Last week, we looked at how the Holy Spirit would come and
give power for the disciples to be witnesses.
They were to wait for the promise to be fulfilled and then act upon
that.
Today, let's look at what happens when they wait…
Acts 2:1-12
The Holy Spirit made quite an entrance for the
disciples. The entrance made enough of a
sound that people gathered around to see what was going on. Notice that people stopped what they were
doing to listen. That is important.
The disciples were speaking in other languages…languages
that those who were gathered could hear and understand. In my mind, I would equate that to going to a
world meeting in a different non-English country and someone being able to
translate what was being said into English.
While that may not seem like such a far stretch today, that was a huge
deal then.
We know it was a huge deal because of how amazed they
were. They don't understand how this can
happen and wonder what is going on.
There are some important things that are going on for this
day that the Holy Spirit fell among the disciples. I want to point out 2 things that were
important for them and are important for us today.
First, when the Holy Spirit came, He gave them to power
to speak the message. Remember who we are studying here. We aren't looking at the big bad guys who
stood up to everyone while Jesus was alive.
We aren't looking at the rebel leaders who were glad to go in the face
of authority. We are looking at
fisherman, tax collectors, and ordinary everyday men who were just like you and
me. They were chosen by God…but were not
dictators or speakers. They were working
people.
They have stood up and spoke the message of God to a group
of people who might not would have ordinarily heard. This is not a time where they are having an
exclusive moment that is for the church.
This is a time of empowerment to spread the message.
Second, when the Holy Spirit came, people heard the message. So, it wasn't like Peter and the disciples
just stood up and spoke as they could. They
spoke so that the people could understand it.
We now that what they were speaking was about God because in verse 11…we
hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.
People are getting to hear the Word…thus the Word can begin
to spread. Jesus told them that the Holy
Spirit was coming and that He would give them power to be witnesses all over
the world. And, here, we see that the
Holy Spirit has come and He is giving them the power to be witnesses right at
that very moment. It definitely was a
'God moment'.
We also know that although the disciples may not have
continued to speak in other languages, the message continued to get out. They were given the power to speak boldly to
leaders which they hid from earlier.
They were given the power to speak about the Lord in the streets and in
the temple…even in the face of being beaten, killed or imprisoned. They were given the power to spread the
gospel and people were hearing it. It
started here but this is just the beginning.
The power enabled them to be witnesses for sure! Just as Jesus promised, they would be able to
be witnesses all over the world.
That same Holy Spirit gives you and me the power to speak
boldly and live boldly in our world.
He gives us the power to speak the Word and opens eyes for others to
hear and see. He gives us the amazing
opportunity to spread the message through our speech and through our lives. When we speak and live boldly, people will
hear the message.
You may say that we have a problem…what I just said may not
describe our lives. If it doesn't, we
may want to reevaluate if we are living and acting in the leading and power of
the Holy Spirit. God's message should be
spreading throughout our community and our world…by believers…you and me. If it is not, what are we doing?
