God because of your relationship to the Word that you serve.
If we value the Word, cherish it, and know that it is God speaking to our heart, you know what we will do? We will be devoted to that Word. We will continue in it. We will give ourselves and everything we have to see that Word go forth to the ends of the earth.
“A true disciple of Christ is one who has heard His Word and has given his whole life to it.”