The Mighty Works Of God - Acts 2:1-13

The Day of Pentecost and the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13)

We never know exactly how God is going to move.

We don’t know the work He is going to do or how He is going to use us.

Our task, our responsibility, is to be available when He moves.

Acts chapter 2 is a famous portion of Scripture because it details for us the coming of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

The chapter begins by telling us that the day of Pentecost had arrived, and that the disciples were together in one place.

Chapter one tells us that they were spending this time in prayer.

They are ready for the Lord to move.

Suddenly a sound like a rushing wind fills the room, divided tongues of flame appear over each of them, they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they begin to speak in languages they had not previously known.

The coming of the Holy Spirit and the miracle that followed is an amazing event.

Sometimes, passages like this can be hijacked for a particular agenda and the bigger picture of what is happening can be lost.

The big picture here in this passage is about the coming of the Holy Spirit and the disciples proclaiming the mighty works of God!

This passage was not given to the Church of God so that we could argue about spiritual gifts or exactly how this miracle worked.

No!

This passage was given to the Church of God so we would learn that when we are ready and waiting for God to move He sometimes uses us in powerful ways!

There is a time and place to talk about spiritual gifts and miracles, but we dare not lose sight of God’s purpose.

God’s purpose is to see lost souls come to Jesus.

This passage is setting up the end of the chapter when thousands of people place their faith in Jesus!

When the disciples start speaking in other languages, the people who hear them are amazed.

They see Galileans, people who were typically looked down on as uneducated in that culture, speaking a variety of languages. 16 different geographical areas are specifically mentioned.

All those present witnessed the disciples speaking their native language.

Warren Wiersbe in his commentary says this.

“Another reason for this gift of tongues was to let the people know that the Gospel was for the whole world.” - Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 408.

I love that thought. From the very beginning, God wanted it clear that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone.

Let me call your attention to the end of verse 11 where it says this.

Acts 2:11 (ESV)

11 ...we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

This miraculous ability to speak languages given by the Holy Spirit was not for the purpose of self-importance or self-exaltation.

The Holy Spirit gave these languages to bring glory to God!

This is what the filling of the Holy Spirit is about!

It is about us bringing glory to the one who died to redeem us!

It is about a child of God declaring to everyone what He has done!

And here’s the thing. We will be misunderstood, just like the disciples are here.

This section ends with them being accused of drunkenness.

But they don’t let that stop them.

Three takeaways as we close.

First, we are only going to be filled with the Spirit when we are ready for Him to move.

I challenge each of us to spend time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to fill us and use us.

Secondly, the gifts, talents, and abilities we have been given are for the purpose of telling others about Jesus and bringing glory to God.

I challenge us to make sure we are not pointing people to ourselves instead of Jesus.

Lastly, there will be those who misunderstand and make false accusations.

Don’t let that stop you.

You have been chosen, gifted, and called by God to be His child.

Today, make a list of the gifts, talents, and abilities He has given and pray about how you can use them as opportunities to tell people about Jesus.