Acts 2: 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
The disciples were gathered, but hiding behind closed doors. They had been waiting for ten days in Jerusalem, as they were promised to receive the gift of the Lord, which is the Holy Spirit. When it arrived, as the Scripture said, flames of fire appeared over their heads. Enlightenment. Literally and spiritually too. Transformation of the heart.
Disciples, who became desperate and depressed after the death of the master, and were left without physical guidance of Jesus since the ascension, these same disciples, by the touch of the Spirit, opened the doors, not hiding anymore the Gospel of the Christ.
In the time of not having Jesus in the physical reality, they understood, that they needed faith to have him by the Spirit. They prayed for faith and they received it in the Spirit. This event was the Pentecost.
According to the book of the Acts, the Apostle Peter, in the publicity of the market place, openly proclaimed the good news of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus, in whose name there is salvation only and hope for the world. On the very day of the first Pentecost in Jerusalem the apostles understood that the conquering of the world by the Gospel just began with the resurrection and the ascension.
The great mission became the task to change the whole world as it was told by the master: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
As Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian congregation: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Three thousand people joined them in Jerusalem in the hour they opened the doors and left their fear and anxiety, doubts and apathy behind. Although persecution also grew, but they did not retire anymore, as they told to the authorities that they have to obey Jesus rather than men (who crucified him).
The first Christian churches shared everything within the congregation: food, money, land and resources, thus there were neither beggars nor needy among them, neither slaveholders nor slaves, neither landlords nor peasants. They gave thanks together to the Lord saying that only to GOD belongs the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever.
In the last 2000 years Christian scholars wrote tremendous amounts of tractates, essays, Bible interpretations, commentaries and other books, filling up personal bookshelves, religious and public libraries throughout the world and throughout centuries and millennia.
These works were written by renowned scholars and mostly we seriously think that the question of the Holy Spirit is so complex that it is barely perceivable for the simple mortal being.
However almost nothing should be more simple than the issue of the Holy Spirit, because as God is One and the Lord is One, so the Holy Spirit is One. All are one under different names and within different manifestation of the same one.
There are some phenomenal characteristics where the Holy Spirit can be caught red-handed, like in its gifts to humans: the gifts of prophecy, speaking of tongues, healing of the sick, judging the souls etc. When we contemplate on these gifts, one of the major phenomenon is that the giver of the gifts is One.
In order to be reborn to the similarity of the One Spirit, we all have to become, one by one, a Holy Simple Minded person, which means that we have to focus on the oneness of God, and we have to focus on the Kingdom of God whose sole importance must overcome everything on Earth.
The requirement of being simple-minded sounds very simple, though it is one of the most difficult task in our lives as the Apostle Paul wrote that "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. "
Good and bad dwell in the divided human soul in the same time and they are fighting each other all the time for the rule of human soul. In order to get rid of the bad we have to become one minded. That is why the Great Commandment says that "Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. "
God demands our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole strength and nothing less.
You can not serve two kings, just the One, the king of the Universe. There is none beside Him. According to the Spirit Math, we can not be One-minded, if we try to get rid of the Good, because without the life giving Spirit in us, nothing remains in the soul, and the soul dies.
Thus, quite the opposite.
Just like the candle shines in the darkness, the light of the One Spirit must destroy the darkness in the soul, eradicating fully the bad inclinations. It is like combing the coiling snakes from someone’s hair.
In that way the one-minded soul serves God, and only God, as Jesus declared himself:
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."
As He said, that either You serve God or you serve the Devil, both can not be served and worshiped in the same time, because you either worship the Holy One and you hate the other one or vice versa. It is impossible to do both.
Also some people imagine that they can become their own God, and they will serve themselves only, their own ego, as Wolfgang Goethe wrote in the 19th century that:
“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
However, the opposite is written in the Gospel: "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Gospel of Luke 14:)
It should be, it must be obvious, that even if man had been allied with all the might of hell and its angels, he can not destroy or even scratch or touch God, because the living Almighty One is not only real, but He is really an Almighty God, the King of the Universe, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, with full power and authority.
Man without God is less than nothing, because being without God is not neutral, it is a wicked and evil condition. We can become one-minded only, if we let God's light to shine within us, eradicating all darkness, and then man will shine like the heavenly angels, perfectly serving God. This is the ultimate purpose of man and woman, one by one and of human nation as a whole. This purpose was given to us in the Paradise.
The Paradise is not lost, just the path to its Gate is hidden. The Path had been revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and we have to simply obey the road signs aka the holy commandments in order to return to the Paradise, which is the Kingdom of God.
It is possible to not give up against all odds, because God is not only an Almighty Entity, but he is also a caring and loving Father of the Human Nation. He gave life to us, and he wants us to live with Him together, for ever.
The spirit of the Holy Spirit is the spirit of humility. God himself is humble as he fully gives himself to the world throughout the creation from day one to the very end. The spirit of humility was ultimately embodied in the Christ on the cross, as he prayed for his enemies: " Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice."
This spirit is built upon the infinite compassion, genuine love and gentle goodness. We all have to learn this humbleness from Jesus as he said it himself that learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
It is obvious and clear that our relationship with God must be based on humility, as God is so much higher than humans, that it is unimaginable for a man to exalt himself over God.
Still the temptation of becoming gods lured the first people to death, and it is still deadly today, when man claims ultimate power over life and death, bringing wars, oppression, slavery on each other. That is what humility means that we have to submit ourselves to God obeying his commandments, and we submit ourselves one by one to the common good and the well being of all humans.
We must acknowledge in our laws that we are fully equal to each other, equally responsible for each other and for the future generations. The sin against the Holy Spirit obviously has these two major sources, first, when someone thinks that he is God's equal, so he can do what he wants regardless what are God's commandments, and secondly, when someone forces his will upon the others, claiming ruling rights or superiority over the subjects or the assumed inferiors.
Innumerable tragedies and the general misery of mankind are the result of the lack of humility. Some people think that praying is futile. Prayers, they state, did no change the world, and do not help amend the physical reality.
However we can appeal to the thousands of years old experience that genuine prayer is a very part of the humility. Giving thanks to the creator, asking for strength, praying for loved ones and enemies are the specific expression of humility and the faith, by which we connect to someone who is infinitely higher than us. Being humble is the key to change the world for the better. If everybody is humble then there is immediate peace and with peace comes immediate prosperity.
If at least one is humble out of two, or at least ten men are humble out of the many, then forgiveness, reconciliation, wisdom, truth, justice and hope are present on the Earth.
In our gatherings we are praying for the community, confessing and witnessing, asking and thanksgiving all the time, praising the name of the Lord through representing the traditional Christianity and the Reformation among the nations, by the grace of the Lord, to whom we pray now and always. May the holy name be praised, by the Holy Spirit.
AMEN
In the time of not having Jesus in the physical reality, they understood, that they needed faith to have him by the Spirit. They prayed for faith and they received it in the Spirit. This event was the Pentecost.
According to the book of the Acts, the Apostle Peter, in the publicity of the market place, openly proclaimed the good news of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus, in whose name there is salvation only and hope for the world. On the very day of the first Pentecost in Jerusalem the apostles understood that the conquering of the world by the Gospel just began with the resurrection and the ascension.
The great mission became the task to change the whole world as it was told by the master: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
As Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian congregation: "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Three thousand people joined them in Jerusalem in the hour they opened the doors and left their fear and anxiety, doubts and apathy behind. Although persecution also grew, but they did not retire anymore, as they told to the authorities that they have to obey Jesus rather than men (who crucified him).
The first Christian churches shared everything within the congregation: food, money, land and resources, thus there were neither beggars nor needy among them, neither slaveholders nor slaves, neither landlords nor peasants. They gave thanks together to the Lord saying that only to GOD belongs the kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever.
In the last 2000 years Christian scholars wrote tremendous amounts of tractates, essays, Bible interpretations, commentaries and other books, filling up personal bookshelves, religious and public libraries throughout the world and throughout centuries and millennia.
These works were written by renowned scholars and mostly we seriously think that the question of the Holy Spirit is so complex that it is barely perceivable for the simple mortal being.
However almost nothing should be more simple than the issue of the Holy Spirit, because as God is One and the Lord is One, so the Holy Spirit is One. All are one under different names and within different manifestation of the same one.
There are some phenomenal characteristics where the Holy Spirit can be caught red-handed, like in its gifts to humans: the gifts of prophecy, speaking of tongues, healing of the sick, judging the souls etc. When we contemplate on these gifts, one of the major phenomenon is that the giver of the gifts is One.
In order to be reborn to the similarity of the One Spirit, we all have to become, one by one, a Holy Simple Minded person, which means that we have to focus on the oneness of God, and we have to focus on the Kingdom of God whose sole importance must overcome everything on Earth.
The requirement of being simple-minded sounds very simple, though it is one of the most difficult task in our lives as the Apostle Paul wrote that "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. "
Good and bad dwell in the divided human soul in the same time and they are fighting each other all the time for the rule of human soul. In order to get rid of the bad we have to become one minded. That is why the Great Commandment says that "Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. "
God demands our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole strength and nothing less.
You can not serve two kings, just the One, the king of the Universe. There is none beside Him. According to the Spirit Math, we can not be One-minded, if we try to get rid of the Good, because without the life giving Spirit in us, nothing remains in the soul, and the soul dies.
Thus, quite the opposite.
Just like the candle shines in the darkness, the light of the One Spirit must destroy the darkness in the soul, eradicating fully the bad inclinations. It is like combing the coiling snakes from someone’s hair.
In that way the one-minded soul serves God, and only God, as Jesus declared himself:
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only."
As He said, that either You serve God or you serve the Devil, both can not be served and worshiped in the same time, because you either worship the Holy One and you hate the other one or vice versa. It is impossible to do both.
Also some people imagine that they can become their own God, and they will serve themselves only, their own ego, as Wolfgang Goethe wrote in the 19th century that:
“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”
However, the opposite is written in the Gospel: "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Gospel of Luke 14:)
It should be, it must be obvious, that even if man had been allied with all the might of hell and its angels, he can not destroy or even scratch or touch God, because the living Almighty One is not only real, but He is really an Almighty God, the King of the Universe, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth, with full power and authority.
Man without God is less than nothing, because being without God is not neutral, it is a wicked and evil condition. We can become one-minded only, if we let God's light to shine within us, eradicating all darkness, and then man will shine like the heavenly angels, perfectly serving God. This is the ultimate purpose of man and woman, one by one and of human nation as a whole. This purpose was given to us in the Paradise.
The Paradise is not lost, just the path to its Gate is hidden. The Path had been revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and we have to simply obey the road signs aka the holy commandments in order to return to the Paradise, which is the Kingdom of God.
It is possible to not give up against all odds, because God is not only an Almighty Entity, but he is also a caring and loving Father of the Human Nation. He gave life to us, and he wants us to live with Him together, for ever.
The spirit of the Holy Spirit is the spirit of humility. God himself is humble as he fully gives himself to the world throughout the creation from day one to the very end. The spirit of humility was ultimately embodied in the Christ on the cross, as he prayed for his enemies: " Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice."
This spirit is built upon the infinite compassion, genuine love and gentle goodness. We all have to learn this humbleness from Jesus as he said it himself that learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
It is obvious and clear that our relationship with God must be based on humility, as God is so much higher than humans, that it is unimaginable for a man to exalt himself over God.
Still the temptation of becoming gods lured the first people to death, and it is still deadly today, when man claims ultimate power over life and death, bringing wars, oppression, slavery on each other. That is what humility means that we have to submit ourselves to God obeying his commandments, and we submit ourselves one by one to the common good and the well being of all humans.
We must acknowledge in our laws that we are fully equal to each other, equally responsible for each other and for the future generations. The sin against the Holy Spirit obviously has these two major sources, first, when someone thinks that he is God's equal, so he can do what he wants regardless what are God's commandments, and secondly, when someone forces his will upon the others, claiming ruling rights or superiority over the subjects or the assumed inferiors.
Innumerable tragedies and the general misery of mankind are the result of the lack of humility. Some people think that praying is futile. Prayers, they state, did no change the world, and do not help amend the physical reality.
However we can appeal to the thousands of years old experience that genuine prayer is a very part of the humility. Giving thanks to the creator, asking for strength, praying for loved ones and enemies are the specific expression of humility and the faith, by which we connect to someone who is infinitely higher than us. Being humble is the key to change the world for the better. If everybody is humble then there is immediate peace and with peace comes immediate prosperity.
If at least one is humble out of two, or at least ten men are humble out of the many, then forgiveness, reconciliation, wisdom, truth, justice and hope are present on the Earth.
In our gatherings we are praying for the community, confessing and witnessing, asking and thanksgiving all the time, praising the name of the Lord through representing the traditional Christianity and the Reformation among the nations, by the grace of the Lord, to whom we pray now and always. May the holy name be praised, by the Holy Spirit.
AMEN
