Pentecost and the importance of the Holy Spirit is study to evaluate the importance of the day of Pentecost and the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  The word Pentecost is Greek for 50th day. In the Jewish tradition, Pentecost is called Shavuot (The Festival of Weeks) and it marks the 50 days after Moses received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. For Christians, Pentecost is the day when the Apostles and all those with them received the Holy Spirit which took place 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.  Jesus spoke to His Apostles about the One He would send after He had ascended, the One known as the Helper, Advocate and Counselor – the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave the Apostles strict instructions to remain in Jerusalem in order to receive the Holy Spirit. The following verses in Acts attest to that: Acts 1: 4-5 & 9. baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Now, on the day of Pentecost, the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in many different languages (Acts 2:1-21). This is a significant day because we now have the Holy Spirit which was promised to us by Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. In John 14:16-17 Jesus says, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

Who is the Holy Spirit and Why is He essential to Christians

The topic of the Holy Spirit is difficult for most to understand. For today’s lesion, we will focus simply on the gift of the Holy Spirit given by God the Father on Pentecost and the Importance of the Holy Spirit.  We know that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity, and the significance of the Pentecost is huge for the lives of the believers. Essentially, all those that accept Jesus as Lord and Savior have the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them permanently. In the Old Covenant, this was not so. God interacted with people and in certain instance His Spirit even came upon them. However, this was not a permanent indwelling. At Pentecost this changed, and we live with the guidance and conviction of the Holy Spirit who lives in us permanently. This is the significance of the Pentecost and one of the many difference between the Old and New Covenants.John 14:15-21 states,  15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  Additional verses are found in John 14:25-26, John 15:26-27 and John 16:7-15 that speak about the Holy Spirit.

So, we know that the Holy Spirit has multiple functions and above all He is in us and with us as born again believers.  The Holy Spirit will act in the following ways:
o He will Prove
o He will Guide
o He is the Spirit of Truth
o He will Tell
o He will Testify
o He is an Advocate/Helper/Counselor
o He will Teach
o He will Remind

Paul says in Romans 8:26 -27 that another crucial role of the Holy Spirit is to help us by praying for us and by interceding for us.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

1 John 2:27 ESV – research this further, it’s an interesting point to the Holy Spirit working in us

But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

1 Corinthians 2:11-16 ESV – Potentially good for Pentecost study

For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. …

Summary

Let us thank our Heavenly Father for the Gift He has given us, and let’s understand the tremendous blessings of the Pentecost and the Importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The Holy Spirit is essential to every Christian as He helps us walk with our Lord. Continue to serve the Lord with confidence knowing that you are not alone. Our Heavenly Father hasn’t abandoned us, and He will be with us until the end of time. Let’s thank our God in Heaven for the Holy Spirit and for the Lord being in us, and we in Him. AMEN