With all the terrible news coming at us from every direction, the need for unity within God’s church and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is reaching “critical mass”. But what does that really mean and how does that apply to each of us? In Acts 2: 1-4 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
In the book Acts of the Apostles by EG White (pages 36-37), more about this event is revealed: “As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief…. They reproached themselves for their misapprehension of the Saviour. Like a procession, scene after scene of His wonderful life passed before them. As they meditated upon His pure holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character.” “Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close together in Christian fellowship. They drew nearer and nearer to God, and as they did this they realized what a privilege had been theirs in being permitted to associate so closely with Christ. Sadness filled their hearts as they thought of how many times they had grieved Him by their slowness of comprehension, their failure to understand the lessons that, for their good, He was trying to teach them.”
Fast forward to our time and our church. Are all of our hearts humbled? Are we all of one accord in one place? Are all our hearts saddened by the thought of how many times we have grieved the Holy Spirit away? Are our priorities leading us in an unselfish direction? Are we really ready for the outpouring of
the Holy Spirit right now?
If we are honest with ourselves, wouldn’t you agree that corporately as a church we might be in trouble spiritually and unity-wise? Here’s the crux of the matter: God doesn’t force our will; ever! But there are those among us who systematically care more about lifting up self than lifting up Christ. How then will
that ever be resolved? The sad answer is that a rift will form within the church, between those who focus on Christ…and those who focus on themselves; it’s called “the shaking”. God is going to prepare His church to be ready to receive those whose hearts earnestly yearn for a relationship with Jesus as the world embraces insanity and total destruction. Those already in the church whose hearts remain unmoved will be offended and eventually leave and become enemies of the church. Wow! And keep in mind that the church is not a building; it’s God’s people!