Empowered for a Purpose
Acts 1:4-8
The last chapter of Luke and the first chapter of Acts Dr. Luke testifies to the final words of Jesus and His ascension into heaven. Why didn’t Jesus continue His ministry on earth? He rose from the dead. Why didn’t He continue to lead His disciples in preaching and healing to people in the world? Jesus would have done much good through his preaching and healing ministry. During His more than three years of public ministry much was accomplished, but there was so much more to be done.
Of all the books in the Bible there is one book that specializes in telling the story of people’s lives being changed. The author tells of nominal Christians being transformed into zealous, firey, and courageous believers. Of course I’m talking about the book of Acts. Acts was written around 61 AD by Luke a physician and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. Luke records the history of the early church following the ascension of Christ.
In John’s gospel chapters 14 and 16 Jesus taught his disciples that it was necessary that he go back to heaven. Jesus had given more than three years of training to his disciples and he promised them that after his departure he would continue to be with them. Matthew 28:16-18, “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John chapters 14,16, Jesus gives instructions on what his disciples were to do following his departure. Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for them. Jesus told them that all who saw Him were also seeing God the Father. Jesus said that He and the Father were one.
Jesus told his followers that he was going to the Father and all His followers were to continue to do the work he had done. Jesus gave the promise that they would do even greater works than he had done. John 14:12
Jesus said that after his ascension he would not leave his disciples orphans. After His departure He would send the Holy Spirit to come as His representative. The Holy Spirit would teach them everything they needed to know and remind them of everything Christ had told them. John 14:26
Jesus said that as long as he was with them he was limited to being present with them one-on-one or in a group. John 16:7, “If I do not go away, he will not come to you, because I will send him to you.”
Prior to Pentecost the work of the Holy Spirit was limited to individuals. The Holy Spirit empowered David to kill a bear, a lion and Goliath. The Holy Spirit empowered Sampson with super human strength. The Holy Spirit empowered Gideon to defeat the Midianites with a small bank of 300 men.
After Pentecost Jesus was available to everyone through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit; no longer limited to one on one or groups of people.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and filled all 120 of the disciples waiting in prayer with the power and love of Christ. Ten days after Jesus ascended into Heaven the Holy Spirit empowered and energized believers to carry on the work He started. Pentecost was the inauguration of the New Testament Church.
Acts 1:4-8 outlines the purpose of Christ’s ascension into heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1 gives the exit strategy of Jesus. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (verse 4)
Jesus gave clear instructions to the disciples to prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I. The Preparation for the Coming of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told the disciples to “wait” in the city until they were endued with power from on high.
Most of us want instant spiritual maturity. I for one don’t like to wait. I took our van for an oil change at Toyota and when I saw 7 cars lined up I quickly turn away and went to a quick lube place. I’ll pay a higher price for gas than wait in a long line. I stay away from Costco at peak shopping hours.
Give me the choice of micro-wave or conventional oven and I’ll choose the micro-wave every time.
A group of travelers were being made to wait on their airplane, which was late due to another flight being canceled. The crowd looked upset and impatient as the time went on and on. Finally an angry passenger pushed his way to the front of the line, slammed his ticket down and said, “I must be on this flight now and I must be in first class”. The flight attendant, trying to be nice said, “Sir, we’ll get to you as soon as possible, but you must wait in line like everyone else”. He quickly said, “Ma’am, do you have any idea who I am?” Without hesitation, she smiled, picked up her intercom microphone and said, “We have a passenger here at the gate, WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to gate 17.
We want to have the fullness and blessing of God in one quick fix. Do you know how long the disciples waited in Jerusalem with most of their time waiting in the upper-room before they experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit? Ten days! Ten days of waiting, praying and preparing for the promise of Jesus that He would send the Holy Spirit. I imagine while there were praying and waiting there was a time of confessing and asking for forgiveness; Forgiveness for trying to compete with one another as to who would be first in the Kingdom. Acts 1:14 says, “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Some of their prayers probably were for forgiveness for spiritual pride, judgmental attitudes and lack of compassion.
They prepared for the coming of the Holy Spirit by waiting and praying.
After ten days of waiting it was the day to celebrate the feast of Pentecost.
II. The Presence of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 describes the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, 7 weeks or 50 days following the resurrection of Jesus from the grave.
All the signs and symbols of Pentecost represent the very presence of God in their midst. 120 disciples of Jesus were in the Upper Room, their prayer time was interrupted by a mighty roar that sounded like a tornado. A tornado sounds like a train roaring down tracks. The air in the room was not stirring, but the sound was like the breeze blowing in a 130 mile Hurricane.
Sound of Wind
Wind was a symbol of God’s presence. Hebrew, “Ruah” translated “wind” or “Spirit.” Greek, “Pneuma”, translated, “wind” or “Spirit.”
Can you picture 120 people crowded into a room in a house in Jerusalem. They had gathered together to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. All at once there was the roaring of a mighty wind. If any of them had become sleepy or dozed off during their time of praying they became fully alert at the sound.
Wind was a symbol of the Divine Presence of God.
Tongues of Fire
A second symbol was fire. A fire-like ball came into the room and suddenly parted into small flames that rested on each person present. God was present with everyone in the prayer meeting. Acts 2:3, “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire, that separated and came to rest on each of them.”
Wind and fire both represent the power and purity of God. God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush. An angel brought purity to Isaiah through the symbol of burning coals. Fire is symbolic of holiness and purity. The Holy Spirit purified their hearts by faith.
Miracle of Languages
A third symbol of God’s Presence was the miracle of hearing: Acts 2:5-6, “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 them speaking in his own language.” “Each one hears them speaking in his own language.”
Pentecost was the reverse of what happened when the Tower of Babel was being built. God caused all the workers to speak different languages so they could not continue their work. Pentecost all heard the Galileans speaking in their various languages.
There may have been all the various languages being spoken, but it seems to me the miracle was in the hearing. Though the language of the text seems to say, “They began to speak in other languages.” Either way there was definitely a miracle of communication so all could understand.
Acts 2:5-12 “Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time. When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.”
“They were beside themselves with wonder. ‘How can this be?’ they exclaimed. (Fifteen nations are listed in this passage.) ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born! Here we are – Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphilia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed…”
The Apostle Peter stepped up and addressed the crowd and told them what was happening was the fulfillment of what the prophet Joel had prophesied. God would pour out his Spirit upon all people. In the power of the Holy Spirit there would be many signs and wonders and healings. Anyone who called upon the name of the Lord would be saved. Acts 2:17-21
For ten days the disciples waited and prayed for the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and filled the people with purity and power.
III. The Purpose of the Holy Spirit’s Coming
Jesus gave the purpose of the empowering of the Holy Spirit in His farewell address: Acts 1:8, “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere – in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The coming of the Holy Spirit started a Christian revolution. The entire Roman Empire was shaken by the event. Three thousand people repented and were added to the church, then 5,000 and the church continued to daily add people to the fellowship of believers.
The purpose of the Holy Spirit at work in your life is to make Jesus Christ a reality of your life.
Something dramatic happened to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came and radically changed the lives of the 120 believers. Before Pentecost the disciples were afraid of their own shadows, hiding behind locked doors. They argued among themselves. They were jealous of one another. At one point they wanted to call fire down on their enemies.
Without the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart and lives we quickly become indifferent rather than zealous. We grow spiritually dry instead of flowing over with love and compassion. We experience compromise rather than commitment. We harbor grudges and un-confessed sin rather than make open and honest confession. We tend to be self-centered rather than Christ centered. We become too busy doing the urgent things in life to do what God wants us to do.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our heart helps us to love others as Jesus loved others. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. In some ways the Holy Spirit is the great dis-comforter. The Holy Spirit doesn’t let us become satisfied with SOS, same o same o.
Something happened to weak, anemic, timid, wavering disciples on the day of Pentecost. They became strong, stalwart, dynamic, red corpuscle disciples. The outside world looked at them and marveled: “These people have been with Jesus.”
Before Pentecost you couldn’t get the disciples to open their mouths and speak about their faith when Jesus was arrested and crucified. Now after Pentecost you can’t get them to be quiet. Peter and John were brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin and told to stop preaching about Jesus. What did Peter and John reply: “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20 - Peter and John did not run and hid they stood up and were counted for Jesus regardless of the cost.
Satan’s strategy is to keep you living in the dark days of the crucifixion of Christ. Satan’s doesn’t want you to move into the power of Pentecost.
Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to empower us for whatever purpose God has for our lives.
