Today (June 8, 2025) is Pentecost Sunday.

Pentecost literally means “fiftieth.” It comes 50 days after the Passover celebration when the Hebrew people remembered how God had freed them from Egypt. In the Feast of Pentecost (also called the Feast of Weeks) the Israelites would bring before God the first of their crops as an offering of thanks and as a prayer for the rest of the harvest.

But it was also a celebration of God giving the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, 50 days after the Exodus. So Passover was a celebration of God giving the Hebrew people their life by freeing them from Egypt. Pentecost was a celebration of God teaching them how to live their life.

Therefore, Pentecost isn’t just a day on the church calendar. It’s an invitation to a new way of living. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 wasn’t meant to be a one-time event. It was the launch of a new reality—one we’re invited to live into every day. Just like the Torah given to Moses on Mount Sinai, the Holy Spirit given to us teaches us how to live our life.

Here’s what life looks like in the reality of Pentecost, through the lens of Acts 2:

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life with other believers.

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. (Acts 2:1, NLT)

Pentecost begins when the people of God meet together. God can move at any place at any time. But throughout the history of the church, we see God move most frequently when the people of God meet together. This is certainly the case when we meet together for worship. But it’s also true when we meet with a brother and sister in Christ for coffee. Or when we have a prayer meeting in someone’s home. It’s true when we go on mission trips and serve our local community together.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (Acts 2:2-4, NLT)

God doesn’t call us to do things that He doesn’t give us the ability to do. Too often, I hear people say things like, “I could never go on a mission trip. I could never volunteer with the youth ministry. I could never preach.” Maybe not. Maybe God hasn’t called you to that. But if God does call you to that, then He will give you the ability.

The Holy Spirit didn’t just appear—it filled them. Suddenly, average, unsure followers of Jesus were speaking in new languages and moving with boldness. The Spirit is the fuel, the energy, the gas in the tank. All we have to do is grab the throttle and go.

In the reality of Pentecost, people will come to watch a move of God.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. (Acts 2:5-6)

When the Spirit moved, the city noticed. Why? Because when God really moves, people want to see it.

I saw that in the tiny two-stoplight town of Wilmore, Kentucky when the Asbury Outpouring broke out (you can read my reflections on that here). It began at a typical chapel service at Asbury University. Pretty soon, thousands and thousands of people were flocking to Wilmore. When God moves, people notice.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life speaking the language of others.

They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! (Acts 2:7-8)

When the people of God are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit then sends them out on mission for the Kingdom of God. This may lead us to people we would never have dreamed of speaking to. Who are the people the Holy Spirit is leading you to? Is it your neighbor? Your co-worker? Maybe it’s a people group within your city or somewhere around the world.

When we’ve identified the people God has called us to, we have to speak the language they speak. Now let me give you some advice: If you’re going to reach Gen Z, you don’t have to know what “rizz” means or use “delulu” in a sentence. You don’t need to know if “skibidi toilet” is a curse word or how to pronounce “sksksk.”

What you need to do is speak with the language of love. We need to posture ourselves as listeners: What fears and concerns does the 20-year-old have about the future?

We need to posture ourselves as a co-traveler in the way of Jesus, not as experts: You don’t know how the single mom with 5 kids makes time to read her Bible, but you’re happy to babysit while she goes to the grocery store.

We need to posture ourselves as brothers and sisters, not Saviors: I don’t know what it’s like to be unemployed right now, but I can pray with you right now for God to give you your daily bread.

We speak the language of others when we show up like Jesus: humbly, empathetically, and filled by the love of God.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life pointing to God.

And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. (Acts 2:11b-12)

When the disciples spoke, they didn’t point to themselves—they pointed to “the wonderful things God has done.” That’s our calling too. We don’t need to be highly educated or trained in apologetics. We just need to be willing to say, “Look at what God has done in my life.”

People aren’t necessarily asking “Is God real?” They’re asking the question: “Does God matter?” If God is real and if we’ve experienced this God, He should change us and our lives should point to Him.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life amongst naysayers.

But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” (Acts 2:13)

Have you had people look at God’s work in your life and criticize it? So did the early Christians. Some will understand what God is doing. Some will not.

But Peter sees this as an opportunity.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life by speaking when you have the opportunity.

Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. (Acts 2:14-15)

Peter discerned that some of the naysayers had genuine curiosity in what he might have to say about what God was doing. So he witnesses to what God had been up to.

Now, not all naysayers have genuine curiosity to hear what we might say. But some do. And the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to discern that.

In the reality of Pentecost, God will pour out His Spirit on all who profess their allegiance to Jesus.

‘In the last days,’ God says,
    ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. (Acts 2:17a)

If you’ve ever wondered when the last days are coming, Scripture says that these are the last days. We are living in the last days when God pours out His Spirit on everyone, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, nationality, and race.

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life in a right-side-up Kingdom.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your young men will see visions,
    and your old men will dream dreams.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
    even on my servants—men and women alike—
    and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17b-18)

Scholars have used the phrase “The Upside Down Kingdom” to talk about the counter-cultural nature of the Kingdom of God. But I’ve heard others say that the Kingdom of God isn’t “upside down,” but rather, it’s “right-side-up” and the world is upside down. I like that. When we think about dreamers of the world, we often think of young and ambitious people. But God says that old men will be dreamers and young men will be visionaries. Why would old men have dreams for the future if not because they’re living in a Kingdom that is not of this world?

Through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, God takes this upside down world and turns it right-side-up.

In the right-side-up Kingdom of God, it’s the power and presence of the Holy Spirit that qualifies us to be dreamers, visionaries, and prophets. This is why Paul is able to exhort to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” But he could have just as easily said this to: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are old. You still have so much to give!”

In the reality of Pentecost, you live your life being devoted to Christian teaching, fellowship, hospitality, and prayer.

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

The end of Acts 2 shows us what Spirit-filled life looks like: Christian teaching, fellowship and worship (including the Lord’s Supper), hospitality, and prayer. That’s the daily rhythm of Pentecost. Not fire and windstorms every day—but ordinary, Spirit-led daily living. And through that, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

---

This isn’t a comprehensive list and, frankly, it’s not important to remember this list. When you follow the Spirit, you learn what the reality of Pentecost is like. It’s better to learn about the reality of Pentecost by experiencing it, not reading about it. What is important is that because we live in the reality of Pentecost, everything has changed for us.

So welcome to the new reality ushered in by Pentecost. If we devote ourselves to following God in the way the early Church did, we’re in for a wild ride!

---

Want more reflections like this? Subscribe to my blog below and follow me on Facebook.