Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.09UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.06UNLIKELY
Fear
0.14UNLIKELY
Joy
0.58LIKELY
Sadness
0.2UNLIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.38UNLIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.26UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.94LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.78LIKELY
Extraversion
0.31UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.56LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.62LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
ILL Notebook: Birth (calf birth)
A man was helping one of his cows give birth, when he noticed his 4-year-old son standing wide-eyed at the fence, soaking in the whole event.
The man thought, "Great, he’s 4 and I’m gonna have to start explaining the birds and bees.
No need to jump the gun, I’ll just let him ask, and I’ll answer."
After everything was over, the man walked over to his son and said, "Well son, do you have any questions?" "Just one," gasped the still wide-eyed boy.
"How fast was that calf going when he hit that cow?"
Well, that is a mystery!
But the truth is…
Birth is a mysterious thing.
Many of us have had the experience of waiting for that baby to be born.
We come up to the due date, and he or she shows quite an unwillingness to leave their place of comfort, no matter how uncomfortable the mom is.
Babies tend to come on their own timetable.
As we come to our passage today in Acts 2, we observe that the birth of the church happens on God’s timetable.
In our recent study of Acts 1, we discovered that…
The apostles received instruction to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1:4-5).
Acts 1:4-5
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
NIV
The baptism of the Holy Spirit was not something they could cause.
It was only something they could wait for.
The only way they were going to be successful was because of the Holy Spirit.
So, they needed to wait.
And in the meantime…
The believers prepared themselves for ministry.
We learned that the believers in Jerusalem were obeying Jesus’ instructions.
They were waiting on His leading, anticipating what was to come.
They were submitting to His authority, uniting together in mind and heart.
And they were praying always.
And the Holy Spirit did come.
And the Holy Spirit came because they prayed…right?
Actually, no.
The Holy Spirit came, not because the believers prayed, but because He was promised.
So we find…
In today’s text, the church has its official start.
This is affectionately known as the birthday of the church.
And nothing has ever been quite the same since.
And it is here, right away that we learn some very important things about the nature of being a Christian.
It is this…
DISCIPLES OF JESUS ARE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
But how does this happen?
Well…
We will find in Acts 2:1-13 three steps that describe how the church began and how disciples of Jesus are filled with the Spirit, the Power of God.
I told you that we would get to the power chapter!
I.
The first step that describes the beginning of the church is the EVIDENCE (1-4).
Evidence of the Beginning of the Church
Acts 2:1–4 (NLT)
1On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.
2Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.
3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.
4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
On the Israelite calendar, Pentecost follows fifty days after Passover.
Passover was a picture of death and the work that Jesus did on the cross on our behalf.
So really, Pentecost becomes a picture of new life.
Pentecost was a culminating feast of harvest, an offering of first fruits.
And it is on this Pentecost that we observe the first fruits of the believers’ promised inheritance—the Holy Spirit.
But that is not all.
We also observe the first fruits of the full harvest of believers to come.
As we mentioned before, the Spirit does not come because He is prayed down.
The sovereign timing of God is the cause of the Spirit’s descent.
We cannot make the Spirit come.
He is not our bellhop to answer when we call.
And as our text shows, there is an element of surprise that makes this event so tremendously exciting.
We find here that there were three signs that gave evidence of God on the move.
The first was…
1.
There was the miracle of sound(a blowing of violent wind).
There was the Miracle of Sound
This was not a weather phenomenon.
Clearly, the witnesses to the event did not know how to describe it.
So Luke has to report it that it was like a rushing wind or a windstorm.
It was so utterly beyond their grasp of understanding.
It was not like anything they had ever experienced before.
This reminds me of the story of Ezekiel and the dry bones.
As God orders him to, He prophesies for the Spirit, the wind, to come.
And He does.
And as He comes, the Spirit fills the dry bones with new life.
To the Hebrew mind, I think this has to come into play.
As they hear this wind, it is a sign to them that new life has arrived.
The second sign was…
2. There was a miracle of sight(tongues of fire).
There was a Miracle of Sight
Again, Luke has to report what has never been experienced.
It is not a literal fire, but it is like fire, above them.
Perhaps it would remind them of the burning bush, signifying the Divine Presence.
Or perhaps it would remind them of the cleansing power of God’s Presence as observed in Isaiah’s commission.
Either way, they have to recognize that God is with them.
His Presence is unmistakable.
The third sign was…
3.
There was a miracle of speech(speak in other languages).
There was a Miracle of Speech
God gave them the ability to speak languages that they did not know.
I do want you to note that they did not have to be taught how to speak other languages by reading a book or attending a seminar.
No one needed to be coached.
No one had to develop the gift by repeated practice.
It happened because the Spirit was there.
He was in total control of the situation.
These believers simply received what He gave.
II.
The second step that describes the beginning of the church is the EFFECT (5-11).
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9