There's a Sweet Sweet Spirit in this place
And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know that it's the presence of the Lord
Sweet Holy Spirit
Sweet Heavenly Dove
Stay right here with us
Filling us with your love
And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise (hearts in praise)
Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived
When we shall leave this place
Words and music: Doris Akers © 1962 Manna Music
This song also appeared on Singing
His Praises by The Sounds of Glory, Heaven
Is In My Heart by The Acappella Company, and Stone
by Stone by Revival.
Lead: Gary Ferguson
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Doris Akers was born May 21, 1923. She was an African-American Gospel
composer and vocalist.
From Brookfield, Missouri, she was playing piano at age six, her first
song Keep the Firs Burning in Me was written when she was ten. While in
school she formed her own five piece band, Dot Akers and Her Swingsters.
After coming to Los Angeles (in the 1940’s) she performed with the Sally
Martin Singers and later organized her own gospel group, the Doris Akers
Singers.
Akers is probably best known for composing the songs “Sweet, Sweet
Spirit,” “Sweet Jesus,” and “I Cannot Fail the Lord," but her
multiple talents included recording artist, music arranger and choir
director. Akers founded and directed the Sky Pilot Choir and co-wrote
“Lord, Don’t Move the Mountain” with her long-time friend, Mahalia
Jackson. Akers, who died in 1995, had received many awards including being
honored by the Smithsonian Institute, which labeled her songs and records
“National Treasures." |
Scriptural Reference:
"My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the
mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is
sweet, and your face is lovely." Song of Solomon 2:14
The History of Pentecost
Pentecost, a feast of the Jews, is celebrated on the 50th day
after Passover (hence "Pentecost," Greek for "fiftieth").
Pentecost in the Christian Church is celebrated on the 50th day after
Easter to commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit. Sometime during the first
century, the Day of Pentecost came to reflect, for the Jews, the giving of the
law at Mt. Sinai. Paul contrasts this with the giving of the Holy Spirit:
"Now if the ministry that brought death which was engraved in letters on
stone, came with glory…will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more
glorious?" (2 Corinthians 3:7-8). For Christians, the Day of Pentecost
commemorates the birthday of the Church, when, with the noise of a wind, tongues
of flame rested on the disciples and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2:1-41). The book of Acts is a chronicle of the work of the Spirit-filled
Church in its earliest years.
Pentecost and the Believer
The Spirit’s coming transformed the powerless disciples of Christ in the
Upper Room into a community and saturated them with His power for a new age. No
longer isolated individuals, they were now "members one of another"
under Christ their Head, continuing His ministry in a new power of the Spirit.
Christ still lives in His Body (the community of believers) through the Holy
Spirit. To believe in Christ is to become a part of this Body and receive the
Spirit.
Pentecost means we live in the age of the Holy Spirit, with its promise of
full sanctification. The Holy Spirit’s indwelling needs to be recognized and
must become a reality in the heart of everyone who wants to do the will of God.
Pentecost is not only a festival to be celebrated; it is a promise to be claimed
and an experience to be fully realized by every believer.
The tragic fact is that many Christians have not had their personal day of
Pentecost. They live in spiritual confusion and futility rather than in
Christlike fruitfulness. The mind of self is more evident in them than the mind
of Jesus. They reflect the world more than their Savior.
The Holy Spirit may want to come as the blowing of a strong wind. That’s
how He came at Pentecost. On Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit descended as a dove.
On the disciples, He came as fire. There was nothing to be burned away in the
heart of Christ, but sin must be flame-purged from ours. The Spirit may need to
come upon us as a strong wind to separate the chaff from the wheat. The Spirit
comes to renew, to cleanse, to empower, to sustain
Holidays In The 3rd Millennium:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holidaysinthe3rdmillennium/
Comfort Of Life:
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/comfortoflife/
Art © Danny Hahlbohm,
Inspired Art
:
June 01, 2004
