Introduction:

Remember anticipating Christmas morning when you were a child?  How great that night was when you went to bed, not falling asleep fast enough for the morning to come!  Or how about a Birthday, Anniversary, or some awesome event, whatever that may have been. 

Well, we have that taking place here in Acts 2.  The disciples were obeying their Lord, waiting and anticipating for the promise of the Father and then………. It happened!  God poured out His Spirit on the disciples. 

That’s what I want to share with you today.

A.                 There was God’s providence (v.1a).

1.                  “When the day of Pentecost had fully come…”  (v.1a).

a)                  God’s providence.

(1)                 What is “providence?”  It means, forethought, to make provision for a thing.  The doctrine of providence affirms God’s absolute lordship over His creation and confirms the dependence of all creation on the Creator.

(2)                 The Feast of Pentecost needs to be understood in order to see God’s providence at work.  Pentecost was celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  It was also known as the “Day of the First Fruits” (Numbers 28:26), or the “Feast of Weeks” (Exodus 34:22), or the “Feast of Harvest.”

(3)                 Pentecost was a day of celebration, a day when the people were to heap praise and thanksgiving upon God.  There were three particular reasons which they were to thank God.

(a)                 The harvest of the fields.  Note the very name of the Feast says that it is a celebration of the “First Fruits.”  It was celebrated when the first fruits of the harvest began to come in, which was around the first of June.  It actually opened the harvest season.

(b)                The Exodus, the deliverance of the nation Israel from Egyptian bondage (Deut. 16:12).  The people were to thank God for the day he delivered them out of slavery.

(c)                 The giving of the law upon Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19-20).  This was the day the people were constituted as a nation, as the great nation of Israel.  They were to live as God’s very own people upon earth.  They were to thank God for Himself and for His law, the rules and principles He had given to govern their lives and nation.  It is important to note that the Jews figured the law had been given to Moses fifty days after the Exodus.

b)                  How all three events were fulfilled in the coming of the Holy Spirit.

(1)                 When “Pentecost was fully come” the first fruits were born—the church itself and the first harvest of souls.  The new beginning, that is, the filling of the Holy Spirit, began fifty days after Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts 2:4).

(2)                 The coming of the Holy Spirit had a very specific purpose.  The Holy Spirit was to live and work within the heart of man, and to come “upon” man for spiritual power.

(3)                 The coming of the Holy Spirit was two things.

(a)                 It was the birth of the church, the new people of God. 

(b)                It was the institution of the new law, the new rule and principle of God.  Man is now to be guided by the Spirit who empowers him to live right and to serve Christ.

B.                There was man obeying and being in one accord (v.1b).

1.                  “They were all with one accord in one place…”  (v.1b).

a)                  They were in one accord – unity like Christ.

(1)                 One Accord: the same mind or spirit; oneness of mind and heart.  It means to be one in spirit and purpose.  All 120 of the believers were of the same spirit, of the same mind. 

(a)                 The idea is they were after the same thing, the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  They were focusing and concentrating their thoughts and energies upon seeking God for the promise of His Spirit. 

(b)                The word is used only eleven times in Scripture, ten of those times are found in Acts, one is found in Romans.

(i)                   One accord in prayer (Acts 1:14; Acts 4:24).

(ii)                 One accord in one place (Acts 2:1).

(iii)                One accord in daily worship and the Lord’s supper (Acts 2:46; Acts 5:12).

(iv)               One accord in obedience (Acts 8:6).

(v)                 One accord in a business meeting (Acts 15:25).

(vi)               One accord is needed to glorify God (Romans 15:6).

(c)                 The phrase “one accord” is also used to refer to the unity of unbelievers and enemies
of the gospel (Acts 7:57; Acts 12:20; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:29).

Listen to the way Kenneth Wuest puts it: These all continued to give their persistent attention with absolute unanimity to prayer which was characterized by its definiteness of purpose, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and with His brethren.

b)                  They were in one place – obeying Christ.

(1)                 The believers were in “one place,” in the city of Jerusalem precisely where Christ told them to go and wait upon the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

(2)                 They were obedient despite the danger the Jerusalem authorities posed to them.

(3)                 One thing is absolutely essential if a believer wants to receive the fulness of God’s blessing: Obedience.  The believer must obey and follow His instructions. 

Jesus made this clear by saying to the disciples “If you love me, keep my commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Helper, that he may abide with you for ever; even 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 shall be in you” (John 14:15-17).

C.                There was the Spirit’s infilling (v.2-4).

1.                  “Suddenly there came a sound from heaven…”  (v.2)

a)                  As a mighty sound—as the rushing of a “mighty” wind (v.2).

(1)                 The association of the sound of a rushing mighty wind, filling the whole house, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is unusual. 

(2)                 But it probably has connection with the fact that in both the Hebrew and Greek languages, the word for spirit (as in Holy Spirit) is the same word for breath or wind.  Here, the sound from heaven is the sound of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples.

(3)                 The sound was from heaven, that is, from God.  It came from God’s activity, not from the activity of natural causes upon earth.  It was supernatural.  God created sound for this very special occasion.

(4)                 The sound filled all the house, that is, it was localized upon the house where they were sitting.  Why?

(a)                 An audience needed to be gathered for the first preaching of the gospel, therefore, people needed to be startled and attracted to gather from all over Jerusalem, seeking to know what had happened.  .

2.                  “There appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire…“(v.3).

a)                  As fire—as split tongues that sat upon each believer (v.3).

(1)                 The divided tongues, as of fire, appearing over each one are also unusual.  It probably should be connected with John the Baptist’s prophecy that Jesus would baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11). 

(2)                 Note also that the tongue symbolizes the instrument of speaking and preaching and sharing the gospel.  The Holy Spirit was to be the burning power of the tongue, of the convicting message to be proclaimed.

(a)                 The idea behind the picture of fire is usually purification, as a refiner uses fire to make pure gold.  Or fire can burn away what is temporary, leaving what will last.  This is an excellent illustration of the principle that the filling of the Holy Spirit is not just for abstract power, but for purity. 

(b)                In certain places in the Old Testament, God showed His special pleasure with a sacrifice by kindling the fire for it Himself.  Fire from heaven came down and consumed the sacrifice.

(i)                   The experience of the followers of Jesus on Pentecost is another example of God sending fire from heaven to show His pleasure and power, but this time, it descended upon living sacrifices (Romans 12:1).   

(ii)                 Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit rested on God’s people more as a nation, that is, Israel.  But under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit rests upon God’s people as individuals - the tongues of fire sat upon each of them.

3.                  “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…”  (v.4).

a)                  The result (v.4).

(1)                 All were filled with the Spirit (v.4a): both the body (church) and each individual believer were filled.  They were “all filled” with the presence and power of the Spirit—all of them corporately and each of them individually.

(a)                 A critical point is often ignored and neglected.  The command to be filled with the Spirit is still God’s command to every believer, both individually and corporately (the church).

We should not come under the influence of anything else but the Spirit of God "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit," (Ephesians 5:18)

Jesus said "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!“  (Luke 11:13)

(b)                The disciples were given the gifts of the Spirit to carry on the work of the ministry upon earth.  This fact is not mentioned here, although it is certainly to be demonstrated in the preaching and witnessing about to take place. 

The giving of the Spirit’s gifts is covered in Ephesians "Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men…"  "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," (Ephesians 4:8, 11-12, NKJV)

!!!!! (2)                 All spoke in other tongues—witnessing (v.4b):

(a)                 The word tongues in (v.4) the Greek is glossa, and it means an unknown tongue, that is unknown to the person who is speaking.  They began to speak in sounds that they did not understand. 

(b)                The interesting thing is that though to them it was glossa, a language that they did not understand, yet, those people who where there from all over the world understood.

(c)                 They marveled and said how is it that these people, all Galileans and yet they are speaking in our own languages. 

(d)                The word tongues in (v.11) the Greek word is dialeketos, from which we get our word dialect.  So the people from all over said “they are speaking in our own dialects”.    

D.                There was witnessing—devout men heard the Word (v.5-11).

1.                  “Devout men from every nation… were confused... amazed and marveled…”  (v.5-11).

a)                  Devout men from every nation (v.5).

(1)                 Devout men, Jewish pilgrims who had come from all over the world, had returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the “Feast of the First Fruits.”

(2)                 The word “devout” means reverent, worshipful, careful.  It means persons who handle spiritual matters carefully.  We all should do that!

b)                  Witnessing is a result of being filled with the Spirit (v.6-11).

(1)                 Heard in their “own language” (v.6-7).

(2)                 Heard in their “own tongue” (v.8-10).

(3)                 Heard in “our tongues” (v.11a).

(4)                 Heard about the works of God (v.11b).  What is one of the wonderful works of God?

I don’t have to work my way into heaven, nor is being saved something of myself "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”  (Romans 1:16, NKJV)

Daniel said "I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me.  He goes on to say How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders!  His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation " (Daniel 4:2-3, NKJV)

When Mary visited Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, Mary said "My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior…”  "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.  And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation." (Acts 1:46-50)

c)                  Note how the groundwork for preaching is first laid by personal witnessing.

(1)                 The word “witness” in the book of Acts is forceful, revealing the duty of the believer.

Jesus said “But you shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Peter preached this saying “This Jesus that God raised up, therefore we all are witnesses…”  “And with many other words did he [witness] and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation”.  “And [you] killed the Prince of life, whom God has raised from the dead; which we are witnesses” ((Acts 2:32, 40; 3:15).

We read in chapter 4 verse 33 "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And great grace was upon them all…" (Acts 4:33)

(2)                 I have counted over 18 passages in Acts that talk about witnessing!

!! E.                 There were different reactions (v.12-13)

1.                  “So they were all amazed and perplexed… whatever could this mean…”  (v.12).

a)                  Some were attracted and sought meaning (v.12).

(1)                 Luke resumes his account of the crowd’s reaction by saying that they were “astonished.” He uses the same word in verse 7, but now he adds the expression perplexed.

(2)                 Luke indicates that the people continue to be confused, for they were unable to explain the miracle they are witnessing.  

(a)                 In the NT “amazed” applied only to the mind, meaning “to be out of one’s mind, beside oneself, to be transported beyond oneself with astonishment”.

In Acts 8, "Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed."  (Acts 8:13, NASB95)

In Acts 10 when some Gentiles were converted "All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.”  (Acts 10:45)

(3)                 When we live a life glorifying God, people can be amazed at the great things God is doing!

b)                  Do not put God in a box.

(1)                 What I want to point out is this: We like to put God in a box.  We like to say, well this is the way God works, and because of that the churches so often have been divided over how God does things. 

(2)                 Because this is the way God did it in my life and so if it didn’t happen to you like it happened to me, you don’t have the genuine thing. 

(3)                 God can do things as He wishes, anytime He wishes.  It doesn’t have to happen to me like it happened to you or vice versa.  God is very versatile in the way that He works with us. 

(4)                 It’s to keep men from trying to organize God, trying to confine God to a formula or to a pattern. 

(5)                 Jesus said the wind blows wherever it wishes, you can hear the sound but you can’t really tell from where it is coming from or where it is going.  And so is he that is born of the Spirit. 

(6)                 There is that “not structured”, “not patterned”, “not programmed” way, but the Spirit can move however He desires, whenever and wherever. 

(7)                 The important thing is that we be open to the Spirit and how He wants to move.  Here was the initial outpouring.  After that the Spirit was just received by faith.

2.                  “Others mocking said, they are full of new wine…”  (v.13).

a)                  Some mocked.

(1)                 Others simply mocked, accusing the disciples of being drunk.  Luke depicts them as unbelievers who oppose the advance of Christ’s church. 

(2)                 They can be equated with “the world [, which] begins with ridicule; then afterwards the ridicule proceeds to…

(a)                 questioning (4:7)…

(b)                to threats (4:7)…

(c)                 to imprisoning (5:18)…

(d)                to inflicting stripes (5:40)…

(e)                 to murder (7:58)…

(3)                 This is the devil’s unchanging strategy against Jesus and his followers.  God performs miracles for everyone to see and hear, yet the unbelievers refuse to accept the truth.

(4)                 They make fun of that which is holy and thus harden their hearts.

(5)                 This is best illustrated by the 2 thieves hanging on the cross (  ).

b)                  If you could have been there, what would you have seen and heard?

(1)                 Families coming to Jerusalem bringing sacrifices and offerings.

(2)                 Music being played people rejoicing.

(3)                 Hundreds of people gathering around a particular house.  Listening to unlearned men speak in their own language, wondering what this means.

(4)                 Listening to a man (Peter) preach a message that brought 3 thousand souls to salvation.

(5)                 How did Satan respond?  Read the book of acts and you will see his response.

(6)                 I believe Satan was actually in the room with the believers when God poured out His spirit without any power to stop Him.

(7)                 Don’t you think he shuttered when the sound came and the fire fell and they began to speak in tongues.

c)                  What did this sound from heaven bring?

(1)                 A unity Satan could not divide.

(2)                 What keeps the devil defenseless?

(a)                 christians praying for each other.

(b)                building each others faith.

(c)                 working together in harmony.

(d)                giving time and money.

(e)                 avoiding gossip and division.

(f)                  exalting Christ every where they go.

(3)                 A fire he couldn’t put out:

(4)                 Zeal to worship, to tell, to share, to work for God in spite of persecution.

(5)                 A power he couldn’t handle: power for effective ministry, power to testify, to deliver, to heal, and to live above sin.

(6)                 A revival he couldn’t stop: People’s hearts were stirred and changed and they loved it and shared it.  What’s holding you back from having revival?  You can have revival if you really want to.

(7)                 Results he couldn’t change: life changing results.  Signs followed them.  To work, to school, to their neighbors, to the market place, etc.  When it happened Satan could not change it.

(8)                 Evidence he couldn’t deny: these new spirit filled believers had

(a)                 a new love for scripture.

(b)                a new awareness of right and wrong.

(c)                 a desire to be like Jesus Christ.

(d)                a desire to proclaim Christ to others.

(e)                 a love for one another

(f)                  all of these things, we need.

I.  The Day of Pentecost and the Coming of the Holy Spirit: The Church is Born, 2:1-13.

A.  There was God’s providence (v.1a).

B.  There was man obeying and being in one accord (v.1b).

C.  There was the Spirit’s infilling (v.2-4).

D.  There was witnessing—devout men heard the Word (v.5-11).

E.  There were different reactions (v.12-13)