The Spirit Descended
Sermon Notes
Introduction
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called The Story where we’re going through the biblical narrative from the very beginning in Genesis 1 to the last amen in Revelation 22, and today’s text brings us to the story of the Holy Spirit descending. It’s the time in history when the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus’ followers, which is relevant for each of us. It’s relevant because we all need a greater power than our own will power, to help us with certain things in life. We all need a greater power than our will power, to help guide us through things like temptation, sin, hardships, life in general. Do you sometimes wrestle with temptation, wrestle with being tempted by things you know aren’t good for your life and relationships?...Do you sometimes wrestle with giving into that temptation, with seeing the damaging effects your sin is causing you and those you love?...Do you sometimes wrestle with hardships, with days that are so overwhelming, you’re just emotionally, physically, spiritually drained?...The reality is we all wrestle with these things. But the good news is there’s a greater power than our will power, that can help guide us through those things, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So let’s turn to Acts ch 2 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, keep turning right, you’ll find Acts. We’ll be in Act 2:1-12, and the title of today’s message is The Spirit Descended. The big of the message is the Spirit descended...The Spirit descended, so the power of Christ can keep spreading in and through us.
Context:
Here’s your context. Last week in Acts ch 1 we learned Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit after he ascended into heaven. Jesus says in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts ch 2 is the time when Jesus fulfills that promise, he sends the Holy Spirit to descend on his followers. As we study this text we’ll address the following 3 questions: #1 Who’s the Holy Spirit? #2 What’s the Holy Spirit do? #3 What’s all this mean for our lives today? Those are the questions we’ll address today, so let’s check it out.
The Word:
Acts 2:1-12 states, “When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying.” So at this point Jesus has already ascended into heaven. Some of his disciples, his followers are gathered in a house, and suddenly a violent rushing wind fills the entire house! We’re Floridians, it’s hurricane season, and we just experienced Ian. So we know what it’s like to experience a violent rushing wind from storms. You can hear and feel the sudden gusts of wind. Well that’s what they’re hearing and feeling in this moment, except there’s no hurricane or storm. That’s why they describe it as something like a violent rushing wind. That little word like gives credibility to what they’re saying, because they’re basically saying “What happened to us is hard to explain. It goes against our logical understanding of the natural world, because there aren’t any storms in sight. But we heard and felt something burst in the house that was so powerful, it affected the entire house! It was like a violent rushing wind.”
The point is they heard and felt something happen to them in that house, and it was beyond their understanding of the natural world. It was super-natural...It was a supernatural event that happened to ALL of them, which means it wasn’t a dream, a hallucination, or a psychological meltdown. Dreams, hallucinations, psychological meltdowns aren’t shared experiences, they’re individual experiences. But this was a shared experience! They all heard it, they all felt it, they all experienced a supernatural power that didn’t come from within them, it came from outside them. This is important because our culture often teaches that the power to transform our lives comes from within. “You can do whatever you want to do, be whatever you want to be in life. You can accomplish your dreams!” That pop culture psychology sounds good, but the reality is sometimes we don’t get to do the things we want in life. Sometimes we don’t get to accomplish our dreams in life, instead we experience shattered dreams. So that pop culture psychology isn’t true, especially when it comes to transforming your life. I mean there are things you’ve wanted to transform in your life, but your will power continually fails to transform it. It’s things like your anger, lack of patience, pride, self-centeredness, the list goes on. It’s things we know are hurting us and those around us, but our will power continually fails to transform us. So what we need is a greater power than our will power. What we need is what the disciples received, which is a supernatural power that doesn’t come from within us, it has come from outside us. What we need isn’t a pop-culture power from within, it’s a supernatural power from the God above.
Vs. 2, “Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.” Notice once again they’re doing the best they can to describe what’s happening to them. They said they saw something that looked like tongues, it looked like flames of fire. It was the best description they could give for what they were seeing.
Vs. 4, “Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...” They were filled with the Holy Spirit. So the supernatural power they just described, the supernatural power outside them, has now entered inside them, just like Jesus promised. Jesus promised in ch 1 he’d send the Holy Spirit and it’s what’s happening here. But who’s the Holy Spirit? That’s the 1stquestion I said we’d address, it’s who’s the Holy Spirit? Jesus talks a lot about the Holy Spirit in John ch’s 14-16, so most my content comes from there. In ch 14 Jesus says 2 things about who the Holy Spirit is.
#1 The Holy Spirit is a Person = The Holy Spirit is a person. Sometimes we refer to the Holy Spirit as an it, but the Holy Spirit isn’t an it! The Holy Spirit is someone, not something. Jesus says in John 14:16-17, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever...17 You know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.”Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as a person, as a Helper. He’s a Helper for anybody who puts their faith in Jesus. Jesus promises to fill his followers with the Holy Spirit so God’s presence would become more real to us. The prompting you get warning you not to sin, is the Holy Spirit. The prompting you get telling you to repent when you do sin, is the Holy Spirit. The prompting you get when you read the bible or hear a pastor preaching, and certain words or verses feel like they’re speaking to you...It’s the Holy Spirit speaking directly to you! Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “Those who receive the Spirit are aware of a power working in them. There’s a disturbance, something, SOMEONE, interfering in our lives...It’s the essence of the Spirit dealing with us.” The Holy Spirit’s a person who loves us, wants to speak to us, wants to go through everyday life with us.
#2 The Holy Spirit is God = The Holy Spirit isn’t a god, or like a god, the Holy Spirit is God. Once again Jesus says in John 14:16, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper...” In the original Greek the word anothercan mean two different things. It depends on which Greek word is being used in the text. The Greek word allos means another Helper of the same kind, and the word hetero means another Helper of a different kind. The word being used in the text is allos, which means Jesus is saying the Holy Spirit isn’t a different god, instead he’s the same God as Jesus. The doctrine of the Trinity is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit aren’t 3 different gods, instead they’re 3 distinct persons, but the same God. How’s that possible? How can God be 3 distinct persons, but the same God? We have plenty of things that are 3 in 1. For example water consists of 2 hydrogen molecules and 1 oxygen molecule, yet it’s still 1 thing, it’s still water...An atom consists of protons, neutrons, and electrons, yet it’s still 1 thing, it’s still an atom...We have plenty of examples like this that are 3 in 1. But we need to be careful using such examples, because we can’t separate the Trinity like we can separate water molecules and atoms. Examples like this will always fall short of fully capturing the complexity of who God really is. We’re finite beings trying to comprehend an infinite God, which means we’ll always have a mysterious awe and wonder of God that can’t ever be exhausted or fully comprehended...So who’s the Holy Spirit? Jesus says the Holy Spirit’s a person, another Helper, but the same God. This means when Jesus promises to fill us with the Holy Spirit, what he’s promising is to fill us with the very presence of God. That’s what’s happening in Acts 2. His followers are being filled with the very presence and power of God, the very presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
Again vs. 4 states, “Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.” The Greek word for tongues can be translated as languages. In this context it means the Holy Spirit was allowing them to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim the good news of Jesus in many different languages. It’s so people from other nations could hear the gospel message and put their faith in Jesus. Many Jews were gathered from many different nations to celebrate the day of Pentecost, so this became the spark that ignites the global spread of Christianity. But notice the text says it’s the Spirit who enabled them to do this, which brings us to the 2nd question I said we’d address. What’s the Holy Spirit do? We know a little about who the Holy Spirit is, but what’s the Holy Spirit do? I’ll give you 3 things the Holy Spirt does.
#1 The Holy Spirit points us to Jesus = The Holy Spirit’s primary job is to point us to Jesus. Jesus says in John 15:26, “When the Helper comes...He will bear witness about Me.” John 16:14, “He will glorify me.” So the Holy Spirit’s primary job is to point people to Jesus, which is why we’re always pointing to Jesus at City Awakening. Some pastors preach messages giving you a list of things to do. It’s step 1 do this! step 2 do this! We call those doodoo sermons. They’re called doodoo sermons, because the focus is on a list of things you need to do, instead of on what Jesus has already done! Is there a place in sermons for next steps and applications? Yes of course! But that’s a secondary response to what Jesus has already done on the cross. One of the greatest preachers in history was Charles Spurgeon. He said his goal in every message is to “plow a trough back to the gospel.” In one of his sermons Spurgeon said, “I sometimes wonder if you get tired of my preaching, because I do nothing but hammer away at this one nail. That one nail is the glorious news that our glorious Savior paid it all in our place, and in response he’s worthy of our highest devotion and greatest service.” The primary job of every pastor, the primary job of every Christian, is to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in pointing people to Jesus.
#2 The Holy Spirit Counsels Us = The Holy Spirit counsels us, gives us good wisdom and guidance for everyday life. When Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a helper, he uses the Greek word para-kletos. It’s para which means someone who stands alongside you, and it’s kletos which means to declare or argue. So the Holy Spirit’s like having a best friend who’s always willing to stand alongside you, even on your worse days. But he’s also willing to argue against you, when you’re doing things that aren’t good for you! He wants what’s best for your heart, so he’ll argue against the lies and temptations that’ll wreck your heart. 1st Corinthians 10:13 states, “God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability...he’ll also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” The Holy Spirit offers a way out of temptation, but it’s up to us to take that way out...I had a friend who caught his teenage son clicking on some explicit websites. Instead of getting angry he said, “Son you’re a Christian now, which means you have the Holy Spirit living in you. Didn’t you feel a prompting saying ‘Don’t do that, don’t click on that. It’ll take you down a path that isn’t good for your life.’” His son said “Yeah dad, I did.” My friend said “Son that’s the voice of the Holy Spirit. The more you follow his voice, the better it’ll be for your life. The less you follow his voice, the worse it’ll be for your life. Trust the Spirit’s voice; he’ll always lead you in a direction that’s best for your life.” One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 30:21, “Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying this is the way! Walk in it!” The Holy Spirit’s always prompting us where to walk, giving us a way out of temptation, even reminding us of the grace of Jesus if we give into temptation. He’s our best counselor, our best friend, who always guides us in a direction that’s best for our lives.
#3 The Holy Spirit Teaches Us = The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth! In John 14 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. The primary way the Holy Spirit teaches us the truth is through the bible. The Holy Spirit won’t ever contradict what the bible says, since the bible was written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It’s why we should always be turning to the bible for truth and guidance in our life. As we read the bible the Holy Spirit helps us to better understand the truths of the bible, so that those truths can become more real to us. In the 1700’s there was a great preacher named Johnathan Edwards. He said the problem we face is people say they believe in God, but that belief hasn’t become real enough in their hearts. Edwards said, “I see people always getting upset because God isn’t doing this or that. They’ll only pray when things are bad, only pray when they need something from God. They’re using God. They don’t have a sense of the glory of God in their heart, they just have a concept of the greatness of God in their minds.” He then says if you truly believe in the love of God, then why are you always feeling snubbed, feeling slighted, getting upset if people don’t notice you? If the love of God is real to you, those things shouldn’t bother you as much as they do...If God’s eternal love is real to you, then you shouldn’t stress so much about your looks, your body, your insecurities, feeling you have to prove yourself to gain people’s love...If God’s provision and goodness is real to you, then you shouldn’t shake your fist at God when life is hard or he doesn’t answer your prayers... Jonathan Edwards is right! We believe God in our minds, but not enough in our hearts. We need the Holy Spirit to keep speaking truth to the lies in our hearts. We need the Holy Spirit to keep helping us better understand the truths of the bible, and to make those truths more real in our hearts...There’s 1 more thing I want to show you the Holy Spirit does, and it’s back in Acts 2.
Again vs. 4, “Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language...Vs. 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’” Like I said this is the spark that ignites the global spread of Christianity, which leads to the 3rd question. It’s the same question in the text.What does this mean? It means the Holy Spirit empowers followers of Jesus, to continue the ministry of Jesus locally and globally. For nearly 2000 yrs Jesus has continued his ministry locally and globally through his followers, by the power of the Holy Spirit. If you’re a follower of Jesus it isn’t because you were born a believer, it’s because the Holy Spirit worked in and through the lives of other believers. We’re recipients of grace, but we’re also empowered to live as instruments of grace. We’re to join the Holy Spirit in the transformative work he’s doing in our city and world. This doesn’t mean every serving opportunity has your name on it, but something does. So ask the Holy Spirit how the ministry of Jesus can continue, through you.
The Big Idea:
The big idea is the Spirit descended...The Spirit descended, so the ministry of Jesus can keep spreading in and through us...If you’re a believer you’re already filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. But too often we neglect to utilize that power, we neglect to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. We face problems in our marriages, our parenting, our jobs, life in general, and we’ll seek the guidance of another helper, a hetero helper, a helper of a differentkind. There’s nothing wrong with seeking help from others, but the Holy Spirit needs to be the primary help we seek. I’m convinced the reason so many of us are emptied of joy, is because we aren’t filled with the guidance of the Spirit. We rely on Jesus for salvation, but run off relying on our will power for daily transformation...I also know a lot of skeptics who admire Jesus and want to be more loving like Jesus. But you can’t live a life like Jesus if you aren’t filled with the love of Jesus. You can’t live a life like Jesus if you aren’t filled the power of the Holy Spirit. If you’re willing to believe Jesus died for your sins on the cross...he’ll fill you not with more will power to continually fail you, but with the power of the Holy Spirit to continually transform you.
In the words of an author and pastor in the 1900’s...William Temple states, “It’s no good giving me a play like Hamlet and telling me to write a play like that. Shakespeare could do it, but I can’t. It’s also no good showing me a life like Jesus and telling me to live a life like that. Jesus could do it, but I can’t. However if the genius of Shakespeare could come live in me, then I could write plays like his. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come live in me, then I could live a life like his.” The good news is Jesus already sent the Holy Spirit to come live in us to help us live a joyful life like him. The question is will you rely on your will power, or rely on the Holy Spirit’s power?...Will you seek to guide your own heart, or seek the Holy Spirit to guide your heart?...