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Acts 2:1-13

Pentecost

Good morning church, it is a joy to see God’s people

together in His house again.

Today, is the Day of Pentecost on our Calendars, and

amazingly we have arrived at Pentecost in our studies

here on Sunday.

Please turn to Acts chapter 2…

I want to get right into the our study, so let’s pray.

So it was May, in 2007 that Jess and I took our first

mission’s trip to Russia.

We were super young in our faith, and overly zealous.

Back at home, at that time in Lake Havasu, at our

church, there was an assistant pastor, who, after

sometime he spit the church, we found out he was a

militant Calvinist.

Pretty common thing for someone of that sect to do,

divide.

But at the time Jess and I were young and growing in

our faith, I had no idea what Calvinism was, and he and

his wife had kind of taken us in under his wing.

And he began to teach me things that I was just

uncomfortable with even with my limited

understanding of God’s Word.

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Of course it was always validated with, “This is what

this one pastor says.”

I remember he started teaching me that the gifts of the

Holy Spirit were not available today.

He told me miracles were only for the Apostolic Age,

and now that we have God’s Inspired Word, we do not

need miracles or the supernatural.

And of course, thus sayeth John MacArthur was his

reasoning, and never really did he point me to God’s

Word to validate that teaching.

And as I wrestled through his ideas, and my own

studies, I was really torn, because I wanted to believe

the pastor that was over me, but the plain teaching of

Scripture was counter to his teaching.

Our God most definitely is a supernatural God, and still

to this day I see Him do miracles.

So, Jess and I went off to Russia for two weeks in May,

and we went with an excitement and great

anticipation of what God was going to do on that trip.

The church there in Omsk, Siberia was still very young,

and growing.

On that trip we really did not know what to expect, we

went really open to whatever the Spirit was leading us

to do.

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We planned modest outreaches using a Christian Rock

Band, and we preached God’s Word, and spoke our

testimonies.

Soon we found that our modest expectations for our

outreaches were far less than what God had planned,

we had hundreds of youth from all over the city

coming to the outreaches, and it was overwhelming.

One night, we had rented a Dance Club, that max

capacity was around 500, we crammed 600 kids into

that hall, and 200 hundred more were outside trying to

get in, and that was a little worrisome, because we

were only a team of 15 American Missionaries, we

were teamed up with a handful of Russian Christians,

many of which were women, we could not handle

security, and it was obvious we were over our heads if

anything got out of control.

But we saw God move miraculously, where did all

these kids come from, it was before social media

efforts could be made, what was drawing these kids

in?

We spent a few hours a day handing out flyers, and

that was really the only advertisement that we had

available.

And we trembled at the response, not because of the

numbers, but because we realized that God’s Spirit

was moving in a dramatic way, beyond our own

abilities.

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We saw many of those kids get saved, and believe it or

not we saw many miracles happen.

I remember one young girl, Natasha, she came to one

of our services, and said that she had a surgery the

next day for a severe stomach issue, she was in

incredible pain, she was only about 20 years old, and I

remember gathering some people together to lay

hands on her.

Now, in my mind I am hearing the pastor back at

home, telling me God does not move miraculously any

more, and I also heard the undeniable testimony of

God’s Word, and as I reasoned through both realities, I

decided to put the “thus sayeth John MacArthur”

man’s voice out of my head, and I believed God would

heal her.

I winced as I prayed, because I did not want to sound

foolish, I did not want to fail, I did not want to get this

girls hopes up for a miracle that some say do not

happen any longer.

But I tell you now, not fully understanding it then, but

now looking back, God’s Spirit came upon me, and all

doubt vanished, and I and those who stood with me,

and we prayed for a miracle, and it was so interesting,

because as we prayed, I believed the miracle would

happen.

Of course we were surprised to see Natasha the next

evening, the day of her surgery.

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We asked what she was doing back at the church, and

she replied with a big smile, saying she showed up for

the surgery, and noticed the pain was all gone, and she

told the doctors, who performed their I believe ultra

sound, and they said that her condition was no longer

a condition any longer, they were baffled.

As they assessed her they found it was not necessary

any longer for her to have her procedure.

Whatever was going on was now completely healed.

She came back that night to praise God, and give Him

glory.

Now, that was not the only miracle we saw on that

trip, we saw so many awesome things, of course the

greatest miracle is seeing those who once walked in

darkness come into the wonderful Light, a transformed

life is still to me the greatest most awesome

supernatural work God does today.

On that trip, we kept saying that we felt like we were

seeing the book of Acts played out right in front of us.

We even cast a demon out of a young man,

understand, that was the most supernatural thing I

have ever seen in my life up to that point, and I was

young in my walk, and these things had a great impact

on my future ministry.

Now, I don’t believe miracles happen every time I pray

for them.

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Of course, the witness of scripture shows this, that

even the Apostle Paul pled with God to remove the

thorn in his flesh, and was given the reply, 2 Cor. 12:9

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made

perfect in weakness."

There can be a great purpose for our infirmities, and

even on that trip, others asked for prayer, where the

Holy Spirit did not prompt me to pray for healing.

Now, as I came home from that trip, I began to testify

about all the miracles we had seen in Russia, and I

began to declare that God’s Spirit still moves today,

spectacularly, and most people rejoiced at the stories.

But that militant Calvinist would give me that pious

look, you maybe know one of these types, they just

look down upon those who don’t fall in line with their

sect’s gurus.

Now, he never tried to get me to deny what we saw,

and now believed about God’s Word, but he did think

it was unwise to talk about it, because we might

stumble those who were new to the faith.

We were new to the faith, and we were exhilarated, so

we kept testifying, and believing.

I concluded one night in front of a prayer group, even

with the John MacArthurite there, I said, I think the

gifts of the Spirit are available today, God’s Spirit has

not changed, and I guess if you do not believe it, you

won’t experience it, or know it.

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I got another face of disapproval.

Now, of course, to the other extreme of signs and

wonders, for which we have seen abused in the church

by those who use sensationalism to entertain and wow

the crowds, we have to find a balance between the

two extremes.

The other extreme has frightened some people to even

any mention of the Holy Spirit.

But you see when God’s Spirit moves, it is never by the

manipulation of man, never by the command of man,

never by holding revival meetings, His Spirit moves

when and how He wishes, and that is important to

keep in mind.

In those early outreaches in Russia, the Spirit moved,

and we simply tried to keep up with Him.

The early Apostles moved as they followed the Spirit

across the world, they joined Him in His Work, never

did they try to manipulate Him to join in their work.

You see, we went back to Russia many times after that,

and God never again did what He did on that first trip.

And like in the Book of Acts, Pentecost was a onetime

thing, never to be repeated.

And the thing with our God, He rarely does things the

same way twice, because, He knows man’s heart, and

as soon as we have some thought that God might have

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a system or some mechanics to manipulate Him or

Coerce Him to move to our liking like a genie…

He knows we will try instill those religious works and

methods accordingly.

He does not want that, He wants what we want with

others, a genuine love relationship, not a mechanical

religion.

God moves and does things as He wishes, and that is a

valuable understanding.

We can expect the Spirit to move, but it will not look

like it did on Pentecost, or during the Jesus Movement

in the 60’s and 70’s, but His power is available to us

today, and He is able to move in our culture how He

wishes.

Our job as a church is too be looking to where He is at

work, and join Him in that work.

Remember last time, the Disciples entered into a

waiting period of 10 days, after the Ascension of Jesus.

We saw their humble attitudes, as well as their Great

Expectation.

Remember the Promise from Jesus before He left this

earth… Acts 1:5 "but you shall be baptized with the

Holy Spirit not many days from now."

And we now will learn of how this baptism took place,

and we will look to God’s Word as we try to

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understand what this relationship with the Holy Spirit

means for us today.

Was this power only available for these men, that day,

or is the Spirit still moving today?

Let’s begin now, by looking at the first 4 verses of

chapter 2 of Acts.

Coming of the Holy Spirit

2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they

were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly

there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing

mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they

were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided

tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began

to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them

utterance.

Verse 1 tells us that the day of Pentecost had arrived,

which was the fiftieth day after Passover.

Pentecost means fiftieth, it was a week of weeks after

Passover, also known as the Feast of Weeks.

Pentecost usually lands at the end of June, but

interestingly enough, some believe this first Pentecost

was in the last week of May, similar to Pentecost 2020,

as we are here today in the last week of May.

Because of the timing of Pentecost it was the most

attended of the three Great Feasts.

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When do most of us take our family vacations, in late

May and in June, the weather is usually favorable for

our adventures during this time of the year.

This huge gathering inside Jerusalem would make it an

ideal time for the Holy Spirit to descend upon our

world.

Also known as the Feast of Firstfruits, it was celebrated

by bringing a special offering of two baked loaves

made from the fresh harvest of the field.

The instruction comes from Lev 23:15-17 'And you

shall count for yourselves from the day after the

Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of

the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.

16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh

Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to

the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two

wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be

of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are

the firstfruits to the Lord.'

The Jews from all over Israel and even the greater

Roman Empire and even further would be traveling

into the Holy City for this celebration.

This feast was so fitting for God to send His Holy Spirit,

to bring in the Firstfruits of a coming Greater Harvest.

Something else about Pentecost, by the time of Christ,

Pentecost was also considered the anniversary of

Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai.

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It was fitting that the Spirit would come on that day to

contrast the giving of the Law.

Rom 8:3-4 For what the law could not do in that it was

weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own

Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He

condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous

requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do

not walk according to the flesh but according to the

Spirit.

Pentecost separated the Jewish Faith from Christ

followers.

The Law-Centered religion will now become Christ

Centered.

And as the Apostles heads were bowed in prayer that

day, in One Accord, the Spirit descended upon them.

Someone told me a joke last week, what kind of

vehicle did the disciples get around in?

One Accord.

I chuckled, but this is essential here.

Think of these men, there were some who had been

with Jesus, even one in particular who was side by side

with these guys in ministry, and now he was not there

that day.

One of the Twelve, Judas, was highly esteemed, and no

one ever thought that he would have it in him to

betray Christ.

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David wrote in… Ps 55:12-14

12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me;

Then I could bear it.

Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself

against me;

Then I could hide from him.

13 But it was you, a man my equal,

My companion and my acquaintance.

14 We took sweet counsel together,

And walked to the house of God in the throng.

We just read in our Daily Manna, that David’s good

friend Ahithophel betrayed him, and many think that is

where this Psalm comes from.

But the betrayal of a friend is one of the greatest hurts

to overcome, we expect hurt from our enemy, but not

those we love and trust.

You see, the disciple’s hearts had to have been broken

over Judas and others who left their ranks.

Yet, now these 120 gathered together on Pentecost in

One Accord, which speaks to us today, if we are to be

expecting Christ to move in our presence, we need to

be walking in One Accord, with Unity of Heart and

Mind, bonded together by a selfless love.

I was talking to a Pastor yesterday who said he was

worried, because half the church is angry that he is

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opening, and the other half is angry because he did not

open soon enough.

And you see, this Pentecost the church is not so united

in its cause.

But for us here at Calvary Chapel Victorville, if there is

any hope, any cause for expectation of the Spirit to

move, we need to be walking in One Accord.

I was so blessed this week, to hear that some of you

were hosting prayer meetings, and times of

concentrated prayers with one another.

Now that is evidence of something special taking place,

people putting their different ideas aside, and coming

together and seeking the Lord in prayer.

If there is any hope for the church today, we need to

put our opinions aside, retire that arm chair quarter

back jersey, and join together in seeking God’s Will for

the church.

People love to express what they feel, but how much

better is it to seek God, and express what He wills.

One Accord church, that is the key.

And what it takes to get to that place, is humility,

brokenness, a true and honest assessment of yourself.

Paul speaking of the ideal Body life said in… Rom 12:3-

8 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone

who is among you, not to think of himself more highly

than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has

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dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have

many members in one body, but all the members do

not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are

one body in Christ, and individually members of one

another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the

grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy,

let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or

ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who

teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation;

he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with

diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

For the Body to operate to its fullest extent it must be

operating in One Accord, through humility.

Now, as their heads were bowed, praying in One

Accord, a Light Wind began to brush across them, and

then suddenly it was not so Light, as a sound from

heaven came as a Rushing Mighty Wind.

We can picture their hair moving wildly around, their

robes whisking back and forth, as the Spirit of God

came upon them.

The Hebrew word for Wind is ‘Ruah,’ and the Greek

word for Wind is ‘Pnuema,’ they are both used for the

Holy Spirit in scripture.

James Montgomery Boice points out the lack of clarity

in the English Language in the Creation account, in the

second verse of Genesis when the Holy Spirit is seen

hovering above the waters.

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He says the true idea of that picture is not like a dove

hovering over the waters, “Rather, the Holy Spirit of

God is portrayed as God’s Breath – as the creative,

moving, dynamic breath of God. This breathe – this

divine, life-giving wind – is what is blowing across the

waters at the beginning.”

This is the same Breath that is here at this New

Creation, the church, and this New is Greater than the

Old, the first creation, “because heaven and earth will

pass away, but what is done in the Spirit here at

Pentecost is eternal.” Boice

Jesus said in John 3:8 "The wind blows where it wishes,

and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it

comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is

born of the Spirit."

In the Old Testament, Ezekiel received a vision of a

Valley of Dry Bones, which represented a spiritually

dead Israel, Ezekiel used the word Ruah, to describe

the Spirit moving over the valley.

After seeing the bones, coming together, bone to

bone, and then the sinews and the flesh, then the skin

coming upon them, there was an army with no life in

them.

But the vision continued, the command went forth in

Ezek. 37:9-10 "Come from the four winds, O breath,

and breathe on these slain, that they may live." 10 So I

prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came

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into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet,

an exceedingly great army.

And life was breathed into them.

Remember it was God’s Breath that breathed life into

humanity at the Beginning.

So too at Pentecost, the church had the reviving winds

of the Spirit come upon them.

The Apostles at this point had God’s life giving Spirit

and His Power in a way previously not known.

God chose another symbol to reveal His Spirit as well,

as there appeared above them something that looked

like divided-tongues as fire leaping above each one of

their heads.

Fire has consistently throughout God’s Word meant

the Presence of God.

We think now of the Abraham offering his covenantal

sacrifice, he split the animal sacrifice in two, and we

are told… Gen 15:17 And it came to pass, when the sun

went down and it was dark, that behold, there

appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that

passed between those pieces.

Or also when Moses met with God through the

Burning Bush, or Pillar of Fire that led Israel in their

wonderings, or even Elijah offering a sacrifice in his

contest with the 450 prophets of Baal, and a fire from

heaven consuming the sacrifice.

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John the Baptist foretold of Jesus that… Matt 3:11

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And these expectant disciples were filled with the Holy

Spirit and the coupling of Wind and Fire were the first

evidences of the God’s Spirit coming to this earth, to

work through the Church for the first time in History.

Now we must understand something here, there are

different roles the Holy Spirit plays in a believer’s life.

We believe prior to anyone coming to Christ as their

Savior, Prior to their conversion, the Holy Spirit at that

point is dwelling with them, He is everywhere, all at

once.

And His role to unbelieving humanity is to convict

them of their sins, and to convince them that Jesus is

the Only Way, the Only Truth, and the Only Life.

The Holy Spirit as it dwells with mankind, is working to

draw people to Jesus, to bring people to their Savior.

Jesus said in John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father,

and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide

with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the

world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor

knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you

and will be in you.

The word for “With you” is para in the Greek, the

‘para’ experience with the Holy Spirit, is to come

alongside us.

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Jesus also talked of another experience beside the

para, with you, but the en experience that He will be in

you.

As one comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus, the Holy

Spirit then comes into that person’s life.

He is with each one of us to bring us to Christ, and

when we come to Christ, He begins to indwell us.

Paul said in 1 Cor. 6:19 Or do you not know that your

body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you,

And each person who is Born Again, and receives Jesus

as their Savior has the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.

So these disciples prior to Pentecost, at their

conversion, had the Holy Spirit indwelling them.

After Jesus rose from the dead, we read in John 20:22

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and

said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

This is the indwelling.

But here on Pentecost we see another experience with

the Holy Spirit, so we have the para, with you, the en,

in you, and here at Pentecost we see the Epi

experience.

Jesus promised them in Acts 1:8 But you shall receive

power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;

Upon you, is the Epi in the Greek, and this is the

experience at Pentecost.

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This is where the Promised Power to the Believer

comes from.

The Holy Spirit gives us Power over the flesh, Paul says

in Gal 5:16 Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill

the lust of the flesh.

He is the Power in our life to conform us into the

image of Jesus Christ.

So we see the dynamic Power of the Holy Spirit works

in us during this Epi experience.

Epi, means upon, or over, or more preferably the

overflow.

It is this experience that allows the Holy Spirit to flow

forth out of our lives.

You see we are not to be simply tents to house the

Spirit of the living God, but we are too be channels for

which the Spirit flows through, and we are to touch the

world around us, with this overflow.

This Power that comes upon us causes us to be

effective witness and instruments through which we

can reach the world around us.

Jesus said in John 7:37-39 "If anyone thirsts, let him

come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as

the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers

of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the

Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for

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the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was

not yet glorified.

This overflow, is often illustrated with a Glass of Water,

as the person fills the cup and allows it to overflow on

the objects around it.

Jesus made three promises regarding the Holy Spirit,

that He will be with us, and after conversion He will be

in us, and lastly, that we will receive power when He

comes over us, or upon us.

So this thrilling experience here at the Birth of the

Church, Heavens roaring wind and dazzling fire came

upon them.

This is the Promised Power, and from here their

ministry can began.

Now, let’s consider what immediately took place

because of this Epi experience with the Holy Spirit.

Verse four reveals that they were filled with the Holy

Spirit and they began to speak in other tongues, as the

Spirit gave them utterances.

Now, we will talk about tongues more when we get

into our study of the letters to the Corinthian church

after the Book of Acts is concluded.

Out of the three supernatural events that took place

here on Pentecost, the speaking of Tongues is the only

one repeated in scripture.

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Paul will devote a whole chapter in the letters to

Corinth regarding this gift of the Spirit, and we will

discuss their proper use then.

Here we see after they were filled with the Holy Spirit

these “country bumpkin Galileans began speaking in

other dialects.”

These were not unknown tongues, but as we will see in

a moment they were other languages that were

spoken all over the world.

Remember the Words once again of Jesus to these

guys, the purpose of this empowering…

Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy

Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses

to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and

to the end of the earth."

The purpose of these other tongues and utterances

was to communicate the wonderful works of God.

And we get an immediate picture of the Great

Commission.

The Epi experience was causing them to miraculously

reach others with the overflow.

And as we will see there were over 15 different

dialects spoken that day, as the crowds were drawn to

the noise and commotion.

I remember framing offices inside a hanger near The

Marine Air Base in Yuma, Arizona, and all day long they

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would be landing their now retired Harrier Jets, that

would come down vertically.

But the amount of force that would come out of those

jets as they landed, caused a sound that could be

heard for miles, it sounded like a hurricane, and the

first time I heard the force of those engines, it shook

me.

We can imagine in the first century city of Jerusalem,

those pilgrim’s ears had never heard anything like the

Rushing Wind of the God’s Holy Spirit, like those

Harrier Jets, the noise was probably heard miles away,

and the people came to see what it was…

Look now starting in verse 5…

The Crowd's Response

5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout

men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this

sound occurred, the multitude came together, and

were confused, because everyone heard them speak in

his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and

marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all

these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we

hear, each in our own language in which we were

born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those

dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,

Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and

the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from

Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs

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— we hear them speaking in our own tongues the

wonderful works of God." 12 So they were all amazed

and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever

could this mean?"

13 Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine."

The rushing wind brought together a crowd as the

Apostles began proclaiming the gospel in the many

different languages of the day.

The hearers were amazed, because they saw these

men were Galileans, ignorant, and uneducated, with

funny accents, and had trouble pronouncing many

words of their own native language.

And notice the content of what they were declaring, in

verse 11, they were speaking the wonderful works of

God.

We see the results, all were amazed and perplexed,

asking each other what it all meant.

Interesting, there were those who mocked the

incredible witness that day, and accused them of

drinking new wine.

These were the spiritually indifferent men, no different

than the modern scoffer, always looking for some easy

rational to excuse themselves of the undeniable

witness of God’s Truth.

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It is always more difficult for the proud self-made men

and women to receive from the lower uneducated

bunch, no matter how clear of a witness they give.

But the honest hearers, those asking what this all

meant, as the chapter goes on, we will see their

questions will be answered directly by the Now Spirit-

Filled Peter, using God’s Word to preach, he will lead

3000 to salvation as the firstfruits of the church come

in.

We will look at his sermon next week.

Understand now, Paul commanded in Eph. 5:18-21

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation;

but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another

in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and

making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving

thanks always for all things to God the Father in the

name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one

another in the fear of God.

We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is for the enablement of the

work of the ministry.

Notice what Paul says this filling will produce in our

lives, a deeper communication with our fellow

believers, and a joy in our Christian experience.

This spiritual exchange is best expressed by the reading

of God’s Word together, the teaching of the Scriptures

and by worshipping our God together with music.

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This will bring joy in our lives, there will be

thanksgiving, this is what being filled by the Holy Spirit

looks like, and no wine on this earth can produce the

lasting effects of the filling of God’s Spirit.

Then comes the overflow, this is the ministry, this is

the Spirit being poured out from our lives.

Remember these men were not permitted to engage in

any kind of ministry until they had received the Power

from the Holy Spirit.

The Promise of the Spirit is this Epi experience, the

coming upon.

Now, are the gifts of the Spirit available for us today,

God of course offers us the same Power today, this is

something we must continually be filled with.

My father always explained it to me, by saying we are

leaky vessels, and we cannot be okay with past

experiences, we must daily, continually be pressing in

to the Fullness of all that God offers us.

We need to be continually filled, because we leak.

Church, it is oftentimes at the beginning of a New

Work that God’s Spirit moved dynamically,

supernaturally, and the Spirit moves how He wishes,

and through whom He wishes, and the Power is

available to you today, this morning, right now.

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If you have never experienced this gushing forth of

torrents of living water from your innermost being

then come and receive it today.

Listen, church is going to be different, there are many

who are not able, or not willing to come back, we don’t

want to judge their motives, some have very good

reasons, but it does present a huge need in the

ministry here.

We have many holes to fill, and there is opportunity

for you to serve, but make sure before you step out in

your service that you are experiencing His Power.

If not, if you are running in your own strength, your

own power, your own will, you will burn out, you will

lose your thrust, you will eventually grow tired of your

service to the Lord.

But when the Spirit’s Power is being poured into you

and through you, your ministry becomes an extension,

an overflow of His Work.

That is dynamic powerful service, and there is nothing

boring or stale about it.

Listen, the Elders are committed to coming back to

their former post for prayer after service, this morning,

pray for that Epi experience, a fresh filling of God’s

Spirit, to equip you for the work of the ministry.

You see you must be empty of yourself, this is

something that hinders many from experiencing the

P a g e | 27

fullness, they are not willing to let go, to empty

themselves.

We must acknowledge our spiritual poverty, and our

need for Christ, He will not fill our sails with the wind

of the Holy Spirit unless we present to Him empty sails.

This requires humility and confession.

The scriptures tell us… James 4:10 Humble yourselves

in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Church let’s be lifted up by His Spirit this morning, and

be filled for the Great Work ahead of us.

I notice little fires burning in many of our hearts, a

passion increasing, an anticipation growing, and I am

praying that soon a great raging fire of revival spreads

across our community, our state and our country

The Holy Spirit is at work church, let’s respond to Him

this morning and be open to all that He has for us…

don’t limit Him to a smart man’s theology, keep your

ideas and understanding of God biblical, the gifts of

the Spirit are available to us today.

And if you are willing and open to receive His

empowering, well, we will have some amazing God

stories to tell here in the near future.

Listen, our country is hurting, it is burning, suffering,

dying, depressed, and divided, the ministry before is

essential and costly, but it the rewards are out of this

world.

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The world is searching for answers, you have them, ask

for the power that will enable you to tell them about

our Lord.

Let’s pray…

These guys are back, and ready to minister to you!