THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT Acts 2:1-21 Theme of the Month Intimacy and Family
Pastor Johnny Lo
Youth Pastor, English Congregation Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church, Vancouver, British Columbia
Sunday Sermon for 23 March 2010
Scripture Passage Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 1
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 their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 " 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
THEPOWEROFTHESPIRIT 1
18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' A. What about the Holy Spirit? a. Video interview: What are the 3 most important things in a church? b. Quick poll of congregation: What do you think are the 3 most important things in a church? i.
God? Jesus? Bible? People? Others?
ii. How about the Holy Spirit? B. In many churches today, the Holy Spirit is often forgotten and neglected a. If you grew up in the church, you’ve probably heard of something called “The Sunday School answer”: Bible, Jesus, God. i.
Why is ‘Holy Spirit’ not one of them?
b. Two reasons: i.
Lack of knowledge and familiarity about the Holy Spirit. 1. Would I surprise you if I told you that the Holy Spirit is actually not some sort of a force, or some sort of a ghost or intangible being, but that the Holy Spirit is a person? a.
The Holy Spirit should be referred to as a “he” rather than an “it.” That’s how Jesus referred to the Spirit (John 16:13-15)
2. If we were to study the Bible and the Holy Spirit at a deeper level, we can understand who He is better and not be afraid in talking about Him. ii. Fear of sounding too charismatic or Pentecostal. 1. If you grew up in a traditional church, you’re probably not used to talking about the Holy Spirit too much, because if you talked too much about it, people might start thinking that you’re charismatic or that you’re from a different denomination. THEPOWEROFTHESPIRIT 2
c. If we remove these fears, and started studying the Bible, we can start learning much more about who the Holy Spirit is and realize how important a role he plays in the church. C. Context of Passage a. In today’s passage, we encounter people who are confused too when they witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s take a deeper look into the passage. Imagine with me if you were one of the disciples of Jesus and it was the day of Pentecost. Back then in the New Testament times, the day of Pentecost was a major Jewish festival that celebrated the giving of the 10 commandments and covenant to the Israelites. Jews from all over the world traveled to Jerusalem just for this festival. It has been almost two months ago since Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. Three days later, after resurrecting from the dead, Jesus has re-appeared to all of you over a period of 40 days and taught you and the other disciples many things about the Kingdom of God before he finally departed the disciples and ascended into Heaven. Right before Jesus left, he commanded you and all the other disciples that you cannot leave Jerusalem until you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit that God the Father has promised to give. Finally, the day of Pentecost has arrived and you and all the other disciples have waited patiently for the Holy Spirit. All of a sudden, there was the sound of a loud blowing wind that filled the entire house where the disciples were in. And the Bible then describes that the disciples saw “tongues of fire”, which represents the presence of God, and the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit. What happened next was a miracle. All the disciples began to speak in tongues and languages of other nations that they have never learned to speak before. When people heard this, a crowd of people came to them and some of them were amazed, and some were confused. People of all nationalities were able to hear the disciples praising God in their own native language! A group of the crowd heard this and wondered what this all means, while another group looked at all this and just ridiculed the whole event and mockingly says, “They have all just been drinking too much!” Peter then gets up and explains everything, and begins a powerful sermon. D. I find it interesting how in this story, there are two groups of people who reacts differently when they have witnessed the power of God. a.
Smell of Durian: Some like it, and some hate it.
b.
Two responses: One group that wanted to learn more about God, and another one that rejected it and made fun of it.
c.
People who are interested in the good news, and people who will reject the good news.
d.
2 Cor. 2:15-16- Aroma of life and death. THEPOWEROFTHESPIRIT 3
e.
Do not be discouraged.
f.
Keep reaching out to others despite rejection.
g.
i.
Some of us may have stopped sharing the good news with others because you’re scared or have been made fun of before.
ii.
Don’t let fear stop you from sharing the good news.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit.
E. Be desperate for the Holy Spirit so you can do great things. a.
I visited a huge mega-church last year. It had shuttle buses. Its youth building is bigger than our church.
b.
God doesn’t care about the size of the church or ministry, or the building. He cares about the faithfulness of the people.
c.
Churches can draw people in without the power of the Holy Spirit. i.
F.
All you need is good marketing, good worship team, charismatic speaker, and maybe even free gift cards to Metrotown.
d.
But imagine what we can accomplish as a church if we became desperate for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and started doing things with the Spirit’s power rather than on our own.
e.
The Apostles brought 3000 to Christ in one day. That’s the power of the Spirit working!
f.
I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing things by my own power.
g.
Live in such a way that is desperate for the power of the Holy Spirit to work in you. i.
Do things that cannot be faked or done by any human means.
ii.
Don’t merely depend on your talents and skills. 1.
You can be a parent relying merely on your own knowledge and wisdom.
2.
You can be a friend, you can try to serve in a ministry based on your own skills.
How can you rely more on the Holy Spirit? a.
Is your life too loud?
b.
Are you being too safe and not willing to step out of your comfort zone?
c.
Which Fruit of the Spirit are you lacking? i.
Galatians 5:22-23 THEPOWEROFTHESPIRIT 4
ii.
Are you lacking love? Self-Control? Peace? Patience? Faithfulness?
G. The last words of Jesus: a.
Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, he told all of disciples this: 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.” 8
b.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, let us go out and do things that we cannot do on our own strength, but only through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Reflection Questions 1. Do you think that the Holy Spirit is often neglected or forgotten in the church? Why or why not? 2. Have you ever encountered anyone who rejected or ridiculed the Good News? What happened? 3. How can one be encouraged to share the good news more with others? 4. Which area(s) of your life is ‘too loud’ or ‘too safe’ that prevents you from hearing and following the voice of God? 5. Which Fruit of the Spirit are you lacking most? (Gal. 5:22-23) 6. What are the differences between doing things of our own strength and through the power of the Holy Spirit? 7. How can we be more desperate for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives?
THEPOWEROFTHESPIRIT 5