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Good morning to each of you. Who all here has ever been in a cave when everybody that was there turned off all of the lights intentionally? Got to experience what it's like to be underground with absolutely no light at all. Has anybody here been through that experience? Okay, very good. So in the last couple of weeks, our family in Indiana, in southern Indiana. Did my mic just go out, Brandon? Okay. At a camp for adoptive families. And one of the outings was we went to visit this underground river. And I was curious knowing that Marvin lived in southern Indiana. If you've ever been to the underground river there, and I forget the name of it, something starts with blue. We're having technical things. I am not able to advance that. So let's just grab this. So we went and toured. Apparently, this is the world's longest underground river that flows through a cave. And so we got into these boats, and it was a lot of fun going back through there. Although it felt a little bit tight for me as far as there were spots where the ceiling was pretty low. And it didn't do anything to help our comfort levels. They were talking about how much it had flooded just recently and a couple weeks before, this whole place was filled up with water. And they had recorded the fastest water speed ever running through here. So anyway, we're cruising around down through here and having a good time. They put us into these little electric boats, and so it's quiet as you go around, and on the front of the boats there, these little lights that shine out and illuminate where you are. So we went down this little river all the way to the back as far as we could go, and turned around, and I was having a great time. But I always feel a little bit of relief when I come out of these places. Like, we made it. There was no earthquake. We're all okay. So we're cruising along, coming back. And of course, on the way out there, they had stopped at this spot, like, okay, everybody be quiet. We're going to turn off all the lights. And, no, you can't see your face. No, you can't hear anything. So they had already done that. But now we're cruising back out, and all of a sudden our boat turns off and the lights go out. And some people thought that our guide was just joking. Like, ha, ha, he's going to play a little trick on us. He was right in front of me, and I could tell by his reaction that this was not intended, that the boat was going to lose power. So he's like, okay, we've just Lost power. Now, everybody please remain calm. We're going to be okay. And people did sit there in stunned silence. I will give our boat credit. So there we are. We're back in this cave, and it's quiet, and he's explaining to us, okay, now, if you have a phone, you can get it out. You can try to turn your light on. I've got a flashlight. What I'm going to do is we're going to try to get over to the side and I'm going to just, like, pull us out pushing along the rocks. And in that moment, it became abundantly clear that it is a big, big problem to have no power. We can have the boat, we can have everything else, but we have lost power, and we are going nowhere without power. So, anyway, thankfully, then a little bit later, the power comes back on and we start cruising again. I don't know how often did our boat gain power and lose power, like, multiple times throughout this. But thankfully, we weren't down there alone. And eventually we hooked up to another boat that was able to tow us back out, and we didn't have to get out manually. But keep this story in mind. What happens when we don't have power, because I'd like to continue talking about the Holy Spirit today and how he is God's gift to his believers, and he provides the power that we need to live and to go through life. So I was very thankful to get out and that the power in our boat came back on and were all. Okay, I want to do just a real quick little bit of review here for those of you that weren't here. The sermon that I preached about a month ago was looking at the Holy Spirit, where Jesus was promising the Holy Spirit to his followers in John 14, 15 and 16. And so in that context, who the Holy Spirit is, he is our comforter, our helper, our advocate, our counselor, and he is the Spirit of truth. And that's coming out of John 14, 15, 16. That's who he is. One of the things that I think it's very important for us to remember when we talk about the Holy Spirit is that he is a person. He is a part. He's deity, and he is a part of the Godhead. It can be easy to reference the Holy Spirit kind of as a force or an impersonal kind of way. We need to remember that he's personal. R.A. torrey said it this way. If we think of the Spirit as a force or a power, we'll likely ask, how can we get more of it? But if we think of him as a person, we'll ask, how can he have more of me? And when we relate to the Holy Spirit, I think that is the key issue of surrender and letting the Holy Spirit have control and fill us. So that's who he is. And then we also looked at his ministry. And this is what Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would do in our lives. That he lives with and in me forever, that he teaches me. He brings all things to my remembrance. He bears witness to Christ. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He guides me into all truth. He shows things to come. And he shows Christ's glory and all that he is. So this was all taught by Jesus before the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is what the Holy Spirit would do. And today I'd like to pick up, I want to do a couple of things. I'd like to walk through the story of God fulfilling this promise of sending the Holy Spirit. And then I'd like to at that point transition and say, what are three things that are different today because God has sent His Holy Spirit? What are three things that are different today because God has sent His Holy Spirit? So go open your Bibles up to Acts 1 will be in Acts 1 and Acts 2 in parts of both chapters. We won't be going through the whole chapter of either one. So again, picking up the story Jesus said He actually tells his disciples. It's to your benefit that I go away. Because if I do, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit. And here's where he fulfills that promise. Acts 1 in the first book, O Theopolis, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up. After he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented Himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. So Luke, he wrote the book of Luke and now he's writing the book of Acts and he's continuing the story of Jesus. And we know, and we don't know a lot about it, but there's 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead where he's with the apostles and he's teaching them. And we don't know what all he did during those times, but he appeared and he talked to them about the kingdom going on in verses 4 through 5. 4, 5. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said you have heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So he says, stay right here, don't leave. John baptized you in water. You're about to be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. But they have no idea how long they're going to wait. So can you imagine how it might feel to be the disciples that just stay here, don't go anywhere. And this is, I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So let's read on how the disciples respond. So when they had come together, they asked him, lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. I just kind of enjoy reading about the disciples because it's so human in how we would respond. So they right away want to know, when are you going to do this? When are you going to establish your kingdom? And when will the Romans have to leave Jerusalem? Tell us right away this is what they wanted to know. And he says, does he answer the question of when? He says, it's not really. You don't need to know when. But the Father has fixed these things so he doesn't tell them when, but what does he tell them? He says this, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So the disciples are saying, when, when, when. And he's saying, wait, and you're going to receive power. And this is what you're called to do. And the word here for power is where we get the word for dynamite. So last night all over the US There were all of these fireworks launched off and little bits of explosion and teeny little picture of what the word means here. It's dynamic dynamite, power that God gives us to fulfill what he wants us to do. So he says, wait, and you're going to. And he tells them, they're asking, when is the kingdom coming? And he's saying, you're actually going to be my witnesses. And then he talks about you're going to do this in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. And there's a couple of ways and then to the ends of the earth, there's a couple ways to read that. One is that this is really an outline of the Book of Acts. First, it's about seven chapters or so are Jerusalem and then about eight through 12 or 13 goes out to Judea, and then beyond that, it goes to the ends of the earth. And people would say that Rome is kind of a symbol of going out to the ends of the earth. So you can read this as an outline to the book of Acts. Another way to think about it, I think this is very accurate as well, is that in sharing about Jesus, you start where you are and continue to expand out and out from there. And I think both are good ways to look at that. So he's telling them, wait, and this is going to happen. And then we verse 9. And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven, as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. So Jesus tells them they're about to be his witnesses, and then he ascends. This story always kind of amuses me a little bit because naturally the disciples are standing there gazing into heaven. Like, what else would you do if Jesus was lifted up and the angels come and they're like, why are you standing here looking up? And it's almost. I don't know if this is accurate, but it's almost. To me, it almost sounds like, why are you just standing here looking around? You know what you need to do? God's given you a mission. You need to go back to Jerusalem and wait. And don't just stand around here and look up. And he says that Jesus is coming back again. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey. And they entered in the upper room. And I won't go through. Who all was there other than. It lists all 11 disciples. And I do want you to note that 14, all these with one accord, were devoting themselves to prayer together with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus and his brothers. So picture all the disciples are gathered together. His mom is there, his brothers, and that's who is gathering together there in the upper room. And I'm not going to read all of the chapter, but at this point is when they replace Judas and they put in another disciple. Okay, so let's skip forward to Acts chapter 2. When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. So we don't know where that place was. Many people Assume the upper room, because it was mentioned before. We know there were about 120 people together, and they're all in one place. And we know that this is on the day of Pentecost. The day of Pentecost is 50 days after Passover. So we know that Jesus died to fulfill the Passover. So he died at Passover. So penta means 50. So 50 days later is when they would have celebrated Pentecost. In your Bible, if you read things like the feast of the week of weeks, the festival of harvest, the day of first fruits, these are all other names for this feast that is happening. And the reason for that is this was a feast to celebrate the harvest, barley and wheat. And that was to be done 50 days after Passover. Do you all remember how many times a year all of the men of Israel had to gather together in Jerusalem for a specific feast? Anybody remember how often this had to happen? Three times in every year. All of the men had to get together in Jerusalem. And it's fascinating. God says, bring everybody here, and I'm going to protect your families and take care of everything while you do this. So this was one of those times. All of the men in Jerusalem needed to. All of the men of Israel had to come to Jerusalem for the Pentecost. So picture that the disciples are gathered together somewhere, and all the men of Jerusalem are there to celebrate this particular feast. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind. And it filled the entire house where they were sitting. So they're gathered together, and this happens instantly or very suddenly. There's a sound and note that it says that it is like a mighty rushing wind. I think it's one of those things where you are trying to describe something and you have to use an analogy because there's nothing to exactly describe it. But he says it's like a mighty rushing wind. So often when you hear wind, it's kind of coming a certain direction. But in this case, it's like a mighty wind that filled the entire house where they were, with the big sound of God's spirit coming. One memory that came to mind thinking about wind is we were out in Ohio, and it was during the. I think it was late at night. I don't know if we had already went to sleep or not. I can't remember the details of it, but there was a huge storm that came through where it goes in just a solid line and just rolls through quickly. I think the term for these things is, is it a dare echo or something like that? And I don't know if the wind was technically fast enough to be that, but it's basically where it's all. It's an inland hurricane where it just roars through quickly. And all of a sudden we went from kids in bed sleeping to, whoa, what is going on outside? Getting people trying to get to the middle of the house and wonder what was going on. There was obviously a lot of noise, and so there's something like that going on. And it fills the whole entire house where they are sitting. Verse 3. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Again, it's trying to describe what it was like. It was like cloven tongues or fire. So, again, I don't know exactly how this looked, but in reading the passage, what I would envision is a huge flame of fire, like fire enters and splits into individual tongues of fire over everybody that was in the house. And it says that it sat or rested on them. So I think it's important to note that this happened to everybody that was there. This was not just for Peter or the leaders. This is everybody. This is imagine Mary, the mom of Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit. And there are tongues of fire that rest on each of them. So why the wind and why the fire? We'll talk more about this. But I think one of the things God was doing is making it abundantly clear that he had fulfilled his promise. There was no question, there was no doubt. Did this happen? Did it not? And they began to speak in tongues as God gave them utterance. Verse 5. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this time, the multitude came together and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, are not all of these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language? So there probably were Jews living in Jerusalem, but there for sure were Jews that had come and were going to be spending a week in Jerusalem at this time. And God sends out this loud noise to gather everybody together. And they're saying, look, are these guys not Galileans? And so please note that Galileans would have had a certain kind of accent that would have marked who they were. So think about Peter at Jesus crucifixion. He's out sitting by the fire, and they're like, hey, you're a disciple. You're a disciple. No, I'm not. And then somebody says, this man is a Galilean. His speech shows it. So they had a certain accent or a way of talking. At the, at the same family camp that we were at, we were sitting across from somebody having lunch and they were like, hey, where are you from? I said, well, I'm from Virginia. And she's like, why don't you talk like you're from Virginia? So, well, okay, you got to know that there are different parts of Virginia. And you know. So anyway, Galileans had a certain accent. And the other thing to note here is that they were looked down on. These guys were considered to be the, the backwoods, the uneducated. And they were the very edge of the land of Israel. And so people felt like over time they had probably married people that weren't Jews. And so they were actually even their lineage was kind of questioned. Like everything about Galileans was looked down on. Think about again, when Jesus comes, he said, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? So here they are. These people are from all over the world and the Galileans are talking to them in their own language. And then I don't know that I'm going to attempt to pronounce all of these. You can look at where all they came from. I will note that in verse 11, it's both Jews and Proselytes, Cretians and Arabians. So part of the reason I think he's mentioned Cretians and Arabians is if you look at the Roman Empire, it's the east and the west extremes of it. The other thing to note though here that is very important about the places that I'm not going to try to say is that when the children of Israel sinned and they were sent into exile, that these are the places that the tribes would have ended up. And so when God is sending the Holy Spirit, he is doing it at a time when there is representatives from all of the places that he had sent his people in punishment so that they hear the Gospel in their own language because they would have lived there for hundreds of years potentially, and they have the ability to take it back. So God is very intentional about when he. When he sends His Holy Spirit and intentional about having it at a time doing the miracle of having them be able to speak in their own tongues. Verse 12. And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, what does this mean? But others mocking, said they are filled with new wine. So is it any different than today? When God speaks and God acts, some people respond and others will mock and make fun of it. So everybody's amazed. They're all trying to figure out what's going on. And some are just saying, look, they're drunk. Peter, standing with the 11, lifted up his voice and addressed them. Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words, for these people are not drunk as you suppose, since it is only the third hour, or roughly 9am but this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. So Peter is at this point, this has moved out into the streets. This is no longer in just the house. And Peter is saying, this is what was prophesied. And here's part of the prophecy. And in the last days it shall be God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And even on my male servants and my female servants in those days, I will pour out my spirit and they shall prophesy. So God has promised this hundreds of years before, that the Holy Spirit is going to come. And it's for everybody. Anybody who will respond and receive Christ can be given the gift of the Holy Spirit. I will just note that the prophecy goes on to describe things that will happen in the heavens. And this is it's stated and said in the last days. And one of the things I think we need to be really clear about when we read Scripture is that we can read the term last days and be like, are we living in the last days? When did they start again and again? The Bible points out the last days began at the point that Jesus died and rose again and ascended. And they are from then until he comes again. So we don't have to wonder if we're in the last days. We are in the last days and the prophecy was fulfilled. Jumping forward to verse 32, Peter is giving a summary of what's happening here. He says, this Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. So he's summarizing to the crowd here that this is Jesus doing exactly what he said. He is pouring out his Holy Spirit onto his followers. And that's what's happening. Jumping forward to the end of the chapter here. After they heard this, their response is, what should we do, brothers, what should we do? And Peter shares the message, Repentance. Be baptized, be forgiven, and you'll receive the Holy Spirit. And the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself, verse 40. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. Remember, this is happening at the feast of the first fruits of the harvest, when Israel would celebrate the beginning of harvest. And it's a beautiful picture of God with the church, of the first fruits of people coming to know him and to be born again and be filled with his Spirit. All right, so that's the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. I want to shift gears and talk about what are three things that are different today. But before I do that, are there questions that you have about the story or observations, things that stood out as we walked through a familiar story this morning? Any questions or comments about the story itself? All right, we'll shift gears and ask the question, what does this story mean for faith Christian Fellowship 2000 years later? What does this story mean for my life after I eat lunch downstairs and leave and go home and live this week? What are three things that are impacted by this story and the coming of the Holy Spirit? The first thing I'd like to talk about is the story. This story has to do with God giving his presence to all believers. Have to do with God giving his presence to all believers. So I'd like us just to think about a little bit the picture of the Holy Spirit coming with fire. Fire symbolizes God's presence in scripture. So think about the you have the burning bush. You have the pillar of fire in the Old Testament leading the children of Israel. This is the verses at Mount Sinai when God is bringing Israel into a covenant and giving them the Ten Commandments. Look at the first part of this. Now, Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. And it goes on to describe God's being there, God's presence being there. Let's fast forward a little bit here to when. Now the children of Israel are out in the wilderness and they have the tabernacle. And what is the image of fire here in Leviticus 9? Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them. And he came down from offering, the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. And when they came out, they blessed the people and. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar. When all the pieces saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. So they're starting to. They bring the offerings here and God sends fire out and burns up the offering. And note that that fire got started. And if you go back to Leviticus 6, God told them, the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out. So God lights the fire on the altar and they are to keep it going perpetually. The same fire going. Fire symbolizes the presence of God after Solomon builds the temple. Look at what happens in Second Chronicles 7. As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire, fire came down from heaven, consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And then the people go on to fall on their faces and worship God. Fire symbolizes the presence of God. And so the message is unmistakable. If you're gathered in the upper room, here is God coming in might. His presence is there with fire, and instead of it being in the center of the room and everybody gathering around goes and lives on and in and over every person that's in that room. And the message is loud and clear that God's presence is now through his Holy Spirit, coming to live in our hearts. And that is good news for today for the church and for everything that we go through that. God's presence is literally in us and with us today. You are to carry God's presence everywhere you go. And I just want us to keep this in mind as we leave from here and we go. Whether we're baking or working at Choice books or fixing cars or selling ice cream or being at home, God's presence is with us. His presence is there. And I want to live in light of that presence so that I walk with him and others can see his presence. So just want to encourage you today that the Holy Spirit came and God's presence is very real and with each of us. I enjoy listening to podcasts, and there's a podcast I like to listen to a lot. The guy grew up kind of around church, but he's not a believer now, and he's very curious. So he interviews all these people about different topics, and he recently had one, an apologist. And if you listen to him, it almost makes you sad because he wants to believe and he can't quite do it. And he keeps asking the Apologist, like, what can you tell me to convince me? And the apologist keeps saying, I don't know, I can't do that for you. But there is a God. He is personal. He will pursue you, he will give you what you need. And in the end, he's there with him for like an hour and a half. And in the end, at the end of his interview, he talks about all these Christians that I've interviewed and he's like, you know, he's like, there's all these questions and problems and things that he can't figure out. But he's like, the one thing that I can't deny is that when people that are Christians sit with me, he said, you all have a certain peace about you that I find nowhere else. And he interviews people in just all of the leaders in all different kinds of arenas of life. And he just said, you Christians have something that nobody else does. And that is, I want to encourage you this morning, that is the presence of God in you. And you carry that everywhere you go. And so let's just be aware of God's presence and carrying that fire and making our lives available to be changed and to carry that presence everywhere that we go this week. So the Holy Spirit enables me to live in God's presence. I'd just like to point out three things that the Holy Spirit enables me to live in. The first one is in God's presence. The second one I'd like to talk a little bit about is the wind. So we talked about the fire. In Scripture, wind symbolizes the power of God, the power of God. And it often symbolizes beyond just the power. It's like the life giving power of God that he has to change us and to make us alive. So when you read the Bible, it's interesting if you read the word breath, window, spirit. As I understand it, whether you are looking at Hebrew or at Greek, they're basically all the same word, breath, wind and spirit. And so just think about the breath of God, the wind, and how it relates to God's power to give life. There's the story in Ezekiel 37, valley full of dry bones speak the word prophesy. And in the end he says, prophesy and call the wind from all four corners and the breath will return. And the bones are made to be a living creature. Think about creation. When God makes man, he breathes into him the breath of life. And that's that word. It's the breath of life. And this is the same word that is translated spirit every time it's translated as spirit. So God gives us his Spirit, breathes in us the breath of life. Even when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and saying, how can I be born again? He points to this thing of the wind. In verse eight, he says, the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. We're born again of the Spirit of God and of the. The wind has the idea of the power of God in Luke, when Jesus is telling them to wait for the gift of the Holy spirit in Luke 24, he describes it this way in verse 49. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. And so here the picture is that we're clothed with the very power of God. Thinking about the Holy Spirit in creation, it talks about the Holy Spirit hovering over the waters and starting to call things out of chaos into order. And God does. His spirit does that in our life. And he's calling the church out. It's really the birth of the church and of new life, saying, I'm speaking new life into you. It's the beginning of the new creation that God does through His Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit is given to me and it enables me to live in God's power. I want to encourage you today that God gives us his spirit. He gives us the power to live victorious over sin by the Spirit of God. We have power over darkness. There's no comparison between the power of God's Spirit and the power of darkness around us. He gives us the power to build up and serve others. He gives gifts to build up the church. It's the power for our everyday life. And it is the exact same power that raised Jesus from the dead that lives in us. God's Spirit enables me to live in the power of God no matter what I'm facing. All right? And then the last thing I'd like us to look at, that God's Spirit enables me to live in is the purpose of God. So what is God doing at Pentecost? It's very clear that he's starting to take the message of the gospel and to spread it out to the whole world. And he says, you're going to be my witnesses to the whole world. So think a little bit about a witness. If we are to be a witness, there is the part that we think about that we are to verbalize it. We're to. We're to share the message that we speak it. But then there's the other side of it, where our actual life witnesses or gives proof to the truth of the gospel. So however you want to look at this, you are called to be a witness for Christ. You are called to share the message and to live in such a way that our life reflects the gospel. And we can only do that through the power of His Spirit. So they were called to be his witnesses. And Jesus made His heart and his purpose clear throughout all of Scripture that His heart and His Gospel is for all people, in all places, at all times. And he wants to share his message to everyone. The Holy Spirit given at Pentecost is very clearly given to empower them to be faithful witnesses and to share in the sense of evangelism. And that is still very true today. That's not the only thing the Holy Spirit does, but that is a primary function of the Holy Spirit is to give us the power to live in the purpose of God. And what I'm trying to communicate is that God's purpose is that the Gospel goes to everyone. And I think about what Robert shared in devotions and Jesus makes that very clear that he came to seek and save the lost. And he wants his message to get out to all tongues, all tribes. And it's also clear that this was begun in the Book of Acts, but it's not complete. And that each generation needs to run in their time to try to share the message wherever God enables us to do that. So he's given us His Spirit to be able to share his message. So some people look at the story of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit coming and they try to make a kind of a template or a pattern out of it. And I think we need to understand this was when God initially gave His Holy Spirit. And this was a, hear me carefully and correctly on this. This was a one time event that the Holy Spirit came in this way. What the Holy Spirit does and works in the lives of believers is to be continued. But I don't believe that we're to try to exactly replicate this. And so one of the ways that people do this is they'll become fixated on speaking in tongues. And God did this for a very specific reason. I do believe God still does this today. But I want us to notice the same group of people is together two chapters later. And let's just notice what happens. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with The Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Same group of people, Holy Spirit comes in power and shakes the house. They don't necessarily speak in tongues here, but God gave them boldness to speak. And what was going on here is, do you remember Peter had been in jail or they had been sorry. They had been told, you can't preach the gospel. And they're dealing with fear. And God sends the Holy Spirit and makes them bold to continue to preach. So I want to be really clear that we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will give us boldness to share his message all kinds of ways. It might include tongues, but it's not the only way. God takes. God wants to take our life and communicate the gospel in many, many, many ways. And the Holy Spirit gives me boldness to do that. So through the Holy Spirit, I am invited to live in and live out God's purpose, which is sharing the gospel with all people everywhere. The Holy Spirit is God's presence and power, making my words and my life a witness to Jesus. So again, just summarizing the Holy Spirit enables me to live in God's presence, to live in God's power and to live in God's purpose today and this week. And hopefully as a church, we can live in that power and the reality of that and share the gospel wherever we go and wherever God gives opportunity. Thank you for. For your attention and listening. Any questions or comments, and if not, I will. I'd like to pray for the meal downstairs and then Darren or Kevin. Would you guys. One of you after that, start the chorus. We've got the power. I didn't give anybody a warning on that, but any comments or questions before we pray? Dad?
- [42:03]
B
Very much. It's like a light turned on for me as I read now the Old Testament stories, they shed light on the New Testament. And this was very helpful this morning. God bless you.
- [42:21]
A
Thank you.
- [42:24]
B
Kevin wondered if this could be a part of reading. Sometimes I just think about. Sometimes we'll talk about things that dull the Holy Spirit.
- [42:49]
A
Good question. So my mind was also going to some of those questions about what does it mean to be filled with this spirit? And clearly the disciples were filled multiple times. There are people who will seek a certain kind of second filling. And I think it's very important that we're clear on those things. And what does it mean to walk in the Spirit and be filled with the spirit. I think that Nate, Dave or Danny is going to pick that sermon up and wrap up the series? I don't know. I do want to start studying that and as these things go, you don't know where the Lord goes. But I do have a word document with those kinds of questions as I was studying of okay, now what does it mean to walk in the power of the spirit and that we have this power living inside of us, but we can quench the spirit? That's very serious. Do you have any more comments on it? All right, I will say a word of prayer and then we'll sing actually stand together, let's pray and then we'll sing the chorus in closing then. Heavenly Father, I want to thank you for who you are. God thank you for the gift of your spirit. And Lord, we give ourselves to you. I ask God that you would fill each of us with your spirit. We believe God, that you do give your spirit and that is how we're born again. We're born again through the power of your spirit, baptized in your spirit for all believers and God, you also tell us just to walk in the power of the Spirit be filled. And I pray that we'd be sensitive to you this week. And yeah, we just we give ourselves to youo. We want to hear your voice and walk forward with youh in freedom and empower and enjoying youg presence. God thanks that we can be together like this. Thank youk for the food downstairs. I pray youy just your blessing on our time together, blessing on the food and direct our afternoon and week from here. In Jesus name, Amen.