The God who sits on his throne in heaven laughs.
(Psalm 2:4 NIRV)
Have you laughed recently? Like, a really deep belly laugh? Like, so hard you were tearing up and could barely breathe? If an event comes to mind, that’s great!
When was the last time before that? If you’re like me…..truthfully, you can’t remember. It’s been a bit.
Today I was listening to a sermon from a church in California. About halfway through the sermon laughter broke out. He wasn’t preaching on something funny; the Holy Spirit was pouring laughter into the congregation! The last 40 minutes of the 70 minute recording were filled with the sounds of joy poured out in the congregation.
It reminded me of the Pentecost story.
On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place. Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit…
What happened when they were filled with the Holy Spirit? They could speak in languages they hadn’t learned. And, remember what Paul taught us about the “fruit” that Spirit produces?
But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:
joy that overflows,
peace that subdues,
patience that endures,
kindness in action,
a life full of virtue,
faith that prevails,
gentleness of heart, and
strength of spirit.
Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless. (Galatians 5:22-23 TPT)
Divine Love gives us “joy that overflows.” The laughter at the sermon’s church was an expression of the Holy Spirit’s movement in those people.
The pastor told a brief story about a woman who was so overcome with Spirit-led laughter that she laughed all the way home. But at the end of three hours of laughter she vomited up a tumor and was healed!
WOAH?!?! Say WHAT?!?!?!
I mean, I know Jesus healed in a wide variety of ways, so there’s no reason to believe that the God who does not change won’t still heal in a very unique way. But, through laugher?!? Wow!
So this leads me to some questions.
When was the last time an extended time of Holy Spirit-given laughter broke out at your church?
What would happen if it suddenly happened today?
Would it be squashed by religious people trying to control the Holy Spirit?
Would it be encouraged and enjoyed as a gift of the Divine Love?
If God laughs and we are created in his image—to reflect who he is—then shouldn’t we laugh too? After all, a world filled with so much darkness needs the laughter and joy that can and should radiate from God’s people.
God of Laughter,
Today we pray you will pour out your Holy Spirit into your people gathered for services. Anoint your followers with pillars and tongues of fire as you did at the first Pentecost. May your Divine Love cause joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit to be evidenced in every believer. Give your people visions, dreams, and prophecies. May the laughter and infectious joy of your Spirit radiate from us, drawing people from the wider world to you, so that everyone who calls on your name will be saved. We ask this in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. (Proverbs 17:22 NIV)
On the day Pentecost was being fulfilled, all the disciples were gathered in one place. Suddenly they heard the sound of a violent blast of wind rushing into the house from out of the heavenly realm. The roar of the wind was so overpowering it was all anyone could bear! Then all at once a pillar of fire appeared before their eyes. It separated into tongues of fire that engulfed each one of them. They were all filled and equipped with the Holy Spirit and were inspired to speak in tongues—empowered by the Spirit to speak in languages they had never learned!
Now, at that time there were Jewish worshipers who had emigrated from many different lands to live in Jerusalem. When the people of the city heard the roaring sound, crowds came running to where it was coming from, stunned over what was happening, because each one could hear the disciples speaking in his or her own language. Bewildered, they said to one another, “Aren’t these all Galileans? So how is it that we hear them speaking in our own languages? We are northeastern Iranians, northwestern Iranians, Elamites, and those from Mesopotamia, Judea, east central Turkey, the coastal areas of the Black Sea, Asia, north central Turkey, southern Turkey, Egypt, Libyans who are neighbors of Cyrene, visitors from all over the Roman Empire, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. Yet we hear them speaking of God’s mighty wonders in our own dialects!” 12They all stood there, dumbfounded and astonished, saying to one another, “What is this phenomenon?”
But others poked fun at them and said, “They’re just drunk on new wine.”
Peter’s Pentecost Sermon
Peter stood up with the eleven apostles and shouted to the crowd. “Listen carefully, my fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem. You need to clearly understand what’s happening here. These people are not drunk like you think they are, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. This is the fulfillment of what was prophesied through the prophet Joel, for God says:
‘This is what I will do in the last days —I will pour out my Spirit on everybody and cause your sons and daughters to prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will experience dreams from God. The Holy Spirit will come upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. I will reveal startling signs and wonders in the sky above and mighty miracles on the earth below. Blood and fire and pillars of clouds will appear. For the sun will be turned dark and the moon blood-red before that great and awesome appearance of the day of the Lord. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” (Acts 2:1-21 TPT)