Acts 2:1-13 "The Birth of the Church"

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Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 2. Today, we look at Acts 2:1-13, which are some of the most exciting verses in the church age.

In Acts 1:4 we read Jesus “… commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

They would be baptized… immersed with the Holy Spirit.

A gift from the Father which Jesus said in Acts 1:8 would empower them to be witnesses to Him in all the earth.

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Today, we see this promise fulfilled. And, in the weeks ahead we will see Act 1:8 lived out as the Holy Spirit empowers the disciples to reach their world… first locally, then nationally, then globally.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to His people, and this was to our advantage so that we can be powerful witnesses for Jesus.

There are many churches today who have forgotten about the Holy Spirit… they ignore Him… they run from Him… they’re scared of Him.

But, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us, and even instructed that it was to our advantage that He depart so the Holy Spirit would come.

In John 16:7-8 Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment...”

How on earth can we be powerful witnesses for Jesus without the Holy Spirit? We can’t.

The Holy Spirit works in the lives of unbelievers to draw them to Jesus… and works in the life of believers to make them powerful witnesses for Jesus.

So, embrace the Holy Spirit… He’s not the boogeyman… He is God… and He is present today.

So, let’s look at this very significant event… which next to Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection… is probably THE MOST significant event in Church History…

The Title of Today’s message is “The Birth of the Church.”

Let’s Pray!

Acts 2:1 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”

Pause there… it would be easy to scoot past this verse, but you will be robbed of the significance of what Jewish readers… who understand the Jewish Feasts… see.

Between Jesus’ Ascension and Pentecost were 10 days, and now Pentecost had fully come.

It’s interesting to think what Luke intended by the words “the Day of Pentecost had fully come...”

In one sense, the Feast of Pentecost was in full force… the feast date had arrived.

But, deeper than the feast date arriving… the Gk. word used for “fully come” means “to fill up” hence to “fulfill.”

The main Jewish Feasts in the OT are more then a time of celebration, they existed as a ‘type’ or ‘shadow’ of what would come… what would be fulfilled in Jesus the Christ… the Messiah.

After Jesus healed the paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda on a Sabbath… Jews wanted to kill him, and Jesus had much to say to them, but one of my favorite comments recorded in John 5:39 was where Jesus told them, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.”

The OT scriptures… the whole volume of the book testified… or bore witness to Jesus.

The feasts are part of the OT… and they bear witness of Jesus at God’s appointed time.

Which is precisely what Hebrew word for ‘feasts’ literally means… “appointed times.”

Appointed times which God revealed to His prophets.

Amos 3:7 declares “Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.”

The context in Amos was the Nation of Israel (a nation that eagerly awaited Messiah)… and God declared He would do nothing prior to revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

God wrote these feasts into the history of Israel, for them to remember all He had done… for them to praise Him for His faithfulness… and as revelation of Messiah to come.

Leviticus 23… is a ‘go to’ chapter that outlines the 7 major annual Jewish Feasts.

There were other feasts like Purim in Esther or Hanukkah in the Maccabees that celebrated national freedom from oppression, but those are not amongst the 7 Major Feast in Lev 23… that pointed to Messiah.

4 of the Major feasts are in the Spring (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Weeks)… and have been fulfilled.

And, 3 feasts are in Fall (Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles)… and have NOT yet been fulfilled.

In between the fulfillment of these feasts, are the days in which we live.

The Church Age has been blessed to see the Coming Messiah, the Holy Spirit descend, His in-dwelling… much fulfilled prophecy.

And, yet… we still look forward to much more to come. Rapture… Jesus’ Second Coming… The Marriage of the Lamb… the Millennium… ruling and reigning with Christ… Eternity…

So, as we consider Dr. Luke’s words “the Day of Pentecost had fully come”… DON’T MISS the significance… For 1500 years… Jews were celebrating these feast… and now all within a matter of 50 days… these feast were fully come… they were being fulfilled right before the eyes of the Jews.

Passover/ April 15th, 2022– fulfilled in the death of Jesus… the lamb of God shed His blood for the sin of the world.

Unleavened Bread/ April 16-22- leaven a type of sin… fulfilled in Jesus’ sinless life.

First Fruits/ April 17th- fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection… the first fruits of the righteous.

And, now… the Feast of Weeks/Shavuot/ or Pentecost/ June 5th had fully come into complete fulfillment as the Holy Spirit came.

The Feast of Weeks was fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread…

Penta means five…Pentecost means “fiftieth.”

And, this feast marked the wheat harvest in Israel.

And, Pentecost was one of three required feasts (Passover and Tabernacles are the other two)… so Jerusalem’s population would swell as thousands made their pilgrimage to Israel.

The fulfillment of this feast was not just from the descent of the Holy Spirit, but also the great harvest of souls…

After Peter’s first sermon… 3000 Jews from every nation under heaven… profess Jesus as Lord.

Pentecost truly was a harvest feast.

The Spring Feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Weeks or Pentecost). Now quickly… the Fall feasts…

The Feast of Trumpets/ Rosh Hashanah/The Jewish New Year/ September 25-27.

This feast is when many Christians believe the church will be raptured, for a trumpet will sound and the Lord will descend according to 1 Thes 4:16 and 1 Cor 15:52.

The Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur/ Oct 4th-5th is thought to find fulfillment in Jesus Second Coming… as the Jewish remnant "looks upon Him whom they have pierced," repent and turn to Jesus as their Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11).

Tabernacles or Booths/Sukkot/Oct 9th-16th looks forward to Jesus’ promise to again “tabernacle” with His people during His millennial reign. (Micah 4:1-7).

Now, it would have been easier for me to skim over these feasts and Luke’s significant words… “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come...”

But, there is a depth we miss since we are not Jews… since we didn’t grow up with these feasts.

Can you imagine how mind-boggling it was for first century Jews to see four of these seven feasts being fulfilled?

Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Weeks… all fully come… complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ and now the Holy Spirit.

Significant… Astounding.

And before we move on… notice those familiar words at the end of V1… which we discussed last week: “… they were all with one accord in one place.”

“With one mind”...unity… 120 disciples… men and women waiting for the Promise of the Father… the Baptism With the Holy Spirit.

Which we observe now in VSS 2-4…

Acts 2:2-4 “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.”

Years later… after this event… Luke would interview the eye-witnesses. He would take thorough notes, investigate what happened, and then Luke wrote the Book of Acts in Rome, during Paul’s 2nd imprisonment… likely 60-62 A.D.

If you were there how would you describe this supernatural moment? An experience like none other…

John, in penning Revelation struggled… trying to write of the heavenly… he uses the word “like” 54 times to do his best to describe the supernatural.

When Paul was caught up into Paradise… all he wrote was he “… heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Cor 12:4).

When Isaiah had a vision of heaven, Isa 6:5, he said, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” Because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”

Understand, here in Acts 2… heaven touches down on earth, and this scene is never again replicated.

Jesus only needed to die once for us to be saved, and the Holy Spirit only needed to descend once for us to be sealed by / in-dwelt… and baptized with Him.

When the Holy Spirit descends, He…

And He is a He in the sense that He is not a mystical fog, but is the third person of the Trinity. Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When He descends, He does it in a way that is noticeable.

The disciples don’t wonder… Peter doesn’t say, “Hey guys… did you feel something? I think something just happened… I think I felt a tingle.”

NO! The Holy Spirit descends, and the disciples all know something happened… and so did the people around them.

When God touches down in your life… you and everyone around you will know it too. Many of you have experienced this.

For the Disciples, these supernatural phenomenon at Pentecost testified that God arrived…

When Jesus was crucified… we also read of supernatural phenomenon AND the impact to observing unbelievers…

Listen to Matt 27:50-54 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

And, now here at Pentecost… the Holy Spirit descends… and what do we observe?

Supernatural Phenomenon that touches the senses… two of the basic human senses: hearing and sight... and what some consider an additional sense… language…

V2 says “suddenly”… as these disciples are being obedient to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father… as they are in one accord…

Suddenly their obedience is rewarded…

No more waiting… the waiting season is over… they faithfully waited… and now the day… the moment is here.

We praise God when His timing catches up with ours!

“Suddenly”… v2 “... there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind...”

This is a sound… Gk. ēchŏs meaning a loud noise or a roar… it wasn’t a a sensation. They didn’t feel wind… they heard something like a violent wind… a mighty wind… like a tornado… minus the destruction.

The Holy Spirit is gentle, but He makes His presence known.

It was like wind, but without the blowing… scrolls weren’t flying all over the room…

Such an odd phenomenon… but, it made sense… it was harmonious with the rest of scripture.

Biblically, wind is consistent with the Holy Spirit.

In fact the Hebrew word ruach is translated as “wind,” “spirit,” or “breath.” The Greek word pnĕuma is also translated as either “wind” or “spirit.”

In Gen 1:2 “The Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] was hovering over the face of the waters.”

In Gen 8:1 After the flood “God remembered Noah… And God made a wind [ruach] to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.”

God used the phrase Ruach Yahweh in Isa 11:2, describing Messiah and how He would be empowered by the Holy Spirit. Isa 11:2 “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”

Which was fulfilled at Jesus’ baptism when the Holy Spirit indeed rested upon Jesus. Matt 3:16 “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God [pnĕuma theos] descending like a dove and alighting [resting] upon Him.”

In the NT, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus at night… one of my favorite about being born again… born of the Spirit… John 3:8 “The wind [pnĕuma] blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit [pnĕuma].”

And, isn’t this verse in John so picturesque of the life of a believer?

If you’re a saved believer, at some point God got a hold of your heart… and when you live a Spirit-led life… He will take you places you never could imagine… just as the wind blows here and there.

These are just SOME examples… Wind is a consistent phenomenon associated with God.

The Breath of Life.

The word of God is God breathed.

“… the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind.”

“Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

It makes perfect sense that here in Acts, the Holy Spirit would descend, and a sound “… as of a rushing mighty wind… filled the whole house where they were sitting.”

And, please notice that “… they were sitting.”

When the Spirit descended they were not knocked back 10 feet… like videos of Benny Hinn’s deceptions. They were sitting. They didn’t lose control of their bodies…

1 Cor 14:40… a chapter all about spiritual gifts… concludes with the words “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

They were sitting… this was orderly.

And, here at Calvary Chapel… while we do believe in spiritual gifts… we also believe God is a God of order.

Church service is just one hour in the week where we gather to praise Him and receive from His word.

Paul understood there was a proper time and place to exercise spiritual gifts. In 1 Cor 14:18-19, Paul wrote, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all [in his private time because look what he says next…]; 19 yet in the church [ĕkklēsia- lit. “the assembly”] I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.”

If all I did was speak in tongues, and I didn’t teach the word, what profit would that be to you? Very little or none.

Paul said the same thing in 1 Cor 14:6 “But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching?”

Or, if the Holy Spirit is upon me to teach His word… and then someone starts to shout out in tongues in the middle of my message… is that orderly? Does the Holy Spirit interrupt Himself… causing confusion? Causing disruption? “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

In V3, we see another representation of God… Fire. Acts 2:3 “Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.”

Now, not just a sound, but a visual display… something like fire. I have an artist’s rendition of Pentecost… I like that in this picture… there are a lot of disciples present and they are sitting… and the flame is dividing to rest on each of them.

Most pictures of Pentecost also show a flame hovering above the heads of the disciples… but, we don’t know.

I don’t like the pictures where the disciples look freaked out because of the flame…

I do imagine the disciples were mesmerized… flames resting on them, but not burning them.

Because, flames are mesmerizing… even natural flames… and these were supernatural flames.

But, this was not fire, but “as of” fire. It was like fire.

Again, difficult to describe the supernatural with our limited human experience and vocabulary. Luke does his best.

Divided tongues is not “cloven tongues,” as stated in the King James… better “tongues of fire distributing themselves” (NASB)… other versions state: “tongues spreading out like a fire”… “tongues of fire that that separated.”

The Holy Spirit again chooses to appear in a way consistent with how scripture portrayed God.

We read in Exo 3:2 how God appeared to Moses, “… the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.”

In Exodus 13:21, we read, “And the LORD went before them [the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt] by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.”

On Mount Sinai, God’s presence was like a consuming fire… Exo 24:17 “The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.”

The Book of Exodus closes with God’s fiery presence… Exo 40:38 “For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.”

In Dan 7:9, Daniel described the Ancient of Days and wrote, “His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire...”

Fire… a consistent symbol representative of God.

The Holy Spirit descends… and something like the sound of wind is heard… something like fire is seen… and then another phenomenon… look at V4…

Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

In the OT, the Spirit would come upon select people for select purposes, and sometime these people were also given the gift of prophetic utterances.

What a privilege believers have today… we are all permanently in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit… in the OT… very few people were… select Prophets, Judges, kings, people building the temple, but not everyone. We are blessed!

Let me share 2 examples of OT people filled with the Spirit AND who displayed a language gift…

In Num 11: 26-29 the Spirit rested upon Eldad and Medad and the prophesied in the camp.

They received a language gift.

In 1 Sam 10:6, Samuel told Saul, “Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” Which Saul did just a few verses later.

And, so once again, the Holy Spirit uses a familiar OT sign… Languages… to accompany His descent.

So, in V4… they are filled… in-dwelt and baptized with the Holy Spirit… and the gift of tongues follows…

This word tongues in Gk. is glōssa… it’s the same word used in 1 Cor 12-14.

There are two kinds of tongues, as seen in 1 Cor 13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”

There are “tongues of men”- a gift to speak human languages that you have not learned. We will see this gift exercised in VSS 5-11 in Acts 2.

And, there are “tongues of angels”- which is a heavenly or a prayer language… what some call “praying in the Spirit.”

Jude 20 speaks about this, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit…”

This prayer language is designed to build yourself up or edify oneself… Paul echoed this in 1 Cor 14:4 “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself...”

And, tongues as a prayer language is directed towards God… 1 Cor 14:2 “For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him...”

And, so tongues, as a prayer language is quite fascinating because as this prayer is lifted up to God, the person praying is edified.

Be cautious with people who elevate this gift… or act spiritually superior because of gifts… and those who say you are not saved unless you speak in tongues…

There’s no biblical base for these teachings…

Next week we will see Peter supports what happened at Pentecost with scripture “… this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.”

Make sure you do the same… does the spiritual experience line up with scripture?

Paul has much more to say about tongues… and for a deeper dive… read and study through 1 Cor 12-14.

Tongues is just one of many gifts that the Spirit distributes to each one individually as He wills.

At Calvary Chapel, we are balanced charismatics.

Some Calvary Pastors say they are “cautiously charismatic”… or “charismatic with a seat belt.”

We believe the gifts are alive for today, but we don’t elevate gifts and the experiential above His word, and His leading by His Spirit.

We don’t deny the gifts…

In 1 Cor 12:31, Paul said “earnestly desire the best gifts...”

In 1 Cor 14:39, he said, “… desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.”

So, we don’t.

But more important to tongues… Paul emphasized love… love as a more excellent way…

1 Cor 13:2 states, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

1 Cor 14:1 states, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts...”

The course of your life should be one that runs after or pursues love… and desiring spiritual gifts is also a healthy mark of a Christian.

But, love is superior… as Jesus said, John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Not by tongues… not by spiritual gifts, but by our love for one another.

A group of my colleagues at YFC recently went to a bank to receive a grant check… and we were one of several groups.

Employees were coming out of their offices to ask, “Who were they?” The manager told my boss… “your group was markedly different.”

“…all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Well, back in Acts… in VSS 5-11 we now see these disciples… who are in one accord… how their love for one another… their baptism in the Spirit… their exercising of spiritual gifts… how God uses all of these things to impact the world around them.

And, mark this chapter, because there is a significant difference in the disciples before and after Acts 2.

Peter especially… Peter becomes a bold and powerful witness for Jesus, just as Jesus said they would in Acts 1:8.

Let’s look at the response of Jews in Jerusalem…

Acts 2:5-11 “And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men [religiously devout for they were here in Jerusalem for this mandatory Feast of Weeks], 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.” [dialĕktŏs- dialect- a known tongue of man].

I’m a little confused how these devout Jews heard the disciples… the disciples were sitting in a house (V2) and began to speak with other tongues… how did this crowd hear them?

It seems the crowd of Jews heard the sound of the wind, gathered and then heard the disciples speaking in their own language…

Were the disciples gathered on the rooftop, which was customary… were the windows open? How did the multitude hear?

Regardless, they did hear, and look at the impact…

VSS7-8 “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?”

Galileans did not have a reputation for being educated in languages.

They were largely blue collar… Joseph and Jesus were carpenters; Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen. Simon of Cana in Galilee was a zealot… a political anarchist. Tradesmen… fighters.

Matthew was a stand out… as a tax collector.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the poor reputation of Galilee was reflected in the interaction between Phillip and Nathanael… John 1:45-46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nazareth was in Galilee. Good thing for Nathanael that he put his prejudice aside.

And, so here in Acts, it’s no wonder that these devout Jews were all amazed and marveled how these Galileans could speak in numerous diverse languages.... from 15 nations…

V9 “Parthians [northeastern modern Iran] and Medes [northwest Iran] and Elamites [Elam- again Iran], those dwelling in Mesopotamia [mostly Iraq], Judea [Israel] and Cappadocia [eastern Turkey], Pontus [western Turkey] and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia [all Turkey], Egypt [Northeast Africa] and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene [Northern Africa], visitors from Rome [Italy}, both Jews and proselytes [Gentile converts to Judaism], 11 Cretans [from the Island of Crete] and Arabs [Northwestern Saudia Arabia] —we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

Devout Jews from all over the known world had gathered in Jerusalem for Pentecost… which had fully come… the Holy Spirit descended with accompanying signs… wind… fire… and languages.

And, it would seem that as these disciples are praising God in tongues…

And, as they do… these devout Jews from every nation under heaven are drawn to the scene, and are amazed and marvel when they hear these Galilean Jews speaking in their own dialect.

They say, “… we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

The mighty deeds of God… speaking about the wonderful things God has done… this was not a gospel message… Peter shares the Gospel next… these disciples are proclaiming praise to God.

And, this gift of tongues, (along with the wind and fire)… it all set the stage for this multitude of Jews to hear Peter’s message and for a harvest of 3000 souls to come to Jesus… just as the Feast of Weeks celebrated the harvest… a feast now in total fulfillment.

Tongues were a sign to these unbelieving Jews… as 1 Cor 14:22 states, “Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers…”

The Holy Spirit would use this gift of languages to reach this diverse crowd of unbelievers… people who would return to their various regions… and would take the Gospel with them.

What a plan for evangelism… God ordained… God planned… well beyond the scope of these disciples.

But, even though this event at Pentecost was highly supernatural… we observe a divided crowd… some believe and some doubt.

Let’s close in VSS 12-13…

Acts 2:12-13 “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.”

Two groups… V12- those who are open to the Gospel… and stand amazed… even at a loss (which is ok… the natural cannot comprehend the supernatural at times)… and this group wants more…

They want to understand… their hearts are open “Whatever could this mean?”

Which Peter will address starting in V14.

But, there is a second group… mockers… accusing… “They are full of new wine.”

They accuse the disciples of being “full” or drunk on “new wine” Gk. gleûkos, meaning “sweet wine"… fermented and highly intoxicating because of the high saccharine content.

The mockers encounter the supernatural, and they cannot comprehend, so instead of allowing their hearts to be open to the possibility of a diving encounter… they mock… they shut down…

Just like mockers do today.

And, as we close today, the question stands… which group are you?

As we looked today at events that surpass our comprehension… Pentecost… the Holy Spirit… wind… fire… tongues.

Things difficult to fully grasp. So, what do you do with that?

Is your heart open or closed? Are you amazed, even perplexed, but want to know more?

Or, do you mock? Even if silently in your own heart?

Don’t mock… The wonderful works of God stand present today… read ahead… Lord willing we will see how God uses Peter to reach this mixed crowd next week.

Let’s Pray!

“The LORD bless you and keep you;

The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’