And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4
Francis Chan says, “If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?” Do you ever think about this? I think about it a lot! I think about the power of the Holy Spirit we see in Acts, and I’m convicted that we have this incredible power available to us – in us – and we are missing it somehow. We are suppressing it for I don’t know why…fear, comfort, familiar, pride, desires, cultural assimilation? I fear every time we try to do something in our own power and of our own will, we push further down this greater power inside us. I often feel like I am one of the followers still stuck in the room before the Holy Spirit came. I know Jesus, I believe Jesus, I love Jesus, I declare Jesus my Lord and Savior…but I am still scared behind closed doors not receiving or activating the power that has been given to me. I am hesitant, still trying to maintain some false sense of control. And I am missing out. God, break away any pride, fear, settling, striving, manipulating, coveting that is keeping me from tapping into the power You have already given me through my belief in the work of Jesus. Help me not to be so afraid of the mighty wind and tongues of fire, content with what the world says is “comfortable” and “safe.” I want all of You I can get – Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit. I don’t want to miss any of it. I want my life to look like something I could never do. Only You. As missionary David Brainerd said, “Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.” Questions: Do you relate more to the people when they were huddled behind closed doors still a bit afraid, or with the spirit-filled transformed people boldly proclaiming the Gospel? If you still feel like you are stuck in that room, write a prayer to God in your journal about it.
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When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Acts 2:1
The men and women huddled in the upper room waiting for this power promised them KNEW the Son of God. They walked with Him, learned from Him, watched Him. They loved Him. They believed in Him. They trusted Him as their Lord and Savior. They followed Him, even when it wasn’t easy. They SAW and SPOKE to the resurrected Jesus. He breathed on them; commissioned them. But here they sit. Gathered together behind closed doors…waiting… …until…one day, while sitting behind those closed doors, a sound came out of nowhere. Loud, different from anything they had ever heard. The closest way to describe it is a MIGHTY RUSHING WIND. Strong, powerful. And it FILLED the entire house. Sound filling space. Out of the corner of their eyes, they see divided tongues as of fire appearing, then resting on EACH. ONE. OF. THEM. Words came out of their mouth they had never heard before. Suddenly a crowd starts to form outside the dwelling. People from EVERY nation under heaven gathering because they too heard the sound. Voices, so many voices…but yet so clear; understandable in each native language. It wasn’t just noise; it was beautiful. Impulsive, foot-in-his-mouth, often misguided Peter stands and lifts his voice. The first of many BOLD and BRAVE sermons under a new covenant. Thousands believe. And more and more each day. THIS is the power of the Holy Spirit. THIS is the power we have in us. Insignificant to Influential. Fisherman to Fisher of Men. Denier to Defender. Spontaneous to Spirit-Led. Terrified to Trailblazer. Mess to Mighty Warrior. Challenge: Write your _____ to ______ phrases of how you have seen, or would like to see, the power of the Holy Spirit work in your life. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. Acts 1:12
After forty days of appearing to over 500 people and speaking of the kingdom of God, Jesus leaves His followers in the capable hands of the power that will soon come upon them. The disciples make the short journey to Jerusalem as Jesus instructed. The plan? To wait. Power is coming. Power is promised. Power is needed for the charge at hand. Jerusalem is where the most devout Jews are…the ones who ordered Jesus crucified…the place Jesus encountered the most hostility. And this is where they are told to go and tell what they have seen and heard and learned. They go to the upper room, and they wait. This assignment can only happen with the help of something supernaturally more powerful than themselves. Christian theologian James Boice says, “Humanly speaking, [Christianity] had nothing going for it. It had no money, no proven leaders, no technological tools for propagating the gospel. And it faced enormous obstacles. It was utterly new. It taught truths that were incredible to the unregenerate world. It was the subject to the most intense hatreds and persecutions.” It doesn’t look promising at this point. Jesus is gone and 120 or so frightened, uneducated, unsure-what-to-do followers wait in an upper room. God’s story is so unlikely it can only be His. We are the next generations of the 120 in that upper room. If we believe Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, we are witnesses. We have a story to tell…of what we have seen, and learned, and experienced with Him. We have spheres of influence and reach both near and far away…some friendly, some hostile. But like me, you may feel like the crew in the upper room. A bit paralyzed and scared and unqualified and overwhelmed by it all; not sure where to start. Keep reading, friends, this story is for you and me! Questions: What do you think is going through the mind of the followers as they wait? What do you think they think they are waiting for? |
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