Lesson 5 The Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost

Holy Spirit Lesson 5 Companion Devotional

As we walk on the ancient paths with the Lord through our lives we are discovering how important it is to stay close to the Holy Spirit. Initially we might have a hard time relating to Him because He is a spirit, He is mysterious; but the Bible helps us to understand Him by giving us metaphors that tell us what He is like. We learn how to relate to Him. Today I want to help you get to know the Holy Spirit better by looking into three more of the metaphors that describe Him.

Lamps
Revelation 4:5 gives us a glimpse into the very throne room of God, “And from the throne proceed flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Seven is the number of completion, perfection, fulfillment in the Bible. This scene depicts the complete fulness of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:2 describes the multi-faceted Spirt in more detail. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Lamps bring illumination, guidance and direction. One of the titles for the Holy Spirit is counselor. He is wise with understanding. Without the light from the lamp of the Holy Spirit we would stumble in spiritual blindness. We would not know which path to take. We would quickly get lost. The Spirit gives us reverence for God, He gives us a fear of the Lord not a fear of man. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God teaches us what the Bible means and how to apply it to our lives. All of these concepts are wrapped up in the metaphor of lamps.


Wine
Before I say anything about wine I want to go on a bunny trail and make sure you know that the Bible does not condone drunkenness! There are many places where it clearly teaches that we should not drink excessively or get drunk. Period. I hope that is clear to you. Having said that, a case can be made in the Bible that an adult enjoying a glass of wine is fine. The first miracle of Jesus was turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Jesus probably drank wine because the Pharisees accused Him of “being a glutinous man and a drunkard…” Luke 7:34. (He was neither.) Paul told Timothy, “no longer drink water exclusively but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” I Timothy 5:23. As you follow the Lord He may give you permission to enjoy an occasional glass of wine. (Or He may not give you permission!) Your responsibility is to seek His leading and to follow Him.

The Holy Spirit is compared to wine in the Bible. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early believers at Pentecost in
Acts 2, the multitude mocked them explaining away what they saw by saying, “they are full of sweet wine.” Boldness and joy are two of the hallmarks of being under the influence of the Holy Spirit. In fact Paul compares being drunk with wine to being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18.

I remember the first time I experienced the pure joy of the Holy Spirit. I went to a seminar at my church and heard a man talk about the Holy Spirit. He taught from the Bible about the Holy Spirit and from his life experiences. At the end of his talk he prayed for the Holy Spirit to come and refresh each one of us and to give us a taste of Him. He said some of us might feel a flutter on our eye lids, some of us might feel tingling in our hands, or warmth in our hearts, or some may not feel anything at all but just soak in His deep peace. As he prayed, I opened my hands, eager to receive whatever the Lord wanted to give me. I have often looked back on that day and imagined the triune God looking down and saying, “Look at that woman, she is so earnest, she is trying so hard, she is taking everything so seriously, what she really needs right now is a dose of pure joy!”

I felt this indescribable feeling of joy bubble up from deep within me, it was such a surprise! Tears of sweet joy flowed down my cheeks, not heavy sad tears, but cleansing sweet tears. And I felt light like I was going to float away. I had my very fist taste of the wine of Holy Spirit. It was pure JOY.

Fire
The Holy Spirit is sometimes pictured as fire. Matthew 3:11 tells us that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Acts 2:3-4 describes the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost as tongues of fire resting on the heads of the believers.

Fire would have struck a chord with the first century Jew who experienced Pentecost. They would immediately think of Exodus. When God introduced himself to Moses, it was through the burning bush in Exodus 3:2. The fire in the bush did not consume the bush but continued to burn signified the presence and holiness of the Lord. When the Israelites were led through the wilderness, it was by a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. This pillar brought guidance, protection and warmth. On Mount Sinai when the Lord gave the law to Moses, a fire came down on the summit of Mount Sinai. The fire pictured the holiness and presence of God.

Fire brings purity. Psalm 66:10 pictures God as the refiner who tries or tests by fire. “For You have tried us, O God. You have refined us as silver is refined.” Psalm 66:10. God is the refiner. We also see in I Corinthians 3:10-15 that some day God will test the quality of our works with fire. The works that are eternal will survive the fire unlike the works that are temporal which will burn up, but we shall be saved.

Fire symbolizes passion. After His resurrection Jesus taught the Scriptures to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. When they reflected upon their time with the Lord they said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” The fire in their hearts signified their passion for the Lord and His word.

Fire can be dangerous. We all know not to play with fire. In the same way, we should not play around with the Holy Spirit. We must treat Him with the utmost reverence and respect. Fire can be unpredictable, a wild fire can jump over roads, even rivers. It cannot be contained. Fire also brings forth new life, just think of the long dormant seeds springing to life after a wildfire.

What have we learned today from these metaphors about how to relate to the Holy Spirit? Lamps. Wine. Fire. We learn to turn to Him when we seek wisdom, understanding and counsel. He is the one who gives direction and guidance like lamps. He imparts boldness and joy like wine. He brings the presence of the Lord and the refining fire that purifies. He imparts passion to our hearts like fire. We seek Him. We respond to Him. We respect Him. Come Holy Spirit!

Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank you that you did not leave us as orphans but you sent your Holy Spirit to live within our hearts. Ignite the flame of the Spirit. Set our hearts on fire for you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen