“Adoration – Adoration is the recognition, deep down in your heart of the great worth of the One you look upon – His light shines brighter and brighter so that your light – your love for yourself is but a flickering lamp in comparison. “Worthy is the Lamb” as you sang this morning comes from the picture in Revelation of the great assembly in heaven, who have come to the full recognition and acceptance of My beauty and My glory – but remember the avenue for Me to be here on the center of the stage is – ‘That was slain’. My suffering put the crown on all else that I have done – the very beauty and complexity of creation fades beside the beauty and complexity of My suffering – The Lamb was slain for you! I am bringing you closer and closer to the point where your view of Me will be so glorious that your view of your concerns, your love and for yourself will simply fade away slowly”.
My reading today is Acts 2:1-13. Another well -known and well read passage. What will Jesus say to me from this today? I allow my mind and senses to take in the scene. Not much detail in the text, but I see the streets and the town square teeming with people from 16 different people groups, mentioned in the text. The smell, the noise, the dust. People shouting at each other, others talking loudly. Suddenly a noise, I take it, as loud as a Boeing getting ready to take off, overwhelming and drowning the conversation. People turn around and look at the scene. Some 120 disciples with what appears like flames settling on them. As the noise subsides, in the quiet that follows the group is calling out excitedly – and what? Everyone of the people present there can hear them in their own language. imagine the headlines in a modern newspaper, trying to describe it.
A few things stand out for me: 1. It happened at Pentecost. The timing coinciding with the feast of the first fruits of the harvest, like the crucifixion at Passover this is no coincidence: This is the inauguration of a new world order – the age of the church, being God’s representative and future bride in the world. Remember the main theme of Acts – Witness? The Church is to be the means of witness. Because of the feast there were people from all over the known world, who would take the witness of what happened back with them. What an amazing source and means to launch world evangelization?
2. This wide variety of people could all understand. Remember the Tower of Babel? The people of that time were seeking to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4). that is why God confused their languages that they would not succeed in making a name which was more important than Yahweh. Now, as the people hear the disciples speaking, what are they saying? They are declaring the wonders of God. They are glorifying God, instead of themselves. Is that not the very purpose of conversion and membership of the Kingdom of God?
3. Amazed and perplexed they asked “what does this mean”? vs 12
4.There were those who mocked them vs 13.
So what is Jesus saying to me?
The exciting appearance on the scene of the Holy Spirit in a new role, is one of the things that I see distinguishing so much of the heavy labour of modern “Christianity” from the Gospel empowered life in the Spirit, which should reflect hope, joy and peace and be the witness God wants. However the Spirit points away from Himself at God “declaring the wonders of God”, so we must be careful not to place Him central in our worship, but rather through Him to glorify Jesus and the Father.
A very reassuring reminder comes to me once again from the very timing of this great event, showing how the Father is planning far in advance and is in complete control over all these events, including my own life and service of Him.
The theme of adoration which God spoke to my mind this morning is reinforced as the best avenue to witness, according to the picture which I see here. That is of course, just the first step as we must be ready to speak of all the wonders of God at all times.
And for me the question, “What does this mean”? (Vs12 i), Is an underlining of my continued quest to understand the scriptures more clearly.
Finally – well there will always be those who mock, won’t there?
What a rich passage , my hope is that if you decide to explore it, it will mean as much to you.