Post 70-"Darkest Hour,” the Movie—Part 2 The Spiritual Side

                                                       

                After Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem (or what we call Palm Sunday), He went to the temple:

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. ¹⁵ But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.  Matt 21:14-15

            About 700 years before Jesus did this (and the other miracles that He did), the prophet Isaiah said of the above, 

⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
⁶ Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.  Isaiah 35:5-6

            Several weeks ago we watched the Oscar nominated film “Darkest Hour.” What an inspiration. Yes, this is a movie, but it is a historical drama about the early stages of World War II, just before and just after Winston Churchill became the prime minister of Great Britain. Lessons can be learned from it.

            The odds against Great Britain were overwhelming, staggeringly impossible—to think that there could ever be victory...never. In the early stages of the war, Hitler was unstoppable. Poland, Belgium, The Netherlands, and France quickly fell and Britain was about to lose almost its entire army at Dunkirk. There appeared to be no hope.

            Some who read Post 70-Part 1 were feeling they were facing odds that were totally against them, and that they needed a miracle.  Even now, several weeks later, circumstances for many may not have changed; perhaps, even gotten worse. Has the fire of the problems in your life been turned up higher and gotten hotter?  Is your financial condition working against you? Are your dreams disappearing? Are you overwhelmed by what’s happening in your life? Are the things in your life that are working against you, not your fault? Is your illness dragging on? Does God care? Does He have any answers? Is there hope? Before we look to the Scriptures and to the three Hebrew children—when they faced similar overwhelming odds—let’s look once more to Winston Churchill. What was his attitude? What did he say? What happened?

            Churchill said,

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

            As I wrote in Part 1, many in England felt that Churchill was a failure, and rightfully so, due to past, serious, very costly mistakes he made. But the movie also accurately quotes Churchill when he said,
            Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

            Even his American friends, in the early stages of the war, turned an almost blind eye to what was happening in Europe and to Great Britain. (Have friends ever turned their backs on you?)

            How bad did Churchill have it? Let us first look at what happened at Dunkirk. The Allied armies, mostly British, were trapped on that beach. Churchill commands their rescue. How did it happen? There were not enough ships in the Navy to evacuate them, so the people of the island nation of Great Britain used small watercraft of all types—tug boats, fishing boats, sail boats, ferry boats, pleasure boats and yachts—to sail across English Channel to evacuate as many as possible. While it can be argued, I believe it was God who, among other things, caused the weather to be favorable for the troop extraction (https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/barometer/features/the-miracle-of-dunkirk  ).

            Then after Dunkirk, Hitler tried to strangle the nautical supply lines that were keeping England alive. His submarine navy sunk hundreds of ships and thousand of sailors died. But in time the odds changed in favor of England and the Allies.

            In addition, Hitler also tried to bomb Great Britain into submission. Over 40,000 civilians died during those air attacks.

            Then finally, after over two years of desperately fighting for survival, America with its manufacturing might and emaciated army and navy (at that time) entered the war, not because England needed help and Hitler was a tyrant, but because of Japan bombing Pearl Harbor.

            But they didn’t give up. The people of Great Britain did not surrender.

            Now, what do the Scriptures tell us that might be of encouragement, in addition to what we saw with Winston Churchill and the people of Great Britain...who never gave up....who never surrendered?

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord. “For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the river; and will not fear the heat when it comes; but its leaves will be green and moist. And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought nor stop bearing fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8 AMP

            Do you remember Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet whom God called to be His mouthpiece to the nations (Jer 1:5)?  In the book of Lamentations 3 (AMP), Jeremiah is lamenting;  sad, mournful, about the circumstances in which he finds himself. He said about his condition,   

I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.
² He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.
³ Surely He has turned His hand against me
Repeatedly all the day.
⁴ He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;
He has shattered my bones.
⁵ He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
⁶ He has made me live in dark places
Like those who have long been dead.
⁷ He walled me in so that I cannot get out;
He has weighted down my chain.
⁸ Even when I cry out and shout for help,
He shuts out my prayer.
⁹ He has blocked my ways with cut stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
¹⁰ He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
And like a lion [hiding] in secret places.
¹¹ He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.
¹² He has bent His bow
And set me as a target for the arrow.
¹³ He has caused the arrows of His quiver
To enter my inner parts.
¹⁴ I have become the [object of] ridicule to all my people,
And [the subject of] their mocking song all the day.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness;
He has made me drunk with wormwood (bitterness).
¹⁶ He has broken my teeth with gravel;
He has [covered me with ashes and] made me cower in the dust.
¹⁷ My soul has been cast far away from peace;
I have forgotten happiness.
¹⁸ So I say, “My strength has perished
And so has my hope and expectation from the Lord.”

Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy (Biblical heading, not scripture about what follows)

¹⁹ Remember [O Lord] my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness).
²⁰ My soul continually remembers them and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope.
²² It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,
Because His [tender] compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul;
“Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.”
²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him,
To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].

            Whew! There’s an example of someone facing overwhelming odds, but never surrendering and never giving up.  God can take our worst circumstances and turn them around as in Psalm 30:11-12 NLT

¹¹ You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
    You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
¹² that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!

            I mentioned the three Hebrew children we can read about in the book of Daniel Chapter 3 ( https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Dan+3&version=NASB ). If there are some readers who do not know who those three young men are, they are Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. The Bible tells us that they were supposed to bow down to the king. They said no. The king got mad and threw them into the fire. But the God of Creation rescued them from the fire without even the smell of smoke on their clothes.

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. ^17]If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. ²¹ Then these men were tied up in their ^[r]trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. ²² For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. ²³ But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

²⁴ Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.” ²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” ²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. ²⁷ The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.  Daniel 3:16-27 NASB

            Sooner or later we all face financial difficulties. Does God, through the scriptures have anything to tell us about this? Strange as it seems, Gods tells us to do the reverse of what we naturally think we should do. Money problems usually mean not enough money, yet He tells us that one of the ways to financial freedom is to give it away,

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV

Or what about this from Malachi 3:7-12 NIV?

 ⁷ Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

⁸ “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. ¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. ¹² “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

            You might be saying to yourself, “This doesn’t make sense, give to get?” And yet, how does God answer this?

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, “declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts Isa 55:8-9 NIV

            In the beginning of this post, I referenced several scriptures about Jesus as the coming healer and what He would do; and then just a sample of what He did. Thinking of Winston Churchill and how he never gave up and encouraged the people of his country to do the same, the Biblical account of a very sick man comes to mind. In John Chapter 5 we read about the lame man, who had not been able to walk for 38 years.

5 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ² Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda having five porches. ³ In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. ⁴ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. ⁵ Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

⁸ Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath. ¹⁰ The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful.... (NKJV)

            Does anything from the above strike you as odd? Earlier in Matthew 21 and now again in John 5, either the church or its religious leaders were against Jesus for doing good. They, basically, sadly, were willing for people to keep on suffering for the sake of tradition or religion. The life giving thing Jesus brought to the people then, and still brings to us today, is a personal relationship with Him, the Son of God, not some formalized, formatted system of religion. One of my favorite books may have an answer to this. In Francis MacNutt’s book The Nearly Perfect Crime, How the Church Almost Killed the Ministry of Healing, on the recommendation pages in the front of the book, Fr. Murray Bodo, O.P.M., he wrote,

 Though forces within and outside the churches have diminished the gift of healing, the Holy Spirit continues to cry out for Christians to reach out and touch the sick and wounded once more today. 

            I realize this post is longer than usual with lengthy sections of God’s word included. The movie “Darkest Hour” gave me no indication of Churchill’s spiritual beliefs or trust in God. His unwavering stance of never giving up, at least from the movie’s point of view, was of a man who had the guts to never give up and who put his trust in the will of people to stand with him.

            Almost universally today we have no national leaders of that stature, courage, and moral fortitude to fight on. And Church leaders of this type are few and far between. But we do have God and His word. I’m not presuming this will be easy. For those readers facing overwhelming odds, h o p e  i n  G o d.  Several times over the past few years, I felt overwhelmed. Regular readers will remember when Dana and I wrote about being in the wilderness. Back in the 1980s, although I was saved and serving God, I was homeless and slept in a borrowed, beat up, old pickup truck for awhile.  When I first got saved, I was broken hearted. But God.... (Genesis 50:20  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gen+50%3A19-21&version=NKJV  )

            Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Acts 27:25, as he was on a sinking ship in a terrible storm, with the loss of the entire cargo and all hands imminent,

²⁵ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.

           And finally in closing,  Jesus own words from Matthew 19:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 

  

 

 

 

Post 70-“Darkest Hour,” the Movie—Part 1

            We watched the many Oscar nominated film “Darkest Hour” last night. I was inspired! Yes, this is a movie, a historical drama, but it is basically the truth about the early stages of World War II, just before and just after Winston Churchill became the prime minister of Great Britain.

            The odds against Great Britain were overwhelming, staggering, impossible—to think that there could ever be victory...never. Hitler’s new form of mechanized warfare was unstoppable. Belgium, The Netherlands, and France were falling or surrendering. Britain was about to lose its entire army at Dunkirk. Its air force was completely outnumbered by the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force. There appeared to be no hope.

            Some who read this blog today feel they are facing odds that are totally against them.

            Some who read this blog have smooth sailing in their lives...right now.

            Some of its readers are like the prime minister of Great Britain during the time that led up to the start of WWII. Neville Chamberlain will always be known as the “peace at any cost” man for trying to appease the bully, the tyrant, Adolf Hitler. He didn’t. Instead, he contributed to the rise of Hitler and his domination of Europe.

            Many of the readers are like Winston Churchill who was considered a failure due to past decisions that cost thousands of lives but who is still known today for his “never give up’ speech.

            The movie also accurately quotes Churchill when he said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

            Whatever your circumstances are today, good or bad, easy or overwhelming, today or tomorrow go to On Demand or Redbox or Net Flicks and watch this movie. It will inspire or prepare almost every watcher.

Post 69-Pentecost—If Not, Why Not?

                                                                

            I’ve had this subject on my mind for many months. For long-time readers of the blog, some of you may have gotten the indication that I felt this was a subject that begged dealing with; however, I, at best, skirted it, never facing Pentecost head on. But not only is the entire Book of Acts devoted to this subject and the results—basically the start of evangelism of the then known world—but several chapters in John (Jn 14, 15, 16) and Luke (Lk 11:13) forecast its need and coming by none other than Jesus Himself. Pentecost.

            It started more than 115 years ago, back in 1905 with a one eyed, 34 year old son of freed slaves; although it really began almost 2000 years before that. But I’ll get to that in a bit. William J. Seymour was a student of a little known Pentecostal preacher, Charles Parham. The “It” was the Azusa Street Revival. While this turned out to be the well-known start of Pentecost in America (and in time the world) and several early Pentecostal denominations, read the strongly negative report of what one respected newspaper wrote of this Biblical event at the time,

Meetings are held in a tumble-down shack on Azusa Street, and the devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal. African Americans and a sprinkling of whites compose the congregation, and night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howlings of the worshippers, who spend hours swaying forth and back in a nerve racking attitude of prayer and supplication. They claim to have the "gift of tongues" and be able to understand the babel.  Los Angeles Times

            However, prior to the above, Charles Parham, on New Year’s Day 1901, at the request of Agnes N. Ozman asked that hands might be laid upon her and prayer asked for her to receive the Holy Spirit. She did and she spoke in a language unknown to her, as the Spirit gave her utterance. Parham started Topeka Bible School (Kansas) in 1900. His student body was small and they lived by faith, having only the Bible as their text book.

http://www1.cbn.com/churchandministry/the-roots-of-azusa-pentecost-in-topeka  (I often wonder if some Bible colleges and schools should go back to this method today.)

            As Parham and his students searched the scriptures, when they came to Acts 2 they were stymied. What were they to do with the truth as God laid it out for them? (Apparently, they missed Jesus’ great commission in Mark 16:15-18 ,

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” NKJV)

 

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 KJV

            I like how Gordon Robertson puts it for CBN in his piece entitled “The Roots of Azusa: Pentecost in Topeka”.

They all came back with the same answer - when the baptism in the Holy Spirit came to the early disciples, the indisputable proof on each occasion was that they spoke with other tongues.

            Now, fast forward to 1977 after my first marriage disintegrated, due to among other things, my drunkenness. My next door neighbor asked me to go to his church. At first I resisted. I knew he went to church at least three times a week and raised his hands in the services. I grew up in the staid Episcopal denomination, but I was never challenged to ask Christ into my heart and become born again; nor did I ever see anyone raise their hands in praise or thanksgiving to God.. But after about a month, I said yes and went with him on a sunny, fall, Sunday morning. (I have never stopped going to church since.). He also just happened to be the assistant pastor at the First Assembly of God Church in Alexandria, VA.

            During that first Sunday morning, at some point late in the service, I heard someone speaking in a language I didn’t understand. Afterward, I asked my neighbor if that was “speaking in tongues.”

            “Yes,” he said. I just accepted that and did not question him further. And unlike the Los Angeles Times reporter above, nor did it disturb me or cause me to think I had gone to some strange church. Somewhere in my life prior to that time (I was around 30 years old), I had heard of Pentecost but never experienced it.

            A couple of weeks after that, I went forward at the end of a service during an altar call and asked Jesus into my heart and was born again. (John 3:3) After that, I was like a dry sponge. Having attended church my entire young life, until 18 when I went into the U. S. Coast Guard and in time turned from church (not God because I didn’t know Him personally), spiritually I was a dry sponge. I was devoid of true Biblical teaching, so when I heard the Word preached and as I read my bible, it was like life giving water to me and I soaked it up like a dry sponge. (see John 4:6-29)

¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13, 14 NKJV

            But I had not yet received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Since the Assemblies of God denomination is the premiere Pentecostal denomination in the world, items 7 and 8 of its Statements of Fundamental Truths are,

⁷ Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a separate and subsequent experience following conversion. Spirit baptism brings empowerment to live an overcoming Christian life and to be an effective witness.

⁸ Speaking in tongues is the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

            My church had a weekly prayer meeting,--on Friday evenings if I remember correctly. The number of people in attendance varied from a few to more than a couple of dozen. Prayers were offered for needs in the congregation, individual needs including healing, and for the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. For a number of weeks I sought the in-filling. And then one Friday evening, in late fall as fellow prayers laid hands on me and prayed for me, God baptized with His Holy Spirit and I began to speak with tongues; tongues unknown to me. Bells didn’t ring. Whistles didn’t blow. Angels didn’t sing. The earth didn’t shake. I didn’t fall over into a trance-like state (although there have been instances of these things with some people through the years). I just began to speak in a language I didn’t (and still don’t) know.

            And now I, even after 40 plus years, can say as Paul did when he wrote, “⁵ I wish that you all spoke in tongues.... (and) ¹⁸ I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all....” (1 Corinthians 14:5, 18 NASB)

            This baptism was Biblical, and if the disciples, the early Christians, and Paul received it, I wanted it. Why? Please either read or reread the Book of Acts, the entire book. Ask God to make this real to you. We read in this book how God used ordinary men, baptized in the power of the Holy Spirit to change the world.

¹² Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. ¹³ Now when they (the religious leaders-my comment) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:12-12 KJV

            You know, I can relate to Peter and John. They were rough-around-the-edges men; men who made their living on/from the water; men with grossly evident human weaknesses; ignorant and unlearned men. But Peter and John, and me, like Paul in Acts 27, when he was on a ship in a terrible storm that would cause the ship to sink, said to the crew,

                ²⁵ Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Acts 27:25 KJV

            While I have been writing about an effect of Pentecost, we should not forget the why of Pentecost. Acts 1:4-8, especially 8, NKJV

⁴ Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; ⁸ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem (bold is mine), and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

God gives us Pentecost so we will have power to witness to a lost and dying world. So pastors, preachers and teachers will have power to preach or teach His Word from the pulpit or in the classroom.  That the regular Joes and Janes of Christianity, the “nobodies” that the world disregards or thinks of in a lower status or demeaning state, can witness with power to those same people. Paul said it best when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NASB,

⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power (bold mine), ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

            Let me close with this for the nay-sayers or the Cessationists –(Cessationism is the doctrine that spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing ceased with the apostolic age), or the whomevers who still do not believe in Pentecost or think it is not for today. Pentecost is really the Third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit. No doubt many of you are saved, have been saved for many years. No doubt many of you love God and want to serve Him and honor Him. No doubt many of you live godly lives in Christ Jesus. No doubt many of you believe that Jesus died on the cross for humanities’ sins and was resurrected three days later and now sits at the right hand of the Father. No doubt many of you are looking forward to that day when you die and He welcomes you into heaven. These are all Godly and Biblical. These things are all Scriptural. But if you have faith and believe in all these things and have taken part in some of them already, why do you discount the truth and need of Pentecost? There is no difference. It, too, is for you now.