SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

The Great Reversal

Words of Faith Final

The Great Reversal
Words of Faith 3-2-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><<><

Genesis 11
    [8] So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. [9] That is why it was called Babel--because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Acts 2
    When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. [2] Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. [4] All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
    [5] Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. [6] When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. [7] Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? [8] Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? [9] Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome [11] (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" [12] Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

       This is one of those places where we need to read with the Hebrew Scripture in one hand and the New Testament scripture in the other.
       Because of man's arrogance, the Lord scattered the people and confused their language. One of the consequences of human sin is that we don't communicate very well, and it is hard to get people together.
       One of the great moments in Biblical history occurred at Pentecost when the Lord reversed the judgment of Babel.
       On the day of Pentecost, people from 17 different language groups were gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot-- the Feast of Pentecost. The followers of Jesus were in Jerusalem waiting in prayer as He had instructed them to do. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all of them, and the modern church's age began.
       With the coming of the Holy Spirit, people were supernaturally enabled to understand one another. There were other gifts of the Holy Spirit as well that would be used through the Body of Christ to glorify the Lord and spread the Gospel. One clear mark of the presence of God is the breaking down of barriers that once separated people. Fellowship that crosses barriers and boundaries is a sign of God's presence among His people.
        Let me tell you of one exceptional experience of this. Several years ago, we were with a group studying in Israel. We visited Masada, the fortress of Herod located at the edge of the Judean Desert and rising 1200 feet above the Dead Sea valley. We were riding up a large cable that held about 100 people. About half the people on the cable car were from a Korean tour group. The other half was a mixture of people from all over the world, including Americans.
       As the car began to rise above the desert floor, a single voice started to sing a familiar tune in Korean. The tune was unmistakable though the words seemed foreign. "Amazing, grace, how sweet the sound..."  Immediately, we were surrounded by a most heavenly sound as every voice in this contained area joined in singing out the fundamental truth of the Gospel in their own language!  
       Tears ran down our faces as we looked at one another, singing this singular truth in various languages from our hearts. Even though our languages were different, our Jesus was the same! We celebrated His grace, which is amazing. Even though our cultures were different, our Lord was one! We were suddenly faced with the truth that Paul proclaimed: "There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:4-5).
        When we are genuinely impacted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, the divisions of man no longer exist. Here there is no Greek or Jew, slave nor free, male nor female, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian. But Christ is all, and is in all. We are all one in Christ Jesus (Col. 3:11; Galatians 3:28).
         Have you experienced the breaking down of walls and barriers in your life? Barriers are a part of a culture rooted in sin, Babel's pride, and arrogance. Life in the Spirit is marked by the breaking down of walls and rejoicing with others who are in the Lord.

        Father, I want Pentecost. I need Your Spirit. Break down the walls and prejudices in my life. Tear down the divisions that keep Your Body from unity. Pour out Your Spirit on all Your people. In Jesus' name.   

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at http://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/cgi-bin/devotions/displayMonths.cgi
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -      
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.