Acts 2:1-6, 14-15, 22-24, 36-41
Introduction
- Today marks 50 days since the resurrection of Jesus Christ following His crucifixion.
- During 40 of those days. Jesus came back and lived with the disciples providing fellowship and additional training.
- Earlier in Acts 1:4-5, Jesus had told the disciples:
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
- Jesus and the disciples were gathered at the hill called the Mount of Olives when He disappeared into the sky.
- They were short walk from Jerusalem or about 1 kilometer.
- The few days Jesus spoke about turned into ten, and now the Disciples have returned to the upper room.
- During these 10 days, the disciples chose a replacement for the traitor, Judas Iscariot.
- After much prayer, they cast lots to know God’s will and Matthias was chosen.
- As they waited patiently in the upper room, there was suddenly a sound like the wind.
- This sound seemed to come from out of nowhere and filled the whole house.
- Then, what looked like tongues of fire, separated, and came to rest on each of them.
- They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues.
- There are three things that we see that the Holy Spirit does:
- The Spirit Enables Communication
- The Spirit Informs
- The Spirit Convicts
1. The Spirit Enables Communication
- In the stor today, we see supernatural events unfolding where the disciples are speaking in a language that all the people around them could understand in their own
- And even though at least 15 different people-groups distinctly heard the disciples speak in their OWN native tongues, the best they could come up with is “They have had too much wine.”
- So why do you think that so much of this story today is about language?
- Think back to Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel:
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
But the Lord came down and said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
- In the same way God confounded the language of people at Babel, He is now unifying it.
- The way He is unifying the language is through the Holy Spirit.
- We estimate that 75-80% of our customer clientele here speaks little to no English.
- Imagine how powerful it would be if WE could speak to them in THEIR native tongue.
- The Holy Spirit provides a living translation for us in so many ways.
- Its why I tell people that it doesn’t matter which Bible translation we use because the Holy Spirit will translate it to what we need to understand.
- The Holy Spirit can make the words on the page say whatever God wants us to know.
- We need to remember that things aren’t always black and white like the words on the page.
- We need to be open to the leading of the Spirit and seek Him in our prayers.
- At first, the people were bewildered by what they witnessed.
- But like most humans, they tried to dismiss it as though the people were drunk.
- Peter quickly pointed out that they were not possibly drunk given the hour.
- Isn’t that just the way the world operates? Discrediting the works of God at every turn.
- Peter was not an educated speaker, but the Holy Spirit made him a powerful speaker.
- Peter was a fisherman with a quick temper who was rough and brash.
- But God saw a great heart in Peter and chose him to be the rock upon which He built His church.
- God knew that Peter would need help to do the things God wanted him to do.
- And now we have Peter speaking to a group of thousands of people.
- This is also the way that God uses each of us.
- Are you shy? Are you afraid to stand up and speak in front of people?
- God can ask you to stand right up here in front of us and pray and the Spirit will help.
- The Holy Spirit gives us the power to communicate boldly on behalf of God.
2. The Spirit Informs
- It is great that the Holy Spirit makes it helps us to communicate, but what do we say?
- How do we know the right words to say?
- Peter stood up to speak and the Holy Spirit gave him the words to say.
- He said: “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.”
- This was just the right thing to say to get people’s attention and keep them engaged.
- Then he set the hook by saying: “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.”
- Peter now has thousands of people literally in the palm of his hand with the help of the Holy Spirit.
- And then Peter delivers the Gospel, simple, but direct: “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
- Then, like Peter, we need to close the deal with people about who Christ really is.
- Peter declares: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
- These are profound theological truths that Peter is articulating in language that seems more fitting for a Luke or a Paul with their advanced educations.
- But no, this is Peter, with a lot of help from the Holy Spirit.
- What we need to take away from this is: TRUST THE HOLY SPIRIT
- Peter was bold and fearless and combined with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, was a powerful speaker.
- Peter trusted in the Holy Spirit as he had just been overcome by the Holy Spirit
- This is what Peter did and we all need to be prepared to do:
- Declare the truth about Christ.
- Deliver the Gospel of His resurrection.
- Define Him as the Messiah, God’s Savior for humanity.
- All we can do is point people to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us.
- We, like Peter, have been overcome by the Holy Spirit as believers in Christ.
- You can do this!! We all can do this!! If we will just trust in the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit will guide you and give you just the right words to say.
3. The Spirit Convicts
- Peter told the crowd, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
- What does that mean to you? Is Peter talking to you today? Do you need to unpack sin?
- If you do, and I know I do myself, then you need to hear what Peter promised the crowd.
- He said: “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
- When you accepted Christ as your Savior and became a believer, you got more than a free pass to heaven.
- The Holy Spirit has taken up residence within you. The two of you are a TEAM!!
- The Spirit will convict you in your sin, but also makes intercession on your behalf.
- Romans 8:26=27 tells us how the Spirit intercedes for us:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
- Peter gave them assurance that this deal belongs to all
- “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
- Peter did his best to warn them; Luke writes that he even “pleaded with them.”
- “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Said Peter.
- And here we are 2000 years later and has this statement ever been more relevant?
- We need to preach Peter’s message boldly with the Holy Spirit’s support,
- We need to declare the truth about Christ.
- We need to deliver the Gospel of His resurrection.
- We need to define Him as the Messiah, God’s Savior for humanity.
- We need to warn people to repent and be baptized.
- And then they too will reap the benefits of the Holy Spirit
- Those who accepted Peter’s message back then were baptized.
- Peter’s message was so effective that about three thousand became believers that day.