Author: missionspaul

3 signs of Holy Spirit activity.

Acts 2:4
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

1. Your community will understand the value of being in a community.
There was no place for stars and heroes. ALL were filled.

2. Your community will begin to speak in a way it hadn’t before.
What goes in comes out.

3. Your community will experience God outside of their culture and language.
One culture and language never has a monopoly on God.

Acts 2:3

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

One of the symbols of Christianity is fire. If the Bible regards fire as the supreme need of the Church and the final gift of God. If the prophets of old associated fire with the Messiah. If our God is a consuming fire. If the gift of the Holy Spirit is a baptism by fire. If Christianity is a religion of fire. If we are saved by fire. If fire is so important then what exactly is it?
What happened on the day of Pentecost?
See beyond the phenomena, the noise, the violent wind, the tongues of fire, speaking in tongues, drunken-like behaviour. You will then see men and women whose lives were saturated with the Spirit of God. The passion of God possessed them with an intensity of a fire. They burned and they shone for Jesus. A holy passion for righteousness, a consuming enthusiasm for the salvation of the lost. They were sold out for Jesus.
You cannot make up this passion.
The fire of God is unique.
The world understands passion. The world is passionate about rugby right now! But it is not possible for you to create passion for God. You cannot through effort or desire or strategy bring about divine fire. It is a gift to receive.
The fire of God is not sent for a few emotional experiences. The fire of God brings power, acts 1:8. Power to surrender your whole life to God.

Acts 2:2

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

It was Sovereign – the visitation was from heaven.
The only thing that will satisfy a visitation from heaven.
Sometimes you get to the point in your life when earth and everything on earth will not and can not give to you what you need.

It was Sudden. No warning. It could not of been advertised. No time to make plans, to put it in the brochure. If you were not there at the service, you missed it. The suddenly came in the environment of expectancy.

It was Supernatural. A violent wind. Not a gentle breeze. Frightening. There was a sound. When God visits, you will hear Him powerfully upon the Church. The community will know.

Come!

Acts 2:1

I wasn’t planning to do a verse by verse thing. But I think I will just carry on if that’s okay with you?!

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

The CHURCH is a going church not a sitting church.
Pentecost is the significant component of that.
Pentecost marked the beginning of the harvest of the nation of Israel. The people went into their fields to gather the fruit and various grains.
Pentecost was also called “the feast of weeks”, “the feast of harvest” and “the day of first fruits”.
The harvest had 3 parts according to the Old Testament:
The main harvest
The corners of the field
The gleanings – the left overs.
Jesus mentions a harvest in 3 parts which we have already seen in the last chapter: 1:8
Jerusalem (the main harvest)
Judea and Samaria (corners of the field)
The ends of the world – the Gentiles (the left overs).
At Pentecost believers received power to gather in their harvest beginning with Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria and then to the ends of the world.
It marked the beginning of the mission for the church to gather in lost people.
It still does.
Let Pentecost be every day.

Acts 1:26

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Can you imagine making one of the most important decisions and really trusting God to guide you by throwing the dice to see if the numbers come up?!

Isn’t it a good job we don’t follow this practice today. Mind you when I think of some decisions made sometimes I think a pair of dice might have been better used!

When I was growing up in our house was a promise box. A small wooden box of small scrolls with bible promises in them. Often when I was in need of a dream that my life would be great I would go to the box get the tweezers and pull out a promise. If I didn’t like it or didn’t understand it I would put it back and do the best of three routine.

So how do we get our heads around this that the apostles used dice to hear from God? Sounds a bit supernatural doesn’t it?

We do know they prayed and asked the Lord to show them.
We do know they talked together looking for the right candidate with the right experience.
We do know the dice were an Old Testament practice. The disciples resorted to this because this is all they knew at the time. They were days away from finding the supernatural voice of the Spirit speaking to them through the gifts.

I like the fact that they did turn to the Scriptural practice. In these days of the Spirit often people have become Word-less. There needs to be both. Let us make sure we don’t just have one or the other.

Acts 1:25

“… to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.”

Yesterday I was walking through a shopping mall and a lady stopped me and persuaded me to buy some Dead Sea Salts for my skin! She said she thought I needed it! I said I’d been there and that 2 members of my staff were on there way to that beautiful nation right now. She was amazed I liked Israel. She said she has many people say horrible things when they know it is from Israel.
I said some people are just ignorant.
What I also believe is that some people just love to judge. They love to dismiss, discard, sentence others.
They talk like they are God. They are not.

Judas left to go where he belongs. And many have interpreted this as hell.
Judas is in hell right? He betrayed Jesus, he is now experiencing eternal condemnation right?
I don’t believe so.

Judas was chosen by Jesus, not the other way round. I actually believe that is crucial. I understand some don’t own that theology of salvation safety. So let’s move on.

Judas repented and confessed his sin proclaiming he innocence of Jesus (Matt 27:4). I actually believe that anyone and I mean anyone no matter how bad they are if they acknowledge their sin and confess it do find their salvation.

The third reason I don’t believe Judas is in hell is just simply based on the uncomfortableness I have of having an opinion on anyone’s eternal destination.

Don’t right anyone off, even if they are dead. No one really knows!

Acts 1:24

Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen.”

Throughout this book we will see how they prayed. Prayer is central to everything they do.

Lord … You are the One, the Master, everything, the one we serve, surrender to and are obedient to. They knew who was in charge. They knew who was boss.

You know the heart …. It is not only about whether someone has been with us the whole time. It is not only about the gifting and skills. It is the heart. What is inside? The Lord knows this.

Show us … Direct us to what you can see, to what you know. Demonstrate to us, reveal to us, point it out to us.

This is still the prayer that we should strive for.

Acts 1:23

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.

Two men, both suitable candidates. Both had been with the group from the beginning. Both were witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. Both could have been the replacement.
One was nominated and went through the whole of the what might be what might not be routine and found out that actually he was not chosen.

Nearly there. Down to the final 2. But you don’t make it.
What do you do when it looks like you nearly got there but didn’t? Where do you go?
Do you enter a life of insignificance, unnoticed, not mentioned again, as with Justus? Well this is also what happened to Matthias. Both are never mentioned again.
The point is not where you are going but where you have been. They had been with Jesus. It didn’t matter if they became a leading apostle or not an apostle at all. They knew they were there from the time Jesus came and went. They were a witness and that was all that was important.
Today you may be promoted and you may also miss your promotion. But it is not important. We so often listen to vision and dreams as they are displayed as being of the utmost importance. But they are not. Where you have been is more important to where you are going.
Have you been to Jesus?

Acts 1:22
… beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

It was a must. The Resurrection of Jesus. It was everything.
The central message was from the beginning “Christ is alive! I have seen Him!”
When they wee asked, “Were you there?” They had to be able to say “Yes”.
They couldn’t say “No but I was told Jesus had risen”.
It had to be personally experienced.

It still is everything.
It still has to be personally experienced.
Your testimony has to be about you and it is unique to you. No one has your story. Your story that says Jesus is alive and my changed life proves it.

The resurrection is central to everything. We lose that then we have nothing. Our message continues to be in every high and low, mountain and valley …Jesus is alive!

To those who need a miracle today … Jesus is alive!
If He is alive then anything is possible!

Acts 1:21

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

So there were men who hadn’t been chosen in the Twelve but who still followed Jesus from the beginning.
Do others look like they are more chosen than you?
Will you still follow even though you don’t get the recognition like others do?
Are you running your race or competing against others?