THE MIRACLE OF COMMUNICATION
ACTS 2:4 11
The third manifestation of the Holy Spirit was not only for the 120 but also for the crowds that had gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost.
The followers of Jesus were filled with the Holy Spirit for PRAISE and PROCLAMATION. These two go together. The Spirit releases us to praise, and that becomes a very effective proclamation.
It was the sound of that rushing mighty wind that brought the crowds to the area of the Upper Room...then it was the quality of praise that made them want to know what was happening.
Following that, Peter had a ready audience for a powerful proclamation of the true nature of not just what was happening but how all those gathered there in Jerusalem could participate with them.
The followers of the Lord experienced the communion of the Holy Spirit for communication...they were given a special anointing for utterance. Here they discovered that the Spirit and His gifts are for ministry.
Luke tells us that the people in the Upper Room were "filled with the Holy Spirit" (v. 4). The word filled [eplerosen] that is used here is speaking of a definite act at a specific time in the past.
The Spirit had filled the room...now He had filled the ready disciples and followers whose preparation had made room for Him. The Greek means that they were filled to the full. or made full. The result is that they were Spirit filled, as a vessel is filled.
What does this mean? I've heard many people attempt to explain it, in a variety of ways. To me, the best way to explain it is to consider the human vessel which was filled...
As human beings they had minds, brains, wills, emotions, and physical bodies. To be filled to the full, as the Greek implies, means that the Spirit invaded every facet, function and part of their nature...
The entry was through their spirits, the conscious self. Then the tissues of their brains were implanted with the Spirit, which made possible an emotional response...and their bodies were energized which produced a physical radiance and energetic movements.
Their minds were captured by the truth of the Spirit, their brains thought it out, and their nervous system channeled it...with every part of the body responding in unity and oneness.
All that they were was infused by the all powerful Spirit of the Lord. And what was the undeniable evidence of all this?....PRAISE!!!!
An outpouring of praise that to this day has yet to be equaled.
One of the manifestations of this was that they "began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit enabled them." (v.4)
Galileans whose language was Aramaic were able to speak in Latin, Greek, and all other languages represented by the people gathered from around the known world.
READ vs. 5 11
When we understand the complicated method of speech through the system of the brain, we begin to see what a phenomenal thing happened to the Lord's people.
The cerebral cortex of the brain sends a signal to the speech center where words are formulated. This area lies on the lateral side of the dominant brain.
With the aid of the motor cortex on both sides of the brain, messages are sent deep into the brain where the medulla lies. Here, two cranial nerves, one which controls the tongue and one which controls the mouth, are stimulated into action.
At the same time, the cerebral motor cortex takes over voluntary control of respiration. Signals are sent down the phrenic nerve to the diaphragm and to the thoracic nerves to cause the person to exhale on command. The combination of all this produces speech.
That we can think and then express our thoughts in words in our own language is evidence of the wonder of creation. But what about "other" tongues?
Luke tells us that the praise of the Spirit filled believers was spoken in the languages of the people gathered in Jerusalem. This is an indication of how completely filled and under the influence of the Spirit they were.
The amazing mechanism of speech was utilized by Him to enable the believers to think and articulate in languages they had previously not learned.
Now, it is important to distinguish between "other" tongues and the gift of tongues. On Pentecost, for the 120 to speak in the languages of the different nationalities was a miracle for the communication of what was happening to them.
Later, in the development of the fellowship of the church, the Holy Spirit gave a gift of utterance which was not a specific language.
Rather, words and sounds were given by the Spirit to release the believers for praise beyond the capacity of expression in the words of their own languages...and for prophesies to the church.
When the gift was used in the assembly of believers, the Spirit also gave the gift of interpretation so that the words spoken could be interpreted for the edification of the church. This is supernatural, in that a person cannot produce the gift, but can be a cooperative agent for it to happen.
This is a legitimate New Testament gift which is given by the Spirit to a believer for praise in his own prayers, as well as in the church ...when instruction of it's proper use is given and the gift of interpretation is also utilized.
The other tongues of Pentecost and the gift of tongues that was later provided for believers have this in common: they both required a Spirit filled yieldedness for the speech system of the brain to function.
It is helpful to think of what happened on Pentecost as a miracle and what happened later to believers as a gift. We will have more to say about the gift of tongues as we get further along in the book of Acts where the gift was evidenced.
For now, we must keep out train of thought focused on Luke's account of what happened at Pentecost.
The followers of the Master were ecstatic with praise. The wind had stimulated their minds and the fire had kindled their emotions. They both thought and felt uncontainable adoration.
The evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit is a freedom from self concern and to Spirit consciousness. We are released to praise God with joy and gratitude.
The motivation for this in the Upper Room was based on several definite things. The believers felt blessed and loved by the Lord. He had been faithful to His promise to return to them...
He was not only resurrected from the dead, He was with them and in them. The rushing wind communicated His power...the fire set their hearts and minds ablaze.
Try to remember the finest things that ever happened to you and multiply them a million times...and you begin to know what happened in the Upper Room.
Think of a human relationship where you felt free, cared about, and helped in a specific situation...or remember the time when you first experienced the love of the Lord in hearing the awesome truth of the gospel.
Consider a time when you prayed in an impossible situation and had a specific intervention which was so spectacular that you knew only the Lord could have done it.
If you can identify with any of these situations try to imagine all the disciples thought, experienced and felt. It must have been like the Lord's walking on the water to them on the Sea of Galilee...but so much more...
It was like Easter morning with the news that Jesus was alive, but so much greater. All those things were external situations where they saw the Lord's power...but this was the invasion of their total being by this same Lord.
Look at the difference between the disciples after they witnessed all the many miracles that Christ performed compared with their experience at Pentecost.
They witnessed an untold number of healings, saw Lazarus rise from the dead, saw His power over demonic forces, the feeding of the multitudes and on and on...yet they were weak in their faith and ran for their lives while Jesus was tried and executed...Peter denied Him.......
They had been hiding, trying to keep a low profile, knowing that the religious leaders could very well come after them next. Many of them considered going back to their previous occupations...
But now they were totally transformed. The fear of man was gone as the Spirit filled them and empowered them for the task ahead. No wonder their praise was ecstatic...their enthusiasm knew no limits...and their inspiration was so contagious.
This third dynamic of praise is the secret of the liberated life. There is power in praise that needs to be discovered...Praising the Lord for what He has done frees us to receive what He will do.
But also, praise is the ultimate level of human resignation to the Spirit of the Lord. When we praise Him for problems or unresolved tensions, we release them to Him in a way that frees us from the grip of anxiety.
I have learned that the turning point in severe difficulties came when I began to praise the Lord. Because He has something to show me that I would not be able to receive if life were smooth and easy.
The problem comes when we try to communicate this truth...when we try to get people to understand just how powerful praise can be. Most of you have probably never experienced this level of praise. The impact of this passage will just skim right over your head and heart with an evasion that says," Well, that was fine for them, but they weren't going through what I am enduring."
But the disciples were not a band of jolly, carefree believers before Pentecost. They had personal problems...relational difficulties...and a hostile world to face without much confidence that they would have the courage to handle.
We aren't told that praise was a part of their prayers before Pentecost, but we're told repeatedly that it was a never ceasing part of their prayers afterward.
We are the recipients of the secret they discovered. The same Holy Spirit who produced unbridled praise in them is the source of our ability to praise in difficult times.
He knows that the blessings He wants to give cannot be received until we praise in advance of a resolution. Praising gives us an endurance, determination, and an openness to the future...regardless of what the situation may look like at the time.
Praising is also an irresistible attraction for communicating our faith to others. A praising Christian will have no limit of opportunities to talk to others about Christ.
Robert Louis Stevenson said, "Show me your praises and I'll think more of your prayers."
The praise of the newly filled believers was what caused the crowd to gather that day in Jerusalem. It was not just that they heard in their own language, but what they heard that was so astonishing.
I think we focus too much on the fact that they spoke in languages they didn't know when what is really important is the message they were giving...and that was a message of praise to the living God.
Like the homing instinct that just naturally knows the way to a destination, the desire to praise lies deep within every human being.
And the praise the crowd heard for what the Lord was doing struck a something deep within them.
I think that is why so many are frustrated with dull religion. There is little real fulfillment in our so called worship services. Let me ask you...How many leave church with a real sense of fulfillment... with the knowledge that you were really in the presence of the Lord?
When we see authentic praise, we are drawn mysteriously to it. Just as the multitudes were drawn to that Upper Room when they heard the disciples giving praise, there is still today an attraction to true, unadulterated praise.
The Scripture says that the Lord inhabits the praises of His people, and when we are filled with His Spirit and offer up authentic praise He will reveal Himself to us in a way that is more powerful and more dynamic than anything we've ever experienced.
Do you want more than just a dull, boring religion...Do you want to draw closer to God...do you want to be able to be a bold and shining light to a lost and dying world...do you want to experience the kind of power that will turn this world upside down...
Then begin to praise Him
Yield yourself completely to the Holy Spirit of God and experience firsthand the awesome power that is available to us...power to be witnesses...power to live the abundant life that has been provided for us...power to be victorious as we fight the good fight of faith...
We can experience a modern day Pentecost if we'll just give ourselves totally to Him.
