Move of the Spirit
Big idea: We need the power of the Spirit to do anything for the Kingdom of God.
1When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided tongues, as of fire, appeared to them, and rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?”
Peter stood up and addressed them
36Let all the House of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. 37When they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38And Peter said to them, “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. 39For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”
40And with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41So those who received His word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3000 souls.
Acts 2:1-7; 36-41
· Jesus was an extraordinary guy
o And then you had his disciples
· Where we pick up in Acts 2, Jesus has told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirit and power…
o Jesus was extraordinary, but these guys are uneducated, powerful except in association with Jesus, and unremarkable and it’s up to them
o They do 3 things as the step into the unknown unprepared
· Obey Jesus’s last instruction
· Get on one accord
· Devote themselves to prayer
1. The move of the Spirit
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3And divided tongues, as of fire, appeared to them, and rested on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?”
Acts 2:1-7
a. The fire = the presence of God
b. Speaking in Tongues Story
i. This was a moment that broke my categories
ii. Pentecost for the Jews in Jerusalem broke their categories
iii. For some people, the gifts of the Spirit break your categories
Don’t allow your categories to set boundaries on what God can or will do
c. Maybe you grew up in a tradition…
d. Some of us get real excited when we get to Acts 2
i. We still need to discern if the Lord is at work here
e. I grew up Pentecostal
i. Someone would get prayed for and fall out
ii. Someone would Prophesy
iii. Someone would burst into laughter
iv. Someone would ask for money
v. Someone would give their money away
We have to learn how to discern, “Is God at work here?”
f. How do I know if this is a move of the spirit or if it’s something else?
i. The gifts will forward the mission of Jesus
g. The manifestation of them being filled with the Spirit of God is they are able to tell the stories of Jesus in languages they do not speak
i. You know them by their fruits, not their gifts
· We are empowered to do the mission of Jesus: be his witnesses and make disciples
· Keys to the church
These gifts are given to make the mission of Jesus POSSIBLE for us
2. Peter breaks down Jesus’s Lordship
a. Uneducated Fishermen and all that
i. The powerless
ii. The uneducated
iii. The rash
iv. The unremarkable
b. He isn’t able to do this because he’s remarkable, or brilliant, or charismatic; it’s by the power of the Spirit
i. Here’s my point:
Your ability to accomplish the mission of God on your life is not contingent on your skill level or brilliance, but on the power of God in you. He proved that by taking the least likely, the least, brilliant, the least well-positioned, and building his Kingdom on them as a foundation.
And Peter said to them, “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. 39For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”
Acts 2:38-39
3. What do we do?
a. Fix your eyes on the mission
b. Get on one accord with your fellow believers
c. Devote yourselves to prayer
d. Allow God to break your categories