The Power of the Holy Spirit in the Church

We're in a series called Acts 1 and 2, walking through the first two chapters of the book of Acts together—a book of origin written by Luke in the AD 60s that records the formation of the Christian church in its first 30 years of history.

Today we're looking at Acts 2:1–13, which records the most important Sunday after the resurrection in Christ in church history.

The Foundation: Understanding Pentecost

The Jewish people celebrated many feasts and festivals to commemorate important seasons and events in their nation's life. One of the most important was Passover. Then, 50 days after Passover, they celebrated another festival called the Feast of Weeks or Feast of Harvest, which was given a new name: the Feast of Pentecost—penta meaning 50.

1,500 years before Christ's ministry came to earth, the people of God were in Egyptian slavery for 400 years. For 400 years, they cried out to God for deliverance. God was working on their answer even when they couldn't see it. God called a man named Moses and sent him down to Egypt to lead over two million people free from Egyptian slavery.

Through Moses, God overthrew the nation of Egypt with 10 mighty plagues. The last one was the death of every firstborn child. Moses told everyone in the city that night, "Kill a lamb. Take the blood and put it over your door, and when the death angel walks through the street, he will see the blood on the door." The death angel will pass over your house.

The people were delivered from Egypt. Fifty days after they were led to Mount Sinai, Moses came down with the moral law—the Ten Commandments. That 50-day period was a celebration of God's provision, goodness, and kindness. They celebrated with a gift and offering unto God. This is the symbolism in Pentecost—it's symbolic of God's goodness, favor, mercy, giving, and generosity.

Passover was celebrated for over a thousand years. It was only a foreshadow of the death of Christ, the ultimate Lamb. During the week of Passover around the year AD 33, the ultimate Lamb was killed on a cross. That was the final Passover in history. Then, 50 days later on another Sunday comes the final Pentecost of history—the day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church.

The Gathering: A Church United in Prayer

"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." (Acts 2:1)

Notice it says on this Sunday all of the believers were together. There were 120 of them in the upper room, and they had been there for days praying and seeking God's face. Ten days had gone by while they were in that upper room praying.

That was enough time for them to descend into discord—but they were praying. That was enough time for them to descend into other things—but they were praying. That was enough time for them to get weary—but they were praying. That was enough time for them to be frustrated—but they were praying. That was enough time for them to have doubt and unbelief about what Jesus said—but they were praying.

They were in that room praying, going through the scriptures because they believed what Jesus had said. He gave them final commandments: Make disciples. Be my witness. Go into the city. Wait until you are endued with power from on high. So there they were on the day of Pentecost: 120 believers gathered in the upper room.

The Sound: God's Response to Prayer

"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting." (Acts 2:2)

I want to draw your attention to this fact: suddenly. As they were in there praying, something happened unexpectedly. They heard a sound—like a mighty rushing wind.

I want to draw your attention to the word mighty. It would probably sound like the winds from a hurricane—like a freight train on the outside of a house. They were sitting in that room, and then they heard a sound of rushing wind. It was mighty. It was powerful. It probably sounded like a freight train.

The word wind in Greek means pneuma, where we get the word "breath." It was God who made man from a lump of clay and then with His breath breathed into him the breath of life. It was God working through Ezekiel in a vision who saw dry bones representing the state of Israel and breathed into them life. It was God through the Holy Spirit who breathed into men to write the Holy Scripture.

So when we see wind, it represents God. It represents His breath, His power, and His presence.

This reminds us that the words of Jesus can be trusted. It was Christ who said to them, "Go into the city, stay there. In a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." And here comes the Holy Spirit rushing into that room from heaven!

We also see the response to prayer. They were not in there 10 days wasting time—they were praying. And God responds supernaturally to prayer. They were seeking His face, and then suddenly, a sound came from heaven. When you hear what I'm saying, remember: God responds to our prayers in supernatural ways.

The Fire: The Empowering of the Church

"And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:3–4)

Picture the scene. One hundred twenty people in a large room. It's the first century AD—no electricity. They have candles burning in that room. It's dim. Some people are laid out on the floor praying. Some are sitting against the wall praying. Some are on their knees praying. Some are walking and praying. Then suddenly, they hear a sound shaking the room where they're in, and they see lights start falling from the sky like tongues of fire coming down from heaven. And it lands on each one of them.

Then, as soon as it lands on them, they start speaking in other tongues.

Fire represents the presence of Almighty God. God led His children in Israel by a pillar of fire. God spoke to Moses in a burning bush with fire. God in the scriptures is called a consuming fire. So fire and wind represent the presence of God. Not only did the Holy Spirit invade that room with a sound, He invaded that room with a visible manifestation. He came down upon them like fire.

Now I want to draw your attention to something in the text. When the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church, the first thing God touches on man is their mouth. The first thing God touches on man when He comes is their mouth. We know that the mouth is connected to the heart because from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

So the first thing God did—the first thing the Holy Spirit touched on the church—was their mouths and their hearts. And what did He do with their mouths? He set their mouths on fire. He set their hearts on fire.

The Lord did not intend for His church to be lukewarm and dead. I don't care about your denomination. He never intended for the church to be lukewarm and dead. The first thing He touched on the church was their mouths. The first thing He touched was their hearts. And He touched them with fire.

This reminds me of Isaiah 6, when a young prophet saw the incarnated Jesus, the pre-incarnate Christ, in all of His glory. When he saw the pre-incarnate Christ in all of his glory, the first thing he realized was that he was a sinner, that his mouth was foul, that his nation was foul. He falls down writhing in sin. He doesn't even say anything to God. God sends an angel with a coal from the altar—a burning fire—and He burns Isaiah in his mouth and heart so that he cares and so that he speaks.

That's what God needs from the church. We're so dead and compromising. He wants us to have a heart full of fire and speak a mouth full of fire. We need to care about the state of our children, the state of our marriages, the state of our country, the state of the church, what's going on on social media. And we need to pray and speak.

They were all filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other tongues. Jesus said that when the day of Pentecost comes, they will be baptized with the Spirit. So on this day, we know that they were baptized and filled—two separate things.

They were baptized in the Spirit, which made them the official church. The 120 of them were joined together as a church. They were baptized now as the church, and now they are filled with the Spirit for works of service. We know they are different because Jesus said to the same disciples earlier, "Receive the Holy Spirit." So they were already being led by the Spirit. Now they are filled with the Holy Spirit for the works of making disciples.

Being baptized in the Spirit happened once. But being filled by the Spirit happens repeatedly over your Christian life. This is why Paul later would write to the church in Ephesus, "Don't be drunk with wine, where is excess... but be filled with the Spirit." That is, keep being filled up by the Spirit.

How do you get filled up by the Spirit? Prayer, community, the scriptures, fasting, worship, praise. Come to 2819 in the gathering and you'll get filled up by the Spirit and go out of these doors to do works of service. The infilling is to serve.

The Gift: Speaking in Languages

"And they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:4)

Watch the word other—in Greek, this is languages, not the gift of tongues we see in 1 Corinthians 14. How do we know? Two different words.

In 1 Corinthians 14, the gift of tongues is described as a gift for prayer. When we're praying in tongues, our minds don't understand, but our spirit man is edified. When we pray in the tongue, you feel something on the inside. Although your mind doesn't understand what you're saying, it requires a gift of interpretation to understand prayers in tongues.

This is different. This is languages spoken in foreign tongues. Why would the Holy Spirit anoint them to speak in different languages on the day of Pentecost? Why would He do that? Of all the things He could anoint them to do, He comes upon them, touches their mouths, touches their hearts, and they start speaking in other languages.

Why would the Holy Spirit do that? Listen:

"Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven." (Acts 2:5)

It's the feast of Pentecost, so Jerusalem's population has swollen in size. It's packed with people from every nation under heaven who don't speak Aramaic and Greek. The Holy Spirit comes upon the 120, forms them into the church, touches their mouths. All 120 people are speaking multiple languages.

A praying church that's unified, submitted to the scriptures, empowered by the Spirit, attracts a crowd. A praying church, submitted to the scriptures, united in one accord, speaking God's language, attracts a crowd. A praying church, united as one, submitted to the scriptures, filled with the Spirit, speaking the wonders of God in multiple languages, attracts a crowd.

Not any crowd—an international crowd.

"And at the sound the multitudes came together and were bewildered... Each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?'" (Acts 2:6–8)

Jerusalem is packed with an international crowd. The gospel and the wonders of God must now go out to the whole world. The Lord uses a supernatural gift to catapult the wonders of God to an international crowd. One hundred twenty Galileans who speak Aramaic and Greek don't speak the languages of people outside of that room. And yet, they're filled with the Spirit. They burst into the streets of Jerusalem. All 120 are speaking in foreign languages. A crowd gathers, and every person in the crowd hears something in the language they can understand.

God will go to no end to reach people if He really wants to reach them. He will reach a mother. He will reach a father. He will reach an unsaved cousin. He will reach an unsaved husband. The Lord is not short in His ability to reach people who are far away from Him.

Don't give up on your unsaved family and loved ones. We should be praying for them and believing for them and trusting God to reach them any way possible.

The Response: Two Kinds of Hearts

"And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?' But others mocking said, 'They are filled with new wine.'" (Acts 2:12–13)

They hear the wonders of God in their foreign languages. Some are drawn in with curiosity. Others are drawn in with mockery. Ain't that the same response to the gospel today? We hear the gospel, and some people are drawn in with curiosity. They want to know more. Others are repelled with mockery.

This reminds me of a man named Nicodemus who was a Pharisee. He went to see Jesus at night. Jesus says to him, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Jesus didn't say that in a sermon—He said it to one man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was curious around Christ. The other Pharisees were jealous, and they mocked Christ. The other Pharisees put Christ on a cross. Nicodemus took His body down from the cross.

When the gospel goes out, there are only one or two responses: curiosity that leads to life and transformation, and mockery that leads to destruction and damnation.

The Power That Is Now Ours

All that heat you had in the beginning, all that energy, all that running around the room, all that standing on your chair—you know what that came from? This day right here. It was on this day right here that the Holy Spirit was united to the church. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was united to believers.

Because of this day—the day of Pentecost—the Holy Spirit is at the center of the church, empowering the church, leading the church, guiding the church, filling the church, empowering you.

Every single person under the sound of my voice who is saved has been filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. If you are saved, that means you are powerful. If you are saved, that means you are gifted. If you are saved, you are anointed. Your mouth and your heart have already been set on fire.

You just got to let it breathe. You got to let it live. You got to let it be. You got to stop being ashamed because the Holy Spirit is in you. You are powerful because the Holy Spirit is in you. You have divine help because the Holy Spirit is in you. You can tap heaven because the Holy Spirit is in you. You have unlimited supply of help and grace and strength even when you are weak because the Holy Spirit is in you.

Somebody needs to tell you: You ain't normal. The scripture says you are a peculiar people. You are different. You come on your job, you're different. You walk on your campus, you're different. You go into a restaurant, you're different. You're walking through the store, you're different. You're on a sports team, you're different. You're at a family gathering, you're different.

You ain't normal.

You can talk to the Holy Spirit. You can ask Him questions. You can say, "Help me, Spirit. Guide me. Should I sign this contract? Holy Spirit, should I be dating this person? Holy Spirit, should I be in this relationship?" Even when I'm weak or in a jam, even in a hospital bed, I'm still full of power because the Holy Spirit lives on the inside of me and lives on the inside of you.

You could be young and full of fire. You could be old and full of fire. You could be white and full of fire, be black and full of fire, Asian and full of fire, Hispanic and full of fire. You can be full of fire if you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

We will not remain silent. All the more we will declare the wonders of the kingdom to a lost and dying world. We will not shut up, and we will not be silent.