Tongues of Fire!
[Act 2:1-8 NASB95] When the day of Pentecost had 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. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? "And how is it that we each hear [them] in our own language to which we were born?...”
After a bit more conversation, it says that Peter stood up and RAISED HIS VOICE… as Peter spoke hearts were pierced by the TRUTH being spoken.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, He came as tongues of fire! He came to empower their MOUTHS to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. These men were in the upper room and began to speak in languages they had not spoken in before. These languages were of those who were in attendance at the festival… as they began to speak in other languages, they were speaking the testimony of Jesus Christ with BOLDNESS! (see Acts 2)
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He instructed us to TEACH all that He had taught… Jesus taught on family, government, moral issues, values, etc. and that’s now our duty as citizens of the kingdom.
There is no such thing as a silent Christian!
Holy Spirit is in us to empower us to be a kingdom voice. There is no such thing as a silent Christian! Let me explain what I mean by this… The Church, the Body as a whole, has allowed those without kingdom morals and values to be the voices of change in our world. These outside voices have threatened and yelled the Church into a prison of silence and agreement. Many are silent because of a lack of understanding and knowledge of what’s happening around them - living with our head in the sand isn’t what we were commanded. Some are silent because of fear or even because they’ve spoken up before and were persecuted and misunderstood - so was Paul and the rest of the Apostles. None of these are acceptable excuses anymore. We CANNOT stay silent on the issues at hand. When issues of the day are against the morals and values of scripture – WE MUST STAND UP AND BE A VOICE,! A FEARLESS VOICE that speaks TRUTH, not a voice that speaks as the world speaks, but one that has the boldness of Holy Spirit leading it! A voice that leads those who do not know Jesus to Him. A voice that carries authority and grace and pierces hearts. A voice that refuses to be silenced by the counterattacks of the enemy – remember, we do not fight flesh and blood, we fight principalities and powers – we fight an enemy that works through a people group. We are a voice of love, but love is not acceptance – love corrects, love rebukes, love leads us to the right path. This is the voice that MUST RISE UP!
The Lord told Paul in Acts 18 – “Do NOT be afraid but go on speaking and DO NOT BE SILENT; for I am with you…” Paul had been greatly persecuted but God said, “no matter what, DO NOT BE SILENT!”
This has been stirring in my heart for several weeks and I believe it’s a word to the Bride of Christ… Just as Mordeci said to Esther, (paraphrased) “This is not a time to be silent! You are here for such a time as this!” Bride of Christ… stop allowing the fear of others to silence your witness! Holy Spirit boldness is yours! In this moment in time, YOU have the choice to participate and be a change agent for the generations to come! YOU have the choice to stay silent or to be a kingdom voice. Just as Mordeci told Esther, “you can stay silent, but you and your household will die with the rest of your people, and God will raise up another deliverer”… participation in His will is YOUR choice! The consequences are also up to you.
Our silence will carry a ripple effect into the generations to come.
Bride of Christ, I pray on this PENTECOST WEEKEND you truly grasp the TRUTH that the fire of Holy Spirit is IN YOU, just as the tongues of fire came upon the disciples and they spoke, hearts were pierced and transformation began … stop grieving His Spirit, remove the tape from your mouths and let your KINGDOM VOICES RISE UP! Speak when He says speak. His Spirit is with you! Let this weekend be a fresh starting point for you, He died, was resurrected, and ascended back to the Father so that His Spirit could come and fill us to the fullness of Him on this earth. Be His voice, His hands, His feet, His LOVE on this earth NOW!
Father, forgive me for being silent out of fear of what others may think. I receive the boldness of Your Spirit and say YES to being a voice for Your kingdom mandate on this earth. Your kingdom come, your will be done in and through my life. In Jesus name, Amen.