BACKGROUND:
In Old Testament times, the Spirit of God came upon isolated individuals or smaller groups, only on special occasions, and only in a temporary way to help them accomplish God’s purposes (Exodus 31:3; Judges 14:6; 1 Samuel 16:13). As the apostles were gathered together in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, the time had come for the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send his Spirit completely and permanently upon all believers (Luke 24:49; John 14:16-17, 26; 16:5-15).
This marvelous outpouring of God provided the supernatural power for believers to take the life-changing message of the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). This is the day Christ made good on his promise to send the Helper, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit who would take up permanent residence in those who put their faith in Christ. And what a day it was! God’s individualized pouring out of his Spirit into the lives of 120 believers resulted in the effective pouring out of his story, changing the lives of three thousand people in one day!
The day of Pentecost was an annual feast celebrated on the day after the seventh Sabbath after Passover (Leviticus 23:15-16). Since the date was determined by the passing of a “week” of weeks (seven weeks), it was often called the Festival of Weeks. The word “Pentecost” means “fifty,” so named because this festival was celebrated fifty days after Passover. Pentecost was one of three major annual festivals celebrated by the Jews (along with Passover, fifty days earlier, and the Festival of Shelters about four months later). Jesus was crucified at Passover time, and he ascended forty days after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit came fifty days after the Resurrection, ten days after the Ascension.
What happened this day would forever change the world.Suddenly, as the believers were gathered, they heard a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm. The wind is a good analogy for the Spirit: it is not seen, though its effects are, and it can be found everywhere in never-ending supply. The sound filled the house where they were meeting.
At this point in this wonderful scene, Luke recorded that everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages. The “filling” that occurred on Pentecost is called a “baptizing” (1:5 and 11:16) and a “receiving” (10:47). “Baptizing” or “filling” can be used to describe the basic act of receiving the Spirit. It can be understood to refer to the first occurrence of the Spirit indwelling a believer. Acts 1:5 looks forward to this day; Acts 11:15-16 refers back to it. Here, four short verses record it.
In principle, the filling of the Holy Spirit can be distinguished from the term “baptism” of the Spirit. “Baptism” is the theological, objective term referring to the Spirit’s initial work in a believer’s life, beginning the relationship, and—like water baptism—is not a repeated act (Acts 11:15-16; Romans 6:3; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Colossians 2:12). The believer who has taken this initial step of Spirit baptism must, however, continue to take advantage of the Spirit’s active work in his or her life. That phenomenon is described in the New Testament as the Spirit’s filling.
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was made available to all who believe in Jesus. Believers receive the Holy Spirit (are baptized with him) when they trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. The baptism of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the light of his total work in Christians:
The Spirit marks the beginning of the Christian experience. No one belongs to Christ without his Spirit (Romans 8:9); no one is united to Christ without his Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17); no one is adopted as God’s child without his Spirit (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:6-7); no one is in the body of Christ except by baptism in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).
The Spirit is the power for the new life. He begins a lifelong process of change as believers become more like Christ (Galatians 3:3; Philippians 1:6). Those who receive Christ by faith begin an immediate personal relationship with God. The Holy Spirit works in them to help them become like Christ.
The Spirit unites the Christian community in Christ (Ephesians 2:19-22). The Holy Spirit can be experienced by all, and he works through all (1 Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 4:4).
These people literally spoke in “other languages” - a miraculous attention-getter for the international crowd gathered in town for the feast. All the nationalities represented recognized their own languages being spoken. Jews believed that spoken prophecy had ceased with Malachi, the last of the writing prophets. They believed that from that point on, God spoke through the Torah as interpreted by scholars and teachers. So this was truly a remarkable day for the church, fulfilling Ezekiel 37:11-14.
The believers could speak in these other languages because the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament—that the Holy Spirit sovereignly determines which gift(s) a believer will have (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11).
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
Eight things that we need to do, so that if we do these things we can expect God’s blessing on our church as much as they saw a blessing on the church in Jerusalem.
#3. WE MUST MULTIPLY SMALL GROUPS.
Acts 2:46-47 says, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple court and they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”
There is a two-fold ministry: “in the temple courts” and “from house to house.” If this church had approximately 100,000 members where in the world would they meet? In those days you didn’t set down to worship. You stood to worship. And Solomon’s courts (the Temple courts) would hold about 50,000 people. They’re enormous. They probably had double services at the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem. But it also says they met from house to house in small groups.
#4. WE MUST MAGNIFY OUR VISION OF GOD.
Acts 4:24. The apostles had been taken prisoner and questioned before the Sanhedrin and they came back and they prayed. Notice the kind of prayer they prayed. “When they heard this they raised their voice together in prayer and said, `Sovereign Lord, You made heaven and earth the sea and everything in it. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant David. Why did the nations rage and the people plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand, the rulers against the Lord and against the anointed one.’”
They are saying, “God, there are rulers and there are leaders and there are people against You but You’re in control. You’re the sovereign Lord. You made everything in heaven and on earth.” We think we have difficult times and distractions and disturbances and problems in meeting. It’s nothing compared to persecution, which is what they experienced in the New Testament church. People were actually being put to death for being a Christian. Yet they’re saying, “Sovereign Lord.” They got a vision of God’s greatness.
We are children of the king. We’re on the winning side. We’ve read the last chapter. We know how it’s going to end. People say, “How come you don’t get discouraged with all the difficulties and delays and postponements. All this stuff we’ve had problems with.” Because we are ultimately the winner. We chose a cause (actually He chose us) that we can’t lose. We can’t lose! So the idea of “Hold the fort!” mentality of “We’ll just hang on ‘til Jesus comes and wave our little hankies and worry. The devil’s out there roaring like a lion.” Yes, but he’s toothless and he’s on a chain.
Jesus Christ has broken our chains and Jesus says in the Bible, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” Are gates an offensive weapon or a defensive weapon? They’re defensive. You build gates to keep people from getting at you. So when it says, “… the gates of hell will not prevail against it,” it’s not saying that Satan is attacking us. It’s saying that we’re attacking hell with squirt guns!! And we’re trying to snatch people right out of the jaws of hell.
There are a lot of churches that want to play it safe. They get as far away from unbelievers as they can so they don’t get tainted. I want to get so close to hell that you can smell it! Right on the edge of the cliff. That’s where you set up your rescue station. Just as they’re about to fall off the cliff, you grab them. You need to live your life in such a way that you’re so close to the edge that you’ll fall off unless Jesus Christ holds onto you. Don’t be afraid to go out on the limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat if Jesus Christ is the captain of the boat. We are on the winning side. We need to magnify our vision of God. Isn’t it neat how after you’ve worshiped, how small your problems seem in comparison? They kind of shrink. The tool for magnifying our vision of God is worship. When you focus on God, the circumstances seem to be inconsequential to His greatness. He’s got all the resources we need. That’s never been the problem. It’s just what are you expecting Him to do.
Let's be this kind of people and this kind of church. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
No comments:
Post a Comment