The Sidekick!

Essay response 

to the question “how did the coming of the Holy Spirit revolutionize the people of God?”

When I think of the Holy Spirit, I think of Pentecost, because that was like the flashiest representation of the pouring of the Spirit. And it is because the pouring of the Holy Spirit was evident to so many people that I want to start there. However, I will not start there, I want to go to the very beginning, where it all started and pose a question, and then take it from there…

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen 1:1 New Living Translation)

In there it sounds like God was by himself, right? Maybe I backed up a bit too much… let’s try this reference instead…

"Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground."" (Gen 1:26 NLT)

Now, this time around it seems like God was not alone when He said, “Let us make human beings…” Have you ever wonder why he said “us”, well, I believe this is the earliest reference to the Holy Spirit, and possibly of the Trinity that there is in the Bible. It makes me wonder if the Holy Spirit was at work since the very beginning of our time. However, it was not living in us from that time.

In the Old Testament, there is prophecies about the outpouring of the gift of Prophecy:

“Then, after doing all those things,

    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

    Your old men will dream dreams,

    and your young men will see visions.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit

    even on servants—men and women alike.” (Joel 2:28-29 NLT)

And this prophecy is again pointed at in the New Testament, by Luke:

“‘In the last days,’ God says,

    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

    Your young men will see visions,

    and your old men will dream dreams.

In those days I will pour out my Spirit

    even on my servants—men and women alike—

    and they will prophesy.

And I will cause wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below—

    blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

The sun will become dark,

    and the moon will turn blood red

    before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.

But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord

    will be saved.’” (Acts 2:17-21 NLT)

This time around though, it expands the explanation on who will receive the Holy Spirit and Salvation! It states that “…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And that is exciting! Because during the OT times, only Jews were chosen people and the pouring of the Holy Spirit was not even thought of as something that Gentiles could ever have. At this point I can go back to Pentecost…

"On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. "How can this be?" they exclaimed. "These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are--Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!"" (Act 2:1-11 NLT)

Not only did the church receive the Holy Spirit, but also the gift of Speaking in Tongues at the very same time! And the list of languages that they were speaking in is long… I wish I could speak that many languages. And here we are, now, the question for this essay is how did this moment revolutionize the people of God (the church)?

To start with, believers, new and old, from all countries were living in Jerusalem; which means that the Gospel was being translated to all of their languages right there at Pentecost! Which, at the very same time, means that the Gospel could now go to ALL the nations! I need to make a little parenthesis here, because when I say “all” I mean all the countries in Asia minor and part of Europe, which is their known world at the time. I hope that there were Central Americans there speaking Spanish in Jerusalem in those days, but I really doubt it. So, I let’s keep that in mind, to keep this in their context.

So, I picture believers of all languages, going to all the known world with the gospel. The implication is that the growth of the church was exponential at the moment because the Holy Spirit did the instant translation of the Gospel! This means that the church had the potential to grow from thousands to millions, faster than ever before.

Another great thing that came along with the grace of God for all people is the fact that they were not required to fulfill every single bit of the law, actually, the apostle Paul told the people that…

"Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God's grace." (Rom 6:14 NLT)

And in this respect, it opened the door for all those people who were not Jewish. So, for gentiles it was an incredible opportunity to come to Christ without all the minor details. However, for the Jews to abandon this huge part of their teachings was really complicated. I am thinking about all the centuries that the law was in place up to the moment when the epistle of Romans was written and distributed. And then, as if it was a simple thing to do, they are told that they are “free” from the law too! I can only imagine the chaos that generated among the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law… they were losing their pride and joy: the written law! In a way, this is like fuel thrown into the fire of persecution toward Christ followers. Just think for a moment about how would you feel if you are told that the main source of your identity is obsolete and you need to forget about it and move on… not an easy task to do. But if they were serious about following Jesus, and God, they had to do it, for the sake of Faith. And I know by personal experience that it is a difficult thing to do.

Now, how do you forget those things that have been “true” for you your whole life? Can you replace them with something else? How do you get rid of your extra “baggage” for the sake of a better future? Can it be done? I personally believe it can be done, because I have done it myself. For example, in my life, I have heard and learned many teachings of grace, and many of them tell you that no matter what you do, you are forgiven. That sounds really good, and I believe it’s true, if… you bring your sin to God and ask for His forgiveness, then He will extend His grace to you. But, the key part in here is the “if” clause. Because I have heard people say that they will sin their whole life, and right at the very end, they will “repent” and God will forgive them. That’s deliberately sinning and manipulating grace and forgiveness! I don’t think that is the correct way to see grace, but if that is the way you learned about it, it would be harder to turn away to the new scenario of NOT sinning and if you accidentally do, then to come to God and ask for His forgiveness then, and not at the end of your life. And then I think I would be easier to not sin at all! But that is totally out of the picture as far as we are humans and in this fallen world.

My point is that I have given up on things that I believed to be true because the truth has been revealed to me by teachers or by the Holy Spirit Himself. Sometimes, I bring the matter to God and He directs me in the right direction. This has changed my life because before I decided to read and study the whole Bible, I heard from God to start a food truck ministry. And that is a very big leap of faith for me. First of all, I never thought I could “hear from God” about what to do in the future. In addition to that, I never imagined that I would be telling people that God “talked to me” about a specific matter. And I did not think that someday I would be praying to God for Him to continue talking to me on a daily basis! But I am doing so, and He is talking back. That can only be the work of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, He is like our walkie-talkie, and I am very glad that I have learned that during this two Bible schools I have completed.

On the other hand, just like any other Gentile, I am glad that the Holy Spirit has come and now lives within us! Because it means salvation and a direct communication line to God. I am also very happy that I am not a slave to sin and/or the law! I do not have to complete all the requirements of the law to have a shot at salvation, I am guarantied salvation by believing that Jesus is “…the way, the truth, and the life.” He even added that “No one can come to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 NLT)

When it comes to my ministry, some people know that I have always wanted to do something with food. That is why my “Point of Passion” for my class assignments always had to do with food and provision from God. I want to start a Food Truck ministry that will visit the communities and feed the homeless and the poor where they are at. I want to cook for them, hot, delicious meals that will, hopefully, make them desire to come back home or to start a home of their own! Just as it is described by Paul in his letter to Titus, the Holy Spirit can give people a new birth through Jesus: "He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5 NLT)

I know that it sounds crazy to some people, a Food Truck to cook good meals for people who won’t be able to pay for them, that is not a great business. But I believe it is the best business possible, because helping another human being be better, and feel better is the best investment of my time, my money and my heart! I want to make a difference [like almost everyone else], and I hope that change comes related to food, because I love cooking and eating! In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul tells us that there are different kinds of Spiritual Gifts, but all of them come from the very same Spirit. And then he tells us that there are also different kinds of services but all of them serve the same Lord. And finally he insists in the fact that "A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." (1Cor 12:7 NLT) So, I believe that my Gift is Service but I pray that God will also bless the people of the streets through the Spiritual Gifts of the rest of the team who will work with me. I pray that in that truck we will bring all of the Spiritual Gifts to be able to help the homeless and the poor the best way possible!