Pray for Sydney - Pentecost 2017
Transforming Sydney and the Southern Sydney Prayer Network
Pentecost Eve 2017 was held on Saturday 3rd June 2017 - 7pm to 9pm at Penshurst Anglican Church (St. John the Evangelist), 2 Carrington Street Penshurst
Click here to download/open the report (PDF) for PE2017 (includes reports from other Pentecost events from across the world)
Click here to download/open an overhead slide (JPEG) for PE2017.
PROCLAIMING PENTECOST
(By Des Higgs and delivered on Pentecost Eve 2017 at Penshurst Anglican Church)
In 1973 Dr Herbert Lockyer published a commanding book of 528 pages entitled "All the MESSIANIC PROPHECIES of the BIBLE". [Zondervan Publishing House]
All these prophecies proclaimed two of the three most significant events enshrined in the annual Christian calendar,
- viz, Christmas, to commemorate the birth of Jesus, and Easter to commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
That is two of them, so which one is missing - the third one?
Among these prophecies I did not find one about the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost,
which is often referred to as the birth of the Christian Church.
Surely that deserves equal recognition.
Perhaps the promise made by Jesus in Luke 24:49 immediately before his ascension, about
"waiting in Jerusalem for the 'Promise of MY Father' until you are endued with power from on high"
could be included.
Also Jesus said to his disciples just before his ascension,
"but not many days from now you will be baptised by the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:5)
And a more descriptive prophecy was quoted by the Apostle Peter on that day from Joel 2:28,
"That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh: Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."
These are relatively vague in the absence of specific details.
To view the most accurate and descriptive forecast of this day of Pentecost,
come with me to the Jordan River where John the Baptiser is addressing two crowds of people.
On our left, at the top of the steep bank is a small rowdy, rude and crude crowd of noisy people shouting abuse at John. They are the Scribes and Pharisees.
On the right bank, stretching out of sight is a long line of earnest and honest people seeking righteousness.
The Journalist reporting the event that day said
"Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him [John]
and were baptised by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins." (Matt 3:5-6)
Allowing for the hyperbole [obvious extravagant statement of exaggeration for effect], saying 'all Judea',
(this) tells us that there must have been a massive work of God going on when it seemed like everybody was seeking baptism.
John turns to the rowdy hypocrites on the left bank and shouts at them in righteous anger,
"You offspring of vipers, who has warned you to run away from God's impending wrath?" (Matt 3:7)
Part of the irony in this question is that John knew they were not there because they were warned to run away from their sin,
but because of their arrogant resistance to God's revelation.
"Prove that you are genuine by turning away from your sins and stop relying on Abraham to save you...
God is about to chop down unfruitful trees and throw them into the fire." (Matt 3:8,10)
This fire is the fire of God's judgment.
See how John will contrast this fire with another fire [the fire of cleansing] when he addresses the group of genuine penitents
on the other bank.
The Reporter of the event on the day does not stop long enough to explain what John is doing as he swings around
and addresses the genuine seekers on his right. We can soon hear the difference in his message when he says,
"I indeed baptise you with water as you submit yourselves to repentance but there is coming another kind of baptism of cleansing by fire.
It will be administered by One coming after me who is mightier than I am. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie his shoe laces.
He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit AND WITH FIRE.
His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor,
and gather his wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
(Matt 3:11-12)
The clear inference was that this baptism of fire to be administered by a Greater One will be a greater baptism.
This brief speech by John is a brilliant metaphor.
He is using it to describe the true purpose of the day of Pentecost and this prophecy is the most accurate description of that event.
Compare his forecast with the facts as described in The Acts of the Apostles.
From the Complete Jewish Bible (Acts 2:1-7,11b-14):
The festival of Shavu'ot arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place.
2 Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them.
4 They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 Now there were staying in Yerushalayim religious Jews from every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered; they were confused,
because each one heard the believers speaking in his own language.
7 Totally amazed, they asked, "How is this possible? Aren't all these people who are speaking from the Galil?
... How is it that we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done?"
12 Amazed and confused, they all went on asking each other, "What can this mean?"
13 But others made fun of them and said, "They've just had too much wine!"
14 Then Kefa stood up with the Eleven and raised his voice to address them:
"You Judeans, and all of you staying here in Yerushalayim! Let me tell you what this means! Listen carefully to me!"
We need to unlock the metaphor about winnowing the wheat to see the brilliance of this prophecy.
Before industrialisation the stalks of wheat were beaten violently on the threshing floor to separate the grains of wheat from the stalk.
Each grain of wheat is still covered by a thin horny protective covering called chaff which has to be removed.
The usual method is to beat the wheat with a flailing pole which is a long rod to which is attached a small square of thick, flexible leather.
The winnower throws the threshed wheat in the air, or spills it gradually from a can held overhead,
and any prevailing wind blows the falling chaff to the side. This chaff is swept up and thrown into a fire.
When there is no wind the winnower throws the threshed wheat in the air with one hand and creates wind with a fan in the other hand.
This explains John's statement,
"whose fan is in his hand."
The wheat is 'cleansed' of the offending chaff and ready for the Master's use.
So John is saying that Jesus' redeemed Disciples who will be commissioned to 'disciple all nations'
must be cleansed of the offending 'chaff' of carnality [on the Day of Pentecost] by the Holy Spirit,
before they are 'fit for the Master's use.
"Be clean you who bear the vessels of the Lord." (Isaiah 52:11)
And so, on the Day of Pentecost, they heard the mighty rushing wind from the hand of the Holy Spirit's winnowing fan,
and saw the cleansing fire which burned up the chaff [sin of the 'self-life'] - their inward disposition or proclivity to sin [as described in Romans 7]
and were 'delivered'. - Romans 7:24.
God immediately attested to His mighty cleansing with the demonstration of wonders in the prophecies, tongues to at least 16 languages and many ministry gifts.
The Disciples were powerfully changed from being social status seekers and pyramid climbers, land owners or cowards and self-seekers,
to bold, selfless and fearless martyrs.
Years later the Apostle Peter, who was called to explain his experience in the gentile household of Cornelius to the Jerusalem Council,
was forced to condense his explanation of Pentecost to the most significant and enduring result, simply said
"So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them [the Household of Cornelius] by giving them the Holy Spirit,
just as he did to us, [at Pentecost], and made no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."
(Acts 15:8,9)
Charles Wesley writes in one of his hymns:-
O that in me the sacred fire might now begin to glow.
Burn up the dross of base desire and make the mountains flow.
O that it now from heav'n might fall, And all my sin consume.
Come Holy Ghost, for Thee I call; Spirit of Burning come.
Refining fire go through my heart, illuminate my soul.
Scatter Thy life through every part, and sanctify the whole.
Zacharias, father of John, when his tongue was released said at the dedication of his eight day old son,
"The oath which he swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Highest." (Luke 2:73 and on)
Thirty years later, after John's martyrdom, Jesus said that there is none born of woman greater than John.
I am excited, contemplating the revival of this very significant Day of Pentecost.
Des Higgs,
Elder on the Transforming Sydney Advisory Board
Previous Proclaiming Pentecost Events
See also A CALL TO PRAYER FOR SYDNEY PDF flyer (from 2016).
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