Date:    02/18/07

Text:    Acts 2: 1-13

Title:    A Community Set Ablaze

Theme: Since Jesus sits on high and sends His Spirit to His people, we are empowered to be His Witness .

Introduction:

  The Chinese like to begin the New Year with a big bang. We have fire crackers and lion dances. Family members travel great distances for the annual reunion. In China, many businesses shut down for about one week or more. It is considered bad luck if we do any sweeping on New Year's Day for fear that we may sweep away our money. Then there is also the custom of giving the red envelope to symbolize prosperity in the New Year. We have to make sure to include all the right words in our New Year greetings. All the food we eat in the celebration of New Year will include ingredients that symbolize prosperity and good will. Of course, this will include that black hair vegetable ( ?? ) and ?? . We want to make sure we start the New Year right.

  The scripture lesson we read today is characterized by 3 very unusual major phenomena: Wind, Fire and Foreign languages. They signified the beginning of something very important. It calls our attention to what is happening here and also the succeeding events.

  Before we plunge into the text, we need to review what had occurred before. Last Sunday we learned that after Jesus'' resurrection, he spent 40 days teaching his disciples about the kingdom of God. Before his ascension, he commissioned them to be his witnesses. You see, when Adam and Eve were created, they were meant to be God's witness, representing God before the world. Later, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph , Moses, David, Solomon and their descendents were all meant to be God's witnesses in the world. At times they all had failed, and sometimes quite miserably. Then came Jesus Christ. During his 33 years on earth, he stood perfectly between God and the world. He was God's representative and witness par excellence. And now, just prior to his ascension, he commissioned his disciples to be his witnesses. He not only commissioned them, but also promised that he will send his Holy Spirit to them, giving them the power they need to be his witnesses, to represent and reflect him beginning in Jerusalem and to the end of the earth.

  This brings us to today's text. After Jesus'' ascension, the disciples stayed in Jerusalem. In vs. 1 we read that when the day of Pentecost arrived. Pentecost is the 50 th day after Sabbath of the Passover week. Pentecost is known as the feast of Harvest. Then during the inter-testament time, this day was also used to celebrate the receiving of God's law and the renewal of his covenant with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. So, on this day, when the disciples were together, something happened. There were 3 observable events: What sounded like a violent wind, what appeared to be tongues of fire and the people gathered there were able to understand the disciples' conversations in their own language. Many considered this narrative as the beginning of a new era in God's redemptive history; or the birth of the NT church. This morning we want to focus on these three observable events, and next week, we'll go into greater detail regarding their significance.

I •  When Jesus sends forth his spirit, we experience his creative power.

2:2, “ 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” Let's first take a look at what appears to be a mighty wind filling the house. The word ‘wind' in both the Hebrew and Greek language means “Spirit” or “Breath”. It is this spirit or wind that was present when God created the heaven and earth. It is this spirit, wind or breath that was given to Adam, making him a living creature. It is the same spirit or breath that came upon the dry bones in Ezkiel's vision, turning them into a mighty army. .

Then in the NT, Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again in order to see and enter the kingdom of heaven. The word ‘again' means to repeat. Jesus explained that Adam was made alive by the spirit, breath, or wind; so if we are to see God's kingdom, have that spiritual relationship with God, we also need Him to breathe into us, giving us his spirit just like he gave Adam. This is called born again. The Spirit that created the heavens and earth; the spirit that gave life to Adam, to the dry bones; the Spirit that regenerates God's people came upon the disciples on this day of Pentecost.

Now, why was the Spirit given to the disciples and for what occasion? God, on his own initiative, sends His spirit to inaugurate the beginning of a new era. This is the spirit that was prophesied in the OT book of Joel. This is the spirit promised by Jesus just before his ascension. With the pouring of this Spirit, God's redemptive work on earth enters into a new stage. How so?

In the OT, the nation of Israel was God's chosen and visible representative on earth. But now, in this new era, all believers are now God's visible representatives on earth. The visible nation of Israel is now replaced by all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

This spirit with its creative and life-giving power, also provided strength for the disciples so they can be God's witnesses. In the rest of the book of Acts, we learn that having received this power, the disciples were changed from a group of timid and discouraged men and women into a mighty army. They turned the world upside down with the gospel message of God's kingdom. This Spirit empowered the disciples and other followers of Jesus Christ, bringing the gospel message from Jerusalem to Rome, and to the rest of the world.

With this same empowerment of the Holy Spirit, between 1854 and 1979, there were 4000 OMF missionaries and associates working in China and other Asian countries. Even to this day, men and women are still bringing the gospel message to countries and cities we have never heard of. While I was in Almaty about three years ago, a Korean pastor showed me the world map and pointed to the Silk Road. He told me in this and those cities, they have either already sent or will send Korean missionaries. Many churches in China today are actively involved in a movement of bringing the gospel message back to Jerusalem. Why such a motivation and commitment? Because the creative and life-giving power of God has already come upon us.

This Spirit will also give us the power and strength as we live to be God's witnesses at where we are. His power will enable us to stand between God and the world, representing him and reflecting his love, glory, holiness and integrity.

II •  When Jesus sends forth his spirit, we experience God's presence with us.

Now, let's take a closer look at the symbol of fire. Vs. 3, “ 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.” It was like little pillars of fire. This was not real fire but appeared to be fire. What do we learn about fire from the OT? The first time it was mentioned was in Genesis 15:17. God was establishing a covenant with Abraham. He was told to kill animals and split them into halves. When it was dark, smoke and fire came, passing through the animals. This is how God sealed his covenant with Abraham. It was totally God's initiative, Abraham did not have to do anything.

Then in Exodus, when the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness, there was a pillar of fire shining their way at night and guiding them. In Exodus 19:19 we read about how God came to Mt. Sinai in smoke, fire and earthquake. In Exodus 40:36-38, there were fire and cloud when God came to the Tabernacle. Fire in the OT symbolized God's presence with his people.

Now, when tongues of fire descended upon the disciples, symbolizing God's presence, it was also a fulfillment of the Joel prophesy and Jesus'' promise in Matthew 28:18-20, “ All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," 20 "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He is telling his disciples and his followers that as we represent Him, being his witnesses, wherever we are, whether at a friendly or hostile place, familiar or foreign setting, we are not alone, for He is with us,

Fire also signifies cleansing. Please note that the tongues of fire came upon individuals. Previously, God's fire came to the Tabernacle. But now, he is with each individual. Each one of us is now his dwelling place. Wherever we go, he is with us.

This Presence emboldened the disciples of Jesus Christ, beginning in the 1 st century to this day, to carry the message of God's kingdom to all parts of the world. This presence enables us to be His witnesses, to stand before him and the world, to represent and reflect him.

I understand your work place, your school and sometimes your home is not a very friendly place for the Christian faith. Sometimes in the presence of parents, roommates, professors and colleagues, we feel scared and intimidated even to mention Jesus or God. they look at you with a cynical eye. How can you still believe in this? No communist party member can ever believe in the Christian God. Or making comments like: if Jesus would be here today, we would crucify him again. Such attitudes and statements can certainly intimidate us. Whenever we find ourselves in such situations, remember, God's spirit is with us. His spirit has already come upon us. Therefore we don't have to be afraid.

III •  When Jesus sends forth his spirit, His work is proclaimed.

What happened when the Spirit came upon the disciples? At this point, I feel it is important for us to pay attention to a simple principle of interpretation. Very often when we ignore certain principles, this and other passages can cause great confusion. When we study the Book of Acts, it is important for us to remember that this is written in the narrative style. It is not meant for us to derive doctrines from this book. It is an accurate description of events that happened after Jesus'' resurrection. Any apparent doctrine or practice in Acts has to be interpreted and affirmed by the other books in the scripture. It will be wrong for us to discuss and draw certain conclusions about the meaning of baptism of the Holy Spirit or filling with the Holy Spirit from this and other Acts passages alone. We are to read and study Jesus'' teaching, Paul and other apostles' epistles in order to gain insight into the meaning of baptism of the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I will address this issue very briefly here. In Paul's writing, it is clear that when we put our faith in Jesus Christ expressed through water baptism, the holy spirit has come to us. It is a onetime event. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you already have the Holy Spirit. Filled by the Holy Spirit means to have the Holy Spirit take control of us. When our lives are controlled and ruled by the Holy Spirit, we will manifest the fruit of the spirit in our relationships with God and with others. When the Holy Spirit is in control, we'll express the gifts of the Spirit in a proper way.

Now, let's take a look at the immediate effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.

First, Vs.4, “ 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…” They started to speak in other languages. Vs.6-8, “ 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?” The languages the disciples used were understood by people from other parts of the world. These people were Jews or having been converted to Judaism, have come from the East, West, North and South. The focus is not on the fact that the disciples spoke different languages, this was amazing. This is a one time occurrence. But what is even more important is that people, no matter where they came from, heard of God in their own languages. The first immediate effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit is that people heard about God in the language of their hearts. Of course, this is a foreshadowing of what is to come in the future. When God's word will be taken to their lands so that their people will hear God's word in the language of their hearts.

It's like when we go overseas and surrounded by foreign languages. It's like noise to us. Then suddenly we hear people speaking English. We immediately turn our heads around. This familiar language touched our hearts. When God's spirit came upon us, people will hear of him in their own languages. This is how many of us come to know Christ. Someone shared with us the gospel message in the language of our hearts.

Wherever the missionaries go, they would learn the local language and translate the Bible into that language so the locals can read and hear the word in their language. According to the Wycliffe Bible Translators, there are about 6,000 language groups in the world. Of these groups, 3,000 do not yet have a Bible in their own language. During the 1 st 100 years of Chinese church history, the missionaries were devoted to translating the Bible into Chinese. There was the Cantonese and Shanghaiese versions. The first official Chinese Bible was completed in 1919. And since then we has several new translations so that today, we can read God's word in our own language. It is good to remember that as we support Edward and Dianne who are serving in Africa with the Wycliffe Bible translators, we are helping people in that part of the world to hear the message of God's kingdom in their heart language.

The second immediate effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit: Vs. 11, “Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” When the spirit came upon them, the disciples talked about God's creation, the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their travel in the wilderness. This mighty work of God also includes His coming into the world and became man. He served, suffered and died on the cross. Three days later he rose from the dead and 40 days later ascended into heaven. These are the mighty works of God. The disciples' message was God and his works. When God's work and words are proclaimed, his kingdom grows.

We can certainly learn from this. What do we share with others? It is important that we share with others some of our experiences. But be careful, we need to ask, “do our experiences point others to ourselves or to Jesus Christ?” Sometimes when we listen to different sharings, I can't help but feel that we, too, want to be like that person: His patience or humility. Instead when we share our personal experiences, we are to point others to Jesus Christ.

Conclusion:

   On that day of Pentecost, as prophesied in the OT, promised by Jesus, God took the initiative to send His Spirit to his disciples. It is the same spirit that created the heavens and earth; gave life to Adam; regenerate His children. The pouring of the Holy Spirit upon his people signified His presence with his children and the beginning of a new era. In this new era, God's children are no longer confined to the nation of Israel. God's children/people include all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. With this Spirit, His children are given the power to be His witnesses in the world, taking part in the expansion of His kingdom. This power will enable us to stand between Him and the world so we can represent and reflect him. With this power, we will speak of his mighty works as recorded in the scriptures.

   How about us today? Why are we at times, or most of the time feel weak and discouraged? Is that because we don't have the Holy Spirit and therefore pray more for the coming of the Holy Spirit? Yes, there are times we need to have that special presence of the Holy Spirit with us. However, if our understanding of the scripture is accurate, God has already given us his spirit. You see, we often feel powerless because we have failed to let the Holy Spirit control us, we are not filled with the Holy Spirit. When we yield ourselves to the spirit's control, we'll deal with certain sins in our lives. We'll deliberately rid those hateful and resentful feelings towards others. We'll forgive and love those who may have hurt us and let go of our grudges towards them. We'll learn to love and accept those different from us. We'll do our best to make changes in our personality in order to improve our relationship with others. We'll listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. When we let the Holy Spirit control and fill us, we'll then experience His power to reflect His love, justice, holiness and integrity at home, work and school.