Pentecost Sunday | Dr. Anthony “The Fire Still Falls”

The name of Jesus is not merely spoken above men. It's enthroned above all creation. It's the singular anthem by which the dead are raised, the guilty are pardoned, and the lost are brought home to God. Would you invoke the name of Jesus over your life? Would you speak out that name as the praise team just sang? There's something about that name. Kings of building empires upon that names and philosophers upon their wisdom. Yet only the name of Jesus possesses the power to reconcile eternity with men. And when I begin to think about that name of Jesus and what he has done for me, my soul cries out. When I invoke that name of Jesus, I can declare healing. I can proclaim victory. I can hear chains begin to break. I can hear the rattling of the dead and dry bones in my life. Would you shout out that name? Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Now would you affirm that with a tremendous hand clap of praise that we are a people, a people of the name of Jesus. Thank you praise team for ushering us into the presence of almighty God and you can be seated across this house. I welcome each and every one of you to Sunday morning here at First Apostolic Church. If you're a first-time guest, we want you to know what an honor it is to have you joining with us. And all of you tuning in online as well. We welcome you the same. I know this is a busy travel holiday as well. And all those traveling, we uh pray for your safety. And those of you tuning in online, we're all in here together. And I echo the same sentiments as Pastor Mool in honoring on this special Memorial Day weekend our true heroes that have sacrificed that we have the liberty and freedom to worship here together as a a liberated people. And this is not the case throughout all of the world. And we don't take that for granted today. This day is also fitting because it is recognized as Pentecost Sunday. And us as apostolic Pentecostals believers, we might say, "Well, every Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and Pentecost Monday and Pentecost Tuesday." But there's something fitting about Pentecost Sunday falling on a weekend already marked by remembrance. And today uh with God's help through his word, we're going to remember the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on the church and the beginning of a new work of God in the world. So if you have your Bibles, and you might not even need them with our key text this morning, we will shockingly enough open up to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 and we'll read verses 1-4 and then transition down to 38 and 39. Many of us could recite this. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord and in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all of the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:38, Acts of the Apostles. Then Peter said unto them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." I want to minister to you for a few moments this morning on the topic Pentecost Sunday. The fire still falls. The fire still falls. Just right where you're seated, let's bow our heads and let's pray over God's word this morning. Heavenly Father, we thank you today. Lord, we thank you for this special day of remembrance of weekend of Memorial. Lord, I'm thankful for all of your followers who have gathered here together as we hear from you, as we hear from heaven, as we study your word. Lord, let us be not only hearers but doers, knowing that on this special day, we don't take for granted the opportunity and the freedom that we have to worship and live through you. Lord, we thank you and praise you and be with us during the duration of this service in Jesus name. name we pray. Amen. And amen. The fire still falls. Pentecost is where God ceases merely to dwell among his people and begins to dwell within them. Pentecost is not merely a church anniversary. It's not merely the birth date of ecclesiastical Christianity. It's not merely the inauguration of apostolic preaching. It's the enthronement of the spirit within redeemed humanity. The flame that descended in Jerusalem was not symbolic ornamentation decorating the infancy of the church. It was the very selfdisclosure of God. The rushing mighty wind was not just an atmospheric phenomenon. It was the breath of a divine recreation. The tongues of fire were not poetic metaphors. They were the visible manifestation of heaven repossessing humanity for its original purpose. And I stand to declare on this Pentecost Sunday that the same spirit that fell in the upper room has not diminished in potency. It has not receded into antiquity. and it has not ceased in operation. The fire still burns. The promise still speaks and the spirit still falls. To understand Pentecost rightly, one must not just begin in Acts as we did today. But you must go back to the very beginning. The feast of Pentecost, Shvu in Hebrew or Pentecost in Greek, was one of the three great pilgrimage feasts of Israel. It's celebrated 50 days after Passover. It was originally associated with bringing your first fruits, the first of your harvest. Every feast in Israel was theological architecture pointing forward to what was to come. A revelation of the characteristics of how God would reveal himself. And every ritual was prophecy concealed in ceremony. Passover foreshadowed the lamb. Unleaven bread foreshadowed holiness. First fruits foreshadowed resurrection. And Pentecost foreshadowed the outpouring of the spirit of God. The number 50 itself is deeply significant in biblical theology. 50 was the number of liberation and consummation. In the year of Jubilee, after seven cycles of seven years, the 50th inaugurated liberty, restoration, and inheritance. We hear those songs about a heavenly jubilee. That's the 50th year after seven cycles of seven years, that 50th year. Thus, Pentecost prophetically announced the coming liberation of humanity from the tyranny of sin through the inddwelling spirit of God. Pentecost also reaches back to Si. Jewish tradition connected Shvu with the giving of law at Mount Si. And you can look at the parallels to see how God was revealing himself. At Si, God descended in fire. The mountain trembled, wind and sound accompanied divine manifestation. And God spoke from heaven. And then as we get to the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, fire descended once again. The house shook with a heavenly sound. Wind filled the atmosphere and God spoke through human vessels. At Sinai, the law was engraved in stone. At Pentecost, the law was inscribed upon the human heart. Jeremiah had prophesied, "I will put my law in their inward parts and write in their hearts." Ezekiel declared, "A new heart will I also give to you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Pentecost is therefore not an interruption, but it is a fulfillment. God had always intended to inhabit humanity. The tabernacle in the wilderness was temporary theology. The temple in Jerusalem was prophetic symbolism. And the true sanctuary God desired was the human vessel filled with his spirit. Everybody say, "That's me." The day of Pentecost also reverses the tragedy of Babel. In Genesis 11, humanity united in rebellion. Their pride reached toward heaven and God judged them by confusing their language and scattering the nations. Language became not a symbol of unification but a symbol of fragmentation. But at Pentecost, God begins to reunify humanity. And he doesn't do so by politically. He doesn't do so ethnically, but he does so spiritually. Men from every nation under heaven heard the wonderful works of God in their own tongues. Babel scattered through confused speech, but Pentecost gathered through spirit inspired speech. The curse of division begin to collapse beneath the power of divine utterance. This is why tongues are so profoundly theological because they unify people across the world. They are not random emotional expression. They are esqueological signs. It is evidence that God is moving. God's presence is here. God is coming back because he is dwelling in his people. Tongues signify that God is reclaiming the nations unto himself. Acts one reveals the disciples susp were suspended between promise and fulfillment. You could call the upper room as a liinal space. The transition between covenants. And it's important to note this time because Christ had ascended. The cross was complete and the tomb was empty. Yet Jesus commanded them to wait. The upper room became this sacred liinal space, a threshold between the old and new covenant realities. Notice who occupied that room. The apostles, devoted disciples, even Jesus own mother. These were not unbelievers. These were followers. Yet Christ still declared, "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence." This utterly dismantles modern reductionist theology that collapses spirit baptiz baptism into merely intellectual ascent. Because the disciples believed, the disciples followed Christ, the disciples loved Jesus, yet they still lacked a Pentecostal infilling. Even after resurrection faith, there remained a divine experience yet to occur. And this distinction permeates the book of Acts. In Acts 8, Samaritans believed and were baptized in Jesus' name. And yet scripturally explicitly says, "For as yet he was fallen up on none of them." Acts 19, Paul asked believers, "Have ye receive the Holy Ghost since you believed?" That singular question destroys the notion that spirit baptism is automatically synonymous with belief. No, the New Testament presents the baptism of the Holy Ghost as a distinct experiential transformative encounter with the living God. In philosophy, there is a term called phenomenology. I had to practice that several times. But what this means is it's based upon human experience. The reality is based upon human consciousness. what the individual and human is able to see, to perceive, to experience in reality. Acts two spells this out. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. The Greek term for wind, no cognate from numa, spirit, breath, life force. Luke intentionally invokes the imagery from the creation story in Genesis. In Eden, God breathed into Adam and became a living soul. At Pentecost, God breathed again, not into one man, but in a new humanity, which we would call the church. Pentecost is new creation theology. The same spirit that hovered over the primordial chaos in Genesis 1 now hovers over spiritually fallen humanity to create a redeemed people. Then appeared cloven tongues like as a fire. Fire throughout scripture signifies divine presence, purification, holiness, judgment, revelation. Moses encountered fire in the bush. Israel followed fire through the wilderness. Elijah called down fire from heaven. And Isaiah's lips were purified by fire from the altar. But now fire rests upon the people themselves. Under the old covenant, fire descended upon altars. Under the new covenant, humanity becomes the altar. The church is no longer merely a gathered people. It is a burning people. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. This is not incidental detail. Luke records tongues as essential evidence of spirit reception. The Greek phrase glossas means other tongues, different languages. The emphasis is not merely ecstatic speech but spirit inspired utterance transcending natural human ability. Why tongues? Because God chose the tongue, the most unruly member of the body, as the first territory of surrender. James would write, "The tongue can no man tame. Humanity's fall was manifested through speech. Sin corrupts language. Pride corrupts language. Violence corrupts language." So when God repossesses humanity, it makes a great deal of sense that he first sanctifies speech itself. The Hebrew construction there carries prophetic intensity. God himself would speak through transformed human utterance, living vessels speaking as God's mouthpiece. Thus, tongues are not meaningless uh emotionalism. They are theological testimony of the once corrupted sinful individual now testifying of God's redemptive power inside of THEIR LIFE. THEY TESTIFY THAT GOD HAS ENTERED THE VESSEL. THEY TESTIFY THAT HUMAN CONTROL HAS YIELDED TO DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY. THEY TESTIFY THAT HEAVEN HAS NOW INVADED HUMAN FACULTIES. AND TONGUES ARE THE INAUGURAL EVIDENCE OF THE SPIRIT BECAUSE THEY SIGNIFY TOTAL SURRENDER. If you believe that, why don't you give the Lord a great big hand? Tongues are the inaugural evidence of the spirit because they signify total surrender. The book of Acts consistently reveals tongues accompanying Holy Ghost reception. Acts two, the Joe, the Jews spoke with tongues. Acts 10, the Gentiles spoke with tongues. Acts 19, the Ephesian disciples spoke with tongues. And in Acts 8, though tongues are not explicitly named, something visibly supernatural occurred so profoundly that Simon desired to purchase this power. And of course, we know what that is. The apostolic church recognized tongues as the normative initial evidence of spirit baptism because tongues reveal divine indwelling. Peter knew Cornelius received the Holy Ghost because they heard them speak with tongues. The evidence was audible. The evidence was observable. The evidence was experiential. Christianity and scripture is ne is is never merely philosophical. It is an incarnational encounter. Pentecost also unveils the supreme revelation of apostolic monotheism. Peter stood and preached Jesus as both Lord and Christ. Not a secondary divine figure, not one member among three co-equal persons, BUT THE SINGULAR MANIFESTATION OF the one true God in flesh. And it testifies to this. The spirit POURED OUT AT PENTECOST WAS THE SPIRIT OF Jesus Christ himself. PETER PAUL LATER DECLARED the Lord is that spirit. The incarnation was not God beside God. It was God revealing himself in redeeming humanity. The father was revealed in the son. The son operates through the spirit. YET THESE ARE NOT SEPARATE centers of deity but the self-revelation of the one indivisible god. This is why baptism was always administered in the singular saving name of JESUS CHRIST BECAUSE ALL THE fullness of the godhead bodily dwells within him. Pentecost is therefore not merely pneumatological which is the theological study of speaking with other tongues and GOD'S SPIRIT MOVING BUT it is holy holistic with a wh holy christoologgical. IT'S ALL CENTERED AROUND CHRIST. IT'S NOT THREE DISTINCT co-equal deities. It's Christ working within us. The spirit poured out is the spirit of the risen Christ dwelling in believers. >> There are theologians who insist Pentecost was temporary, a transitional phenomenon limited to apostolic history. But Peter annihilates cessation cessationism with one declaration. For the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are a far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And I still believe in 2026 that God is still calling people into his church. As long as God is still calling humanity, Pentecost remains available. The spirit has not retired. The gifts have not vanished. The fire has not gone out. History itself testifies against cessation. Because we can look at revival after revival, awakening after awakening, generation after generation. God has continued pouring out his spirit upon hungry souls. Empires have collapsed and philosophies have died out and civilizations are now built upon another because a previous one HAS CRUMBLED. BUT PENTECOST survives every age because it's not a cultural phenomenon. It is divine activity. >> Musicians, you can come. We're living in an era intoxicated with religious sophistication while starving for apostolic power. We've mastered branding while neglecting burden. We've cultivated performance and at times abandoned prayer. We can have polished I can have polished presentations while losing Pentecostal demonstration. I can possess excellent production and we can show our impressive architecture and our refined rhetoric practicing that word phenomenology. Wow, that's beautiful. Yet, we can remain tragically devoid of supernatural authority. Because when the spirit of God invades a human life, its very being changes. And we must not ever get too comfortable. AND WE MUST NOT EVER get too prideful about our knowledge or posture ourselves as oh I'm oneness Pentecostal. I have some divine supernatural uh intellectual uh experience and hold oursel up so high and mighty as to someone else. In the days of Elijah, while many were in Israel had the history of the law and the knowledge of God, their hearts had grown proud and resistant to his voice. So God sent his prophet not to the houses of the religious elite, but he sent them to a widow woman in Zerapath. She was not part of the covenant people. She did not possess the traditions. She did not know all about the temple or the heritage of Israel. She didn't grow up celebrating the theological and ceremonial feasts and studying the laws of the prophets and a messiah one day to come. But she gave what she had and she was obedient. And because of this, God protected her and God's spirit moved up on her. I have news for every single one of US STARTING HERE. IT'S NOT. IT'S MORE THAN JUST a an intellectual agreement OR AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT. I'VE GOT TO LIVE IT AND NOT GET TOO COMFORTABLE entering into HIS HOUSE AND SAY, "GOD, I NEED YOUR SPIRIT TO BE WITH ME EVERY SINGLE DAY." GOD WILL MOVE UP ON HUMBLE HEARTS. AND IF WE'RE TOO PRIDEFUL, WE CAN CALL OURSEL WHATEVER WE WANT TO AND HE'LL MOVE SOMEWHERE ELSE. But I just believe I'm in a church house this morning who in 2026 still believes in an APOSTOLIC PENTECOSTAL DEMONSTRATION OF GOD'S Holy Spirit who's not too PRIDEFUL BUT SAYS GOD I I KNOW YOU CAN still indwell in THOSE THAT ARE COMING TO YOU HURT THAT ARE COMING TO YOU BROKEN AND YOUR SPIRIT CAN FILL THEM AND CHANGE their life. God's spirit moves on the humble. God reveals himself to the hungry. The very genesis of the Pentecostal experience within my family and my grandmother's family, my greatgrandfather. They were in a local denominal church in Rock Creek, North Carolina, in the hills of North Carolina. That the hungry people that in a prayer meeting, my grandma's mother, my greatg grandmother begin to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. There was not an evangelist that came through and had preached about it. There wasn't a track that came through to the mail that they all of the sudden discovered it. But through God's word and through humility and through the desire for a closer walk with THEE FOR MORE, GOD filled them with his spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Now, this caused a great deal of controversy to the extent that their own family voted them out of the church they were in. But that didn't matter. They just started another church. And my great-grandfather, who didn't yet have the Holy Ghost by evidence of speaking in other tongues, HE WOULD GET UP AND PREACH ABOUT IT. YET, HE DIDN'T HAVE IT. AND HE'D BE THE first one IN THE ALTAR AFTER HE PREACHED, which is a great testimony to every single one of us when we preach or tell somebody else to do. But after so much time, he began to PREACH ON ONE SUNDAY, PREACH ABOUT THE FIRE OF THE HOLY GHOST. And he was the first member OF HIS ALTAR CALL DOWN AT THE BASE OF THE STEPS. AND GOD FILLED HIM WITH his spirit. And he began TO SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES. GOD IS GOING TO MOVE NOT ON THOSE WHO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE INTELLECTUALLY SUPERIOR. NOT ON THOSE WHO THINK, "OH, I'M SO GLAD THAT I HAVE THIS generation after generation PEDIGREE OR OH, I'M FOURTH GENERATION PENTECOSTAL. LORD, HEAVEN, HELP." THERE'S ONLY FIRST GENERATION REALLY BECAUSE GOD HAS TO MOVE ON EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL. LORD, LET ME KEEP A HUMBLE HEART. LET ME REMOVE PRIDE. LET ME REMOVE PRIDE FROM THE EQUATION. AND IF WE'LL DO THAT, GOD'S GOING TO MOVE IN WAYS THAT WE CAN'T EVEN COMPREHEND. AND I KNOW I KNOW I'M IN A CHURCH BODY TODAY WHO SAYS, "LORD, FILL US WITH YOUR SPIRIT. I JUST FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT. OH, I'VE GOT FAITH THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MOVE." >> I'm in a church where the promise remains. Stand with me. The invitation remains, the fire remains. The same God who filled the upper room still fills surrendered vessels. And when he fills a person, there will be evidence. The spirit will give utterance, tongues will flow and fire will descend. I feel compelled to declare to every hungry soul that the upper room is still open. The upper room is still open. And when we look at Acts 4, after Acts two, they had gone out and they were oppressed and they had uh they had got in a lot of trouble and uh they were having war waged against them. And in Acts four, we see that they gathered again. God filled them with his spirit again. So when I let God speak through me, I am choosing surrender over control. Too many of us spend our lives ruled by anger, shame, addiction, insecurity, the pressures of this world. But this is a church body today. Listen to me. We believe the Holy Ghost changes how a person lives from the inside out. >> When God fills you with his spirit, you no longer have to fight with your own strength. His spirit GIVES YOU POWER TO overcome temptation. HE GIVES YOU POWER TO STRENGTH of strength to endure suffering. HE WILL GIVE YOU PEACE in the middle of chaos. He'll give you direction when you don't know WHAT TO DO. THE BIBLE SAYS he will advocate for things that you didn't even know that you needed someone to advocate for. Speaking in tongues is not just a moment in church. It's the beginning of the transformed life. It means God is not distant from me. It builds your faith. He's living within me. And you're surrendering. You're surrendering that untameable member. And it means that you can pray when words fail you. And you can worship when your heart is broken. when all around you is sinking sand upon the solid rock I stand. If you want victory in your home, if you want holiness in your walk, if you want power, that testimonial power and assurance of your salvation, then you need the Holy Ghost operating in every capacity of your life. Whatever you have need of, I OPEN THIS ALTAR. I GIVE THIS INVITATION this morning that whatever you have need of, let the Holy Ghost just fall on you. Let Jesus spirit move within you and he's going to give you direction. He's going to give you power. He's going to move in ways that you can't even imagine. I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost. I believe in the power of the Holy Ghost. And it's going to be evidenced by the utterance and speaking with another tongue. Our God still moves. He still performs miracles. And the fire has not burned down. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. >> Jesus, your name is like the morning light, the one the dark, the resurrection. Jesus Jesus your name say your name can you give your name and make the song be still you never will you never will Jesus Jesus the bread for us the woman and the world the first the last and seal to Jesus. Jesus the king who overwhelmed you great. The Lord who will forever above the name Jesus. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the Jesus be the name. Oh Jesus be the name and give us all the glory. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name that gives all the glory. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name that gets all the glory. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name of your soul of glory. There's healing in your name. Jesus. There's healing in your vehication. So in your name of Jesus in your name Jesus be the name of Jesus be the name we adore Jesus be the name >> you keep the glory be the >> >> Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name all the glory. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Jesus be the name. Give us all the glory. Would you lift your hands and praise? Aren't you thankful that we still live on the day of Pentecost? It's not something that we have to memorialize, but it's something that we're a part of even today. I'm thankful for the falling of the fire on the day of Pentecost. But aren't you thankful that that fire has not glimmered? That fire has not gone out, but it burns brightly. I would tell you several years ago now, I had the privilege of visiting what we commonly refer to as the Holy Land. And while we were there, we went to a site that they always talk to, we tourists by saying, "This is traditionally thought to be. That means we're not sure whether this is it or not, but just in case, but this is traditionally thought to be the upper room. Well, I don't know if we were in the real upper room or not, but I'll tell you what, they gave me an opportunity. They said, "Brother Lool, we'd like for you to have a devotion here in this room." I don't know if it was the real upper room or not, but I had to. When they said gave me the opportunity, I said, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind." That's what the preacher preached about and it filled all the house. And you know what started happening when we started quoting that? It wasn't because of where we were, but it was because of who we knew. You started feeling the power of the Holy Ghost move in that place. I would have to tell you it was a tourist place, so we had a limited amount of time there and there were other groups going through. We went on through and they took us into a a big chapel of a place and uh they asked Sister Ashley to lead a song and oh it sounded so beautiful. You get 60 Pentecostals in any place and tell them to start singing. And once again, she started leading in the song and we started singing. And there were groups, other groups that came in and uh they started enjoying what they were feeling and what was going on. But then as a bunch of rowdy Pentecostals will always start doing folks started lifting their hands and I happened out of the corner of my eye to catch one guy. He elbow said charismatics. Charismatics I got news for you. There is no greater charisma than the power of the Holy Ghost falling. It's for us today on this Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate the power of the Holy Ghost and the revelation of who Jesus is. Thank you, First Apostolic Church, for being here today. Please be with us tonight. Prayer time 6, evangelistic service 6:30. Let's have a great time in the Lord. Lord bless you. You're dismissed in Jesus name. Shake hands and be friendly.