Acts message 4

POWER FOR THE MISSION Acts 2:1-13

Acts 2:1–13 NKJV

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Intro: The early church did not have buildings, money, political influence, social status. But they saw many people won to Christ, many churches established. How were they able to do this? Because they had the power of the Holy Spirit to energize them. These were people that were ignited by the Holy Spirit. That same Holy Spirit power is available to us today to make us more effective witnesses for Christ. Jerry Vines “The average Christian, and the average Church are bogged down somewhere between calvary and Pentecost. They have been to calvary for pardon, but haven’t been to Pentecost for power”. Why is this? a. Why do we need the power of the Holy Spirit? Acts 1:8 1. As we start chapter 2 we see one of the most misunderstood, and one of the most controversial subjects in the Bible, the speaking of tongues, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I am going to get a big debate about the misuse of speaking in tongues or run down those that do, or the misunderstanding of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will examine these verses, and what happened that day, and how it applies to us today. I. THE EVENT OF PENTECOST VS.1

Acts 2:1 (NKJV)

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

I’m going to do some teaching before preaching. Vs 1 “fully come” means “fulfilled” When we think of Pentecost we think of Acts 2, But Pentecost was actually a Jewish celebration, held for 1500 years pier to this chapter. They had several annual celebrations called “feasts” these were times of special worship for them. (Lev. 23) Each of them were instituted by God Himself and they all had a double meaning. Each of them meant something concerning the day and time that the Jews were celebrating, but little did they know, each of them predicted something concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Feast of Passover: Celebrating the deliverance from Egypt. When the angel of death would Passover the homes with blood from the Passover lamb on the door post. 2. The Passover was predicting the death of Jesus on the cross. 3. When Jesus died on the cross, the feast of the Passover was “fully come”. I Corn 5:7 “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us”. 2. 2nd Feast pointed to burial of Christ, “Feast of unleavened bread” 1. Leaven is symbolic of sin. 2. Jesus body was buried. 3. Unleavened bread (he was without sin) John 12:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” 3. 3rd Feast of the firstfruits: Every year they would take the firstfruits of their crop and offer it to the Lord; thanking him for the harvest. Predicting the resurrection of Christ. I Corn. 15:20 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfurits of them that slept”. 3. 4th feast of Pentecost: Fiftieth 1. Pentecost: In the Old Testament the day of Pentecost occurred 50 days after the Israelites left Egypt. 50 days after the Passover, when they arrived at Mt. Sinai. 2. Pentecost: In the New Testament Pentecost occurred 50 days after the resurrection of Christ 3. In the Old Testament times, on the day of Pentecost. The Jews would sacrifice 2 loaves of leavened bread, 7 lambs without blemish, 1 young bullock, and 2 rams. 4. The day of Pentecost had come before. But it had “fully come”. Since the time of Moses it had come and gone, now it had come to stay. 5. The O.T Pentecost celebrated the Brith of a nation. 6. The N.T Pentecost celebrated the Brith of a church. 120 individual believers ascended the stairs of the upper room. One body of believers came down. Individuals when up, a church came down. 1. We may be individuals, but we our one body, the body of Christ, the church. But we need to use the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Power given VS 2-4

A. The promise from the savior. John 14:16-20

John 14:16–20 NKJV

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

Acts 1:5 is fulfilled in Acts 2:2

Acts 1:5 NKJV

5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 2:2 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

2.What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? It is a figurative meaning to be “identified with”.The baptism of the spirit is an act of God where he identifies believers with Jesus. This what takes place when sinner trust Jesus and is born again. a. Elab. Church service I went to. 3. Baptism of the spirit when Jesus places believers into his body. The purpose of the baptism of the spirit is to unify the body of Christ, not to divide it. Gal. 3:26-28 UNITY. B. The presence of the spirit. 1. First there was a sound. Vs. 2 a. It was not wind, but a sound like wind. “Mighty rushing wind” b. There no indication that they felt it, they did hear it. Remember salvation is not a feeling. WIND. c. You can’t see the wind , but see the effects of it. Elab. d. They see the effect of the power of the Holy Spirit in the days to come. f. The Holy Spirit like the wind, is a mighty power, but we can not see him. We can only see the effects. Elab. 2. VS. 3

Acts 2:3 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.

mp. “And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which separated and distributed and settled on each of them” 1. First a sound, then a sight. A. It wasn’t actually fire, but appeared to be like fire. 1. Fire is another symbol of the spirit of God. B. Fire begins with a small flame and it spreads. 2007 fire. 1. Great revival could spread through out our country. 2. It could happen here a Pine Grove. class=Section3> FIRE: C. Fire purges: 1066 London was griped with the black plague. In 1067 a great fire came that purged the city if it. Sin it like plague that can have a grip on, and the power of the Holy Spirit will purge it. D. Fire illuminates. The power of the Holy Spirit will help us to be the light of the world. Vs. 3 Read Vs. Again 1. It fell in each one of them. Equally. It doesn’t say that Peter getting special baptism. 2. The baptism of the believer is not a special work that is given to some and not others. The cloven tongue sat upon each one individually, equally. 3. We all (Christians) power of the Holy Spirit. Power of a car. 3. What happened in the upper room that day was awesome. But it was passing, it came it went, we don’t see it happen again in scripture. There was a symbolic wind, and symbolic fire to usher in a new age, the church age. Acts 2:1 “ The day of Pentecost was fully come” 4. It was the death of an old ritual, the Jewish Pentecost, and the birth of the Church. Vs. 4

Acts 2:4 NKJV

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

They were “filled with the Holy Spirit” Note: There is no command to be baptized with the Spirit, (We get when we get saved) but there is a command to be filled with the spirit. Eph. 5:18 b “but, be ye filled with the Spirit”.

1. The baptism of the Spirit grants

the power that the filling of the Spirit unleashes”. b. To be filled with the Spirit, we must be emptied of ourselves by confession of sin, totally surrender to what the Spirit leads you to do. VS.4 1. The word tongues here means “languages” in Vs. 5-11

Acts 2:5-11

5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.

6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.

7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?

8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,

11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

. What was the purpose of the speaking in other languages?

3. The Jews had been a specially chosen and privileged people. But they kept rejecting God. They had rejected the one that had come to be their savior. 5. The gift of tongues would show the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Samaritans were all equal. Reaction of those that heard them. Vs. 11b-13

Acts 2:11–13 (NKJV)

11 —we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

“The wonderful works of God”

VS 12 Elab

1. Some believed, some did not. Conclusion: What does this mean for us today? We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit us we can be witnesses. Acts 1:8 It’s not so you can speak in tongues, not so you can try to be more spiritual then someone else because you have more spiritual gifts it is to be a witness for Jesus. Vs. 11b. Some will believe. Vs. 13 Some will not. What about you? Are you using the power of the Holy Spirit? Maybe we come down I’ll pray for you. Pray at the altar. Are you saved? Maybe the Holy Spirit is leading you to be a part of the family here at Pine Grove.