Pentecost: Forged in Fire

My cousin, Levi Kring, was on a show called Forged in Fire. He competed with other
contestants in the studio and made it to the final round where he came so close to winning
but the weapon he forged suffered a catastrophic failure and he went home with second
place. He lost.
Forging metal is a process of heating, hammering, shaping, cooling, hardening, and honing
metal to give it strength, function, and beauty. The heat and the pressure make the object
useful.
There is a great deal of controversy and misunderstanding when it comes to the term
Pentecostal. Some think it’s all about talking funny, or handling snakes, or being extra for no
reason.
In case you didn’t know, we are unapologetically Pentecostal. Not in the traditional sense, but
in that we believe what the Bible says. In Acts 2 we have the event that we are celebrating
today, the birth of the church. It happened on a very specific day, the Day of Pentecost, when
the disciples of Christ were forged in the fire of God, and were baptized and empowered for
use for witness and service.
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.
Pentecost means 50 th . It was 50 days after Passover. Shavuot “weeks”
Feast of Weeks (Lev 23) – it is the culmination of the Passover 7x7+1=50
Jesus is the fullness of God and fulfils OT requirements, bringing about the church age.
Day of First Fruits (Num 28:26)
Jesus is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters in the family of God (Romans 8:29)
Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16)
Jesus said that it is good that He leaves so He could send the Helper – the Holy Spirit.
We see in Acts 2:41 after Peter preached that 3,000 people were saved.
Matthew 9:37-38 The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to
the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Pentecost means all of these things and Jesus is in it all.
But Pentecost didn’t just happen. There were a few things that were put in place and lined up
so that that day could happen.
God wants there to be a modern-day Pentecost today. He wants some things in our lives to get
into place and into alignment so we can have revival, to be empowered, to be effective
witnesses for Jesus in the world. In a culture that is saturated with demonic agendas, LGTBQ+,
sexual perversions of every kind, Target, the list goes on and on. God wants the fires of
Pentecost to once again bring light into a dark world.
Let’s look at what happened just before Pentecost. After Jesus resurrected, He went to His
disciples.
John 20:21-22 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also
send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the
Holy Spirit.
Jesus died, they believed, He filled them with the Holy Spirit. They are now saved. Jesus wasn’t
done. He didn’t say ok you’re good now. Bye.
Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you
have been clothed with power from on high.”
Acts 1:4-5,8 He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise
of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with
water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now… But you shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
They were saved, filled with the Holy Spirit. But then they had to wait. Go! But wait. Only after
a period of time did they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and were empowered for
service and witness.
Notice, being filled with the Spirit and baptized and empowered for service are two different
experiences. There was something that happened in between. That waiting period was a
forging, testing period. It went from 500 – 120. This process was not just for us. Jesus Himself
went through it.
John the Baptist declared how Jesus would usher in the church.

Matthew 3:11   I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after
me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire.
But before Jesus baptized His disciples, He was baptized.
Matthew 3:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to
me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to
fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from
heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Did He immediately start His ministry? No. Now that He was filled with the Holy Spirit and
could now receive Kingdom communication, let’s look at what the Holy Spirit had Him do.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in
the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
Luke 4:13-14 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an
opportune time. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him
went out through all the surrounding region.
Filling, Fire (refiners fire / wilderness), Empowering
Could it be that the reason that the church in America seems to be so weak and ineffective is
because we stop and are content with the filling stage. Not wanting the pain, discomfort and
trials that come with the wilderness, waiting, or forging process that comes from the fire of
God.
The fire of God is not about power or passion, those are a result of the fire.
Fire is used to purge of impurities and forge / harden so it can take an edge and gain strength.
Only after the forging process can the Lord empower you for service.
It widens our capacity to receive more of Him. Juice cup vs 5 gal jug.
Holy Spirit to empower for service and witness.
Faith, healing, miracles, prophecies, tongues, interpretation, discerning of spirit, word of
wisdom, word of knowledge – all to serve others and to witness for Christ.

We were not created for heaven. We were created to receive heaven and the kingdom, and
express it, enforce it, and expand it here on earth. Then we fell in the garden. The Kingdom
culture was corrupted. Their spirit died and could no longer communicate with God’s Spirit.
This then caused death and corruption to enter into their souls (mind, will, emotions,
personality), and eventually that corruption, darkness, and death spread to their bodies and
they did something else that they were not meant to do – die.
Now, in sin, we are under the law and culture of the world until salvation. We worship our
bodies and our souls, while almost completely ignoring spiritual realities. It’s not that there is
no evidence for the spirit realm, it’s that we are dead spiritually and desensitized to the
spiritual.
Then the Holy Spirit, through preaching and or experience, makes an appeal to our soul. When
we surrender to Him, we find salvation in Jesus Christ. He, then makes our spirits alive again.
We can, once again, receive information for God and His kingdom in our spirit. God’s Spirit
communicates with our spirit, our spirit then communicates with our soul, changing our heart,
mind, and attitudes. Our soul then communicates with our bodies to convict of sin in order to
purify the deeds of the body, which purifies the soul, which cleans out the blockage in our
spirit so we can receive more information, inspiration, presence, and power from the Holy
Spirit of God.
This is the power of Pentecost. Jesus is our Passover Lamb. He sent the Holy Spirit so that Jews
and Gentiles can now be one in Christ according to God’s word. We can now receive the
kingdom from the Holy Spirit into our spirits, which translates into our souls, our bodies
(actions and activities) and then into the world.
Matthew 6:9-10 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Isaiah was both prophet and priest. In chapter 6 he has an experience
God wants us to have an Isaiah 6 experience. To be filled, to get a revelation, and enter the
forge and wrestle in the wilderness and to be purified so we can be empowered and
commissioned into our purpose.
Refiners fire
Malachi 3:2-3 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He
appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and a
purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they
may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
wonderful light.
We are asking for a Pentecost. Holy Spirit fill us, help us to overcome in the wilderness of our
selfishness, temptations, and impatience. Purify our hearts with Your fire that we may come
out as gold. Empower us for service, commission us into our purpose in Jesus’ name.
Response:
Pentecost – first-fruit of your life
Repent of sin
Willingness to endure the wilderness
Commissioned and empowered for service