Pentecost Power – Acts 2:1-13 – 06/08/2025
Acts 2:1-13
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Spirit of God
Holy Spirit throughout the Bible
Spirit of God walking through the garden in Genesis
In Exodus how God appeared to Moses in the burning bush.
Shadrach, Meshack, Abendigo in the firey furnace
Daniel in the Lions Den
The Prophets
John The Baptist – leaped in the womb
Mary’s Prayer
Zachariah prophesied about his son John and Jesus
The Holy Spirit descending on Jesus at Baptism.
Chapter 14 of John
15 “If you love me, obey my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate [someone who pleads another person’s cause, your bible may use the word counselor, comforter, encourager, the Greek word is paraclete meaning all of those – the Holy Spirit], who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
26 But when the Father sends the Advocate[again counselor, comforter, encourager, paraclete meaning all of those] as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 15
26 “But I will send you the Advocate [counselor, comforter, encourager, the Greek word is paraclete]—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.
John 16
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.
12 “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.
A celebration of the Harvest Festival; the Feast of Weeks as described in Deuteronomy 16:9 and Leviticus 23:16. The Feast of Shavuot.
Acts 2:1-13
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
The Apostle Paul also speaks and writes extensively about the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 3:2 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.
Fruit of the Spirit
Galatians 5
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. [We must let the Holy Spirit guide our lives. Do not resist or fight the Holy Spirit.] Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
Gifts of the Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:
8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
1 Corinthians 13
A more excellent way. (Love)
1 Corinthians 14
Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy. 2 For if you have the ability to speak in tongues,[ you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious. 3 But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them. 4 A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
Glossolalia – Spiritual language
Why do we receive the Holy Spirit?
It is not to speak in tongues. It is not the glossolalia Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 14 or Romans 8 whereby they were praying in the spirit.
Acts 2 is different. These are disciples speaking in different languages that those who heard were able to understand.
For the unification of the church.
To equip us for evangelism.
To be a witness of Jesus Christ.
To bring many parts into one. The Unification of the Church. To be of one accord. Every gift of the Holy Spirit is important to the Body of Christ.
“The firstfruits.” “In ancient Israel this was cause for great celebration.
During the Feast of Shavuot, the people of Israel would come from all over the land bringing the firstfruits of their summer harvest to Jerusalem.
They would place them in baskets, load them onto oxen, and lead the oxen in a massive procession to the Temple to be presented by the priests before the Lord.
The firstfruits would stand for all the rest of the harvest yet to be reaped.
By presenting and dedicating the firstfruits to God, the rest of the harvest fruits were deemed holy.”
“Two thousand years ago God’s Spirit was poured out on one hundred twenty disciples in Jerusalem. . .on the Day of Pentecost.”
“And what is Pentecost?” “The Greek name for the Feast of Shavuot.” “Shavuot . . . is the day when the firstfruits of the summer harvest are presented to the Lord.
So who were the one hundred twenty on which the Spirit fell that day?” “The firstfruits,”
“They were the firstfruits of the summer harvest!”
“The firstfruits of new life, gathered together on the very same day when the firstfruits of the summer harvest were gathered together before the Lord.
It was now God presenting His firstfruits to the world . . . the firstfruits of the age . . . and in the city of Jerusalem where the firstfruits must be presented and consecrated as holy.”
“So the pouring of the Spirit on the one hundred twenty, that was the consecration of the firstfruits.”
“And the consecration of all the other fruits.”
“The people of all nations and ages who would come to new life.
So the hundred and twenty spoke in the tongues of foreign nations . . .
The firstfruits represent all that is to come . . .
They were the sign that people of every tribe and tongue and nation would likewise be consecrated as holy and be given the same anointing and power . . .
They were our firstfruits . . . that we likewise could live in the power of the Spirit . . . and overcome the world.”