When Heaven Came Down
Acts 2
June 4, 2006
Morning Service
Introduction
The Day of Pentecost was part of a special celebration for the Jewish people. it was also known as the feast of Weeks. This day would have been celebrated 50 days after the events of Easter and only 10 days after the ascension of Jesus. The feast of Weeks or the day of Pentecost was celebrated to give praise and thanksgiving to God and was set aside as a special day of remembrance for the mighty things God had done for the people of Israel.
Petecost was celebrated for three major reasons
1.) Harvest - This would have been the first part of the harvest season. The first fruits of the harvest would have come in about the 1st of June.
2.) Exodus - This day was set aside to especially remember the Exodus from Egypt and the deliverance of God’s people
3.) The formation of Israel as a nation - The giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai
The Pentecost parallel with the early church is indeed striking
1.) The first fruits - There was a spiritual harvest happening on this day in two major ways. The first was that the believers had been filled with the Holy Spirit and the second was the converts that were won because of it
2.) Deliverance - The empowerment of the Holy Spirit provided the means for people to live fully for God. The people had been set free from the old carnality or the sinful human nature. the power of the Holy Spirit helps us to say yes to god and no to sin
3.) The formation of the church - The old covenant was signified with the Law but the new covenant was signified in the blood of Jesus. Jesus paid for the new covenant with His own blood. it is then selaed with the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church.
Three major feasts or festivals - Each represents a major event in history
Passover celebrated the freedom Israel from slavery
Weeks/ First fruits celebrated the birth of new crops
Tabernacles celebrated the end of the harvest season
I. There was a divine descent - the Holy Spirit came (1-4)
Keys to see the Spirit Fall
Obedience
The believers were gathered in one place just as they were instructed to do by Jesus.
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts 1:4-5
Before Jesus can do anything of lasting value in your life you must first obey. The simple fact of the matter is this: obedience is the key that unlocks Christ’s blessings.
Unity
We can take a lesson from the early church because they were united in ways that the church today needs to examine and adapt. These believers were so focused on seeking what Jesus had promised that there was no time for church politics, bickering or complaining and there was no time to focus on anyone else’s way but God’s. They were so focused on Jesus that there wasn’t any time for anything else.
One goal - Seeking what Jesus had promised until it was found
Q - How often is this the goal of our church?
One mind - There was only one task - seek Jesus
Q - How many times do we get separated on individual agendas?
One purpose - There was one purpose - know Jesus
Q - How often do we make the purpose of the church something else?
Our purpose ought to be to know Jesus and to make Him known
The word here translated all together is homothumadon and it comes from two other Greek words. Homo meaning the same and thumos spirit or wind. This word appears only 11 times in all of scripture and 10 of those times are in the book of Acts.
* Together in prayer (Acts 1:14 & 2:24)
* Together in one place (Acts 2:1)
* Together in daily worship (Acts 2:46, 5:12)
* Together in obedience (Acts 8:6)
* Together in business meeting (Acts 15:25)
* Togetherness is needed to glorify God (Romans 15:6)
The Coming of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit came suddenly on the Upper Room and the believers gathered there. The abrupt entrance gained the attention of the entire group of believers. The Spirit needs to get the attention of our church and come upon us suddenly as well.
The group gathered in the upper room is not just the 12 apostles but rather it is the larger group of 120. This would have likely been the entire group of believers. The filling of the Holy Spirit is meant for everyone. Every believer is meant to have it. Every believer needs to have the filling. Jesus wants you to have this divine ourpouring of power in your life.
There is a bit of a misconception here because we read verse 2 and apply wind to the coming of the Holy Spirit. Read verse 2 again and see what it says. This might surprise you but there was no wind present in the Upper Room that day.
The evidence was the sound of a violent wind and that sound filled the place where they had gathered. I thought that this might have just been my translation but out of the 16 translations I checked, all of them agreed that this was the sound of a mighty wind. There was no wind but rather it was the deafening sound of a mighty wind. This would have been a shocking event to have witnessed.
During hurricane season last year Abigail and I stayed up late to watch coverage of one of the lesser hurricanes. one of the things we noticed was that there was such a roar to the wind that the reporter could no longer be heard. this is the kind of roaring that filled the Upper Room that day.
Why did God choose to do this?
1.) The disciples would have been startled - this would have been an attention grabber for sure.
2.) The sound symbolized the Holy Spirit’s power
3.) The sound drew the attention of others - When the Spirit moves within a church, people will notice. There will be no hiding it and no denying it.
The second evidence was the tongues of fire that fell from heaven. Read verse 3 again with me. Tongues like fire fell upon the disciples. All 16 translations also agree in thsi regard as well. This again was not a literal fire but rather the revelation of the Holy Spirit’s presence. This was a visual appearance not the actual physical presence or attributes of fire.
Here is what seems to be happening in these verses. There was most definitely a manifestation of the Holy Spirit and it was one that was both in sound and sight. The roaring sound came first and prepared them for the filling of the Holy Spirit. The sound was an awakening and the fire was an arrival.
God was often shown in fire
* Moses saw God in the burning bush
* God led Israel with a pillar of fire
* God was present at Mt. Sinai in fire
* When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, God answered in fire
* The lighting of the first altar of burnt offering
* The coming of the Holy Spirit
Notice what happened when the Holy Spirit came down, each person was touched individually. The Spirit came upon both male and female, leaders and laymen and they all recieved the same Spirit. Each and every one was touched.
Q - Have you been touched by the fire of the Holy Spirit?
II. There was a divine display - The Holy Spirit Communicates (5-13)
Two major happenings
1. There was a filling
The church and each individual were filled. When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost a dual work was completed. both the church as a whole and the believers as individuals were filled with the Spirit. Both were completed at the same time.
Have any of you ever been driving a car that ran out of gas? I remember one time when I was in college I ran out of gas on my way back to the school. my plan was to get to the school and then go buy gas before I went back home. I never made it to the school. I ran out of gas about a mile from the college. I was stuck and going nowhere without gas. I called AAA and a tow truck brought me enough gas to get me to the station and I was back on my way.
When the Holy Spirit is absent from a church, there is no power. When the Holy Spirit is absent from a believer there is no power. being without the Holy Spirit is ike trying to run a car without gas. It just doesn’t work.
2. There was a giving of gifts
The Holy Spirit gives every believer gifts to be used in the service of Christ. The gifts are given so that Christ might be glorified in us. Not so that you can be glorified in the church. This situation the Holy Spirit came to meet a special need with a special provision. The Spirit enabled them to speak in other tongues.
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.
What exactly is going on here?
There was a unique problem here. The Holy Spirit comes to solve problems not create them. the Spirit brings clarity not confusion. The Spirit brings unity not division. There were Jews from every nation under heaven and the message of Christ needed to be communicated to every person present. This means that there were many different languages spoken by these people. When the disciples began to speak in tongues, what was the signifying factor?
Look again at verse 6. The people heard the sound of the Spirit coming into the Upper Room. The people were drawn to the place where the sound came from and then they heard the disciples speaking in their own language. did you catch that? The key to understanding the gift was there. The gift was about hearing not speaking. The gift of tongues is not about what a person is saying as much as it is about a person being able to be heard. it is important to notice that the sound of the Holy Spirit drew the people and the ability from thwe Holy Spirit enabled the message to be heard.
Our church is in a desperate need for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
* We need to see the power of God poured into our midst
* We need to see God doing what only He can do
* We need to see God bring His solutions to our problems
* We need to see God bring His strength and ability into the church
Conclusion
Are you ready for more of God than you curerently have? Are you ready to take the next step in your journey with Him? What must you do to receive the Holy Spirit?
1. You must be saved - salvation is a requirement
2. You must want it - desire it from the depths of your heart
3. You must seek it - pray for it
4. You must surrender - empty yourself of you
