"When the Day of Pentecost was fully come." - this was God's timing - a feast day when although the followers of Christ were likely in hiding in the upper room, approx. 2,million people had been brought to Jerusalem from all over the then known world to celebrate Shabat - 7 weeks after the Passover feast. God had allowed them to be scattered, and had given them an business incentive to create communities all around the Mediterranean Sea - and now they were all there.

Passover had also meant that they had come to sacrifice - but they had been brought by God to see the sacrifice - His sacrifice of His only Son -for John the Baptist had said - "Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world". They had also been brought by God to witness His power, and the power of the Holy Spirit as Christ had been raised from the dead. Many who had perhaps witnessed the crucifixion, also witnessed the resurrected presence of Christ during that period between the resurrection and ascension - in fact in one of his appearances there were over 500 present.

Jehovah God has not lost any of His power - and now at this apex of history, the world is waiting on tip toe to see God at work. You see God has a time for everything - "at the appointed time God sent forth His son, born of a virgin....."After the day of Pentecost was fully come...": two examples of God's great time table. And there were 3 marks of the people - those 120 followers of Jesus as they met in the upper room - they were in love with Jesus Christ, --they were active in prayer and devotion ..... they were waiting for the gift of the Father - the coming of the Holy Spirit.

"Suddenly on every head there were tongues of fire, and they all began to speak the glory of God in different languages" - imagine the sound - soon the room was too small and they began to spill out onto the street - in languages familiar to the great crowd who were drawn by the sound. The people who were there perhaps had been present at the crucifixion - perhaps some had consented to it - perhaps some were enemies of Christ - but there was no fear on behalf of those who were there. Peter the one who had cringed before the servant girl, now, full of the Holy Spirit begins to preach - boldly - loudly .

We don't know how many were there, but 3,000 believed - and at a ratio of 1 to 10 that would mean that there 30,000 there. What powerful preaching, what a group of converts, hearing from the heart of God to their hearts. Words - their own history, that they knew, but now it is inspired. And so they go home - a great crowd of witnesses to travel all over the world - Jesus is alive - the messiah has come - God be praised. What a birth, what a blessing, what a filling. Today we celebrate communion, as the bread is broken, may we be broken, as the wine is poured out, may we be poured out, to created a vacuum to be filled with a new love of Jesus Christ, and the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to come and plant his gifts in us to the glory of Jesus.