The
text that we have before us today is one that could be tackled from any number
of angles. We could spend a great deal
of time talking about the day of Pentecost and what significance it has in the
life of God’s people. After all, it is
both the day of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai and the day of the
descending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the other followers of
Christ. Because of this later event, it
is sometimes referred to as the Birthday of the Church. We could be tempted into dividing this text
up and dissecting it really verse by verse with the clever wordplay that is
used here throughout the text. For
example, the Hebrew and Greek word for Spirit also means wind or breath. So in verse 2 when Luke writes of a mighty
rushing wind, he is actually connecting what is happening to the Holy
Spirit. We could take time to really
digest what is going on here with the speaking in tongues and the comprehension
of those gathered there. We could even
take the time and distinguish between the people of God and those who were
against him in the final two verses.
We’re told that some were amazed, and others thought that these folks
were drunk at 9 in the morning. As I
said, there are so many angles that we could approach this text from, and I
think that we would be justified in choosing any or all of them. However, I was to take a much more simplistic
approach to this text today. I want to
simply look at one of the things that I mentioned earlier, and that is the
coming of the Holy Spirit and the reason for calling this day the Birthday of
the Church.
The
word Pentecost in Greek literally means fiftieth. It comes fifty days after the day of
Passover. This year, that happens to
fall on June 8th. Prior to its
being the day of the giving of the law, its original meaning was a celebration
of the Feast of Harvest. It was the time
of year when grain harvesting began. The
Feast of Harvest was the festival of anticipation of the fuller harvest yet to
come. If we take that original meaning
of Pentecost and apply it to the fact that throughout his earthly ministry,
Jesus spoke numerous times of his coming being like that of a harvest, we can
assume that those who followed Jesus expected a greater and fuller harvest of
souls during this current Pentecost. Add
this with the expectations that he had just given them in Acts 1 about the
baptism of the Holy Spirit that is to come and the power that they are to
receive at this time. The followers of
Christ gathered there had to be bursting with excitement.
Now,
we’re going to look at the entirety of Pentecost and what took place there over
the next several weeks, but I want to pull our attention back to our text for
today after giving you that background as to what was expected by those who
were apostles and other followers of Christ.
And this is where we’re going to focus our attention for the rest of our
time together this morning. I want us to
look together at Acts 2:4. This is after
the mighty winds rush through and after the divided tongues of fire fall upon
all the people. Now as a side note, the
divided tongues of fire are simply a reference to talking outside of
oneself. In essence, it’s a sense in which
those gathered around were speaking, but it wasn’t their words being spoken; it
was God speaking through them. But then
in verse 4 we read, “And they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Many of us, and many readers of Scriptures
and biblical scholars, are and have been drawn in by the notion of tongues and
the fact that all those gathered there began to speak in tongues. I’m not going to say that giving attention to
these events is somehow wrong; however, this morning, I want us to focus simply
upon the words, “and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” In other words, I want to just set aside all
the other things that we find going on here and just focus upon the filling of
the people by and with the Holy Spirit.
I
want you to stop and think about that for just a moment: they were ALL filled with the Holy
Spirit. It doesn’t say that just the
apostles were filled. It doesn’t say
that just those mentioned by name were filled.
It doesn’t say that only the most devout of Jesus’ followers were
filled. NO! It says that ALL were filled with the Holy
Spirit. Isn’t that the most comforting,
astounding, and amazing thing that we could hear? To think that the same Holy Spirit that we
first find in Genesis 1:2 (And the Spirit of God was hovering over the
face of the waters) came and filled all those gather there in Jerusalem
that day. To think that the same Holy
Spirit who we’re told about in Matthew 3 who “[descended] like a dove and
[came] to rest on [Jesus]” is now descending upon and filling those
gathered there in Jerusalem. To think
that the third person of the Trinity filled these people in Jerusalem is
amazing. There are some who might would
even argue that it is more amazing than the second person of the Trinity, i.e.
the Son, dwelling amongst humanity.
After all, this is God Himself not just dwelling with humanity, but
within human beings, within fallen man.
Now,
let’s take this indwelling of the Holy Spirit experienced by all those in
Jerusalem who followed Jesus and think about it in terms of us today. This same Holy Spirit dwells within each of
us right now. Can you comprehend
that? Can you comprehend the magnitude
of those words that I just said? Can you
comprehend that the same Holy Spirit who was there during creation, the same
Holy Spirit what descended upon Jesus and then upon those gathered there in
Jerusalem; that same Holy Spirit fills us this very day. This type of thinking gives us a whole new
meaning of and an even greater confidence in those (as I call them) power
verses like Philippians 4:13 (“I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me”). After all, we
have the same Holy Spirit working in us and through us and to us that Jesus
did. Think about that. There is no limit to what we might accomplish
for the kingdom of God. All things that
are in line with the will of the Father are within our reach, they are within
our ability and power.
So,
we stand here (well, I stand, y’all sit) and we realize that we have the Holy
Spirit dwelling within us just as these apostles and other believers in
Jerusalem did. We may be tempted to ask
ourselves why we don’t have the power to do the same things that the apostles
did, the things that we will see them do over the coming months as we continue
through Acts. Why can’t we speak in
tongues, heal people, drive out demons, etc.?
Well, the short answer is that we can, but that just isn’t God’s will at
this time. That is to say that God could
use us to do those things, but His will is not for us to do that at this time. And there’s much debate along this line about
these types of activities. They are
referred to as spiritual gifts in many circles.
Some say that they are finished while others view them as very much
alive today. Now, my own personal
opinion (and that’s all that it is, is an opinion) is that they are not in use
today. However, just because they are
not in use doesn’t mean that they are outside of God’s power. I firmly believe that if they were needed in
the Church today, that God could empower all of us to do these very things that
we will find the apostles doing here in the early church.
Not
wanting to go off in an entirely different direction, let me steer the
conversation back to where we originally began, the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that was
there at creation, at the baptism of Jesus, and descended upon the early church
there in Jerusalem is here with us today.
He’s here with us in our daily lives.
He’s empowering us to do the things that we are able to do. He’s here to make the elements on the table
before us have significant to us. He’s
here applying the righteousness of Christ to all of our hearts at this very
moment. I mean, think about what we find
here in these verses. The Holy Spirit is
with all believers. We have the power of
God working through us. We have the
power of God giving us the ability to accomplish anything.
When
you feel down; when you feel insignificant; when you feel like you’re just
always a step behind or on the losing end of a battle, remember that the Holy
Spirit dwells within you. Remember that
the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of God, is dwelling within you at this
very moment. The Holy Spirit dwells
within ALL believers, within all those who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior and have been baptized in His name.
This simple fact alone should eliminate the Christian pessimist. But seriously, because of this simple fact,
there is no limit to the great things that we can accomplish for God’s
kingdom. However, we must remember that
this news doesn’t mean that we are all going to have superpowers or anything,
but it means that anything that is in line with God’s with, that we have the
ability to accomplish it. God has a plan
for all of our lives, and he has given us His Holy Spirit to accomplish that
plan and purpose. There is no reason for
us to ever think that something is too big for us to overcome it. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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