[Fighting falling fence/wind during hurricane story.]
You know, when that wind gets blowing, it’s going to move things to wherever it’s going. In today’s passage we’re going to see the ‘wind’ of the Holy Spirit blow through the early church and move the disciples out into the world . [2] Like a rushing wind the Spirit came and gave the disciples the power and the love to be the church in their world. Likewise today, we have that same Spirit within us who will give us the power and the love to be the church in our world. The question is, will we let that rushing wind blow through our temple?
Remember what Jesus told the disciples about the Spirit before He ascended to Heaven?
[Read Acts 1:4-8.]
He tells them to stay together in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to come. And they did just that.
[Read Acts 1:12, 14.]
As we saw last week, 120 disciples were together and were continually devoting themselves to prayer. [3]
Now while the disciples were doing this, something else was going on there in Jerusalem. It was the time of year when Jews would come from all over the world to celebrate the Feast of Weeks. This was held every year in celebration of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. It took place fifty days after Passover and that’s why it was also referred to as Pentecost which means “fiftieth” in Greek.
So while the city is abuzz with disporia Jews coming back to Jerusalem from all over the world to worship during Pentecost, the disciples are all together in one place.
[Read Acts 2:1.]
Just like we saw last week, the disciples were together and of one mind in complete devotion to the Lord. Instead of getting caught up in the religious practices of their former spiritual life, they stayed together to pray and wait on the Spirit to come.
Now Jesus really didn’t give them much of an idea of what to look for when the Spirit came. He did tell them what the Spirit would do in their lives, but He didn’t tell them when or how it would happen. He just said they’d be baptized with the Spirit.
Now they knew what that meant. Baptism meant to be fully immersed in a pool of water in order to show others your new life in Christ. But how does that translate into the coming of the Holy Spirit? How do you get dunked in the Spirit? What does it look like? What does it feel like? How will they know it happened? They had no idea.
So they just kept praying! And that attitude of submission mixed with anticipation prepared them for what was about to happen. You see, they were in a place spiritually where they could experience all that God had for them.
[4] So when the time was right, the Spirit arrived in tongues of fire upon all the disciples who were gathered in that room together.
[Read Acts 2:1-2.] [5]
[Read Acts 2:2-3.]
They never could have imagined it happening quite like this. But I bet it soon made sense to them why God so dramatically brought the Spirit to them. You see the wind and the fire were such vivid demonstrations of the power and presence of God.
Rushing wind: First of all, I don’t think there was actually any wind blowing that was making this noise. I think the Spirit coming simply sounded like a violent rushing wind, but without the breeze.
[Read Acts 2:2a.]
It sounded like a tornado was upon them, but the air remained still. You see the sound was because of the power of God ‘breathing’ the Spirit upon them. The Greek word for Spirit is “pneuma” which is closely related to the Greek word “pnoe” used for wind or breath. The sound of the wind represented God breathing the Spirit upon the disciples.
This is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible:
- In the book of Genesis we see God breathing life into Adam and Eve
- In the book of Ezekiel we see God breathing life into the field of dry bones
- In the book of John we see Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit upon the disciples
[Read John 20:19-22.]
Jesus gave them a temporary filling of the Spirit that would help them through the days until the fullness of His Spirit came upon them. Here on the day of Pentecost, the fullness of the Spirit came in all His power to baptize or indwell the disciples.
The noise of the wind displayed God’s power and the tongues of fire displayed God’s very presence. Another biblical theme that the disciples would have immediately recognized.
- The burning bush
- The pillar of fire
- John the Baptist prophecy
[Read Matthew 3:11.]
These disciples would have heard the noise of the rushing wind, seen the tongues of fire hovering over their heads, and would have immediately recognized that it was the power and presence of the Lord baptizing them in the Spirit.
What happened next was truly amazing. When the Spirit came they received the ability to communicate the Truth of God in other languages or tongues with the people there who were from other areas of the world.
[Read Acts 2:4.]
You see, the noise of the rushing wind caused a crowd to gather around the house that the disciples were in. (A house that was probably located close to the Temple where the people had come to worship during Pentecost.) So when people came to investigate what was causing that noise of a mighty, rushing wind, they heard these common Galileans speaking in their own languages. [6] “We hear them in our own tongues speaking the mighty deeds of God.” they said.
[Read Acts 2:5-7.]
I get the impression that this group of disciples was known by many of the city’s people. After all, there was 120 of them together cooped up in someone’s house worshipping Jesus instead of going to the Pentecost feasts. Word would have gotten around.
Jesus’ followers were known as Galileans who were regarded as lower class Jews.
- From northern Israel
- Accent
- Uneducated and unsophisticated
So how is it that these low class heretics can speak about the wonders of God in so
many of the languages of the world?
[Read Acts 2:8-11.]
Isn’t this amazing? In 1:8 Jesus told them that when the Spirit came they would have the power to be witnesses to people in the remotest part of the world. Well, without even leaving Jerusalem they were able to witness to people from all over the world! The world was brought to them and the Spirit gave them the words to tell the world.
And that was simply the ministry of the Spirit on that day – to enable the disciples to tell anyone and everyone there in Jerusalem about the mighty deeds of God.
Now even though this was an incredible display of the power of God working through these disciples, the people there didn’t quite know what to make of it at first. [7] They asked, “what does this mean?” So Peter comes forward and tells them what it all really means. Basically, that all men can be saved through Jesus Christ.
[Read Acts 2:12-21.]
Now this is only the introduction to Peter’s great sermon that led to the salvation of 3,000 people. (Next week we’ll cover the rest of his message.) But basically, his message was that this display of the power of the Holy Spirit of God working through the disciples was an indication that they were living in the last days. Now the last days refers to the time period between the first coming of Christ and the return of Christ as spoken of by the prophet Joel whom Peter quotes. (Joel 2:28-32.)
You see, the coming of the Spirit was just the beginning of what God was doing in the earth. It was a sign to the world that the Lord had come and had given His followers His Spirit to enable them to do amazing things. And one day that same Lord would come back and set up His kingdom on earth. We don’t know when that is, but we know it is coming.
But the real thrust of the message, even right here in Peter’s introduction, is that all men can be saved through Jesus Christ.
[Read Acts 2:21.]
All of these Jews who were visiting Jerusalem from other countries were able to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language because the Spirit enabled these Galilean believers to communicate with them in a miraculous way.
I’m sure that when the day started for the disciples they had no idea that God would do something so amazing in and through them. But they were unified and they were spiritually ready – so God showed up in a rushing wind and blew right through them.
[8] You know God wants to work through you in much the same way. If you are a true believer in Christ, God wants to show up in your life like a rushing wind and blow through you to help others get saved.
Now, if you are a believer in Christ, you have the Spirit in you. I Corinthians 12:13 states that when we believe it is at that moment that the Spirit comes to live within us.
But even though we have the Spirit of God within us, are we allowing it to loosen our tongues to proclaim the wonders of God to a lost world? You see, God wants to give you the ability to speak in tongues today just like the disciples did. He does! Maybe the tongue you speak in is:
- Another language, (missionary story)
- Culture, (love)
- Shyness, (boldness)
Listen, people are going to wonder why you live like you live; why you believe what
you believe; why you have what you have; why you go to church; why you’re nice to them; Let God loosen your tongue and tell them about Jesus Christ.
Being the church every day, every where and to every one we come in contact with means that you will have opportunities to help people come to Christ.
When is the last time you had a conversation with a non-believer about the reality of Jesus Christ? A month; a year; 5 years; never?
Why is that? If we want others to know the love and salvation of God, then we need to be willing to be used of God in the process. Ask God to send His rushing wind through you to clear out anything that might get in the way of your voice being heard for Him.
One of my favorite artists is the late Keith Green. He wrote a song called “Rushing Wind” as a song of dedication to the Lord. If you are willing to be used of God in this world, then I ask you to recite the words of this song with me as a dedication of our lives to Him.
Please stand with me. [8]
Rushing wind, blow through this temple
Blowing out the dust within
Come and breathe your breath upon me
I've been born again
Holy Spirit, I surrender; take me where you want to go
Plant me by your living water
Plant me deep so I can grow
Jesus, you’re the one who sets my spirit free
Use me, Lord; glorify your Holy Name through me [10]
Separate me from this world, Lord
Sanctify my life for you
Daily change me to your image
Help me bear good fruit
Ev'ry day you're drawing closer
Trials come to test my faith
But when all is said and done, Lord
You know it's been worth the wait
Jesus, you’re the one who set my spirit free
Use me, Lord; glorify your Holy Name through me [11]
Rushing wind, blow through this temple
Blowing out the dust within
Come and breathe you breath upon me
For I've been born again [12]
[Closing prayer.]
