Excitement
Notes
Transcript
Has anyone here ever been in the delivery room when a baby is being born?
Because if you have you know when the woman is in hard labor and the baby is almost there, there is some sort of excitement that is in that room.
Well at least if your the guy the woman there is some sort of pain.
But if your the guy it is exciting, because your cheering on your wife, the doctor or midwife is cheering you on
And not only that but the real excitement (for both parents) is that they are about to welcome this new life to the world that they have been waiting for, for so long.
And really this transcends just having a baby
Because whenever something is born there is this element of excitement.
When you get an idea in your head for something new, chances are there is some excitement about that idea
If you have ever started a new ministry the thought of birthing a new ministry is exciting.
And today what we are going to do is we are going to be looking at a birth that occured.
Not the birth of Jesus, but the birth of the Church
And this birth is exciting not just because it is something new, but if you read the Bible and read about what it says about the church it is huge.
Because it tells us that through God working in the church lives are delivered
It tells us lives are changes, brokenness is healed
It tells us that when God is working in the church no mind can even fathem what God can accomplish through it
in fact it even tells us that the gates of hell cannot move forward or prevail when the Church is involved.
So this is exciting because what we are about to read the birth of this thing that has changed the world.
And so we are in Acts 2:1-13 and as I mentioned this is also the beginning of our new series called filled where we are looking at what it looks like to be filled with God’s presence and not just that, but we are looking at how we can be filled with it (as individuals, but also a church).
And my prayer for myself, and for everyone in this church is that as we look at this passage today we will live a more spirit filled life.
So once again we are in Acts 2:1-13 and we will be starting in the first 4 verses. It says this:
Acts 2:1–4 (NIV)
The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
So like I mentioned we are getting a glimpse into the delivery room of the church.
And I want you to notice what is happening because really there are 3 significant events that happen in these first 4 verses that we do not want to miss.
and here is the first one, because this passage starts and what does it say? They (being those who were following Christ) were all together.
And this first verse is so simple, but we need to get it.
Because typically (not always, but I would say 99% of the time) whenever God does something amazing it is not through just one person, but it is through a group of people
Even if you look throughout the Old Testement, typically whenever something big need to be accomplished, God would usually accomplish it through a group, not just one person (He might call a person to lead it, but He accomplishes it with a group.
And to be honest you did not even come to church to hear this, because it is common sense.
I mean if I decided I was going to race 3 of our teens in a triathlon and they were aloud to do it relay style where they would alternate who did what part
But then I had to do everything (the running, biking and swimming)
Chances are you will say “Pastor we love you but you are going to get demolished… Not just because you are out of shape, but because the teens can choose what they are good at and split up the work.
But really in the same way God has gifted you with specific talents, and not just that, but He has gifted the person sitting next to you or across from you different talents
And so imagine what happens when instead of working on your own thing, you work together.
And this is how God desires us to build His kingdom and often how He fills us with His spirit.
And really this is the case for this passage because they are all together in one room and in verse two it says suddenly the sound of a violent guest of wind filled the house (blow)
And I know what your thinking “Wow that house was drafty...”
But thats not what its talking about, because whats so cool is if you look at the word for wind it is almost the same word used for Spirit in the Bible, (in fact the word are a lot of times interchanged)
And not only that but you can even find a simaler word to this one in Genesis, where God creates Adam and Eve and one of the first things He does is He breathes lige into them.
Basically He makes them come alive through His Spirit.
And really this is the picture you get in this passage because they are together and God in breathing and filling these people in this house with His Spirit.
And we are going to talk about this more, but in our lives our prayer should be for God to breath His spirit into us.
I mean think with me for a second because if I showed you these two inflatables which one would you rather have? (use inflatable pool toys)
The one thats blown up right?
Because when a pool toy is deflated it can’t really do the purpose it was meant for.
It can be used to help weigh papers down or maybe to pull somearound if they grab the other side of it,
But ultimately for a pool toy to become what it is supposed to be it needs to be inflated
And our lives are the same asa pool toy, because we can do what we want with our lives, but unless we have been filled with God’s spirt where He has breathed life into us we cannot fulfill the purpose that God has called us too
Well look at the last part of this section, because they are all together in one spot, God’s presence has filled them, and not only that, but it says tongues of fire come to rest on each of them.
And if you grew up in the church you probably think that sounds normal, but if you didn’t you are probably thinking what in the world am I reading?
Are there tongues on fire falling from the sky?
But what is so cool about this is if you look throughout the Old Testament often times fire was a symbol of God communicating to His people.
If you know the story of Moses God talks to Moses through what? A burning bush
You might remember for a period when the Isralites were wondering in the desert they followed a pillar of… Fire in the sky
And so now what is happening is this passage is saying their tongues are on fire (not literal fire) but spiritual fire where because they are filled with God’s Spirit they can communicate God’s message and speak to others the words of God.
And this is so important for us to get because it means that if you have accepted Christ in your life and are filled with His Spirit then you can speak the words of God to others.
meaning His words should be able to come out of your mouth
And thats not where your eyes glow and in a deep voice I say “Hello… Thus Saith the Lord”
But it is where God may nudge you build someone up or confront some sort of issue in someones life
Why? Because God’s Spirit is in you and wants to use you to communicate His message.
Well look at this next section of scripture in verses 5-13 because all of this occurs and then something really crazy occurs. Look at these verses , it says:
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
So what happens is that violent wind must have been pretty loud because people outside of this group noticed so much so that it mentions a large crowd begins to form.
And just to give you an idea this crown has 15 nations as well as varius languages represented and they have come to figure out what in the world is going on.
And so these people come and this is the crazy part because the people who are filled with God’s Spirt are speaking the wonders of God and every person (wether they are from a different nation or speak a different language) hears their own language and understands what they are saying.
And with this passage so often Christians will get into disagreements over well what was happening hear, was it a one times thing, can people still speak in tounges, and if so what does that look like.
And that is an important talk to have, but to be honest I do not believe this is the focus of this passage.
Because so often we focus so much on the speaking of tongues that we miss the focus which is just what the infilling of the Spirit does here.
Because first off when God’s Spirit fills us we are able to overcome obstacles in building His kingdom that would seem impossible.
I mean some of you know this but a few years ago I was on a missions trip to Africa and we were playing soccer at a near by town and one of my friends decided to sit out, but he was playing with a couple of kids
And while he was playing with them he decided I am going to explain the gospel to them.
And I remember initially he told us that and we kind of went okay Jeramy… good luck with that they do not speak english.
But then a few minutes later we turned around and there were probably about 40 kids circled about this guy that had wondered over from the town.
And They are getting captivated by what he is telling them
I mean God made a way when we thought it was impossible,
And God is not just doing this but the second thing that a lot of scholors believe is happening in this passage is it represents the effects of sin being reversed by God’s Spirit.
Does anyone remember the Story of the tower of Bable in the Genesis?
Well this is the cliff notes version, but what happens is the people decide to build a tower and they decide that this tower was going to reach into heaven (it will show that we are bigger than God) and really if you look into the reasoning they are trying to undermine God
And so what happens is because of this God actually scatters the people where instead of them being unified they are divided and speak different languages.
And what we see in this event where the church is being born is the barrier that separated them is being removed because God’s Spirit has removed it
But now instead of building something that rivals the kingdom of God they are unified in building the kingdom of God.
And I want us to look at the response to this, because there are some people who are amazed, because they are thinking “what is the world is happening?!”
And you think everyone would be that way, but there are actually some people who begin to make fun of these people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and they go “Can you believe these Jesus followers? They are all drunk!
I dont drink so I am not sure, but I am pretty sure if you get drunk you do not become bilingual.
But you know really this just goes to show you that really there are two ways peoples respond to God moving:
They either are amazed and go we need to check this out
Or they say wow how ridiculous is that.
And really its almost if you had a block of ice and a block of clay and you decided I am going to place these in the sun.
What would happen?
One would soften
And the other one hardens
And thats what is happening here and what happens in our lives
Because we can look at what God has done and say wow thats a coincidence or we can say maybe God has brought me here for a specific purpose and reason
Maybe meeting that person who impacted my life was not a coincidence
Maybe bumping into that person who shined God’s love in my life was something God helped orcastrate
Maybe how I am even here this morning is because we serve a God that is pursuing you.
And this morning as we close we have the ability to say “no, I don’t think so.” But we also have the ability to reflect on how God has moved in our life and where He has brought us and ultimatley say “God, fill me with your spirt”
Soften my heart where I am be changed.
Because God will fill you with His Spirt
And can I just tell you what happens because of God’s Spirt filling these people?
They are changed, and not just that but the world we live in has been changed by God’s message.
This morning God want’s to take you from where you are to who He has created you to be.
But we have to decide if we want to say, “yes, fill me” or “no, I want to harden my heart.”
Will you pray with me?
