The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]
Chapter 33. Jesus Sent the Holy Spirit
YOU WILL RECEIVE MIRACLE POWER FROM HEAVEN
After Jesus ascended into heaven, his disciples gathered in Jerusalem. They were already believers, followers of Jesus Christ. They were saved, born again, and destined for heaven. But Jesus promised them something else, something more.
They were not faithless and rebellious about the Holy Spirit and miracles. They believed what Jesus said, that he would send the Holy Spirit to give them even more power to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and perform miracles. While they waited for this, they regularly gathered for prayer and discussion, and they began to organize themselves for ministry.
On the day of Pentecost, they were all gathered in one place. Pentecost was a Jewish festival that happened fifty days after Passover. So then, it was about fifty days after Jesus rose from the dead.
Thousands of people came to this city for Pentecost. They came from different cities and towns, and even from other nations. The city was alive with excitement.
Here comes the miracle power!
The disciples were praying together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw flames that looked like tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they started to speak in languages that they had never learned.
This ability is called speaking in tongues. It is one of the most important abilities that the Holy Spirit gives to the followers of Jesus Christ. It puts them lightyears ahead of faithless religious people who are against the miracles of faith and the activities of the Holy Spirit.
For this reason, the Faithless will fight it as much as they can. They will criticize speaking in tongues. They will make fun of it. Some of them will kick out Christians who speak in tongues from their churches and ministries, and Bible schools.
Speaking in tongues is an ability to speak in a language that the person has not learned. It is not the same as being able to speak in a new language by studying it. The person speaks from his spirit and does not know what he is saying.
This is something miraculous and supernatural, but to a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit, it is something that he can easily do. Speaking in tongues is not an emotional outburst. The person speaking in tongues can remain calm and in control. He can decide to start and decide to stop.
A person who is speaking in tongues might be speaking in a human language. He does not understand what he is saying, but if there is a person nearby who knows the language, then that person can understand. At other times, the language might not sound like anything we are familiar with, but it should still sound somewhat like a language, and God can understand it.
Paul was a man who would later become a leader among the disciples. He wrote, “Anyone who speaks in tongues does not speak to people but to God.” And he added, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.” Speaking in tongues is a way to pray to God or to worship him, even when we do not understand the words ourselves. These words are real communication with God, and they come from the deepest part of our being.
Speaking in tongues helps you speak to God even when you do not know what to say. When we are happy and do not have the words to express it, we can speak in tongues to praise God. When nothing is going on, we can speak in tongues to strengthen our spirits and make our day interesting.
And when we are scared or sad, we can speak in tongues to cry out to God, even if we cannot find the right words. Of course, Christians should walk in faith, peace, and victory. It is not normal to feel sad and defeated. But when we do feel that way, speaking in tongues will cause our spirits to become stronger, and the Holy Spirit will help us understand and confront our thoughts and feelings.
Speaking in tongues helps us use our minds better, and it can even make us smarter. It can make you more creative. It will help you think of new ideas and organize them better. You might suddenly get a great idea that turns into something successful. This is God’s creative wisdom working in you. Speaking in tongues can give you new ideas, help you solve problems, and make you more effective in everything you do.
Speaking in tongues is a supernatural ability. Because the Holy Spirit is in you, this power is now part of who you are. It might feel so normal that you forget it is a superhuman ability. But speaking in tongues is a reminder that you are now connected to God and his supernatural power.
Returning our attention to the disciples, the Holy Spirit came down like a violent rushing wind, and flames of fire landed on each of them. Then they all started to speak in tongues. All of this made so much noise that it attracted the attention of the people in the city.
Because it was Pentecost, there were thousands of people from many nations gathered there, and they spoke many different languages. They were surprised and confused. They asked, “What does this mean? These people are from Galilee, but we hear them speak in our own languages!” The disciples were speaking in the languages of people from all over the world.
Then Peter stood up with some of the other disciples.
He raised his voice and explained, “Listen! This is what was predicted by the prophet Joel. He wrote, ‘God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young man will see visions. Your old man will have dreams. I will pour out my Spirit on my male and female servants, and they will prophesy.”
In the past, God gave his Holy Spirit to prophets, kings, and a small number of people chosen to perform special ministries. But he had promised that one day he would give his Holy Spirit to all his people. He would give this miraculous power to all kinds of individuals, whether they are young or old, male or female, educated or uneducated.
In other words, God wants the power to work miracles to expand to all kinds of people and to all levels of society. It does not matter where they are from, what age they are, what race they are, or whether they have money or education. If they are followers of Jesus Christ, then they can receive the Holy Spirit by faith. And this was the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promise.
Peter continued, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man who did amazing things. God gave him power to do miracles and wonders, and you all saw it happen. But even though God had planned for him to come, you handed him over to be killed. You put him to death by having him nailed to a cross. But God raised Jesus from the dead! It was impossible for death to hold him down. We are all witnesses of this. Jesus has now been lifted up to the right side of God, and he received the Holy Spirit from the Father. This is why you are seeing and hearing what is happening now. God has made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
The people were deeply troubled by his words. They claimed that they were faithfully waiting for the Christ, but when the Christ came, they killed him. So they asked the disciples, “What shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Each one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” They had to admit that they were wrong, and turn away from their previous beliefs and actions. They must become followers of Jesus Christ. After that, they could also receive the Holy Spirit.
And Peter added, “This promise is for you and your descendants, and for those who are far away. It is for everyone that God calls to himself.”
This is the promise that we can receive miracle power by the Holy Spirit after we receive Jesus Christ. This promise is for both that time and for all future time. This promise is for that place and all other places. In other words, God wants the power to work miracles to expand to all future generations and to all other places.
As long as people can become followers of Jesus Christ and receive salvation from sin by faith, they can also receive the Holy Spirit and miracle power by faith. Receiving eternal life through Jesus Christ and receiving miracle power through the Holy Spirit are one gospel. They stand or fall together.
Never allow faithless religious people to cut up the gospel into pieces and remove some of it from you. They do not believe the gospel, but they do not want people to find out. The gospel contains some things that can make their unbelief more obvious, and so they try very hard to hide those things from people. It is like they wish they could crucify Jesus Christ again.
Many people accepted what Peter said. That day, about 3,000 people believed and became the disciples of Jesus.