Holy Spirit is Here
Notes
Transcript
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Coming of the Holy Spirit
Coming of the Holy Spirit
Our passage begins by letting us know that it was the day of Pentecost. Today, we know Pentecost in relation to Acts 2, but to them, it was simply the 50th day after the Passover.
Pentecost literally means fifty.
But something unimaginable happened.
Picture and visualize the scene of what we just read — While these men were praying, extreme and supernatural condition broke out in the upper room.
According to Luke:
From heaven, a sound like a mighty rushing wind filled the entire house.
Can you picture it? You can’t see it, but you feel it and you can hear it.
I’d imagine it wasn’t a breeze (mighty rushing wind). Perhaps it felt like an industrial/commercial sized fan blowing right at you. Maybe even stronger.
Something like fire appeared and rested on each one of them.
Luke is careful when writing this — “as of fire” is his expression; meaning, it wasn’t a lit. fire.
Luke was likely using such language as fire was often a symbol or sign for God’s presence — So, in other words, “His presence fell on each one of them.”
As if possessed, they began speaking in another language.
How do we make sense of such an extra-ordinary event?
Work of the Holy Spirit
Work of the Holy Spirit
Ron Walborn
Ron Walborn
Ron Walborn is the dean of Alliance Theological Seminary where I graduated. I befriended through the years and we’ve often crossed paths as he spoke frequently in events I found myself in.
There’s this amazing story that he tells about his first encounter of divine healing.
At a conference, during prayer time, he begins to feel enormous heat on his hands. Not understanding what’s going on, he call for help and explains to a leader what he’s going through.
He’s told to lay his hand on the man in front of him who’s suffering from tumor (neck/shoulder). Ron is hesitant. He doesn’t want to touch this man, but the leader grabs his hand and puts it on the man’s tumor.
The heat rises and right in front of his eyes, the lump that was visible begins to dissipate.
Sammy Lee
Sammy Lee
Remember Sammy Lee? He came and spoke one Sunday almost two years ago.
It was a cold and snowy winter in Roslyn, NY — I was guest speaking at his church retreat and he comes running into the sanctuary while I was resting. He looked like he just saw a ghost. He was panting and breathing heavy.
He stutters and tells me, “I can’t control my hands. It keeps writing on its own.” He then pulls out a piece of paper where there are lines and characters and symbols I don’t recognize.
When I asked what happened, he said, “I was praying and writing down my thoughts when suddenly my hand began to get hot and it moved on its own.”
Jamie Chang
Jamie Chang
Jamie is a former member of our church and a friend of mine and a friend some here in the room. Over ten years ago, we were at our church event called Ecclesia.
While I was praying, I get interrupted and notified something is going on with Jamie. When I went to go see her, she tells me about discomfort in her chest. She says, “It feels like there’s a heat-pack on my chest.”
Honestly, I thought she was having a heart-attack or something.
She then tells me, in tears, “I can feel what they feel when I pray for them.” She began to discern exactly the source of pain of the person she was praying for — Not knowing anything about them, when she prayed, she would know that their pain came from abuse, neglect, or whatever it was.
These are just a few of many stories and examples of the work of the Holy Spirit.
But listen, I tell you these specific stories and names because they’re not some random people in a book, these are not stories from hundreds or thousands of years ago, but these are real people with real experiences of the Holy Spirit very close to us.
God is God and We Are Not
God is God and We Are Not
I have to be honest with you from the get-go — I don’t have a full knowledge or understanding of the Holy Spirit. It is a mystery to me — And I believe a true student of the Word cannot say otherwise.
Even Jesus once said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes...”
I have no explanation as to how, suddenly, the men in the upper room spoke in languages other than their own. I have no idea why Ron, Sammy, and Jamie all felt heat. I do not have an answer to what this all means.
But in a way, that’s the beauty of it — God is God and we are not.
If we want to learn about the Holy Spirit, remember this, we must come to grips with the fact that we don’t have to understand or know everything.
We have to be OK with being human and finite, but know that God is not. That He is infinite in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He is outside of our time and space. He is, at times, inexplainable, incomparable, and simply incredible.
Just listen to the words of the men who heard their friends and acquaintances that suddenly spoke other dialects and languages.
12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
You see, it’s easy to dismiss what you hear today. It’s easy to dismiss the Holy Spirit. I’m trying to set a precedence by imploring you to be open minded. Just because it doesn’t make sense does not make it false or untrue.
What happened in the upper room was supernatural and it was real. It’s not a made up story, it’s not gimmick.
What happened in the upper room was they were filled with the Holy Spirit. He took residence in the heart and lives of those individuals.
What happened in the upper room can happen to you.
Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
And here’s what happened:
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Listen, our aim is not to speak in tongues, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit — Now, what I just said requires some unpacking. And it requires you to know some doctrinal/theological matters.
When it comes to the Holy Spirit and His activity, there are two groups:
Cessationist
Continuationist
Cessationist’s believe that the activity of the Holy Spirit ceased with the apostles. While they believe all things written in scripture to be true, they do not believe the same things can happen today.
Continuationist’s are the opposite — We as a church fall in this camp — We believe that the activity of the Holy Spirit is alive today. Therefore, as a sample, speaking in tongues is fully operational.
So to hear me say that our aim is not to speak in tongues might be met with some confusion.
Note the distinction I’m trying to make:
If you walk the streets of Broad Ave enough times, you’ll come across individuals who will interrupt you to ask, “Excuse me, do you attend church?” If you say “Yes,” they will follow up by asking, “Do you speak in tongues?”
This is a group known as Church of Jesus. They teach that you must speak in tongues. Otherwise, you can’t go to heaven — This is the gist of their teaching.
Listen to how apostle Paul taught on speaking in tongues:
5 Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.
Do I wish upon us all to speak in tongues, just as apostle Paul said, yes! But is it mandatory as a believer? No, it is not. It absolutely is not. Hence, I say it’s not our aim!
I bring this into discussion because as a Pentecostal, Assemblies of God church and preacher, it’s imperative that we are taught biblically regarding this matter — I want us to know this clearly so we’re not ignorant about this.
With all that said, the gift of tongues come in two types:
Tongues of men
Tongues of angels
What we read in our passage is tongues of men — The power of the Holy Spirit gave them the utterance to speak languages distinguishable. An actual foreign language.
7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Now, the evidence of tongues of angels is found in 1 Corinthians 13.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
The tongues of angels are prayers that we cannot decipher, but it’s still the power of the Holy Spirit giving us the utterance to communicate with the Lord.
Tongues of angels are incredibly intimate, it’s personal, and it’s a private.
Truly, it’s indeed a spiritual gift. Oh how I wish we all can speak it!
Receiving the Holy Spirit
Receiving the Holy Spirit
But my hope, as your pastor, is that before the gift of tongues or anything else, is for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Let me tell you, tTo be filled with the Holy Spirit is of utmost importance because of what Jesus said.
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
In other words, filling of the Holy Spirit is subsequent to salvation. More than the gifts, what I wish upon you is for you to be saved.
Because the Holy Spirit takes residence upon salvation.
When you make the leap and decide to commit your life to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will come to you, and as you grow and mature, the power (dynamis) will fall upon you.
So, today, will you put aside all your preconceived notions of speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts and focus on the Holy Spirit and salvation.
Let us open our hearts and invite Him to take residence.