The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We just began our sermon series in the book of Acts a couple of weeks ago.

We're in chapter 2 today.

I was a little ambitious, I think, and attempted to cover up to verse 36 today, but that would

have been a really, really long sermon, so I cut it down.

You guys could thank me later.

And I'll try to cover that last part next week as part of next week's passage.

So Acts chapter 2, verses 1 to 21.

Acts 2:1–21

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.

Heavenly Father, we feel keenly our weakness,

our shortcomings,

our weariness.

But Lord, in your Word, we see your Spirit's life and power.

And Lord, we want our lives as your people to be characterized by that spiritual power.

Lord, we hunger for the feeling of your Spirit.

We know that you've given us the Holy Spirit to us, to all of us, to your church, to your people,

as deposit.

We sense His power coursing through us.

And Lord, we want to be filled by Him more and more.

So we ask for your help, Lord.

Meet with us this evening.

Speak to us.

We hang on your every word.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Let's read Acts chapter 2, verses 1 to 21.

Acts 2:1–21

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

they were all together in one place.

And suddenly, there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind,

and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now, there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

And at this sound, 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 these who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language?

Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

Phrygia and Pamphylia,

Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,

and visitors from Rome,

both Jews and proselytes,

Cretans and Arabians.

We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.

And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another,

What does this mean?

But others, mocking, said,

They are filled with new wine.

But Peter, standing with the eleven,

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 of the day.

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.

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,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even on my male servants and female servants in those days,

I will pour out my Spirit,

and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heavens above,

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned to darkness,

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes,

the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass,

that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord

shall be saved.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Many of us in this room have seen

undeniable demonstrations of God's power.

Whether it's supernatural healing,

or a compelling prophecy,

casting out of demons,

or something else.

And all of these are enabled by the Holy Spirit,

who is the third person of the Trinity,

the one who manifests or makes apparent God's presence.

And this passage teaches us that the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ

sends the Holy Spirit to indwell God's people,

and empower them to be His witnesses among the nations.

We're going to see first the Spirit,

the Spirit of power,

verses 1 to 13,

and the Spirit of prophecy,

verses 14 to 21.

So let's look at verses 1 to 13 first.

It begins in verse 1.

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

they were all together in one place.

So day is a reference to the 120 disciples mentioned in chapter 1, verse 15,

who were all gathered together in the selection of the 12th apostle.

And this group included the 12 apostles, of course,

but other disciples as well.

And it says it was the day of Pentecost.

Literally, Pentecost means the 50th part.

And it refers to the Feast of Harvest that Exodus 23 talks about.

Because the Feast of Harvest was celebrated 50 days after Passover,

it also came to be known as Pentecost, 50th part.

It's also called the Feast of Weeks in the Old Testament

because it marks a week of weeks,

seven weeks,

seven complete 49 days.

So that culminates with the celebration on the 50th day,

which is the Pentecost.

And it's appropriate that the Holy Spirit fell upon the church at Pentecost

because now the harvest of the saints

begins in earnest

with the power of the Holy Spirit.

And moreover, because after having been delivered from their slavery in Egypt

at the time of the Passover,

Israel arrived at Mount Sinai about on the third month,

it says in Exodus chapter 19.

Exodus 19 · chapter mention

So after a week of weeks.

Because of that,

the festival Pentecost eventually came to be associated

not only with the harvest,

but also with the covenant,

the making of the covenant

and the giving of the law on Mount Sinai

at the time of Moses.

And so this is,

the coming of the Holy Spirit

is a fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah 31, 33,

where it says,

For this is the covenant

that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days,

declares the Lord.

I will put my law within them

and I will write it on their hearts

and I will be their God

and they shall be my people.

So in the same way God made a covenant with Israel

on Mount Sinai and gave his law,

he's making a new covenant with God's people

at Pentecost

and giving not a law on a tablet of stone,

but on the tablet of our hearts.

He's writing,

he's engraving his law by the Spirit.

Verses 2 to 4 describe what happened.

It says,

And suddenly there came from heaven

a sound like a mighty rushing wind

and it filled the entire house

where they were sitting.

And divided tongues as a fire

appeared to them

and rested on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other tongues

as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So Luke notes three things here.

He notes sound, sight, and speech.

First thing is sound.

A sound like a mighty rushing wind.

Imagine like a whirlwind filling this place.

Grab everybody's attention.

Second, there is sight.

Divided tongues as a fire

appeared to them

and rested on each of them.

It says it's like fire.

So it may not be literal fire.

However, it's something

with the appearance of fire.

It looks like tongues of fire

that's resting on each believer.

You see that.

And then third, there is speech.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other tongues

as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So three things.

Both the mighty rushing wind and fire

often appear throughout Scripture

to represent the powerful presence of God.

2 Kings 2, verse 11,

2 Kings 2:11

God takes Elijah up into heaven

by a whirlwind

in the midst of chariots and horses of fire.

In Ezekiel 1, verse 4,

Ezekiel 1:4

when God appears,

it says,

Behold, a stormy wind came out of the north

and a great cloud with brightness around it

and fire flashing forth continually.

And in the midst of the fire,

as it were, a gleaming metal.

Gleaming metal.

So this is a fulfillment

of John the Baptist's prophecy

in Luke 3, verse 16,

Luke 3:16

when it says that the Messiah

would baptize you

with the Holy Spirit and fire.

It's the fulfillment of Jesus' promise

in Luke 24, verse 49,

Luke 24:49

in Acts 1-8,

that,

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.

Jesus had said it in John 16, verse 7,

John 16:7

only after His ascension

can He send the Holy Spirit to us.

And now He keeps that promise

as the risen and ascended Lord.

He sends the Spirit

to indwell God's people

and empower them

to be His witnesses

among the nations.

We saw in Acts 1-11

that Jesus ascended into heaven,

and now we see the Spirit

in Acts 2-2

coming down from heaven.

Sorry, I'm just going to put this down

because I'm short

and I can't see the other faces.

I'm like in the way.

I think it's important

to ask ourselves at this point,

do we associate the Spirit of God

with power

as we see in this passage?

Look at the dramatic entrance, right?

It's unmistakable.

The mighty rushing wind

tongues as a fire.

Is that how you think

of the Holy Spirit?

Or do you tend to think

of the Holy Spirit

as kind of a wallflower?

The quiet type.

Maybe even silent.

That imperceptible,

unnoticeable person

of the Trinity

who stays out of our way.

In our Western world,

we are impressed by

and make much of

physical power,

military power,

political power,

rhetorical power,

rational power even.

But have we uncritically accepted

a materialistic worldview

that underestimates

or ignores spiritual power?

Power from the unseen realms.

Isaiah chapter 31,

Isaiah 31:1–3

verses 1 to 3,

contrasts spiritual power

from physical power.

It says,

Woe to those who go down to Egypt

for help and rely on horses,

who trust in chariots

because they are many,

and in horsemen

because they are very strong.

But do not look

to the Holy One of Israel

or consult the Lord.

The Egyptians are man

and not God,

and their horses are flesh

and not spirit.

When the Lord

stretches out His hand,

the helper will stumble

and he who is helped

will fall

and they will all perish together.

It's the spirit,

not the flesh,

that is more real

and more powerful

and more dependable,

according to Scripture.

Scripture.

And yet,

too often,

we rely on our own

fleshly strength

related on the Spirit's power

because we are walking

by sight

and not by faith.

So we've seen here

the Spirit's manifestation

in sound and sight,

and the final phenomenon

that Luke notes

is speech.

They were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak

in other tongues

as the Spirit

gave them utterance.

So the divided tongues

as of fire

that rested on each believer

is connected

to their speaking

in other tongues.

It's the same word.

Tongues of fire

and speaking other tongues.

So the Greek word

for tongue

is the same

as the word for language.

So then it's

the Spirit of God

resting on them

like a tongue of fire.

That is what enables them

to speak,

to diversify speech

in other languages.

The miracle here

is that believers

are enabled

by the Holy Spirit

to speak foreign languages

that they have never learned.

And that's enabled

by the tongue of fire

that's resting on them.

Now it says in verse 5,

There were dwelling

in Jerusalem Jews,

devout men

from every nation

under heaven,

and at this sound

the multitude

came together

and they were bewildered

because each one

was hearing them

speak in his own language.

A sudden sound

like a mighty rushing wind

of course

would attract the crowd

and it does.

And sure enough,

when they gather,

they are surprised

by yet another sound.

So Pentecost was

the second

of the three major festivals

that the ancient Jews

celebrated

and some scholars

estimate that

close to a million people,

a million pilgrims

visited Jerusalem

for Pentecost.

So this could be

a very sizable crowd.

They're gathered

because of the rushing wind

and the sound

that they hear

and then they hear

these people

praising God

in their own languages

even though they've come

from all these

different nations.

This is a reference

to the Jewish diaspora

who live outside

of historic territories

of Israel

and it says

that they were bewildered

by these sounds

of Galileans

who did not have

a reputation

for being learned

and knowing many languages

speaking in fluently

in these languages

they have never learned.

Let me digress

for a moment

just to explain

the difference

between the tongues

mentioned here

in Acts 2

and the gift of tongues

mentioned in other parts

of the Bible

especially 1 Corinthians 14.

Paul tells us

in 1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14:2

verse 2

that the gift

of tongues

enables believers

to utter mysteries

in the spirit

and that no one

but God

understands them.

So in 1 Corinthians 13

he calls it

the tongue of angels

tongues of angels

and so for that reason

in order to understand

the gift of tongues

1 Corinthians 14

13 tells us

that we need to pray

that we may interpret.

We need what

1 Corinthians 12

10 and 30

calls the interpretation

of tongues

which is a spiritual gift.

In summary then

the gift of tongues

is praise to God

uttered in a heavenly

angelic language

which requires

not a translator

but a spiritual gift

of interpretation.

This is very different

from what's going on

here in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

In Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:4

verse 4

it says that

they were all filled

with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak

in other tongues

languages

as the Spirit

gave them utterance.

And the fact

that this is a reference

to other human languages

is confirmed

by the Jews' response

in Acts 2

7 to 8

are not all these

who are speaking Galileans?

And how is it

that we hear each of us

in his own native language?

The word used

for language there

is not the same word

as the word tongue.

It's the word

that can only refer

to a human language.

And so these Jews

from various nations

heard their own

native human language

being spoken

by these believers.

believers.

And the fact

that they were able

to understand

what they were saying

without the gift

of interpretation

also confirms

that this is not

the gift of tongues.

And this is why

some theologians

make a technical

distinction.

They call the gift

of tongues

glossolalia

and they call

this ability

to speak in

other human languages

xenolalia.

But that raises

the question

if what's happening

in Acts 2

is not the spiritual

gift of tongues

what is it?

Why is it happening

at all?

And in order

to understand

Acts 2

we need to understand

Genesis 10 to 12.

In Genesis 10

we find what is called

the table

of the nations.

After the flood

it lists the genealogies

of Noah's three sons

Shem, Ham, and Japheth

and then concludes

in Genesis 10.32

that these are the clans

of the sons of Noah

according to their genealogies

in their nations

and from these

the nations

spread abroad

on the earth

after the flood.

So in the ancient

Greek translation

of the Old Testament

that the New Testament

believers use

the word nation

there's the same word

that's used here

in Acts 2 verse 5

Acts 2:5

when it says

now there were dwelling

in Jerusalem Jews

devout men

from every nation

under heaven.

And then Luke

lists the nations

that were there

represented in Jerusalem

from east to west

in verses 9 to 11

his Parthians

and Medes

and Elamites

and residents

of Mesopotamia

Judea

and Tappadocia

Pontus

and Asia

Phrygia

and Temphylia

Egypt

and the parts

of Libya

belong to Cyrene

and visitors

from Rome

both Jews

and proselytes

Cretans

and Arabians

now because

Luke uses

contemporary terms

of his day

the names

of the nations

are not exactly

the same

as the nations

listed in the

table of nations

in Genesis chapter 10

Genesis 10 · chapter mention

but if you put them

on the map

they refer to

the exact same nations

in the same

geographic area

so this first map

I hope you guys

can make it out

is the nations

that Luke lists

in chapter 2

of Acts

so he kind of

describes them

from east to west

starting in Parthia

and ending in Rome

but if you look

at the second map

there

this is the map

of the table

of the nations

in Genesis 10

exact same

geographic area

and the description

there

goes in roughly

kind of

counterclockwise

order

from the

northeast

so they're

the nations

from

that form

kind of

the farthest

reaches

of the known

world

at the time

from the

perspective

of an ancient

Jew

and the fact

that Luke

had the table

of the nations

in mind

is confirmed

by what he says

in Luke chapter 10

Luke 10:1

verse 1

where he tells us

that Jesus chose

and sent out

72 disciples

there's exactly

72 descendants

of Noah

in the table

of nations

in Genesis 10

so Luke's

telling us

that God's people

are called

to be missionaries

to all the nations

of the earth

and so he has

that in mind

as he's writing

this

the one notable

difference

is that while

the table

of the nations

goes as far

west as Tarshish

which is modern

day Spain

Luke's list

only goes

as far as

Rome

and that's

because

the book

of Acts

only tracks

Paul's journey

to Rome

that's where

it ends

that's all

that he had

access to

but

interestingly

enough

Paul mentions

twice

in Romans 15

of his intention

to go to Spain

which is modern

which is

what the ancient

city of Tarshish

was

and church

tradition holds

that Paul did

after he's released

from prison

in Rome

go there

so then Luke

is presenting

to us here

in Acts 2

the initial

impetus

of the movement

of the gospel

going forward

to every nation

on earth

and there's

still more

connections

between Acts 2

and Genesis 10

to 12

with the table

of the nations

in Genesis 10

it looks like

human beings

are obeying

their God-given

mandate

to be fruitful

and multiply

and fill the earth

and subdue it

so humans

were created

to reproduce

and spread out

filling the earth

with the image

of God

but God's plan

meets resistance

in Genesis 11

in the land

of Shinar

in the city

of Babel

which is a brazen

name

in Akkadian

means

the gate

of the God

people decide

to settle down

instead of

spreading out

and filling the earth

as God

commanded them

to do

and they say

to each other

in Genesis 11

Genesis 11:4

verse 4

come let us

build ourselves

a city

and a tower

with its top

in the heavens

and let us

make a name

for ourselves

lest we be

dispersed

over the face

of the whole earth

but God

will have none

of this human

hubris

so it says

the Lord

came down

and confused

their language

so that they

may not

understand

one another's

speech

and he

dispersed

them from

there over

the face

of the earth

and then

there's a word

play on the

name Babel

which in

Hebrew

sounds like

the word

that means

confused

so the

famed

gate of

the God

is reduced

a city

of confused

babblers

recalling

this Babel

incident

Deuteronomy 32

8-9

says this

when the

Most High

gave to

the nations

their inheritance

when he

divided

mankind

he fixed

the borders

of the peoples

according to

the number

of the sons

of God

but the

Lord's

portion

is his

people

Jacob

his

allotted

heritage

sons of

God

does not

mean

that God

has other

sons

besides

Jesus

the Lord

Yehovah

is called

the Most High

God

who is like

no other

God

he's the

Lord of

Lords

and God

of Gods

and he

exists

in three

persons

Father

Son

and Holy

Spirit

he is

the one

true

God

the

son

is

described

as

his

only

begotten

son

in

John

3-16

Jesus

is called

his

only

son

in

1 John

1 John 4:9

chapter

4

verse

9

Jesus

is

unique

but

the

phrase

sons

of

something

in

Hebrew

is

an

idiom

that

doesn't

necessarily

refer

to

paternity

Psalm

89

22

for

example

calls

a

wicked

person

a son

of

wickedness

Proverbs

31

5

describes

those

who

are

afflicted

as

sons

of

affliction

so

these

sons

of

God

then

are

not

literal

sons

of

God

but

they

are

like

God

like

beings

they

they

are

spiritual

beings

who

are

members

of

the

divine

council

which

you

see

in

1

Kings

22

and

Job

Job 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

and

2

God

divided

up

the

created

world

into

nations

ethnic

people

groups

and

within

their

respective

borders

according

to the

number

of the

sons

of

God

meaning

there's

a

spiritual

being

that

rules

over

each

nation

Israel

however

is the

portion

of

Yahweh

the

Yehovah

the

most

high

God

but

then

in

Psalm

82

God

rebukes

these

sons

of

God

for

governing

these

nations

with

injustice

and

wickedness

and

he

declares

that

he

will

demote

them

and

destroy

them

in

the

future

it

says

in

Psalm

Psalms 82:6–8

82

verses

6

to

8

I

said

you

are

God

sons

of

the

most

high

all

of

you

nevertheless

like

men

you

shall

die

and

fall

like

any

prince

arise

oh

God

judge

the

earth

for

you

shall

inherit

all

the

nations

Asaph

who

is

the

author

of

this

psalm

prophesies

of a

time

when

the

Lord

will

dethrone

and

destroy

these

so-called

gods

of the

nations

and

then

inherit

all

the

nations

for

himself

so

all

of

this

forms

the

background

that

helps

us

to

make

sense

of

what's

happening

here

at

Pentecost

the

word

divided

in

divided

tongues

used

in

Acts

2

is

the

same

word

used

in

Deuteronomy

32

8

to

refer

to

the

divided

mankind

according

to

the

number

of

the

sons

of

God

and

the

expression

other

languages

and

the

bewilderment

that is

caused

by those

speaking

in

other

languages

is

the

same

word

that

is

translated

as

confused

in

the

account

of

Babel

in

Genesis

11

so

what's

happening

here

in

Jerusalem

is

not

a

mere

local

event

it's

a

cosmic

event

it's

nothing

less

than

the

reversal

of

Babel

at

Babel

people

sought

to

exalt

their

own

names

and

God

came

down

and

confused

their

language

so

that

they

could

not

understand

one

another

speech

and

God

dispersed

the

people

over

the

face

of

the

earth

but

at

Pentecost

God

comes

down

again

but

this

time

he

gathers

all

the

nations

to

himself

and

enables

them

to

understand

each

other's

diverse

languages

and

people

are

now

confused

that

they

can't

understand

each

other

and

they

are

not

trying

to

promote

their

own

names

but

they

are

instead

praising

the

name

of

Christ

and

the

wondrous

things

that

God

has

done

through

him

at

Pentecost

the

spirit

of

God

puts

the

wicked

sons

of

God

on

notice

the

only

begotten

son

of

God

has

begun

the

process

of

dispossessing

these

sons

of

God

remember

the way

Jesus

described

his

conflict

with

demons

in

Luke

Luke 11:21

chapter

11

verses

21

and

22

when

a

strong

man

fully

armed

guards

his

own

palace

his

goods

are

safe

but

when

one

stronger

than

he

attacks

him

and

overcomes

him

he

takes

away

his

armor

in

which

he

trusted

and

divides

his

spoil

Jesus

is

the

stronger

man

who

overcomes

the

strong

man

binds

the

and

then

despoils

them

he

is

the

one

that's

despoiling

the

nations

rescuing

them

saving

them

at

Babel

the

Gentiles

were

disinherited

but

starting

in

Pentecost

the

nations

are

now

reclaimed

the

Gentiles

are

now

re-inherited

by

God

and

we

are

called

as

emissaries

of

that

kingdom

to

announce

the

arrival

of

Christ

the

king

so

that

the

nations

that

have

suffered

under

the

unjust

and

wicked

and

cosmic

powers

over

this

present

darkness

these

nations

who due

to their

slavery

to sin

were bound

to these

hostile

spiritual

forces

of evil

might be

absolved

of their

sins

and

redeemed

rescued

from

their

tyranny

and brought

under the

gracious

and just

reign

of

Christ

the

king

this

is

why

in

Peter's

sermon

ensuing

sermon

he

explains

Pentecost

as proof

of the

lordship

of

Christ

he

explains

Pentecost

in terms

of

Christ's

lordship

I hope

this is

exciting

for you

guys

this is

an epic

mission

we're

part of

a cosmic

warfare

this is

why

spiritual

warfare

is real

this is

why

we feel

it here

this is

why

if you

go to

mission

fields

the

frontier

where

these

so

called

gods

rule

the

battle

is

much

more

intense

and

you

see

a

very

vivid

and

undeniable

conflict

because

there are

spiritual

forces

who have

had a

stranglehold

over these

nations

in the

past

that are

now

opposing

us

fighting

against

us

one

one of

my

one of

my

favorite

songs

facing

a

task

unfinished

and

the

verse

and

chorus

of

the

psalm

captures

this

this is

where

other

lords

beside

thee

hold

their

unhindered

sway

where

forces

that

defy

thee

defy

thee

still

today

with

none

to

heed

their

crying

for

life

and

love

and

light

unnumbered

souls

are dying

and pass

into

the

night

we

go

to

all

the

world

with

kingdom

hope

unfurled

no

other

name

has

power

to

save

but

Jesus

Christ

the

Lord

but

in

order

to be

effective

witnesses

of

Jesus

Christ

we

must

be

empowered

by

the

Holy

Spirit

it

says

in

verses

12

to

13

and

all

were

amazed

and

perplexed

saying

to

one

another

what

does

this

mean

but

others

mocking

said

they

are

filled

with

new

wine

when

we

come

under

the

influence

and

power

of

the

Holy

Spirit

some

people

will

mock

us

and

say

that

we

are

filled

with

new

wine

that

they're

crazy

this

contrast

between

being

filled

with

wine

and

being

filled

with

Holy

Spirit

occurs

again

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

chapter

5

18

which

says

do

not

get

drunk

with

wine

for

that

is

debauchery

but

be

filled

with

the

Spirit

even

though

as

we

Holy

Spirit

this

doesn't

mean

that

every

believer

is

full

of

the

Holy

Spirit

this

is

why

throughout

Acts

Luke

describes

certain

people

as

being

full

of

the

Holy

Spirit

which

implies

that

some

others

are

not

full

of

the

Holy

Spirit

for

example

in

Acts

Acts 6:3

chapter

6

verse

3

the

apostles

instruct

the

brothers

to

pick

up

from

among

them

seven

men

of

good

repute

full

of

the

spirit

of

wisdom

and

they

pick

among

others

Stephen

who

is

described

as

a

man

full

of

faith

and

of

the

Holy

Spirit

similarly

Barnabas

in

chapter

11

verse

24

is

described