ONE ACCORD

Many of these folk had been together for about three years.  They had experienced some miraculous moments and witnessed some horrifying happening during that time.  They had been following a man called Jesus and that in itself was more than they could fathom.  Now He was gone.  Many of them had been there when He was “taken up” out of their sight as they stood there in the dirt road just outside of Jerusalem.  They had all returned to the “upper room” and remained there, together, until ….

 Well, if you have any knowledge of the Word, you know what happened next don’t you?  I always thought I did.  This is what we read.

 Acts 2:1” And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place”.

And this is the way I always thought about it. 

These 120 people stayed in that second story room, kind of locked up, hiding, not knowing what to expect.  They talked about Him. They shared stories about Him.  They told of their individual experiences with Him.  They prayed together.  And when they finally came into agreement with each other….then the Holy Spirit, the Promise of God, entered their hearts and entered the room and great things happened in their lives, and in their world. 

That may not have been the way it was taught to me, but that is the way I always understood it.  I’ve taught that precept as well.  “When we get our hearts and minds together, when we pull together as a church or as a body of believers, then the Holy Spirit will come and be with us”.  It was almost like, you and I have to agree and be in one accord with each other before the Promise will come.  But I don’t think that is what this means.

I believe this is what the “accord” thing means.  I think that my being in agreement with you and your beliefs has very little to do with the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that the precept on which the promise hangs is this:  That my spirit (my mind, my emotions, my will) become one with the mind, emotions and will of God.  When that happens, when that precipice is reached and that step taken, then and only then do we become one with God and His will becomes our will. 

What an experience!  When I come to the place where all of my desires and wants and dreams are no longer based on my selfishness but instead are based upon what God intends…..then my heart becomes His heart and my spirit becomes His Spirit and I can be filled with that Spirit.  That will take you a while to absorb.  But let me encourage you to spend as much time as you need until you understand it. 

When I no longer function, act, react or think because of what I want but am driven by His desires…..then His Spirit will fill me.  His love will empower me and His peace will wash over me. 

That’s what happened in the upper room.  I really don’t think they all agreed on everything. They all liked different colors, different foods, different music, different people.  But I do believe they all agreed with God and His will for their lives.   Does that make any sense to you dear reader? 

When my focus is on what “I” want, when my drive is dependent on “my” desires, when what pushes me and makes me tick is my will…..then I can’t be led by the Spirit of God.  It is only when my “self” dies that I can live by His Spirit. 

I don’t know what will have to take place in your life before that truth snags into your inner being and opens your eyes.  It took a long time for me( fighting self, doing my will, being beaten up by satan and temptations, not understanding “why” I was always wanting to do right and still doing wrong) before I understood that I must be in “one accord” with God.  My will must be His will. 

How can I serve God with all my heart when I am serving “me” with part of it?  God will not accept some of you.  He requires “all” of you.  You cannot serve God and……anything else, especially “you”.

Just after this experience happened to the 120 in the upper room, Peter stood before the crowd and told them this: “..the promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call”. (Acts 2:39) He is talking about us, here, today. 

You and I can not only be freed from the guilt of sin through salvation but we can also be freed from the chains of sin and the habits of sin by the surrender of our will and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, call it whatever you will. 

I pray that you will come to that place in which you are in “one accord” with God.