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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends as we begin the month of May together.
Have you ever had a ‘revelation’ which changed your mind about something significant, which in turn changed your life? Join me again today in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago, as we watch thousands of people experience a mind changing revelation of God’s Truth which also included a life transforming spiritual experience: the arrival of the Holy Spirit of God!
The story is found in Acts 2 and the event happened on a very important day in the history of Israel. It was the “Shavuot” Festival, 50 days after that historic Passover/Easter weekend. Do you remember how the events involving Jesus Christ radically impacted the Passover Festival that year in Jerusalem? For 40 days after that weekend and His resurrection, Jesus appeared multiple times to His disciples and friends, proving that He was alive; continuing His teaching about God; and preparing His disciples for His departure. (Acts 1:3)
Yesterday, I left you with about 120 of Jesus’ friends who had been doing what Jesus told them to do as He ascended from the Mount of Olives back to heaven. (Acts 1:4-11) For 10 days they had been waiting, not really knowing exactly how they would recognize the arrival of the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised God the Father would send. (John 14:16,17,25,26)
Suddenly “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues (languages) as the Holy Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:1-4)
Yesterday we looked closely at this event, seeking to understand why God sent the wind and the tongues of fire. Today let’s look at this miracle of Spirit anointed people speaking languages they did not know!
Acts 2:5 tells us WHY this miracle of languages happened: “There were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard the sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed they asked, ‘aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our own native language?” (Acts 2:5-8) Do you see the complexity of this miracle my friends and do we understand the global implications? May I point out three important things?
* First, these were not pagans nor people uninterested in God.
These were God-fearing Jews who had come to Jerusalem for ‘Shavuot’ and were amazed and perplexed by what they were witnessing. These were passionately spiritual people who had come on this long pilgrimage for an extended time of worship of the God of Israel and celebration of great things HE had done for Israel through the centuries. The revelation of God’s truth about Jesus changed their lives and 3000 of them were baptized as expressions of their allegiance to Jesus as Messiah, at the end of this amazing event! (Acts 2:36-41)
* Second, these people had come ‘from every nation under heaven’
Many had come from far away assuming the dialect they spoke in their remote part of the world would be unknown in Jerusalem. I assume they also could speak Greek, the common language across the Roman empire at that time. This gathering of people was a representation of the world’s population at that time.
This Holy Spirit miracle enabled Galilean followers of Jesus to speak in languages spoken by people far away from Jerusalem, in places these Galilean’s had never visited and maybe didn’t even know existed! Why? Because God was showing our entire world that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection was for ALL peoples of the world, Jews and Gentiles, religious and non-religious. No one was excluded from the power or potential of Jesus to change their life if only they would know about the Gospel!
* Third, the Holy Spirit made sure NO one was excluded, by anointing all these Galilean followers of Jesus with the wide variety of languages needed so each of these visitors to Jerusalem could hear the Gospel of Jesus in their native tongue!
That’s why this statement which was made is so significant: “…aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our own native language…We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues (languages)?“ (Acts 2:7,8,11)
For any person, their greatest depth of understanding is found when they hear their native language spoken, isn’t that true? God alone knew which native languages were represented by all these visitors, and the Holy Spirit carefully selected and anointed, with a specific language, each of these Galilean friends of Jesus. Now think about that for a moment my friends. Have you ever stood in an international airport or some other place where many languages are spoken all at the same time?
In the confusion, Peter stood up and shouted for the attention of everyone and he explained what was happening here. But nothing like this had ever happened in any place in our world at any time, so how did Peter know what to say? This was another miracle of God this special Pentecost day. The Holy Spirit of God filled Peter’s mind with an understanding and guided Peter to a prophecy from the Jewish prophet Joel, written hundreds of years before.
Peter said: “These people are not drunk, as you suppose…No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days God says, I will pour out My spirit on all people…” (Acts 2:14-20) Peter quoted from Joel 2:28-32 and Peter concluded with these words of Joel: “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21)
That radical statement propelled Peter into what may be the greatest yet quite brief sermon giving the clear Gospel message of Jesus, especially focused on Jewish people. Tomorrow we’ll look at that very brief but very clear and powerful statement of Peter’s which resulted in 3000 Jewish pilgrims trusting in Jesus as their Messiah and Savior and asking to be baptized!
For today, I urge us to celebrate the miracles recorded for us in Acts 2 which occurred with these humble, Galilean followers of Jesus, and which enabled passionate, very religious Jews, from around the world, to witness the arrival of the Holy Spirit and experience the very first, very clear missionary proclamation of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ!
While Easter weekend was two weeks ago, how many millions of people have heard the Gospel message of Jesus, for the first time in their lives and in their own native languages in past several days? And how many have responded as these did in Jerusalem that Pentecost day, and have trusted Jesus to deliver them from their sin-bondage and sin-condemnation and they are today transformed believers in and followers of Jesus? Let’s celebrate with this song, my friends, and I’ll meet you back here tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: Acts 2:3-21.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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