Sent with the Spirit of God - Week 3 - Study Notes

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Sent with the spirit of God

Acts 2:1-13

The big day everyone had been waiting for happened on Pentecost. Pentecost was the day the people of Israel had celebrated the birth of their nation for centuries. But this Pentecost that took place 7 weeks after Jesus' resurrection was going to be different. It wouldn't just be the celebration of a nation's birthday but would be the birthday of a whole new people, i.e., one people of God from every tribe, language and nation knit together by faith in Jesus. We read about it in Acts 1-2.

So, to begin, I want you to imagine being there with the disciples as Acts 2 opens. They were in a house, perhaps the same upper room in which they had shared their final communion with Jesus. Jesus had told them just over a week before that they soon would become witnesses to his salvation in a movement that would ultimately reach "the ends of the earth (1:8)." But he had also commanded them to wait together until the Holy Spirit came before going out into the world as his witnesses. This waiting must have been hard for some of them. After all, they had just been with Jesus – whom they had seen dying but now risen. I'm sure some of them wanted to get out and tell people about this immediately. Think of some of the personalities involved. I don't think waiting was easy for the impetuous Peter or even for those "Sons of Thunder" named James and John to wait. But, they were obedient and were waiting. After all, waiting had been their lives. They had waited their whole lives for the Messiah to come. They had waited through those three years of being persecuted alongside Jesus for him to set up his kingdom. And, in Acts 2:1, they were still waiting.

Did they grow impatient? I imagine they did. But still, they obeyed Jesus. They were all together in one place waiting. Then in Acts 2:2, they all heard a sound that was like the blowing of a violent wind. I remember a time in my life when I was in Japan, climbing Mr. Fujiyama, and a typhoon struck the mountain. I've never been in anything more powerful. It was terrifying. Maybe the men and women in that room were terrified too. Did they realize that the words for "wind" and "spirit" are the same in Aramaic, Greek and Hebrew? Did they think, "This is the evidence of the Spirit of God?"

As they were thinking, what they heard was enhanced by what they saw (v. 3). Fire started pouring down from the sky in shapes that looked like tongues. These Jewish men and women in that house knew well that when God had appeared to people in the Old Testament, he came in the form of fire. That's how God had appeared to Abraham in Genesis 15:17 and to Moses at the burning bush and to Ezekiel the prophet. In fact, this was how God appeared on the first Pentecost in Exodus 19:18-19. Back then in the wilderness, God came down in wind and fire veiled with smoke and declared that the Israelites were his people.

But there was something different about God's coming in fire in Acts 2. In the Old Testament, the fire of God had come down and spoken to the leaders. But, look at v. 3. The fire of God that came down separated before their eyes and came to rest on each of them. God was going to come to each of them.
And then it happened in v. 4: "all of them" – yes, all – were filled with God's Spirit and began to speak in other languages as empowered by the Holy Spirit. Remember that this was the time of Pentecost so this was the time when Jewish people, who normally were scattered into every part of the world, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. All those people noticed that something was going on with Jesus' disciples. Each person there heard about God in his or her own heart language. These languages the Spirit-filled disciples spoke were different from the way we usually think about tongues-speaking in our churches. The disciples needed no interpreter. Instead, each person gathered there heard the message of the saving power of God in his/her own heart language. Look at vv. 7-8: 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?" The result was that some were amazed. Others were perplexed. A few made fun of them and said they must be drunk. But all asked, "What does this mean?"
What Does This Mean?

What does this mean is a question we'll see again in Acts. So, as I was working on this sermon, that's the question I was asking. Each Tuesday afternoon, I meet with a group of pastors and colleagues (all younger than I am) to look at the preaching text for the week. I started our time by going over a few things I thought that this supernatural Pentecost event might mean. I pointed out several things that I don't want you to miss:
1. Each one can have a personal experience of God -- not just the professional religious people and not just leaders like Abraham, Moses and Ezekiel – but everyone can know and be indwelt by God.
2. This experience of God begins when we experience God's salvation through faith in Jesus – The first Pentecost celebrated God's salvation from slavery in Egypt. This one celebrates God's salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
3. Each one who has an experience with God through faith in Jesus becomes a witness to that experience – That's what a witness is, i.e., one who gives testimony to what we have experienced personally. The fire of God cam on all. All spoke about God's saving power (v. 11).
4. Each one who has becomes a witness is to bear witness. All spoke – not just Peter. Each one of us has a role to play in carrying the good news of the gospel to our neighborhood and world.
5. When we experience God through faith in Jesus, we become a part of one new community.
As I was speaking about these things in our Tuesday group, Jr. High Pastor Perry Hawkins spoke up and said, "I think many, many people who come to church will stop listening to all the explanation of what this text means and simply ask, "Why have I never had an experience of God like that? I've read about it in the Bible. I've heard the generations older than I am talk about it. How can I have that kind of unmistakable and undeniable experience of God?"
I have not been able to get Perry's comment off my mind. Since he made it, I have had many, many conversations with a lot of people here at LAC and with friends elsewhere. (Don't worry – I won't mention anyone by name.) But, it has seemed to me that each communication I have had this week included people telling me about extraordinarily tough times they or their loved ones are going through. I talked with parents who told me about what seem like impossible struggles their children are going through. I talked with husbands and wives who felt like there is no hope for their marriages. I spoke with one friend who is living day-by-day and moment-by-moment in chronic pain. In each situation, their question – sometimes spoken and sometimes unspoken – was, "Where is God in this, Pastor? How do I have a fresh encounter with God?" Because of that, I knew I had to spend the moments we have together considering that question.

Acts 2 and a Personal Experience of God
There is so much that needs to be said about how we have an experience of the presence and power of God. But, today, I only want to look at what Acts 2 might teach us. I must begin with how we begin to know God. It begins right where it began with these disciples in Acts 2 – by meeting Jesus. To experience God, you must turn from your self-directed and sinful lives, ask for Christ's forgiveness and trust him as your Savior and Lord.

But, having said that, I know that there are many people who say that they have made that faith commitment to Jesus and still long for the kind of experience of God we read about in Acts 2:1-13. What do we learn about from this text?

The Warning and Promise of Pentecost
I ask you today to be open to a strong warning about us. Here it is: Even when things are not about us, we are so creative that we find ways to make it about us anyway.

When you read Acts 1-2, you quickly see that the good news is all about Jesus. Jesus saw our sinfulness and our need and was willing to die to forgive our sins and to give us a new life. And, wonderfully, this new life in Christ is available to all who believe. But, it comes through his life and sacrifice on our behalf. It's about Jesus. And, to reinforce that point, Jesus insisted that even though the disciples had spent time with him and knew he was alive, they had to wait for the Holy Spirit to come before telling about it. It's so clear – Salvation is from God. And, the work of God to bring the message of God is all about God too. Jesus was going to use the disciples but they had to wait for the Spirit before going out into the world. Why? Because this is God's work and is to bring God glory.

But, in a subtle way, we can read this text that is all about God and say, "Why don't I have that?" And we can deceive ourselves into thinking, "If I had that kind of tongue of fire appear on my head, then I would never have any doubts and struggles with my faith." And, it's not a long journey from thinking like that to the point of being where so many people were in Jesus' day, i.e., they loved his miracles but were not willing to surrender to him. Read the Gospel records. Jesus did even more awe-inspiring miracles than what happened in Acts 2 and the people were amazed. But, a few days later, the people only wanted more miracles. Jesus said, "It's a perverse and wicked generation that only longs for signs, wonders and experiences." As Scottish Author George MacDonald wrote, "We are people who are inclined to love the gift more than the Giver of the gift."

So, that's my warning. We soon will see these same people facing hardship in the Book of Acts. When a young man named Stephen was stoned for his faith in Acts 6-8, they would wonder why God allows such difficulty to happen. And we will meet a sorcerer named Simon who came to faith but still wanted experiences and power so much that he was willing to pay money to get it. We must learn to trust God even when we do not see.

But, having said that, the clear promise of Acts 2 is that each one can be filled with the Spirit of God. And, even though there are times in this still incomplete and imperfect world, when we wonder where God is and what he is doing, the Bible is quite clear that when we follow Jesus, we should be able to know his presence and sufficiency in very real ways. Is there anything in this text that helps us to come to grips with how that might play out as we live in this world?

Acts 2 and Our Daily Experience of the Presence and Power of God
I want to leave you with two thoughts about how you might expect to experience the Spirit of God's presence and power in this world. I think that the second will be something you will welcome. But, I imagine that many may resist the first – even discount it altogether. But, I know that both are important. In fact, I'm quite sure the two must go together. So, I'll start with the first and urge you to listen carefully:

#1: The Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost to empower witness. Therefore, we should expect to experience the presence and power of God's Spirit when we give witness to Jesus as the unique resurrected Lord and Savior.
I can imagine some folks thinking, "That sounds like proselytizing, Pastor. What are you calling us to do? Carry signs around at our school that say, 'Turn or burn'? Run out knocking on doors and irritating people like religious sects do?" What does our witness to Christ have to do with our experience of the Holy Spirit?

Let's come back to the Bible right now. In Acts 1, Jesus had said that we will be witnesses in our own neighborhoods and into the entire world but we must wait for the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the main point of Acts 1-2, i.e., that the Holy Spirit came to give us power to be witnesses about Jesus. Then, when the Holy Spirit came, that's exactly what happened. With the power of the Spirit, these now-Spirit-filled disciples were witnesses to people who had come from all over the world. In 2:11. We read that what the people heard, each in their own heart language had to do with "the mighty saving works of God." In Peter's sermon, he said that men and women, young and old would prophesy so that in 2:21, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." So, after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter gave witness to Jesus and the result was in 2:41, 3,000 people accepted Jesus, were baptized and became a part of the church.

I know that we give witness to people by more than just our words. We will see that often in the Book of Acts. But, just as God created through words, he does his re-creative act in the lives of people when we use our words to testify about him and have him empower them through his Spirit.

For those of you who are not so outspoken and extroverted as others, words can be both spoken and written. When I was a youth pastor, we had a young woman in our group who almost never said anything in our more public settings. You can imagine how surprised we all were when she started bring new believers to the group whom she had influenced through writing letters. In her own way, she courageously used words to tell about Jesus and God used her words.

You know that this past Easter, Pastor Jeff Liou baptized several people he had led to Jesus through his witness. He said that when we give witness to Jesus we often see people come to faith. When that happens, we have no doubt at all about the presence and power of God. I think this is one lesson from Acts 2.

#2: The Holy Spirit was given as people were involved in a community committed to prayer-filled faith and obeying Jesus as they waited. Therefore, we might expect to experience the presence and power of God's Spirit when we are involved in a community of God's people committed to faith, prayer and obedience to Jesus.

When you are feeling God is far away, where do you find others to hold us up in prayer? When you don't know the Bible well enough to answer the questions people ask when you give witness, where do you learn the Scriptures? When everyone else thinks you're crazy because you want to obey Jesus and God's Word, where do you find others who will walk with you? When all week, you've been dragged down by the things the rest of the world values and you think their influence is greater than God's, with whom do you look up and remember that God is God, that God forgives, and that God never gives up on you? The answer to all these and so many other questions is – "The church that was launched at Pentecost in Acts 2."

Just note these things: It was a group of Jesus-followers waiting in a house together in obedience to Jesus who first experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit. They were together with other believers and they were waiting in obedience to Jesus. We need times like that too.

Note also that what was formed was a community of people who otherwise were divided in countless ways. Luke is very specific about the diversity of people who were in Jerusalem in vv. 5-11, Egyptians, Asians, Libyans, Arabs, Jews and non-Jews. It's not unlike Los Angeles. In our divided world, people do not expect to see one family made up of Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, all skin colors and all ages. Only God can bring about that kind of unity in our fragmented and divided world. But we see in Acts 2:5 that people from every nation under heaven together heard the message of God and heard it in their own language through a group of Galileans. Galileans were known to have a very strong accent – almost impossible for others to understand. No one would have expected Galileans to be the ones making God's good news plain to others. But all people at Pentecost heard in their mother-language and were among those who came into the church that day.

Think about what this means: The language division among people had happened, according to Genesis 11, when people had sinned and become arrogant against God. Now, here, we see that the Spirit of God is beginning to reverse the affects of human sin. That's what is to happen in the church: The awful affects of sin in our world and in our lives should begin to be reversed. We should experience the power of God to undo the affects of sin in our lives in the community of the church. This happens when the church is what the Bible says a church is supposed to be, i.e., a place we enter through repentance and faith in Jesus, a people united by the shared experience of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and a community together being committed to prayer and obedience to Christ.

When we meet together with God's people, we should expect in that place that we will experience God together as we pray, worship and serve alongside others committed to Jesus. And that's what we long to be here at LAC. We meet together in this service to sing, pray, and hear God's Word with one another. We are setting aside time on Sunday evenings to come together in a less rushed time simply for worship and prayer. And I believe that as we continue to do this with one another in a fellowship as diverse ethnically and generationally as ours is, we will indeed experience the presence and power of the Spirit of God.

And that leads me to how I want you to respond today....

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor