We all pass through situations where it is difficult to think straight, situations which seem like catastrophes to us. And then we awaken to the fact that we have passed through something which was not as devastating and total as we supposed it would be; we find that it was the open door of destiny which moved us into a new day. This often happens. God can take things which seem to be so total and irrevocably defeating and turn them around and make them an open door. This is exactly what happened in the book of Acts.
How little did those people realize, as they stood about the cross watching the Savior die, what was actually happening. Few people can visualize the gory spectacle of a crucifixion, with the awful anguish and the shedding of blood. It was not a crucifixion upon a cross. The literal Greek word for cross is “stake” they did not waste time making a beautiful cross for a criminal to die on. The hands and feet were nailed to a post, with the hands extended above the head. People who were crucified died in great agony. The muscles pulled the bones out of joint as they hung with nothing supporting them but the nails that went through the hands and feet. The pain and the agony, as the body became disfigured and bloated, was almost beyond belief. The agony of the blood streaming down to the lower part of the body is difficult for us to conceive. Imagine the shock of witnessing that death and suffering and then three days later seeing the fresh prints of those nails and knowing that Jesus was alive.
The disciples had asked Him, “Will You now restore the Kingdom to Israel?” He said, “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the Father has put within His own hand.” Then He brought a very startling statement. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you. You shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:6–8).
After Jesus arose from the dead, He told them, “Now go to Jerusalem. Do not leave it. Wait for that promise of the Father which I gave you.” There they waited, in an upper room of the temple. (With the three days before the resurrection, and forty days of indisputable proofs of His resurrection appearance, the waiting in the upper room must have been seven, possibly ten days.)
They waited, and they waited; they knew something was to happen. They looked at each other; no one dared to criticize another. They did not talk about Peter’s denial, or Thomas’ doubt. They did not speak of the hour when they had all forsaken Him and fled. Deep events were boiling just below the surface. With what reluctance, with what difficulty they must have waited. But they waited. At times it would have been easier to run. But God kept holding them there. They remembered Jesus’ words: “Do not leave. Stay there. Wait. Something is going to happen, and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. You will go out and be martyrs, witnesses. You are going to fulfill a destiny. Start right where you are in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, then on and on, over the seas and through the jungles. You will be My witnesses when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
They waited. The days passed. The nights came; perhaps they slept a little, but it was fitful sleep. They did not know what was going to happen. Each day they were expecting something to change; they were waiting for a door to open for them. They did not know why, but they were waiting.
Like David’s army, hidden in a ravine and waiting for the sound of the wind in the mulberry tops to signal the time to go out and take the enemy, they, too were waiting for some signal.
When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled (the King James Version says, “was fully come”), they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Acts 2:1.
Picture a small room, one of the upper rooms in the temple, a place where people often met. There were one hundred and twenty—the same number of people as there had been priests who ministered when Solomon’s temple was dedicated to the Lord. In that day, the cloud of glory came and filled all the house until they could not stand to minister because of the presence of the Lord. Once again, there were one hundred and twenty who were to be a holy priesthood of God in the earth, humble men who were to be God’s spokesmen, humble men and women who were to stand before the Lord and see a world change.
One hundred and twenty were seated there, waiting. They were all in one accord. Not one was saying, “Who’s going to be the greatest.” There was no argument about that now. Peter was not insisting that he should be the chief apostle. James and John were not arguing about whether they would sit at His right hand or His left. They were all without ambition, waiting.
Already burning in their hearts was the message that they were going to witness throughout the whole Roman world. In the book of Acts, every sermon begins and ends with the account of Jesus’ sufferings and His resurrection. Theirs was a Lord who had risen from the dead. It was not just a doctrine of resurrection; it was the real thing! They had been witnesses of His sufferings. They had beheld Him as He hung from the cross. They had embraced Him after His resurrection. They knew He was alive, and they waited. They rehearsed together the words that He had spoken. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18). “And if I go not away, the Comforter will not come. But if I go away, I will send Him unto you” (John 16:7).
Finally the day of Pentecost came. It must have dawned like any other day. Maybe they shared a few roasted grains and a flagon of water. The streets of Jerusalem were crowded because this was one of the three great feast days. But they were alone. They waited. It must have come as they were waiting. Suddenly it broke loose. The wind began to blow, a rushing mighty wind. It filled all the building. Startled, they looked about them. What was happening? Suddenly tongues of fire settled on them-blazing flames without any heat. They all began to speak, looking at each other in wonder, as different languages poured forth from their lips. They began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:14). Pentecost had fully come!
The great day of destiny came with a purpose. Fishermen were being anointed to lay the foundation of the Church. A former tax collector was being anointed to write a Gospel. Ignorant and unlearned men were being anointed with a wisdom that no one could gainsay. The world had never seen a day like that day. The day that Zechariah spoke of had come; Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord… Zechariah 4:6. It was a day that was to cripple and make a lie and put down the arrogance of every man who has ever come and said, “I come in the name of my degree. I come in the excellence of my training. I come in the brilliance of my mind and the great capacity that I have to be a leader of men.”
These men caused the people of Jerusalem to marvel as they perceived that they were ignorant and unlearned men. The wisdom of God rested upon them. Such a mighty shaking the world had never seen. The whole building was moved as the wind and the fire settled upon the disciples and they spoke. All the people of Jerusalem ran together as they heard the wind like a clap of thunder. They heard the languages. They stood in amazement, for the Spirit of God had taken over the control of the disciples’ conscious thoughts and brought them beyond the ability of their tongues to speak; the Spirit gave them an eloquence. The people said, “We do all hear them speak the mighty works of God in our own languages.” Awestruck, they listened as the Spirit of God spoke through the disciples. They said, “Are not these all Galileans? How is it that we hear them speaking in our own native tongue?”
Jews had gathered from everywhere to keep the Feast of Pentecost. They were crowding the streets and the facilities of Jerusalem by the thousands until it was like some mad carnival. What did it mean? The witness began, as Jesus had said it would, “in Jerusalem, in Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.” Peter, who had forsaken Him and fled, who had denied Him three times the night of the infamous trials, stood up and said, “Brethren, there is a quicker way to the heart of God than you have known. It was made by the Roman spear which caused the blood and water to pour forth. With wicked hands, you have taken and slain the Lord of glory. And now He is giving this which you see and hear.”
His words began to move on their hearts, and they realized what they had done. From thousands came the clamor like a low murmur of a riot, “What shall we do to be saved? What shall we do?” And the answer came; “Repent.” And they did. Thousands were added that day (Acts 2:37–41).
It was a day of destiny. Jerusalem was a little town. Can you understand what it was like with all of those people crowded into the city. Suddenly something happened; the Lord had opened the door. And now today, once again the day of Pentecost has fully come. Once again, God is bringing His people together in one accord, in one place. Once again, they wait for something—maybe not flaming tongues of fire, but a fire in its own way just as real—maybe a word of prophecy, or an anointing of the Spirit which comes and rests upon each one. This is a day when the anointing of the Lord rests upon us, like the mantle of Elijah which fell from the heavens into the eager waiting hands of Elisha. He picked it up and strode to the Jordan where he smote the waters and said, “Where is the God of Elijah?” The waters rolled back, and Elisha knew that indeed he was anointed with a double portion of the Spirit which had rested upon Elijah (11 Kings 2:14). So also the anointing rests upon us.
It will be as it was on the first Pentecost when the mantle of the Lord descended upon humble fishermen. After all the years of Christ’s ministry, only one hundred and twenty disciples were found. Of more than five hundred brethren who had seen Him after His resurrection, only one hundred and twenty were there waiting. Of all the lame who had been healed and the blind who had been made to see, there were only one hundred and twenty left. Only a remnant remained of all whom He had spoken to. But they waited in that room until there was an anointing of the Lord coming down from above, even as Jesus had said there would be. The risen Christ, like the ascending Elijah, had dropped His mantle upon these humble men, so that they could follow in a double portion of His Spirit.
The day of Pentecost was a day of destiny. It was a day when the anointing of the Lord came and changed men from their selfish pursuits. He sent them out. And just a few years after that, James, one of those who had been the closest to Him, was suddenly taken and slain by Herod. They were put in prison; they were scourged; they were beaten. They were made an issue wherever men talked. They did not want this kind of treatment anymore than we would want it today. But everything they did, everything they said, suddenly became an issue. The way they worshiped was different from the dead traditions of those about them.
When the Spirit rested upon them, it was strange what happened to them. They were not their own people anymore. They had been sealed by the long-promised Holy Spirit. Now they belonged to the Lord. They were His witnesses. No matter how weak and frail they seemed to be, a promise was resting upon them: “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and you will be witnesses unto Me” (Acts 1:8).
Today the anointing of the Holy Spirit is resting upon a remnant. Once again the Lord is speaking about the gospel of the Kingdom that shall be preached to all the world. We are witnessing the second coming of the Holy Spirit in our generation, and it is as real as the first coming of the Holy Spirit in the early Church. As we are ready and waiting for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, so also we anticipate that second anointing of the Holy Spirit. Though He has been with us all this time, in a real sense there is a fresh descending of the Spirit of God. And once again He is taking us in our unworthiness and making us His witnesses. He is asking us to give everything to Him.
Do not ask for any profound truths. Do not ask for some new interpretation of the Scriptures. We have had many of them-fresh and deep and beautiful. The real need is for us all to be in one accord, in one place, to be anointed of the Spirit of God afresh, to go from the Feast of Pentecost with a determination that we are going to do His will no matter what happens. Wherever we go, we will do the will of the Lord. We are going to be His witnesses.
Upon many of us will rest an awareness of the destiny, an awareness which we have not had before. We will realize that we are no longer just individuals in the house of God, but that in a very unique way we are members of a Body, anointed by the Holy Spirit to give everything we have to the Lord. Once again the Lord is speaking to His people, and He is saying, “Wait! Look up! Listen! It has already come. Your day of Pentecost has fully come.” We must accept an anointing of the Lord. Others will drift away; they will not want it. But we must open our hearts. He has something for us to walk in.
Pressures do not cease. We cannot live to please ourselves. We just wait before God and say, “What is it that You want, Lord? Who art Thou, Lord?” Many will hear His voice, saying, “I am Jesus whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:6). We are facing a fantastic day. There are many things that God is going to do. There are many people to whom He will speak. There is a deep need among His own people.
Some might think that because their ideas, their ailments, their problems are so complicated, they need a psychiatrist. They should read the latest reports about the way opinions are changing concerning psychiatry. It would amaze them. Psychoanalysis is disappearing from the scene. People are troubled because of the complexity of the age in which they are living. However, it is no different now than it was then. It would be hard to imagine anything more arrogant, more dominating and hostile than those who governed and ruled over the affairs of people in New Testament days.
It is true that we are living in a difficult day. But we are also living in a day of great facilities. This enables us, if the Lord would speak to us and say, “You will be a witness unto Me to the uttermost parts of the earth,” to do more within one year’s time than was done within a hundred years in the early Church. When they went about in sandals and bare feet walking over the Roman world, they did not cover as much territory in a lifetime as we can cover in a few short weeks. If we put all of our resources together in the remaining time of this dispensation, it will be possible for us to preach the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.
Once again the Holy Spirit is ready to anoint. Are you ready to receive it? Will you follow a lesser teaching which says, “Receive the Holy Spirit and babble in tongues a little bit”? That is not quite the approach we should have. Are you willing to go on and suffer? Are you ready to face trials? Are you ready to die? Are you ready to abandon every selfish pursuit and the love of life, the love of that which we take to be the destiny of every human being-life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? How we pursue these things. Come to the place where you say, “Lord, here I am. Anoint me. Let Your Spirit fall upon me. I’m ready to accept my destiny in God. I may not be much., but when the anointing of the Lord rests upon me, I can be, as Isaiah prophesied, ‘The worm that threshes the mountain’ ” (Isaiah 41:14–15).
Lord, let Your anointing fall. But above all, let there be something in the spirits of Your people that waits-waits with a purpose, waits with a sense of destiny, waits for an anointing that will come upon them and enable them to do far beyond the best of their human efforts, an anointing that will enable them to go far beyond the limits of human endurance, an anointing that will make them, not supermen, but sons of God.
Lord, we pray that You will meet us in a special way that brings us to that deep awareness of what You have called us to be and what You have called us to do. We reach out with a willing, submissive hand to take the anointing by which all of these things come to pass. How we repent, Lord, of our selfishness, of the arrogance of our spirits, of that conceit that has refused to see any horizon beyond our own sight, or any destiny beyond that which is of our own fulfillment? O, God, put to the cross the arrogance of our flesh and help us to submit our hearts to You. Forgive us for our self-centeredness. Forgive us for our lack of dedication unto Thee. We pray forgiveness for pursuing our own way, instead of Your perfect will. Forgive us for what we have clutched of our selfish living and held back from You.
It is time for everyone to have a deep sense of what God has called His people to do. These days have gone by so violently, and they have effected the remnant so deeply. I heard a song today about a lover giving his beloved a big bouquet of roses, one rose for every time she had broken his heart. If I were to give the Lord a rose for every time He has broken my heart, I would not have arms to carry them. The dealings of the Lord have been the most devastating thing I have ever had in my life. But I am feeling that I want to give everything to the Lord. I do not want any reservations.
Many of us will be anointed by the Holy Spirit to walk through some of the most difficult days the United States or the world has ever known. We will be called upon to preach the gospel of the Kingdom at a time when there will be nothing else for men to believe in. They do not believe in their governments any more. The United States’ dollar is being devaluated. People do not believe in their presidents; they do not believe in their statesmen. They do not believe in the rotten machinery of politics. Men do not even believe in themselves; their hearts are failing them for fear. The powers of the heavens are being shaken.
I feel with all my heart, “Here it is, Lord. Here I am. Here’s my wallet. Here’s everything I have. My breath. My life. It’s nothing. But if You take it and You anoint it, it will be a weak thing that will confound the strong, a foolish thing to confound the mighty.”
Who then will consecrate his service this day to the Lord? Who will do it? Who will say, “Here am I, Lord. Send me.” Are you ready to enter into the days of dedication and sacrifice, and into the nights of prayer that this is requiring? Are you ready to enter into the bitterness of spiritual conflict and warfare and into the faithfulness with which you must undertake to do the will of the Lord? Are you ready to be that witness unto the Lord-not out of a sense of duty? but counting it all joy? Are you willing? You must realize that if you make this dedication, you may die for it.
God has been working on a remnant, and He is digging deeper and deeper within them. The dealings of God on that remnant are disturbing, but they are necessary if we are to avoid carrying around within us a seed of some future defeat. We do not want to go along and say, “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,” and find that under the right circumstances, those seeds of rebellion, lust, and withdrawal begin to sprout. This is what God is dealing with in our hearts. This is what He has brought us to see time after time.
There are not many lighthearted adherents to this cause. This is for people who really mean business with God. Once they start, very few really back off. We are getting ready for something that is unbelievable. Your “yes” to the Lord has to be a little deeper. Do not fail to read the fine print, but at the same time, remember that you must sign the contract before it is all filled in. God is demanding an unconditional “yes.” You must be willing to let Him fill in all the conditions, all the requirements. You know it will not be easy, but let your life be an “Amen” to God.
Lord, wilt thou move upon us? Wilt Thou speak to us, Lord? Let us hear Your voice like Isaiah of old, “Who will go for us? Whom shall we send?” May our hearts respond, “Here am I; send me, Lord.” Let there be an anointing that rests upon us until, like a simple child, we hear You call us. Let us come to the place that we say, “Speak Lord, for Thy servant heareth,” and we become the Samuel of this generation, the one who comes with a word from the Lord.