Lessons From Acts
Scripture: Acts 2
(selected verses)
Today is Pentecost – the day that Christians
celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to work within the lives of all
believers. The unfaithful, though, might
wonder what the big deal is! After all,
we had Jesus with us, and He was crucified.
Shouldn’t the Spirit be rejected, too?
Of course not!
Just as there is more to Jesus than His death, there is more to the Holy
Spirit than a simple presence! The point
is that God never gives up on us, which is why both Jesus came, and the Spirit
came! God didn’t give up after Eden; He
didn’t leave Israel during their trek through the wilderness; He didn’t abandon
them when they were taken into captivity by the Assyrians and Babylonians; He
wouldn’t condemn the world when we not only refused to listen to His Son, but sent
Him to Calvary to be executed; and throughout the ages, He has never given up
on His plan of salvation for even the worst of humanity and will never abandon
you and me to the condemnation of our sin.
The Holy Spirit can be denied, ignored, blasphemed,
and berated, but He will be with us - encouraging us, nudging us, and calling
us until the Day of Jesus arrives. And
His work didn’t begin on Pentecost – it just became obvious to the world on
that day.
Read Acts 2:1-4
John’s gospel has a number of passages in which He
introduces the coming of the Spirit, the mission of the Spirit, and the
importance of the Spirit for our lives.
And the promise was that after Jesus left the Earth, it wouldn’t be long
before the Spirit arrived. And when the
Spirit comes, there will be no limitation on what He can do for us. There would be no humanity within Him, and He
would not be bound by human limitations. (John 15:26-27; John 16:12-14)
And when the Spirit came, He came in power! For Israel, Pentecost had always been a
celebration of God’s provision and nourishment, and was one of the three mandatory
holidays that required sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem. Temple offerings would consist of firstfruits
from the wheat harvest, as well as loaves of fresh bread. Passover had been about the harvest, but on
this day, the harvest wouldn’t be grain, but rather that of souls!
Heaven had, once again, burst upon the scene of the
world, and would be inspiring humanity once again. But it would not become a new approach – it would
be a continuation of “the way and the truth and the life” that had
already been established by Jesus. (John 14:6) The entire purpose of the Spirit’s presence
would be to empower believers in Jesus Christ, that they would begin to take up
the Cross, and proclaim the teachings of Jesus throughout the world. But it wouldn’t be through human inspiration
and ability – fire and wind would come to symbolize the Spirit’s power to work within
and through us, and not only to teach us the truth of Jesus. And that brings divine power from the LORD
to all who will speak His word.
Read Acts 2:5-12
The roaring of the wind wasn’t missed – not by those
in the room, nor by all who were out in the street! And why were there so many people in
town? Pentecost required that Jews
return to Jerusalem, regardless of where they may be living at the time, if at
all possible. Exiles who had never
returned home, Jews who had moved to greener pastures, and especially those who
lived in Judea and Galilee - all had come to temple for the celebration.
But many had
been away from Israel for many generations, and had adopted the language of
their new nation as their own. Interestingly,
this diversity of nations made for the perfect introduction to the Holy Spirit
and His power.
All were surprised that these “Galileans” could speak
in a way that they themselves normally spoke.
Only the learned people of Israel would be able to learn languages other
than Hebrew or Aramaic, but here, the people were hearing prophesy in tongues –
their own national languages – words that they completely understood! Some would doubt, but most simply wondered
how it all could be happening.
Read Acts 2:17-21
And Peter began to preach about Jesus, and he begins
with a prophesy from the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32)
and explains that Joel’s words were an introduction to the coming of God’s
Spirit, and what the Spirit would be doing for all who believed. And even more, Joel proclaimed events that
would come in the last days – those signs and wonders that Jesus said would
bring many to believe in Him. (John 4:46-50)
And he reminds the people that Jesus Himself had
performed many of the signs and wonders that they wanted, and yet, they still wouldn’t
believe. And if those wonders weren’t
enough, God was doing even more on that particular day. “What does it take to free you to believe?”,
he was asking. And on this day, the
question went out to not only the Jews, but to “every nation under heaven”. Salvation was no longer limited to the faithful of Israel
– it was for all who believed in Jesus, and followed the way that He taught.
But maybe that question is what the world needs
to hear, and answer, today! What does it
take to free you from the ways of earth, so you can walk in confidence and hope
with the Almighty God? Is there anything
that will convince you? It would appear
that the Holy Spirit knows that it desires our involvement to allow the Spirit
of God to work and speak through us, WHEN we let the Spirit fill us. Unfortunately, all too many only want just enough
of the Spirit to make them look good, and not so much that others will despise
them! Peter and the others didn’t
hesitate that day – they welcomed the full measure of God’s Spirit!
Read Acts 2:36-41
Peter’s opening words to the people is right to the
point, and would cut some of them right to the heart. “God has made this Jesus, whom you
crucified, both LORD and Messiah.” And they hear the truth that the Messiah, who
they had waited for through those many long years, was after all, Jesus. They believed, not so much because of Peter’s words, but because of the power and
truth of the Spirit who was flowing through him. Jesus is LORD, the ruler, of our human lives,
and the Messiah who brings us, through faith, to eternal life.
And now the crowd asks the question – “What shall
we do?” They are agreeing with the
truth of Peter’s words, and they want to get right with Messiah. And the answer that they need? Is it too simple? No – it is the pure and absolute truth of God
– repent and reject your sinful life, and surrender that life to Jesus and His
way. Period. This will be the one and only act on our part
that can clear the way for the LORD’s forgiveness and salvation to become ours. And the one additional gift that they had
never imagined would be the gift of the Holy Spirit – the same Holy Spirit, who
was working through the apostles that very day, would be the same Spirit who
would work within each of them.
Repentance means that we reject the life that we had
always led, in favor of a totally new way - a new way that is based in the
teaching and gift of Jesus, a new way that has no basis in the world, but a new
way that leads to eternity. And it would
be by faith in Christ, and through the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, that
this newness would change us for the better.
In this one day, the church grew from 120 souls (Acts 1:15) to 3,000! How’s that for a membership drive? And no one can claim the victory for that day
except the LORD! But the
beneficiaries of that day were each and every one of those 3,000 people who
came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
By the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Prophesy, the Spirit of Truth, the
Spirit of Conviction, the Spirit of Hope - all who come to the salvation that Christ
offers through His death and resurrection will be made new through the gift of
Jesus Christ, and will be blessed with power through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
On this day of Pentecost 2021, I want to invite all
who have yet to give their life to Jesus, to become one more addition to the
3,000 of that first Christian Pentecost, and to the countless numbers of people
who have come to Christ since then. Life
without Jesus, life without the Spirit, and life without the Father of all, is
a life that is no life at all. Let the LORD
make your life whole and complete and divinely powerful today.
