Pentecost, the day the Fire fell, was not a one time event. God still desires the same for us.
We can prepare for this great feast by understanding its Jewish background. Nothing happens in the scripture by coincidence. It is all part of God’s great plan.
Shavuot
This feast, called shavout in Hebrew, occurred 7 weeks (or fifty days hence Pentecost) after Passover (Pessah). Pessah commemorated God’s freeing the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt whilst Shavout commemorated the giving of the 10 commandments (the Torah, the Hebrew Law) to Moses on Mt Sinai.
Shavout also means ‘an oath’ in the sense that God swore his faithful love to His chosen people. On that day, Israel enters a covenant relationship with God, worshiping Him alone and promising loyalty and obedience to Him. Throughout their history, the Israelites repeatedly failed to keep their side of the oath, so God promised that a day would come when his law would be written on the hearts of his people.
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Jer. 31:33
This is what God did in Pentecost by sending His very Spirit into our hearts. We are now drawn internally by a desire to love and obey God.
Pentecost is a good time to ask God for the gift of deeper repentance for those times we have given in to the sinful nature. Make a good confession and ask the Lord to keep you free from sin and indifference and to fill you with His desire.
But was this a one time event?
Not at all. Millions of people all over the world are experiencing a new Pentecost in their personal lives, in their communities and prayer groups. The effect is amazing. A new love for Jesus, a greater power over sin, a burning desire to witness to Jesus and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in signs and wonders.
God still wants to give us His Holy Spirit, His very own life. St Paul proclaims that
‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit’. (Romans 5:5)