Reunited In God Series

Intro

In recent years…people exploring their ancestry… the massive exploration has come in part due to easier access to archived info… and DNA testing…but also because of the significant disconnection people feel with their families…and their roots. Fewer have those who pass along the stories… and people feel more adrift.

(Roots TV series…not the outward styles… it was the values.)

Today we are continuing in our series entitled ‘ROOTS: rediscovering our foundations. Engaging the Biblical Book of Acts.

If you are newer to the Scriptures, the Book of Acts is a unique book in the Bible. It lies after the four Gospel accounts… and before the letters written to various churches. It provides an accounting of the dramatic spread of the followers of Christ. eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Biblical Book known as “Acts” is written by Luke as something of a follow up to his Gospel account of the life and teachings of Christ. Here in Acts he draws together his collecting of firsthand accounts following the resurrection of Christ in which the church began.

Here we discover the roots of the church… the family story and foundations.

We want to hear afresh the real calling that is upon our lives… as individuals and as a community.

Last week… after he rose from the dead… he spent 40 days… focusing them on the KOG… and concluded…‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That calling changed everything.

What we must grasp is that what Christ began was not centered in a meeting but a mission.

Some will dismiss the value of meeting… which completely forsakes the way of Jesus… as he set forth a mission that was rooted in his gathering together 12 lives and committing himself to them… and such a committed camaraderie was essential to how they grew in their maturity and lived out the mission.

What’s vital to grasp is that the meeting was in support of a mission. This is why I like the term

‘missional community.’

Today… the day of Pentecost declares to us…

Acts 2:1-8, 12-18

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ""Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? …12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ""What does this mean?"" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, ""They have had too much wine."" 14 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. 15"

"These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ""'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

Critical point at which the church is birthed… with the coming of the Spirit of God. [1] This is central to who we are.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit… which was the entire focus of our recent summer series.

But there is also a profound work of uniting people that is taking place here.

Background – God used this festival of harvest when Jews scattered from many nations came to Jerusalem to reveal that when the Spirit is poured out… the age of harvest begins… praises come forth that are not in the language of the those praising…but can be understood by the breadth of foreigners. [2]

It’s a sign of God reuniting humanity in Himself.

As many have noted, it is the reversal of what took place long ago in God’s hand upon humanity… as recorded in Genesis 11.