WEBVTT 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:15.060 So I'm going to read from Acts 1, verse 8, and 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:19.579 then I'm going to jump over to Acts 2 and start 00:00:19.579 --> 00:00:24.120 reading in verse 1. So Acts 1, verse 8 reads, 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:28.640 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:32.299 has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:36.479 both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:40.619 and even to the remotest parts. part of the earth. 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:44.079 Starting in chapter 2, verse 1. When the day 00:00:44.079 --> 00:00:47.420 of Pentecost had come, they were all together 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:52.500 in one place. And suddenly, there came from heaven 00:00:52.500 --> 00:00:56.820 a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:00.920 the whole house where they were sitting. And 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.640 there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:09.099 themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:13.000 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:16.140 and began to speak with other tongues as the 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:20.260 Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were 00:01:20.260 --> 00:01:24.560 Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:28.620 nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, 00:01:29.420 --> 00:01:32.799 The crowd came together and were bewildered because 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:37.439 each of them was hearing them speak in his own 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.620 language. They were amazed and astonished, saying, 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:46.459 Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:50.700 And how is it that we each hear them in our own 00:01:50.700 --> 00:01:55.989 language to which we were born? Parthians and 00:01:55.989 --> 00:01:59.689 Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, 00:01:59.790 --> 00:02:04.329 Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia 00:02:04.329 --> 00:02:08.629 and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya, 00:02:08.830 --> 00:02:13.150 around Cyrene and visitors from Rome, both Jews 00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:17.210 and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs, we hear them 00:02:17.210 --> 00:02:22.509 in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds 00:02:22.509 --> 00:02:25.979 of God. And they all continued in amazement and 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:28.780 great perplexity, saying to one another, what 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:32.840 does this mean? But others were mocking and saying, 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:37.740 they're full of sweet wine. Let's pray. Father, 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:39.879 I come before you and I thank you so much for 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:42.800 your word. I thank you for what we've been instructed 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:48.319 in already in this service. Father, I thank you 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.509 for the work that Christ has accomplished. Lord, 00:02:51.550 --> 00:02:55.169 I thank you that before the world came into existence, 00:02:55.289 --> 00:02:59.270 before foundations were set, you delighted in 00:02:59.270 --> 00:03:05.090 the Son, as Proverbs taught us today, that he 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:09.189 delights in the sons of men. Lord, I ask and 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:12.210 I pray that that reality would sink in. Lord, 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:15.330 I thank you for what we learned in our catechism, 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:20.189 that the Spirit of God... imparts and gives to 00:03:20.189 --> 00:03:26.490 us freely faith by which we believe and by which 00:03:26.490 --> 00:03:30.689 we are justified. It's not faith which we muster 00:03:30.689 --> 00:03:33.490 up, it is faith which is given from outside of 00:03:33.490 --> 00:03:36.689 ourselves so that we can be justified by our 00:03:36.689 --> 00:03:39.129 righteousness which is outside of ourselves, 00:03:39.490 --> 00:03:43.110 which is from Christ. Father, I ask and I pray 00:03:43.110 --> 00:03:46.680 today that your power would go forth and work 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.039 in our hearts and our minds in a supernatural 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.379 way in our souls and in our lives. I ask that 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:56.520 your spirit would be present and bless the reading 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:59.039 and the preaching of your word and the hearing 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:02.939 of your word this morning. In Jesus' name I pray, 00:04:03.139 --> 00:04:07.939 amen. So in coming to this text, in coming to 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:13.139 Acts chapter 1, We see that Jesus gives this 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:15.759 promise that the Spirit of God was going to come 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:20.160 and that they were to wait for the Spirit. They 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:22.620 were to wait for the promise. So coming up to 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:26.699 chapter 2 through chapter 1, we really see this 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:31.560 leading up to the Spirit coming. We see that 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:34.240 Jesus makes the promise that He says that the 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.439 Spirit's going to come and give you power and 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:38.480 you're going to be witnesses. We see that Christ 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:42.879 goes so that the Spirit can be sent. In His absence, 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.379 His physical absence, we see the disciples and 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:48.720 the apostles being obedient and going to the 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:55.079 city and waiting for the arrival of the Spirit 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:58.879 of God. We see them making preparations leading 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:03.620 up to the arrival of the Spirit of God and reorganizing 00:05:03.620 --> 00:05:07.120 the apostles and preparing the Twelve, the foundation 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:10.939 of the church. And then we see the day of Pentecost 00:05:10.939 --> 00:05:16.819 arrive and we see great power. And we see the 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:22.560 presence of God upon these people. I want to 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:24.579 ask you a few questions. When you think of the 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:30.069 church today as a whole, in our area... and nationally 00:05:30.069 --> 00:05:33.750 and universally, when you think of the church 00:05:33.750 --> 00:05:37.649 as a whole, as a majority, what are some defining 00:05:37.649 --> 00:05:41.230 characteristics that come to your mind? I mean, 00:05:41.269 --> 00:05:44.689 we probably think of buildings, big buildings. 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:50.569 We probably think of flashy, cool communicators. 00:05:50.769 --> 00:05:57.750 We probably think of hip teachers. fancy churches. 00:05:57.970 --> 00:06:02.250 We probably think of entertainment to an extent. 00:06:02.790 --> 00:06:05.529 When we consider church as a whole and we think 00:06:05.529 --> 00:06:07.750 of the big churches and evangelicalism today, 00:06:07.970 --> 00:06:10.649 when we think of celebrity pastors in the world 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:14.129 today, we probably think of entertainment to 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:20.470 an extent. We think of emotional driven services. 00:06:21.009 --> 00:06:25.329 We think of comfort. We think of All these different 00:06:25.329 --> 00:06:27.670 things. We think of big churches and we think 00:06:27.670 --> 00:06:30.490 of the church as a whole. We think of outreaches. 00:06:30.629 --> 00:06:35.990 We think of really nifty, really nifty sermon 00:06:35.990 --> 00:06:39.990 titles and sermon series titles. We think of 00:06:39.990 --> 00:06:46.629 also, we think of little churches, many of which 00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:49.829 I've been a part of and I've pastored. Little 00:06:49.829 --> 00:06:53.920 churches who seemingly are on the brink. Of extinction. 00:06:54.939 --> 00:06:58.759 I mean, they're on the edge. They're just holding 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:04.959 their doors open. They're there. They exist. 00:07:06.139 --> 00:07:10.279 They don't seem to reach out much. They're there. 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:15.060 We think of that. What do those churches need? 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:18.620 What does the church as a whole and the big churches 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:22.199 in evangelicalism, what do they need? What comes 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:26.779 to your mind? Let me ask you this. Is what comes 00:07:26.779 --> 00:07:29.240 to your mind when you think of church today, 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:35.000 in our area, and as a whole, power? Do you think 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:40.959 of power when you think of the church? The little 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.939 church that is about to die, it needs the presence 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:48.300 of God and it needs the power of God. But big 00:07:48.300 --> 00:07:51.279 churches as a whole and evangelicalism, they 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:54.579 need the presence of God and the power of God 00:07:54.579 --> 00:08:00.199 just as much as other churches. God's power cannot 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:03.860 be replaced. It cannot be manufactured. It cannot 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.420 be substituted. It cannot be created. It cannot 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:14.839 be built up. It cannot be grabbed. Church needs 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:19.220 power. The early church in the book of Acts, 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:23.939 one of the defining characteristics was power. 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:28.500 Power in the proclamation of the gospel and power 00:08:28.500 --> 00:08:32.200 in the life of the body and power in the life 00:08:32.200 --> 00:08:36.159 of the individual personally. So when we come 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:39.639 to a text like... This and Acts and Pentecost, 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:41.299 we have to look at it in two different ways, 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:43.639 really. We have to look at it in the historical 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:46.840 redemptive context, meaning these are things, 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:51.440 these were events which occurred in history throughout 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.200 redemption. They took place in a time and a period. 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:57.980 But then we also have to look at them through 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:01.059 a lens of personal and experiential, these things 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:04.750 which can still They experience these things 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:09.629 which are normal in the ministry and the work 00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:12.889 of the Spirit of God even to this day. Because 00:09:12.889 --> 00:09:15.129 we know that the Spirit of God is God and He 00:09:15.129 --> 00:09:18.909 is unchanging. And He still works just as powerfully 00:09:18.909 --> 00:09:25.110 today as He did then. So we have to think of 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:28.210 Pentecost when we come to this text in those 00:09:28.210 --> 00:09:32.419 two ways. historical, redemptive things that 00:09:32.419 --> 00:09:35.000 have occurred and things that cannot and will 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.299 not be repeated, things that cannot be manufactured 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:42.600 and done over, and we have to think of them in 00:09:42.600 --> 00:09:46.879 terms of personal, experiential things that the 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:48.620 Spirit of God still does and that Christians 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:54.600 today still experience. So one principle in this 00:09:54.600 --> 00:10:03.850 text on Pentecost is power. Power. That God provides 00:10:03.850 --> 00:10:08.409 the power for His people from outside of them 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:11.750 to complete and to do the mission which He Himself 00:10:11.750 --> 00:10:18.149 has given to His people. So just as Dustin talked 00:10:18.149 --> 00:10:20.809 about how God gives us faith to believe and trust 00:10:20.809 --> 00:10:25.769 in Christ, God gives us power to fulfill and 00:10:25.769 --> 00:10:28.730 to complete and to bring about His mission in 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:32.549 this world as well. It's not something that we 00:10:32.549 --> 00:10:35.730 have in and of ourselves. Really, if we think 00:10:35.730 --> 00:10:41.129 about it, men and women and children and people 00:10:41.129 --> 00:10:47.490 in general do not innately have power in themselves. 00:10:48.590 --> 00:10:52.090 As it was already stated, we have no power to 00:10:52.090 --> 00:10:57.080 change the created order. God is creator. He 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:01.620 is maker. We don't have power in and of ourselves 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:07.919 to affect spiritual realities. I cannot and you 00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:12.039 cannot. We do not have the power to reach into 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:16.019 somebody's soul and to regenerate that soul and 00:11:16.019 --> 00:11:20.509 to cause it to be born again. You and I, we do 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:24.950 not have the ability to sanctify ourselves because 00:11:24.950 --> 00:11:28.990 of our sin nature. We cannot make ourselves grow 00:11:28.990 --> 00:11:33.029 spiritually by ourselves. I can't do it. You 00:11:33.029 --> 00:11:36.370 can't do it. We need power from outside of ourselves 00:11:36.370 --> 00:11:40.690 to do that. We do not have the ability to keep 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:43.730 ourselves. We do not have the ability to effectually 00:11:43.730 --> 00:11:49.759 call anybody. Just as Jesus, Called Lazarus back 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:53.440 from the dead. We have no power to do that, so 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:56.019 we have no power to raise people spiritually. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.159 Only Christ has the ability, the authority. God 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:05.120 has the power, and He supplies the church with 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:08.360 that power. We have no power in and of ourselves. 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.919 So I want to start with a very basic, very obvious 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:15.019 point regarding this text in the early church. 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:21.200 And that is the source and the nature of the 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.820 church's power. The source and the nature of 00:12:24.820 --> 00:12:27.759 the church's power. This seems obvious as we 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:31.779 read this text, that this text is telling us 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:35.740 that the power the church has to complete the 00:12:35.740 --> 00:12:40.519 mission that God has given to them is from outside 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:46.259 of themselves. It comes externally. From without 00:12:46.259 --> 00:12:49.960 them. It's not from within them. We see that 00:12:49.960 --> 00:12:54.320 the Spirit of God comes upon them at Pentecost. 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.720 We see that the Spirit of God actively comes 00:12:58.720 --> 00:13:03.539 upon them and they passively experience and receive 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:08.779 the Spirit of God in His fullness on that day. 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:16.230 He's referred to as wind and fire. We see that 00:13:16.230 --> 00:13:20.710 in verses 2, 3, and 4. We see that the source 00:13:20.710 --> 00:13:26.690 of this power is referred to as from heaven. 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:31.350 From heaven. So the Spirit of God, here in this 00:13:31.350 --> 00:13:33.190 text, when He talks about the noise and the wind, 00:13:33.370 --> 00:13:35.210 when He talks about the fire, where did it come 00:13:35.210 --> 00:13:41.149 from? It comes from heaven. It comes from the 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:45.990 throne of God. So it's not from us. It's not 00:13:45.990 --> 00:13:50.590 from ourselves. It's from God himself. And it's 00:13:50.590 --> 00:13:56.009 supernatural in its nature and character. It's 00:13:56.009 --> 00:14:02.309 not power which we wield as authoritative leaders 00:14:02.309 --> 00:14:05.389 today wield. They make demands and it happens. 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:11.409 This is supernatural power which God imparts. 00:14:11.870 --> 00:14:14.769 to His church, through His Spirit, and works 00:14:14.769 --> 00:14:18.370 effectively in the hearts and the minds and the 00:14:18.370 --> 00:14:22.990 souls of people. Now we will see in a minute 00:14:22.990 --> 00:14:25.110 this power and the presence of the Spirit is 00:14:25.110 --> 00:14:30.929 manifest in this text, but it's a supernatural 00:14:30.929 --> 00:14:35.350 and a spiritual power, primarily which works 00:14:35.350 --> 00:14:39.190 in the hearts and the minds of individuals in 00:14:39.190 --> 00:14:46.669 the early church. The early church in its most 00:14:46.669 --> 00:14:50.370 infant stage, in its purest stage right here, 00:14:50.470 --> 00:14:57.970 was defined and marked by power. By the power 00:14:57.970 --> 00:15:03.669 of God at work and from himself. It came from 00:15:03.669 --> 00:15:09.879 outside of them and it came upon them. They passively 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:14.100 receive that which the Spirit actively accomplished 00:15:14.100 --> 00:15:18.740 in and among them. So why do I emphasize this 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:22.860 really obvious, this really simple point? Why 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:25.399 do I start out with the source and nature of 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:32.360 this divine power which a church has? Well, I 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.980 start out with it because I think each and every 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:38.620 one of us, and I think, the reason that Jesus 00:15:38.620 --> 00:15:41.860 emphasized that they needed to wait and they 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:45.120 needed to wait and wait and wait was because 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:50.940 we have a tendency to think that we do things 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:54.259 and we accomplish things in our own strength 00:15:54.259 --> 00:16:00.120 and our own power. The power that the church 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:02.820 has, the power that the early church had here 00:16:02.820 --> 00:16:06.850 at Pentecost and it came upon them. It was not 00:16:06.850 --> 00:16:12.610 the people. The power was not the people that 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:15.070 made up the church. The power was not in the 00:16:15.070 --> 00:16:18.789 followers. The power was not in their gathering 00:16:18.789 --> 00:16:21.450 among themselves. Their power was not in their 00:16:21.450 --> 00:16:24.909 intellect or their personalities. The power came 00:16:24.909 --> 00:16:29.090 from the Spirit of God. The power came from God 00:16:29.090 --> 00:16:33.190 Himself. It's important for us to realize this. 00:16:34.250 --> 00:16:37.029 Because if we look at the church as a whole today, 00:16:37.149 --> 00:16:42.250 where is it looking to get its power? It's looking 00:16:42.250 --> 00:16:46.850 to the world to get its power. It's looking to 00:16:46.850 --> 00:16:51.370 the secular culture and the world to get its 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:57.509 power. Folks, we cannot replace the power which 00:16:57.509 --> 00:17:01.950 comes from the Spirit of God. We cannot manufacture 00:17:01.950 --> 00:17:05.980 it. through methodologies and strategies and 00:17:05.980 --> 00:17:09.279 marketing schemes and all these different ways. 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:15.940 There is no power in methods for the gospel of 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:20.700 the Lord Jesus. There is no power in a preacher's 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:22.940 personality. There is no power in my personality. 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:28.920 There's only power from and in the person of 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:31.539 the Spirit of God, and we must look to the Spirit 00:17:31.539 --> 00:17:38.980 of God for that power. The Spirit of God is the 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:46.799 one who gives the church its power. The church 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:50.319 does not get its power from within, but from 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:56.670 outside. of itself from God himself. So not only 00:17:56.670 --> 00:18:00.069 does the Spirit come and impart this power and 00:18:00.069 --> 00:18:02.670 does the Spirit give this power himself, but 00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:06.450 the Spirit comes in this text and makes manifest 00:18:06.450 --> 00:18:10.950 this power to the church. We see this when we 00:18:10.950 --> 00:18:15.069 read this text in Acts 2, in verses 1 -4 in particular, 00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:17.960 we're like, wow. That is a sign. There was something 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:20.720 going on. This was a big deal. And that's exactly 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:25.380 the point. This was significant. This was important, 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:29.039 which was taking place. So secondly, we see the 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:33.660 manifestation of the Spirit's power and presence 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:39.099 among the early church. Now you say, well, what 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.900 are the manifestations? There's two manifestations 00:18:41.900 --> 00:18:45.779 which we see in this text. The Spirit of God 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:49.319 manifests His power to the early church through 00:18:49.319 --> 00:18:53.839 audible, through noise of rushing wind, violent 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:57.960 rushing wind, not just a breeze, but violent 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:03.200 rushing wind. A strong, powerful, disturbing, 00:19:03.799 --> 00:19:09.839 hard, rushing, violent wind is the noise which 00:19:09.839 --> 00:19:12.900 they audibly hear. So that's the first symbol. 00:19:13.339 --> 00:19:16.559 The second symbol is fire. And then we see that 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:20.279 that's tongues of fire. So these two symbols 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:25.460 are how the Spirit of God manifests His presence 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:28.339 and His power among the early church. So why 00:19:28.339 --> 00:19:32.420 in the world did the Spirit of God on the day 00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:34.720 of Pentecost when He came and manifested His 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.920 power among the people of God, why did He choose 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:45.049 a noise as violent rushing wind? Why? Well, throughout 00:19:45.049 --> 00:19:52.009 Scripture, we see that wind and we see that breath 00:19:52.009 --> 00:19:58.289 and we see that air is a symbol for the presence 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:05.829 and the power of God among His people. If we 00:20:05.829 --> 00:20:09.910 think about the fact that God spoke to Job out 00:20:09.910 --> 00:20:13.369 of a mighty and a powerful, dangerous whirlwind. 00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:18.390 If we think about the reality that in John chapter 00:20:18.390 --> 00:20:22.990 3, that Jesus said when he talked about the new 00:20:22.990 --> 00:20:26.910 birth, regeneration, when he spoke of that, he 00:20:26.910 --> 00:20:29.269 said, unless you're born again, you cannot see 00:20:29.269 --> 00:20:33.069 the kingdom of God and you cannot enter the kingdom 00:20:33.069 --> 00:20:36.339 of God. What does he refer to the Spirit as? 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:41.339 Wind. You don't see it, but you see the results 00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:44.960 of it. You can't control the wind. You can't 00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:49.019 grab the wind. You can't nail it down to a tree. 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:56.440 It's free to do as it pleases. It's uncontainable. 00:20:56.619 --> 00:21:01.180 It's uncontrollable. Just as it is in the new 00:21:01.180 --> 00:21:05.660 birth. We see in Ezekiel's vision, and this is 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:09.980 probably the closest image which we have that 00:21:09.980 --> 00:21:12.940 I think this text is referring to, Ezekiel's 00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:20.500 image of the valley of dry bones. God shows Ezekiel 00:21:20.500 --> 00:21:24.000 a valley full of dry, dry bones. So if bones 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:26.920 are dry, that means that they have no flesh, 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:32.640 they have no life in them, they are dead. So 00:21:32.640 --> 00:21:36.200 when Ezekiel prophesies, the wind, who is the 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:40.460 Spirit of God, goes out and gives life to the 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:43.440 dry bones. And later we're told that this is 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:47.500 a picture of the new covenant, of how God would 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:50.579 send the Spirit of God and work in the life of 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:55.759 God's people through His Spirit. And so we see 00:21:55.759 --> 00:22:01.339 that there's wind, there's air. We see in John 00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:04.880 chapter 20 that Jesus breathed on the disciples 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:08.799 air out of his mouth and the Spirit of God came 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:17.519 upon them. So in this text, wind is the image 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:21.819 which is given to the Spirit of God. For what 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:26.519 reason? Why is this text emphasizing the reality 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:31.599 that... in comparing the Spirit of God to the 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:35.599 wind, this loud noise, because the Spirit of 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:38.240 God is at work in the life of the church in a 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:46.200 powerful, sovereign, uncontrollable, rapid, forceful, 00:22:46.200 --> 00:22:52.440 violent, unstoppable manner. It's free as the 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:55.619 wind to do as it pleases in the life of the church. 00:22:57.869 --> 00:23:02.789 It saddens me in today's world with so many people 00:23:02.789 --> 00:23:09.609 who claim to control the Spirit of God. The Spirit 00:23:09.609 --> 00:23:13.230 of God is not a force or an energy which is contained 00:23:13.230 --> 00:23:16.369 in which we wield and which is manipulated and 00:23:16.369 --> 00:23:20.650 which is controlled. The Spirit of God is all 00:23:20.650 --> 00:23:25.490 -powerful God Himself. The Spirit of God is sovereign 00:23:25.490 --> 00:23:30.049 and providential. Yes, working within the bounds 00:23:30.049 --> 00:23:33.289 of the redemptive plan, but He is still God. 00:23:35.490 --> 00:23:39.049 The Spirit of God is referred to as wind here 00:23:39.049 --> 00:23:41.849 in a powerful way. Just think about this text 00:23:41.849 --> 00:23:44.809 and the events which are occurring. Just think 00:23:44.809 --> 00:23:48.009 about the events. The Spirit of God came upon 00:23:48.009 --> 00:23:51.809 them. They did not go and get the Spirit of God. 00:23:51.869 --> 00:23:56.039 They had to wait for Him. They had to wait. Because 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:58.299 the Spirit of God hadn't come yet. And they couldn't 00:23:58.299 --> 00:24:02.519 make Him come. We see that He came forcefully, 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:08.059 suddenly, abruptly. But also we see that the 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.960 Spirit of God came upon the early church. And 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:14.400 I choose this word wisely, I think, intrusively. 00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:21.059 He came and He intruded and He invaded their 00:24:21.059 --> 00:24:27.940 lives in a godly way. In a God -glorifying manner. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:33.359 He came and he intruded their souls with holiness. 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.819 He blew upon them in a way which knocked them 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:42.680 flat on their face, we could say. In a powerful, 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:49.480 powerful way. The second symbol that we see is 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:56.549 fire. Now, fire has a rich history. And imagery 00:24:56.549 --> 00:24:59.670 throughout Scripture. I know some of you are 00:24:59.670 --> 00:25:01.609 already thinking through the Old Testament. Well, 00:25:01.609 --> 00:25:04.569 where was it referred to? A lot of you are thinking 00:25:04.569 --> 00:25:10.289 of Moses and the burning bush. That's good. What 00:25:10.289 --> 00:25:13.450 was the burning bush? It was the presence of 00:25:13.450 --> 00:25:18.970 God which would not burn out. It was holiness. 00:25:19.230 --> 00:25:23.130 Why did Moses have to take off his sandals? Because 00:25:23.130 --> 00:25:27.390 it was holy ground. God's presence was present 00:25:27.390 --> 00:25:30.769 in a holy and a righteous and a powerful and 00:25:30.769 --> 00:25:37.170 a pure manner. We also see that the tabernacle, 00:25:37.250 --> 00:25:40.390 there was a fire in the center that could not 00:25:40.390 --> 00:25:43.849 be burnt out. It had to be lit all the time. 00:25:43.950 --> 00:25:46.890 Who started the fire? God started the fire in 00:25:46.890 --> 00:25:52.539 the tabernacle. Because it symbolized God's presence 00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:57.819 among His people in the midst of His people where 00:25:57.819 --> 00:26:02.400 they worshipped Him. We see when Solomon finished 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:05.680 his first temple, he made sacrifices to the Lord. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:08.400 What happened? He prayed and fire from heaven 00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:11.059 came down and swallowed it up and the glory of 00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:14.559 the Lord dwelt in the temple and filled it. God 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:17.839 was among His people in a powerful way. His presence 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:23.579 was among men. His presence was there with them. 00:26:24.619 --> 00:26:29.579 We see after the great exodus or during the great 00:26:29.579 --> 00:26:32.619 exodus of God's people out of bondage and out 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:36.299 of slavery for 400 years and God leaves them 00:26:36.299 --> 00:26:41.859 out. How does he do that? A pillar of fire by 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:47.329 night and a cloud by day. His presence was among 00:26:47.329 --> 00:26:51.309 His people leading them and guiding them and 00:26:51.309 --> 00:26:57.609 freeing them from their bondage. We also know 00:26:57.609 --> 00:27:02.569 that Hebrews tells us that God Himself is a consuming 00:27:02.569 --> 00:27:10.849 fire. God in His being, in His person, is a consuming 00:27:10.849 --> 00:27:16.549 fire. So we have to ask ourselves, Why in the 00:27:16.549 --> 00:27:23.150 world does the Spirit of God manifest His power 00:27:23.150 --> 00:27:26.369 and His presence to the people of God and the 00:27:26.369 --> 00:27:31.910 early church in that day, in that age, as fire? 00:27:33.269 --> 00:27:38.869 Because it shows them and it signifies His divine, 00:27:39.029 --> 00:27:45.259 pure, consuming, powerful power. presence among 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:52.000 them. That he was actually with his people. And 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:55.259 he wasn't just with them, but he was with them 00:27:55.259 --> 00:28:01.779 in power. He was with them in might. He was there 00:28:01.779 --> 00:28:05.299 as a consuming fire which would burn up the wheat 00:28:05.299 --> 00:28:09.059 and the chaff. He was there as a consuming fire 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:16.579 which would consume The hearts and minds of the 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:21.859 disciples. And we see that. So what was the purpose 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:25.960 of these manifestations? Why did the Spirit of 00:28:25.960 --> 00:28:29.380 God, when He came upon the people of God in power, 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:36.440 why did He manifest Himself to them? And I was 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:37.960 thinking about this question, and I think it's 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:43.880 important. This instance, the fire and the sound 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:47.500 of rushing violent wind, it's not repeated throughout 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:50.200 Scripture. It's not repeated from this point 00:28:50.200 --> 00:28:53.380 forward. Now, at momentous events throughout 00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:56.720 Scripture, we have loud noises and we have thunder 00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:00.059 and we have lightning. We have other manifestations 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:03.799 of God's glory and presence and power. So I think 00:29:03.799 --> 00:29:06.559 that is definitely one of the things that's taking 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:13.430 place here. But why? Did God in the spirit manifest 00:29:13.430 --> 00:29:18.670 himself to the people of God like this? And only 00:29:18.670 --> 00:29:22.730 to the people of God. The outside world did not 00:29:22.730 --> 00:29:28.269 see or hear what was taking place. He manifest 00:29:28.269 --> 00:29:31.730 himself to the people of God whom he was going 00:29:31.730 --> 00:29:36.420 to work in and through. I think he did this because 00:29:36.420 --> 00:29:42.859 he burned in their mind's eye his divine presence 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:47.119 and his divine power, which was going to get 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:50.400 them through the days ahead, the things they 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:52.900 were going to deal with in the future, the things 00:29:52.900 --> 00:29:56.240 they were going to face, but also so their minds 00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:01.579 could wrap around the extent of God's power and 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:05.460 his presence because... It wouldn't just remain 00:30:05.460 --> 00:30:08.019 manifest and outside of them where they could 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:11.319 physically see it and physically hear it. But 00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:15.960 we'll see in a moment that the power and presence 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.559 with the Spirit of God manifest, He then fills 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:24.799 the people of God with. He puts the power and 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.839 the presence of God in the people of God by indwelling 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:34.250 them and filling them with Himself. So he wants 00:30:34.250 --> 00:30:40.089 them to grasp his presence and his power. It 00:30:40.089 --> 00:30:43.849 was for their benefit. It was for their benefit. 00:30:44.490 --> 00:30:47.109 And for their edification and for their strengthening 00:30:47.109 --> 00:30:53.410 and for their encouragement. Now the fire was 00:30:53.410 --> 00:30:58.589 not simply a big flame. We are told from the 00:30:58.589 --> 00:31:02.769 text that it had a particular shape to it. that 00:31:02.769 --> 00:31:07.769 it had a particular form to it. So the fire, 00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:10.349 which was God's presence and God's power with 00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:13.150 and among his people, did it serve a purpose? 00:31:14.250 --> 00:31:18.730 Was there a specific reason which God gave his 00:31:18.730 --> 00:31:21.569 power to them? And just keep that in the back 00:31:21.569 --> 00:31:24.430 of your mind. What was the purpose of God's power 00:31:24.430 --> 00:31:28.849 and God's presence with and among his people? 00:31:28.869 --> 00:31:31.049 And we'll see the answer to that here in just 00:31:31.049 --> 00:31:34.730 a few minutes. The third thing we see in this 00:31:34.730 --> 00:31:42.210 text, and we see from this text in Acts 2, is 00:31:42.210 --> 00:31:46.029 the Spirit of God filling the people of God with 00:31:46.029 --> 00:31:51.089 God's power. It doesn't just remain a manifestation 00:31:51.089 --> 00:31:55.029 outside of them, but the Spirit of God indwells 00:31:55.029 --> 00:31:59.650 them and fills them with the power and the presence. 00:32:01.509 --> 00:32:06.529 himself he dwells within his people in a sense 00:32:06.529 --> 00:32:12.109 we can say the spirit who is wind in his power 00:32:12.109 --> 00:32:15.529 and his strength and his boldness and his fierceness 00:32:15.529 --> 00:32:19.839 and the violence of his rushing wind And the 00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:23.000 purity and the essence of God's presence and 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:26.519 the heat and the intensity of fire, those things 00:32:26.519 --> 00:32:29.240 in the person of the Spirit of God and power 00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:34.519 were placed within the people of God. So the 00:32:34.519 --> 00:32:38.799 Spirit of God is given to the people of God and 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:41.559 dwells within them. Now this is a unique situation 00:32:41.559 --> 00:32:46.259 with the apostles and with many of the disciples, 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:49.880 I believe. Because we know that they still had 00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:56.640 the Spirit prior to this event. They had the 00:32:56.640 --> 00:33:00.519 Spirit of God prior to this event at Pentecost. 00:33:00.980 --> 00:33:05.440 So what was unique and what was special about 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:10.880 Pentecost and the filling of the Spirit at this 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:15.319 time? Well, before, if you remember, they were 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:20.700 with Jesus. They heard Jesus' words. They saw 00:33:20.700 --> 00:33:23.299 Jesus physically and visibly in front of them. 00:33:23.319 --> 00:33:26.059 They walked with Him. They talked with Him. They 00:33:26.059 --> 00:33:28.900 were instructed by Him. They were encouraged 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:32.339 and rebuked and convicted by Him. But there were 00:33:32.339 --> 00:33:37.259 times where they went out by themselves, and 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:39.380 we know that they did have the Spirit of God, 00:33:39.460 --> 00:33:42.660 but what is different now than then? Well, now 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:46.119 they had received a fullness. They did not have 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:51.019 before. A filling to the brink with God's power 00:33:51.019 --> 00:33:54.400 for the purpose of the advancement and the spread 00:33:54.400 --> 00:33:59.119 of the gospel in this world. As Jesus told them 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:02.799 in Acts chapter 1, He said, you will be baptized 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:09.659 with the Holy Spirit. You will be fully and completely 00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:15.369 and totally immersed. and the presence and the 00:34:15.369 --> 00:34:19.289 power of the Spirit of God. The baptism of the 00:34:19.289 --> 00:34:21.690 Spirit of God will come upon you in a special 00:34:21.690 --> 00:34:26.690 way. Now in the Old Testament, not everybody 00:34:26.690 --> 00:34:31.190 received special gifts from the Spirit. And a 00:34:31.190 --> 00:34:33.090 lot of times we see in the Old Testament, in 00:34:33.090 --> 00:34:35.989 the Old Covenant, that the Spirit of God was 00:34:35.989 --> 00:34:38.690 with the people of God almost in a corporate 00:34:38.690 --> 00:34:42.590 manner with the nation of Israel. We see that, 00:34:42.630 --> 00:34:45.090 though we know there were individuals who had 00:34:45.090 --> 00:34:47.650 the Spirit. I mean, Moses, the Spirit of God 00:34:47.650 --> 00:34:50.949 was upon him. And we see, and I believe in Exodus 00:34:50.949 --> 00:34:56.690 chapter 19 or Exodus 12, where God takes the 00:34:56.690 --> 00:34:59.090 Spirit which was upon Moses and gives it to the 00:34:59.090 --> 00:35:02.730 70 elders which would help him to lead the nation, 00:35:02.909 --> 00:35:06.769 help him to lead the people. So the Spirit of 00:35:06.769 --> 00:35:11.960 God dwelled among the people. But in this text, 00:35:11.980 --> 00:35:18.159 we are told that the fire went and rested upon 00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:24.139 each individual. And then we're told in verse 00:35:24.139 --> 00:35:29.480 4, and they were all, all filled with the Holy 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:33.139 Spirit and began to speak with other tongues 00:35:33.139 --> 00:35:38.210 as the Spirit was giving them utterance. One 00:35:38.210 --> 00:35:41.829 of the blessings of the new covenant, one of 00:35:41.829 --> 00:35:44.730 the blessings of living in the age in which we 00:35:44.730 --> 00:35:48.309 live under the new covenant is that if you are 00:35:48.309 --> 00:35:54.289 in Christ, you have a fullness of the Spirit. 00:35:54.769 --> 00:35:59.889 The Spirit indwells you permanently and powerfully 00:35:59.889 --> 00:36:07.420 under the new covenant. I also love the... that 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:13.099 in the new covenant, the Spirit of God applies 00:36:13.099 --> 00:36:19.579 all that Christ accomplished to the life of the 00:36:19.579 --> 00:36:23.059 believer. So the Spirit of God is not just some 00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:27.679 throwaway or side note doctrine. The Spirit of 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:30.780 God is vitally important for Christians to understand 00:36:30.780 --> 00:36:35.780 because they are living in union. daily, hourly, 00:36:36.099 --> 00:36:38.800 secondly, with the Spirit of God filling them 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:41.079 and dwelling them. One of the most practical 00:36:41.079 --> 00:36:45.840 doctrines that we can understand and we can study 00:36:45.840 --> 00:36:48.579 and we can try to grasp is the reality that the 00:36:48.579 --> 00:36:51.500 Spirit of God will fill you with His power and 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:55.539 with His strength. How does that happen? What 00:36:55.539 --> 00:36:57.920 does that look like? What does the Bible say 00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:01.849 about it? We must look into these things. We 00:37:01.849 --> 00:37:04.030 must study these things. We must devote ourselves 00:37:04.030 --> 00:37:06.969 to these things. It's so practical for the life 00:37:06.969 --> 00:37:10.670 of the believer. It's so practical for the life 00:37:10.670 --> 00:37:15.469 of the Christian. So every single believer is 00:37:15.469 --> 00:37:19.409 filled with the Spirit of God. The book of Acts 00:37:19.409 --> 00:37:24.050 shows us that really there's a special filling, 00:37:24.250 --> 00:37:30.260 a special empowerment. When it comes to the proclamation 00:37:30.260 --> 00:37:36.699 or the speaking the gospel, when a person proclaims 00:37:36.699 --> 00:37:42.920 and talks about the work of the Lord Jesus, what 00:37:42.920 --> 00:37:47.739 was the purpose of the power in this text? Why 00:37:47.739 --> 00:37:50.659 did Jesus say in Acts chapter 1, they would receive 00:37:50.659 --> 00:37:52.820 the power? What was the purpose of the power? 00:37:53.960 --> 00:37:56.539 The purpose, he says, you will receive power 00:37:56.539 --> 00:37:58.900 and the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you 00:37:58.900 --> 00:38:04.940 shall be my witnesses. To proclaim the Lord Jesus, 00:38:05.099 --> 00:38:09.179 to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim what the 00:38:09.179 --> 00:38:13.480 Lord Jesus, or as later we will see, to speak 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:17.619 and to proclaim about the mighty deeds of God. 00:38:18.380 --> 00:38:21.719 The mighty deeds of God. So what does it mean 00:38:21.719 --> 00:38:23.539 to be filled with the Spirit? It means that the 00:38:23.539 --> 00:38:30.280 Spirit of God comes into your life and dwells 00:38:30.280 --> 00:38:36.300 within you. He comes into union with you. He 00:38:36.300 --> 00:38:39.340 begins to renew your nature and your person, 00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:44.420 your mind. He dwells within you. He begins to 00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:49.309 renew your affections, your thoughts. your mind, 00:38:49.369 --> 00:38:51.949 your heart, your desires, the things you want 00:38:51.949 --> 00:38:55.610 in life. He begins to change those things. He 00:38:55.610 --> 00:38:59.030 takes your eyes off the world and yourself, and 00:38:59.030 --> 00:39:01.690 He begins to convict you of sin and to give you 00:39:01.690 --> 00:39:06.570 repentance and to put your eyes upon the Lord 00:39:06.570 --> 00:39:10.710 Jesus, His accomplished work, and bringing glory 00:39:10.710 --> 00:39:17.469 to God as you live this life. This is not a term. 00:39:18.670 --> 00:39:21.190 where the Spirit of God comes in and just helps 00:39:21.190 --> 00:39:26.210 assist you and kind of supports you from underneath 00:39:26.210 --> 00:39:29.409 what you're doing. This term refers to one where 00:39:29.409 --> 00:39:32.309 the Spirit of God comes in and dominates your 00:39:32.309 --> 00:39:38.389 life and takes control of your life. He fills 00:39:38.389 --> 00:39:44.269 you with His power and His presence in your life, 00:39:44.590 --> 00:39:50.909 which shows us Our desires, our affections, our 00:39:50.909 --> 00:39:54.730 wants, our goals in life, they must be soaked 00:39:54.730 --> 00:39:58.690 and they must be covered in the things of God. 00:39:59.449 --> 00:40:03.269 They must be covered in the things of God. So 00:40:03.269 --> 00:40:06.849 we see that the disciples, when they were filled, 00:40:06.989 --> 00:40:11.230 something immediately took place. Something happened 00:40:11.230 --> 00:40:16.570 as a result of their filling with the power and 00:40:16.570 --> 00:40:20.519 the presence. We see, and this is where we come 00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:25.059 to the purpose of the Spirit's presence and power 00:40:25.059 --> 00:40:30.219 in our life. We've seen that the source and the 00:40:30.219 --> 00:40:33.000 nature of the power. We've seen the manifestation 00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:38.440 of that power. We've seen the filling of God's 00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:41.460 people with that power and with that presence. 00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:45.710 And now we see the purpose. of God's presence 00:40:45.710 --> 00:40:49.789 and God's power among his people. It's almost 00:40:49.789 --> 00:40:54.269 a cycle that we see take place. We see spirit 00:40:54.269 --> 00:40:59.730 come and impart power. We see the spirit manifest 00:40:59.730 --> 00:41:03.110 his power. We see the spirit fill the people. 00:41:03.329 --> 00:41:08.349 Well, what comes next? What's next in that order? 00:41:09.210 --> 00:41:12.489 Should it just stop there? The spirit fills you 00:41:12.489 --> 00:41:16.800 with power and... It's done? No, something else 00:41:16.800 --> 00:41:20.300 comes as a result of the power and of the presence 00:41:20.300 --> 00:41:22.820 of the Spirit of God dwelling within your life. 00:41:22.880 --> 00:41:26.760 It doesn't come to a screeching halt. There's 00:41:26.760 --> 00:41:30.199 more to the process than simply the filling. 00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:36.880 We see that the symbol of the tongue of fire 00:41:36.880 --> 00:41:40.219 which rested upon the people in the room. That 00:41:40.219 --> 00:41:45.190 gives us a hint. that the power had a purpose 00:41:45.190 --> 00:41:51.710 in the life of the early church. And the symbol 00:41:51.710 --> 00:41:56.269 shows us that purpose. What do we use our tongue 00:41:56.269 --> 00:42:04.289 for? To speak, to talk, to proclaim, to tell 00:42:04.289 --> 00:42:11.630 others of, to witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:42:13.220 --> 00:42:16.840 Charles Spurgeon said of this text, and I love 00:42:16.840 --> 00:42:19.719 this. I was reading this last night right before 00:42:19.719 --> 00:42:25.739 I went to bed. He said that God has raised up 00:42:25.739 --> 00:42:30.139 his church not with a sword in their hand, but 00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:34.159 with a sword coming out of their mouth that pierces 00:42:34.159 --> 00:42:38.179 the hearts and the souls of the minds of people. 00:42:39.100 --> 00:42:42.980 God has ordained that His church be a church 00:42:42.980 --> 00:42:49.639 which speaks and proclaims and talks. Not a church 00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:52.719 which is quiet and silent and in the corner. 00:42:53.300 --> 00:42:56.519 But a church which proclaims boldly the gospel 00:42:56.519 --> 00:43:00.400 of the Lord Jesus. In power. And He's provided 00:43:00.400 --> 00:43:05.340 the power for it. So I want to talk just two 00:43:05.340 --> 00:43:14.320 points briefly. about the purpose of his presence 00:43:14.320 --> 00:43:19.860 and his power. So two things. First, the power 00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:24.440 which the Spirit of God gives to the people of 00:43:24.440 --> 00:43:31.059 God is meant to be pointed outward. Is meant 00:43:31.059 --> 00:43:36.760 to be pointed outward. The power is not primarily 00:43:38.030 --> 00:43:41.949 to be pointed inward at the body or the church. 00:43:43.530 --> 00:43:46.010 Repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly in the book 00:43:46.010 --> 00:43:49.050 of Acts, we see the power of the Spirit of God 00:43:49.050 --> 00:43:51.369 at work in the life of the early church, and 00:43:51.369 --> 00:43:55.989 they're bumping into outsiders. They're bumping 00:43:55.989 --> 00:43:58.690 into the culture. They're bumping into the world 00:43:58.690 --> 00:44:02.050 around them. What do we see in verses 5 through 00:44:02.050 --> 00:44:07.900 13 of this text? We see the nations. We see a 00:44:07.900 --> 00:44:11.420 great diversity of people who need to hear the 00:44:11.420 --> 00:44:16.099 gospel, not simply the people in that room. At 00:44:16.099 --> 00:44:19.820 some time between verse 4 and verse 5 in Acts 00:44:19.820 --> 00:44:24.659 chapter 2, they have moved from the upper room 00:44:24.659 --> 00:44:27.880 where they were, or the house where they were, 00:44:28.039 --> 00:44:33.559 they've moved from that location into a public 00:44:33.559 --> 00:44:39.030 location. They've moved from where they were 00:44:39.030 --> 00:44:45.449 gathered out into earshot of the community where 00:44:45.449 --> 00:44:48.730 they are praising God and others hear them in 00:44:48.730 --> 00:44:53.769 their own native tongue. They don't remain there. 00:44:54.889 --> 00:44:57.969 They move. It's meant to be pointed outward. 00:44:58.309 --> 00:45:03.010 The gospel is meant to be a gospel on the move. 00:45:03.570 --> 00:45:07.420 The gospel is not meant To be a gospel which 00:45:07.420 --> 00:45:11.539 is stale and stagnant and static and unmoving. 00:45:13.320 --> 00:45:17.679 The gospel must be pointed outward at the world 00:45:17.679 --> 00:45:24.639 which does not know the Lord Jesus. Yes, the 00:45:24.639 --> 00:45:28.219 Spirit of God empowers the Christian to live 00:45:28.219 --> 00:45:32.280 a holy life, to grow in likeness and conformity 00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:35.960 to the Lord Jesus. He gives us grace. He helps 00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:41.300 us to grow in our passion for the Lord. He helps 00:45:41.300 --> 00:45:44.019 us to grow in our understanding and our knowledge 00:45:44.019 --> 00:45:47.619 of the Word of God. He helps us to grow in our 00:45:47.619 --> 00:45:50.480 spiritual progression and maturity in this life. 00:45:50.579 --> 00:45:53.980 The Spirit absolutely, without a shadow of doubt, 00:45:54.059 --> 00:45:56.079 that is one of the purposes for the Spirit of 00:45:56.079 --> 00:45:57.980 God. And that is one of the purposes for the 00:45:57.980 --> 00:46:02.000 power of the Spirit of God. But in regards to 00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:05.440 the mission of God in this world, the power of 00:46:05.440 --> 00:46:08.079 the Spirit of God is for the purpose of going 00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:10.579 into the world with the gospel of the Lord Jesus. 00:46:12.940 --> 00:46:17.599 Now, how does that power manifest itself when 00:46:17.599 --> 00:46:22.980 it's out there? Well, the power manifests itself 00:46:22.980 --> 00:46:30.480 in the people of God through their speech. Through 00:46:30.480 --> 00:46:35.340 their speech. Through what they say. Through 00:46:35.340 --> 00:46:39.880 their verbal communication. God takes his spirit. 00:46:41.179 --> 00:46:44.260 The spirit of God comes upon us. He fills us 00:46:44.260 --> 00:46:47.820 with his power and his presence. He dwells and 00:46:47.820 --> 00:46:51.460 he fills us. Now, does that stay there? No, it 00:46:51.460 --> 00:46:58.489 comes out of our mouth. Verbally. We talk about 00:46:58.489 --> 00:47:02.469 it. One of the greatest evidences, one of the 00:47:02.469 --> 00:47:05.130 greatest evidences, I just felt like John Piper 00:47:05.130 --> 00:47:12.630 there with my hands. So one of the greatest evidences 00:47:12.630 --> 00:47:16.090 that a person is filled with the Spirit of God 00:47:16.090 --> 00:47:21.969 is that they talk about the Lord Jesus. They 00:47:21.969 --> 00:47:24.889 talk about the Lord Jesus. Now is that in and 00:47:24.889 --> 00:47:28.610 of itself? A guaranteed evidence of regeneration, 00:47:29.110 --> 00:47:32.710 the new birth? No. But I will tell you one thing 00:47:32.710 --> 00:47:35.610 that is. And Jonathan Edwards, when he wrote 00:47:35.610 --> 00:47:41.250 his book on the affections and on our desires 00:47:41.250 --> 00:47:45.170 and the results of the new birth, he had this 00:47:45.170 --> 00:47:50.070 column which was basically, one side was guaranteed 00:47:50.070 --> 00:47:54.050 marks and one side was not guaranteed marks of 00:47:54.050 --> 00:47:57.159 the new birth. So on one of those columns, he 00:47:57.159 --> 00:48:02.000 has speaking about the Lord Jesus. So that's 00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:04.159 not a guaranteed. That's under the not guaranteed 00:48:04.159 --> 00:48:06.860 section. That doesn't guarantee that you're a 00:48:06.860 --> 00:48:11.400 born again believer. But what is the root of 00:48:11.400 --> 00:48:16.699 a person's speech and why they're talking? The 00:48:16.699 --> 00:48:20.460 desire and the love and the passion and the affections 00:48:20.460 --> 00:48:22.539 within their soul, within their heart, within 00:48:22.539 --> 00:48:24.739 their mind for the thing which they're speaking 00:48:24.739 --> 00:48:30.500 about. So if you as an individual, because you 00:48:30.500 --> 00:48:33.199 think about in your soul, in your mind, in your 00:48:33.199 --> 00:48:36.519 heart, you consider the things of God. You consider 00:48:36.519 --> 00:48:39.159 what Christ has done. You think about the work 00:48:39.159 --> 00:48:42.039 of Christ on the cross. You think about His resurrection. 00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:44.539 And because you're thinking about it and because 00:48:44.539 --> 00:48:47.199 it's affecting your soul and it's affecting your 00:48:47.199 --> 00:48:50.619 heart and it's making you passionate about what 00:48:50.619 --> 00:48:53.460 He's done and then you talk about it, that is 00:48:53.460 --> 00:48:56.199 a guaranteed mark that you are a born -again 00:48:56.199 --> 00:49:00.639 believer. If you love the Lord Jesus and then 00:49:00.639 --> 00:49:03.920 you talk about the Lord Jesus, it's a guaranteed 00:49:03.920 --> 00:49:07.400 mark. That you're a Christian. If that continues. 00:49:07.440 --> 00:49:13.880 And that remains. And it goes on. But. What's 00:49:13.880 --> 00:49:19.199 the negative side of that? If you never. Ever. 00:49:20.739 --> 00:49:28.840 Talk about. Or think about. Or consider. Spiritual 00:49:28.840 --> 00:49:32.739 good things. And the Lord Jesus. The word of 00:49:32.739 --> 00:49:37.719 God. The work. which God has done. And you never 00:49:37.719 --> 00:49:40.699 talk about the Lord Jesus and what he's done 00:49:40.699 --> 00:49:45.260 and who he is, the holiness and the power and 00:49:45.260 --> 00:49:48.780 the might of God. If you never think of those 00:49:48.780 --> 00:49:51.599 things, if you never consider those things, if 00:49:51.599 --> 00:49:55.019 you never talk about those things, you must ask 00:49:55.019 --> 00:49:59.639 yourself, do I really possess the Spirit of God 00:49:59.639 --> 00:50:04.130 within me? If you never confess with your mouth 00:50:04.130 --> 00:50:09.550 that the Lord Jesus is the head of the church 00:50:09.550 --> 00:50:12.750 and is risen and ascended and sitting at the 00:50:12.750 --> 00:50:15.030 right hand of God, if you never confess, if that 00:50:15.030 --> 00:50:18.909 verbal proclamation never comes out of your mouth, 00:50:19.010 --> 00:50:22.110 that the Lord Jesus died and he's a good master, 00:50:22.329 --> 00:50:24.489 and then we must repent of our sins and believe 00:50:24.489 --> 00:50:27.159 in the Lord Jesus. for eternal life? If you never 00:50:27.159 --> 00:50:28.940 talk about that, if you never consider that, 00:50:29.079 --> 00:50:31.820 if you never confess that, do you really possess 00:50:31.820 --> 00:50:37.480 the faith which the Spirit of God gives us? It's 00:50:37.480 --> 00:50:41.539 a serious question. How often do you talk about 00:50:41.539 --> 00:50:47.280 the Lord Jesus? How often do you think about 00:50:47.280 --> 00:50:53.530 spiritually good and edifying things? How often 00:50:53.530 --> 00:50:58.190 do you think about the Word of God? We see in 00:50:58.190 --> 00:51:07.150 this text in verse 11 that the disciples, when 00:51:07.150 --> 00:51:10.110 they had been filled with the power and the presence 00:51:10.110 --> 00:51:13.250 of God in their life, in their soul, what did 00:51:13.250 --> 00:51:21.170 they do? They were speaking of the mighty deeds 00:51:21.170 --> 00:51:25.909 of God. When a person is born again and filled 00:51:25.909 --> 00:51:27.889 with the Spirit of God and His power and His 00:51:27.889 --> 00:51:33.869 presence, they will speak of the mighty deeds 00:51:33.869 --> 00:51:39.929 of God. Consider your life. Do you have the power 00:51:39.929 --> 00:51:44.150 and the presence of the Spirit of God in your 00:51:44.150 --> 00:51:51.090 soul, in your heart, in your life? How long can 00:51:51.090 --> 00:51:57.119 you go? before you say the name Jesus? Was the 00:51:57.119 --> 00:51:59.860 last time you spoke of anything spiritually good 00:51:59.860 --> 00:52:05.400 last Sunday? Was the last time that you considered 00:52:05.400 --> 00:52:12.500 the gospel last Sunday? It's a hard, difficult, 00:52:12.639 --> 00:52:18.300 good question to wrestle with. If those are true 00:52:18.300 --> 00:52:22.610 and you haven't, or you haven't considered, you 00:52:22.610 --> 00:52:24.789 haven't thought, I would encourage you to think 00:52:24.789 --> 00:52:28.409 about what you're called to do and repent and 00:52:28.409 --> 00:52:31.849 turn from your sin and trust in the Lord Jesus 00:52:31.849 --> 00:52:36.550 so that the Spirit of God can fill you with His 00:52:36.550 --> 00:52:38.809 power and His presence.