The Pentecost Story, Part 2

The Spirit Comes

Acts 2v1-15

10^th June 2016

We saw last time that the remaining hundred and twenty followers of Jesus waited and prayed together for over a week, looking for the fulfilment of Jesus's promise that the Holy Spirit would come to them. Then the Spirit came:

Acts 2v1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Imagine that it was your church, all together in one place, and you were wondering, "Where's God? Is anything ever going to happen? I'm trying to hang on to the word of God, but it's not looking like it's going to happen. I've waited too long for him to do something". Perhaps that is how you feel.

And imagine a sound like the blowing of a violent wind coming from heaven and filling the whole house where you and your friends are sitting. Imagine what seems like tongues of fire, separating and coming to rest on each of you. "Here, Peter, do you know your head's on fire?" "Well so's yours, John. And so's James's". Imagine you looked round and everybody in your church had tongues of fire on their heads. And imagine you were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and you all began to speak in tongues.

How would you feel? Excited? Scared? Wondering if it was "sound"? Isn't it a bit extreme? Would it challenge our theology? Or would you just be relieved that God had shown up?

What does the church need most? God!

The Father sent Jesus, then Jesus went home, and now the Father sends the Holy Spirit. When we say the church needs God, we really mean the church needs the Holy Spirit. We need him to come and fill us, and give us tongues and other spiritual gifts.

Acts 2v5-12
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.
Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

People from all over that part of the world heard the hundred and twenty remaining believers speaking in tongues. They were making a bit of a noise. The church wasn't being reserved and quiet - because they were excited, because the Holy Spirit had come. They weren't interested in telling Him, "This is a church meeting, do you mind? Can you come back later? Privately, when no-one will be offended". They were just thrilled that he was here!

These people from so many different countries wondered what was going on. They asked, "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?" The disciples weren't particularly well educated, and yet they were telling people from many different counties about Jesus, using many different languages.

Of course, this was only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I wonder, if the disciples had known this was going to happen, would they have found a way to quench the Spirit? It's easy to do something new and challenging for God when He surprises us. But if we have time to think about it, we can find excuses not to prophesy, "It might not have been God", "It might have been some thing I thought about three weeks ago, and it's just popped back into my brain", "It might be the imagination of my own heart". Yes, but it might be God.

People from all over the Middle East were touched by God's Spirit because God's people spoke out. They trusted God for miracle power, and spoke.

Acts 2v13-15
Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!

Inevitably, some people said, "Well it can't possibly be God. There's no such person as God. So what might it be? Let me think. I know, they're drunk! That's it! They're all drunk!"

We get the same thing today. A Christian might tell someone he's been healed, only to be told, "No you haven't! Miracles don't happen! You must have imagined you were ill!" Another Christian might tell someone he's had a powerful encounter with the living God, only to be told, "No you haven't! You imagined it!" There are some people who don't want to believe that God might speak to us or heal us.

Peter wanted to tell the crowd that he and his friends weren't drunk. It was only nine o'clock in the morning! He stood up and began to explain, and the Holy Spirit gave him an extempore sermon. He hadn't planned to preach that day. But what he said changed the lives of three thousand people, as well see as we continue to read Acts 2.