SERIES: HEALTHY CHURCH!
“THE INSPIRATION FACTOR”
ACTS 2:1-13
OPEN
One New Year’s Day in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gasoline and pour it into the gas tank.
The amusing thing was that this particular float represented the Standard Oil Company. With all of its vast oil resources, they were out of gas.
There are lots of congregations today who are out of gas. They’ve relied too long on what they can do in their flesh instead of relying on the Holy Spirit. They have looked to programs and people instead of almighty God.
There are also lots of people who are out of gas. They’ve been trying to live life under their own power instead of the power of God’s Spirit. Are you out of gas today?
We have only two more messages left in our series on church health – today and next week. Today I want us to look at “The Inspiration Factor.” The inspiration factor is the Holy Spirit.
In the original languages of both the Old and New Testaments, the word for “spirit” literally means “breath” or “wind.” Some of the most debilitating diseases of the human body are lung diseases. When you can’t breathe properly, your body suffers. Oxygen can’t get to vital areas and energy fails quickly.
One of the most important areas of conditioning for athletic endeavors is aerobic conditioning – increasing your wind power. In a boxing match, when a fighter is tired and he can’t process oxygen properly, the commentators will say, “He’s out of gas.” Likewise, on a basketball court or a football field, when a team or player is exhausted can’t process oxygen efficiently, the commentators say, “They’re out of gas.”
Zech. 4:6 – “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubabbel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”
There are a lot of Christians who are confused about the Holy Spirit. There are those who over-emphasize the Holy Spirit. There are those who under-emphasize the Holy Spirit. There are those who ignore the Holy Spirit altogether.
A proper understanding of the Holy Spirit is essential in being a healthy church. We talk about the importance of the Great Commandments and the Great Commission. Accomplishing them is not possible without the work of the Great Companion – the Holy Spirit.
In Lk. 24:49, following His resurrection, Jesus told his followers, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” In a similar statement right before He ascended to the Father, Jesus revealed the source of this power from on high in Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
And the outpouring of this power from on high through the Holy Spirit is recorded in our main
Scripture passage for this morning. Acts 2:1-13 – “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house
where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 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 their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of
us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and
Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from
Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in
our own tongues!’ Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’ Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’”
THE EXPRESSION:
How Did the Holy Spirit Come?
There were some things happening in the lives of Jesus’ followers that precipitated this marvelous work of the Holy Spirit in their midst. First, the passage tells us that the believers were together. The phrase “all together” here literally means they were unanimous. They weren’t just “all together” as a group of people but were together in purpose and perspective. Then Luke notes that they were “in one place.” The original language means “to admit or delight in.” They were saying “yes’ to Chris and “yes” to one another. There was an acceptance of Jesus as Lord and acceptance of one another in a mutual cause and effort. That’s where the body of Christ needs to be: accepting one another with grace.
The second thing is that these people were expecting something to happen. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told them, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
So, based on Jesus’ promise, they were eagerly awaiting what God was going to do. Acts 1:12 tells us that they went back to Jerusalem. It makes sense since that is where the promise would start. They were ready to receive it because their minds and their hearts were focusing on what God would do through them
The third thing they did was to make preparations so they would be ready when God was ready. In Acts 1:13-14, we read how Jesus’ followers were constantly praying for God’s guidance and direction. Then, starting in Acts 1:15 and moving through the end of the chapter, we see how they came to the decision to replace Judas so that there would be a full complement of 12 apostles. And when God was ready, He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell those who followed His Son.
We’re also told that there were physical manifestations that occurred. God provided audio-visual special effects to highlight what was happening.
The audio manifestation was a sound “like a violent wind.” It was a sound that came from heaven – not like earthly wind that would come from the North, South, East, or West. This sound came “from above.” God used an already establish symbol of the Holy Spirit to reveal the work of the Spirit through His people. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament words for the Holy Spirit basically mean “breath” or “wind.” It can refer to the breath life which God breathed into human beings or it can refer to the actual weather phenomena of blowing wind.
Wind represents the Holy Spirit because it can be refreshing. On a hot, muggy day, when you feel ready to quit work because you’re so wilted from the heat, a fresh breeze of wind can invigorate you and keep you going.
Wind represents the Holy Spirit because it’s powerful. If you’ve ever been in a violent windstorm or tornado, you understand the incredible things that wind can do. It can destroy things large and small.
Wind represents the Holy Spirit because it can provide power. A sailboat on a lake is dead in the water without the power of wind. Wind can produce electrical power when harnessed by windmills and wind turbines.
John Ortberg says the difference between depending on our efforts and the work of the Spirit is like
taking a rowboat across the ocean. It’s exhausting and usually unsuccessful. He says that others have given up the rowboat and tried to throw themselves entirely on God’s grace.
They’re like drifters on a raft. They do nothing but hang on and hope God gets them there. He warns that neither the rowboat nor the raft are effective in bringing about spiritual transformation.
He says that the best image is the sailboat, which if it moves at all, is moved by the gift of the wind. The wind isn’t under our control. The good sailor just discerns where the wind is blowing and adjusts the sails accordingly. However, the good sailor does have a part in discerning how the wind is blowing, knowing the direction he needs to go, and then setting the sails to catch the wind that God provides.
The video manifestation was that they “saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.” The original language here describes a general appearance of fire which then divested itself in part to the individuals who were present.
One commentator describes it this way: “The original Greek gives the picture, not of a cloven tongue on each, but the ‘firelike’ appearance presented itself at first, as it were in a single body, and then suddenly parted in this direction and that; so that a portion of it rested on each of those present.” Just like the audio manifestation “like the sound of a violent wind” represents the work of the Holy Spirit, so, too, does the visual manifestation of “what seemed t be tongues of fire.”
Fire represents the Holy Spirit because fire purifies. Fire is used to purify precious metals. It takes out the pollution and the impurities.
Fire represents the Holy Spirit because in the Old Testament, fire represented the presence of God. We see it in the Shekinah glory that led the wandering Israelites as a cloud by day and a fire by night. Lev. 10:1-2 describes the fire that came forth from the altar to consume those how had defiled the altar. In Exodus 3, we see God speaking to Moses from the burning bush. In Deut. 4:24, Moses told the Israelites: “Our God is a consuming fire.” Those tongues of fire demonstrated that God had come to His people to dwell in them and to constantly be with them. His presence is ever near for those who know Him.
Fire represents the Holy Spirit because fire transforms things. Once fire touches anything, it is different than it was before. Fire changes whatever it touches.
The Holy Spirit is not just wind or fire. 1 Kings 19:11-13a describes an encounter between God and Elijah: The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD , for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD , but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
On the day of Pentecost, God came to indwell His people – all who would follow His Son Jesus Christ. He came to be with us constantly and to live within us: purifying and transforming us. He came to do His work in us.
When the Spirit is working, He produces something that is hard to ignore. Luke tells us that all of those gathered at the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost heard these followers of Jesus speak about Jesus in the native language of the area in which they lived for the largest part of the year. Acts 2:6b – Each one heard them speaking in their own language. In Acts 2:8, they ask how it can be that they can hear in their own native languages. Luke tells us that they spoke as the Spirit enabled them. It was the work of God’s Spirit that allowed them to be heard in the native languages or dialects of those assembled.
On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit accomplished what Jesus said He would do in John 14:26-27 – “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” In Acts 2:11b, we hear the people say, “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” And it was because all of them were filled with Holy Spirit – not full of themselves but the very Spirit of God.
THE EXPLANATION:
Why Did the Holy Spirit Come?
A.W. Tozer said, “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference."
Jesus said in Acts 1:8 that when the Holy Spirit came that He would give POWER. The Greek word here is dunamis – it’s a reference to power that’s explosive and power that is ready to be put to use. The word “dynamite” entered the English language when the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel (1833-96) made the discovery that became his fortune. He discovered a power stronger than anything the world had known up to that time. He asked a friend of his who was a Greek scholar what the word for “explosive power” was in Greek. His friend answered, “Dunamis.” Nobel said. “Well, I am going to call my discovery by that name.”
Here are six different areas where Holy Spirit brings power:
1. Power to witness. Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
2. Power to pray. Rom. 8:26 – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
3. Power to strengthen the church. Acts 4:31 – After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 9:31 – Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.”
4. Power to live the Christian life. Gal. 5, Paul warns about trying to live the Christian life through the power of our own flesh – that the flesh desires the things that are completely opposite from what the Holy Spirit desires Gal. 5:22-23, he lists what the Holy Spirit produces in our lives: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
5. Power to convict and convince of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Jn. 16:7-11 – “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
6. Power to change lives. Rom. 8:13-14 – “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you pit to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of Godare sons of God.”
THE EXCHANGE
What Happens When the Holy Spirit Comes?
The Holy Spirit is not just a “one time deal.” He is promised as part of the normal Christian life. Acts 2:38-39 – “Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 1 Cor. 3:16 – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
Vance Havner: “We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives by the Spirit of God.” So it’s important that we understand this power that is given to us. Without the work of the Spirit in our lives and in our church we become like the people Paul
describes in 2 Tim. 3:5a – “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” 1 Cor. 2:4-5 – “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
John R.W. Stott, The Spirit, the Church and the World: “Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship
would be inconceivable, even impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding
without the Spirit of truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character
apart from his fruit, and no effective witness without his power. As a body without breath is a corpse,
so the church without the Spirit is dead.”
CLOSE
One of the popular ads for the 2011 Super Bowl was a Volkswagen commercial that pictures a child dressed in a Darth Vader costume attempting to use "the force" around the house.
With the familiar Star Wars music associated with Darth Vader playing in the background, the boy marches down the hallway and then raises his hands dramatically toward a dryer in the utility room—nothing happens.
Next the young Darth points his hands at the family dog lying on the floor. The dog looks up quizzically—but again nothing happens.
Darth does not give up. Now in the bedroom, he raises his hands forcefully toward a doll seated on the bed. The doll stares back blankly without budging an inch. Darth's arms drop to his sides in frustration, and he slumps in discouragement.
In the kitchen, still in costume, he now stands dejectedly at the counter with his black-helmeted head on his hand. Then his father pulls into the driveway, and Darth runs out to the car as his father walks into the house. He hasn't given up! One more time he raises his hands and points them dramatically at the auto. He waits, hands upraised. Suddenly the car's yellow turn signals light up and the engine starts! The startled child stumbles backward. We see that the playful father had started the car from the kitchen using a push-button ignition. The amazed child whirls to look toward the house, then back again toward the car.
This ad playfully illustrates a fundamental principle of doing God's invisible kingdom work. Just as the child could do nothing without the intervention of the father, so we can do nothing in the work of the Lord apart from God. When spiritual things happen, we can be sure that God did it. God offers us power through His Holy Spirit. But we have to be ready and willing to accept this power wholeheartedly.
