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On an ordinary Jewish feast day, 120 obedient but uncertain believers waited together in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of a promise they couldn’t predict. Suddenly, heaven broke in with a sound like a violent wind, dancing visible flames, and a miracle of languages that drew thousands from every nation to the truth of the gospel. How does this dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit reshape every believer’s identity and calling, and why does it still demand a personal response from us today?
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/used-by-god
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📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/used-by-god
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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LearningTranscript
00:00It has been said, it may be difficult to wait on the Lord, but it is worse to wish you had.
00:08Let that one sink in. It may be difficult to wait on the Lord, but it is worse to wish
00:14you had. Last time we left the disciples, they were waiting on the promised Holy Spirit that
00:20was coming. And if you remember correctly, Jesus didn't give them a time frame. He didn't say,
00:25okay, it's going to be, you know, 10 days from now or seven days from now. And he just said,
00:32it'll be not many days from now. So they're waiting and they don't know when, when it's
00:36going to end, but they're obediently waiting together. And you and I find it difficult often
00:41to wait for things, especially if there's no duration. Just wait. Well, how long? Well,
00:47just wait. We'd like to wait a week. I can maybe do that, but just wait. And so they're waiting
00:52exactly like he asked them, except for when we know when we're obedient and wait, there's
00:57always a blessing that's attached to it. So they've been waiting in Jerusalem as instructed
01:01by the Lord, go there, don't leave. And now God is about to fulfill a very ancient promise
01:07that he made here in chapter two of the book of Acts. So hopefully if you have your Bible
01:13or your biblical device, whichever the case may be, turn it on. We want to look at it together.
01:16We'll be starting in verse number one of chapter two. We see here in this text that at Pentecost,
01:22God fulfills a centuries old prophecy, promising the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to his people.
01:30Here is a promise that he made centuries earlier that he's now going to bring it into fulfillment
01:35and everything will change on this day. The Holy Spirit is going to come and indwell the believers.
01:43And since we're part of the church and we, I mean, since we've gotten saved and we were part of all
01:48this, it was not new to us. There was no Holy Spirit that didn't come and then he came. He's always
01:53been here. So for us, it's not a big thing that, oh yeah, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but it really
01:57is a big thing to be indwelled now by the very spirit of God, the one who hovered over the face of the
02:04waters in creation. Time and waiting is over. The day of Pentecost has finally arrived. If you look with me
02:12in verse number one, so when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Now
02:19last we knew there was 120 of them. So we're, we're, we're, we're going to go from the thing,
02:23one idea that it's all 120 are present. They were all together in one place. And suddenly there came
02:30from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting
02:36and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all
02:44filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance.
02:50So here it is now it's finally come to pass exactly what God had promised centuries ago through the
02:56prophet Joel on the day of Pentecost, that great feast of the Jews between Passover and the feast of
03:02tabernacles. Actually this year it falls on June 8th is the feast of Pentecost, June 8th. It's right
03:09between those two feasts and, and Pentecost means 50th in Greek. So that's where we get the idea of
03:16Pentecost. It means 50th in Greek and for the festival comes 50 days after the Passover. So we have this
03:21term Pentecost 50th. So 50 days after Passover is the, is the feast of, of Pentecost. On that day,
03:29something very interesting happens in the temple. They are instructed to bring two loaves of bread,
03:35two separate loaves of bread and bring them into the temple and to wave them before the Lord on this
03:40day. And they were to be made from the first fruits. So June is not harvest time. Harvest time is
03:45September. So from the first fruits, they were to make these loaves and they were to present them to
03:50the Lord, wave them before the Lord. Yet something is different with this sacrifice. With this sacrifice,
03:55they were to use leaven in the bread. Now leaven is not always sin in the Bible. Sometimes this
04:01refers to something else, but often refers to sin in the Bible. So why two loaves and why leaven? Well,
04:08the idea on the day of Pentecost, we see that both Jews and Gentiles are brought together, two Jews and
04:13Gentiles brought together in one body. Leaven, again, often representing sin, just shows that this church
04:20is not going to be sinless until she's in heaven. She's still going to struggle with the echoes of Adam
04:24inside of her as she's trying to live out her faith for Christ.
04:31Leviticus 23, you shall bring from your dwelling places, two loaves of bread to be waved made of
04:37two tents of an ephah. They should be a fine flour and they should be baked with leaven as first fruits
04:43to the Lord. Again, it's an unusual offering with leaven in it. So it's likely they're probably in the
04:48same place that they were before, probably in the upper room. It's likely, I mean, we're not told,
04:52the text doesn't say, but it's likely that's where they're at. They knew that the Holy Spirit was
04:56coming. Jesus said, wait for this promised spirit, but they just didn't know when. And when it happened,
05:01it happened so suddenly it even shocked them. They were, they were not expecting it. We know
05:05because we're after the fact it's Pentecost, but they didn't know that it was going to be on
05:09Pentecost. They were shocked when it came as well. It came very sudden and a sound came audible,
05:16the wind and tongues as a fire appeared visible. And they began to speak in known languages and
05:21outward demonstration of inspired speech. All of these took place at the same time.
05:27But you notice the language that Luke uses? Notice the language. Notice the symbolic language
05:32Luke is using. A sound like a mighty rushing wind. Tongues as of fire. So he's using symbolic
05:42languages. It doesn't mean it necessarily was a wind, but it was like a wind and it's not
05:46necessarily fire, but as of fire, it looked like fire. So he's using symbolic language and
05:52this blast of wind came through. Now we have to, we always associate a blast of wind with
05:56something moving, trees moving, brushes, brushes, bushes rustling, but there's no indication
06:02that anything moved. They only heard the sound. So could you imagine, you ever been in a
06:07tornado or maybe watched the movie Twister? That sound that a wind makes like that,
06:11that's what they heard. It wasn't necessarily blowing stuff around.
06:17Wind often accompanies appearances of God in the Old Testament. It's associated with God
06:23coming into the midst of his people. One of the instances is in Genesis chapter three,
06:28verse eight. This is when the man and the woman were in the garden and they heard the sound of the
06:33Lord God walking in the garden in the cool. That word in Hebrew means wind and the wind of the day
06:40and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the
06:45garden. So wind often accompanies the presence of God in the Old Testament. Fire also in the Old
06:52Testament can depict the presence of God, that God's presence is there and we see by the fire
06:57and actually Dennis was talking about that in the Christian education hour on Mount Sinai.
07:01Exodus chapter 19, verse 18. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended
07:08on it in fire. So we see the presence of God again. Both of them talk about the presence of God
07:13in the midst of his people. Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke
07:19of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And all 120, again, there's no,
07:27in the text it says it's not 120. The 120, all of them, all of the 120 were involved, both men and
07:35women, when the Holy Spirit fell upon them. You say, well, of course, why not? Well, you have to
07:40think Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon people like priests and kings
07:46and prophets. There were a couple of women prophets, but not many in the Old Testament. That's the only
07:52people that the Spirit of God came upon. Kings and priests and prophets. But in this case,
07:57all of the people of God are to receive the Holy Spirit. Not just the men, not just the leaders,
08:02but all the people of God are to receive the Holy Spirit. That is something brand new that has never
08:07happened before. He has come, just like Joel promised in Joel chapter 2. And it shall come to pass
08:14afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
08:20your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions, even on the male and female
08:25servants. Not just on the leaders, but on the servants. In those days, I will pour out my Spirit.
08:32The Holy Spirit has come to indwell all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not just the men,
08:37not just the leaders of the church, but everyone. I don't know. Have you ever thought about it?
08:43It's lovely, isn't it? Have you ever thought about it? That the God who spoke the world into existence
08:52dwells in you? The one just by his power took out of nothing, created everything that we see.
09:01He lives inside of you, believer. Not only does he live inside of you, he has sealed you to the day of
09:07redemption. He indwells you to empower you to live out this Christian life, to become everything that
09:13God intended us to be. He has poured out on all of his people, his Spirit. It rested on all of them.
09:19No one was exempt from it. John Pohill wrote, the picture is that of one great flame representing the
09:26Spirit, which separates into many tongues of flame with one resting on each individual, is the idea.
09:32So it's coming down and it kind of disperses itself on the top as of fire. Tongues as of fire.
09:39And we read about, in Leviticus, about the first fruits. So you think of it like that. Pentecost was
09:44also a celebration of first fruits. The first fruits are, you have a harvest, okay? Early on, you would
09:49take part of the harvest and bring it to the Lord and thank him for it because the harvest was going to
09:54come months later. So this was the foretaste of what God was going to bring to you later on and you're
10:01thanking him for his harvest. That's coming. The first fruits. Celebration of the first fruits.
10:07These people now are the first fruits of the harvest of the Holy Spirit. There's more to come
10:12is the idea. This is just the first, but there's more to come. The Holy Spirit was the first fruits
10:18of the believer's inheritance. He's been given to us to guarantee that what we have been promised
10:23in Christ, we will come into it someday. Ephesians 1, in him you also, when you heard the word
10:30of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in him, we're sealed with the promise
10:35Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. He's guaranteeing that one day we will come
10:40into everything God has promised his people to come into. He guarantees it until we acquire
10:47possession of. Not only that, we are told in 1 Peter that he holds us together till we come
10:52into that inheritance that he's promised to us. Till we acquire possession of to the praise
10:58of his glory. So the Holy Spirit descends that day as promised, brings all of these people
11:03together now, uniting them together to Christ in one body that we call the church. Here we
11:08have the beginning of what we know as the church. 1 Corinthians 12, for in one spirit, we were
11:14all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free. Again, it doesn't matter, not
11:20the leader, not just the leaders, not just the man, everyone. Slaves are free and all were
11:25made to drink of one spirit. He baptized them. He came into them. Warren Wiersbe wrote,
11:32water baptism is a public witness of a person's identification with Jesus Christ, while spirit
11:37baptism is the personal and private experience that identifies the person with Christ. The word
11:43baptism literally means to immerse or to submerge. It also has the idea to identify with. So when you
11:50come forward for baptism, you say, I identify with Jesus Christ, I identify as a follower of Jesus
11:56Christ, therefore you're baptized in water. The spirit now identifies them together with Christ with
12:01their exalted head. He brings them together in one body. The Holy Spirit, we are told, baptizes
12:08believers and dwells believers and seals believers. And nowhere in scripture, nowhere in scripture do we
12:15see a command to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to be sealed with the Holy Spirit, to be indwelt by
12:21the Holy Spirit. These are all acts of God. And in that case, we are passive. He does it on us.
12:29He's acting on us. We're not commanded to be baptized with the Spirit. That's what he does for us. We're
12:33not commanded to be sealed with the Spirit. That's what he does to us. We're not commanded to be indwelt
12:37with the Spirit. That's what he does to us. In this sense, we are passive. We are the recipients of his
12:42grace. He does tell us to be filled with the Holy Spirit though.
12:46That is a command. To be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's in Ephesians 5
12:5018. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but
12:54be filled with the Spirit, which is a command form. Be filled with the Spirit. So
12:58God baptizes us and dwells us and seals us. We are commanded to be
13:02filled with the Spirit on a daily basis. It's a present act of daily basis. We're to be
13:06filled with the Spirit. So here's these tongues that came down and
13:10found on that. The word tongue has multiple uses. It could be this organ in the mouth.
13:14It could also be a spoken language, a tongue, spoken language. Either one.
13:18Either one of those. And from this point on in Acts,
13:22the gift of the Holy Spirit became the normative accompaniment of becoming a
13:26Christian. This is the first time that he was poured out. From then on, everyone who
13:30comes to faith gets baptized with the Holy Spirit, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and dwelt with the
13:34Holy Spirit. From now on.
13:36Then it says down here, as the Spirit gave
13:40them utterance, utterance. There is a
13:43translation of the Old Testament called the
13:45Septuagint, and it's translated from the Hebrew and Aramaic
13:48into Greek language. So in that
13:50Septuagint, that word
13:52utterance is used as the word
13:54prophesying.
13:56So they were prophesying. They were speaking
13:58forth the wonderful works of God, which we're
14:00going to see later on here.
14:02That's found in 1 Chronicles 25.
14:04David and the chiefs of the service
14:06also set apart for the service of
14:09sons of Asaph and of Heman
14:11and of Jeduthun, who prophesied.
14:13That's the word, utterance.
14:14Who prophesied with lyres, with harps,
14:17and with cymbals, the list of those who did
14:19the work. And then it goes on and talks about the list of all those
14:21people. That's the word.
14:22So they were prophesying, talking about the
14:24wonderful works of God and speaking forth
14:26God's glory to the people
14:29there.
14:30This one-time event, the day of
14:32Pentecost, never to be repeated again. Just like
14:34the cross, never to be repeated again. A one-time
14:36event.
14:38The Spirit's always been here. We know
14:40that. It's not like He just showed up there. He's always
14:42there in the Old Testament. He's there at creation.
14:44He was there in the Old Testament, working
14:46in the Old Testament. It's not like He just wasn't there.
14:48He was there. But now He indwells
14:50us. He's not just around us.
14:52He indwells us.
14:54In the new covenant, the Holy Spirit
14:56would be permanent, not temporary
14:58in our lives. He would indwell
15:00us. He would never leave us.
15:02He'll come upon us and dwell us and seal
15:04us and baptize
15:06us. And He'll never leave us.
15:08In the Old Testament, you could
15:10have the Holy Spirit taken from you.
15:13David said in Psalm 51
15:14after his sin,
15:16he said, cast me not away
15:18from your presence and take not your
15:20Holy Spirit from me.
15:22He didn't indwell Old Testament believers.
15:24He came upon them. He would leave them.
15:26But here He permanently indwells
15:28us as believers.
15:30John 14, the promise Jesus made
15:32to His people.
15:34And I will ask the Father and He will give you
15:36another helper to be with you forever.
15:38Even the Spirit of truth whom the world
15:40cannot receive because it neither
15:42sees Him nor knows Him.
15:44You know Him for He dwells with you.
15:46He was around them and He will be
15:48in you after the
15:50ascension of Christ when He sends the Holy Spirit
15:52down on this day.
15:54So they move from here,
15:56we're guessing to an area that could hold
15:58at least 3,000 people.
16:00You'll see that next week when Peter's preaching.
16:02So most likely they move to the temple area
16:04right now because there's no place
16:06around there you can get 3,000 people together.
16:08Look with me in verses 5
16:10down to 13.
16:13Now there were dwelling in
16:14Jerusalem Jews, devout
16:16men from every nation under heaven.
16:18And at this sound, that's the sound of the
16:20wind, the multitude
16:22came together and they were bewildered
16:24because each one was hearing
16:26them speak in his own language.
16:28Remember all of the 120 were speaking
16:30in other tongues
16:32and they're hearing them in their own language
16:35and they were amazed and astonished
16:37saying, are not all these
16:38who are speaking Galileans?
16:40And how is it that we hear each of them
16:42in his own native language?
16:47Parthians and Medes and Aeliumites
16:49and Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
16:52Pontus and Asia, Perugia and Pamphylia,
16:56Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,
16:59visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes.
17:02So the proselytes are those God-fearing Gentiles.
17:04So there's some Gentiles present,
17:06God-fearing Gentiles, the proselytes,
17:09Cretans and Arabians.
17:10We hear them telling in our own tongues
17:12the mighty works of God.
17:14They were prophesying and all were
17:16amazed and perplexed.
17:18So not only are they bewildered,
17:19they're amazed and perplexed,
17:20saying to one another,
17:22what does this mean?
17:25But others mocking said,
17:26ah, they're filled with new wine.
17:28They're drunk as a skunk.
17:30They've been drinking too much of that new wine.
17:32Look at these people.
17:33Who are they?
17:36They mocked them.
17:37They're filled with new wine.
17:39That sign of the wind
17:41got everyone's attention.
17:42So they gathered together and said,
17:44what's going on here?
17:46You can imagine them asking,
17:47what does this mean?
17:49I mean, they heard the wind.
17:51Again, I'm not saying that they felt
17:53any movement of wind,
17:54but they heard it like a tornado.
17:57So what could this possibly mean?
18:00The crowd that's listed here
18:01encompassed the greater portion
18:03of the entire Jewish diaspora.
18:06The diaspora was the ones
18:08who are dispersed about
18:09over the face of the earth.
18:11They're coming back to Jerusalem now.
18:12So this lists basically
18:13all of the nations of the Jewish diaspora,
18:16all of them.
18:19This just tells us now
18:20that the mission of the church
18:22is a worldwide mission.
18:24It's not just for Israel.
18:26Somehow Israel just didn't understand
18:28that the message they had about God
18:29was to be taken to the nations,
18:31that the nations would know God too,
18:33but they forgot to do that.
18:34And this is just a reminder to us
18:36that what the mission of the church is
18:37is a worldwide mission.
18:40Anticipated now in the roll call
18:42of the nations
18:42that are listed right here.
18:45The Holy Spirit
18:46is a gift to every believer,
18:49but it was not always
18:50accompanied by tongues.
18:52In this case it is.
18:54It's not always accompanied by tongues.
18:56In this case it is.
18:57Only two other places
18:58in the book of Acts
18:59do we see tongues used
19:01after someone came to faith.
19:03Only two times.
19:03Chapter 10,
19:04when Cornelius and his household,
19:06the Gentiles came to faith.
19:08Tongues were present that time.
19:09And let's see Acts 19
19:11where there were some followers
19:13of John the Baptist
19:14who had been baptized
19:15by John the Baptist
19:16but didn't know Christ
19:16and didn't know anything
19:17about the Holy Spirit.
19:18They believe on Christ.
19:20They speak in tongues.
19:20Only two other times
19:21in all the book of Acts
19:22are tongues mentioned
19:23accompanying salvation.
19:26The believers were speaking
19:27in a language
19:28that was unknown to them.
19:30And the people were hearing it
19:31in their own language.
19:33These weren't ecstatic utterances.
19:35These were known languages.
19:3715 different people groups,
19:3915 different geographical locations
19:41are mentioned
19:41but they're all languages
19:42that people understood.
19:44Yeah, that's my language.
19:45How's that Galilean,
19:47that backward hit Galilean,
19:48how can he possibly be speaking,
19:50how can he be speaking my language?
19:54Known languages.
19:56And also,
19:57what's interesting is
19:58Isaiah talked about
20:00a judgment on Ephraim,
20:02Israel,
20:03and Jerusalem, Judah.
20:04A judgment on his people.
20:06And it was when
20:07the Nebuchadnezzar
20:08and the Chaldeans
20:08were to come down
20:09and to bring Israel
20:11into exile.
20:13And when they came down,
20:14they would be speaking
20:15a foreign language.
20:17And that was to tell
20:18the people of Israel
20:19that judgment
20:20has fallen upon the nation.
20:22That's found
20:23in Isaiah chapter 28.
20:26So this was a sign
20:27of judgment for Israel.
20:29For the people
20:30of strange lips
20:31and with a foreign tongue,
20:33the Lord will speak
20:34to this people.
20:35And the day
20:35that these people
20:36heard that,
20:37Ephraim and Jerusalem,
20:38they would know
20:39that God is judging
20:40his people.
20:41They would know it.
20:42What's interesting
20:43is Paul uses
20:44that same quotation
20:45in 1 Corinthians chapter 14
20:47to talk about this.
20:49In 1 Corinthians 14,
20:51he says this,
20:52Brothers,
20:52do not be children
20:53in your thinking.
20:54Be infants in evil,
20:55but in your thinking
20:56be mature.
20:57In the law,
20:58it is written,
20:59by people of strange tongues
21:01and by lips of foreigners
21:02will I speak
21:02to this people
21:03and even then
21:04they will not listen
21:05to me,
21:05says the Lord.
21:06That's the quotation
21:07out of Isaiah,
21:08reminding Israel
21:09that judgment
21:09has come.
21:13Thus tongues
21:14are a sign
21:14not for believers,
21:16but for unbelievers,
21:17while prophecy
21:18is a sign
21:19not for unbelievers,
21:20but for believers.
21:21So these tongues
21:22were to remind Israel
21:23that judgment
21:24has come upon the nation.
21:25It's a sign
21:26of judgment
21:26on Israel
21:27by these tongues.
21:30The crowd realized
21:31that there's no way
21:31these Galileans
21:32could speak
21:33that kind of stuff.
21:33There's no way.
21:35It had to be
21:35something that's
21:37supernatural
21:37because these
21:38backward people
21:39from Galilee
21:40can't do anything
21:41like that.
21:42How could they
21:42possibly speak
21:43these languages?
21:44Fifteen different
21:45geographical locations
21:46are listed.
21:48Again,
21:49it just reminds us
21:49that the emphasis
21:50of the book of Acts
21:51is worldwide mission.
21:54It's the same
21:54with us.
21:55We don't keep
21:55the gospel
21:56to Medical Aid
21:56Community Church.
21:57It's a worldwide mission.
21:58We share it
21:59with others.
21:59It's not just for us.
22:00It's for all people.
22:04Their testimony
22:05about the wonderful
22:06works of God.
22:07The truth of God
22:08expressed by preaching
22:09does not always
22:10lead to conversion
22:11though.
22:12No.
22:12Often it leads
22:13to skepticism
22:14and rejection.
22:15Ah,
22:16they're just drunk
22:17with new wine.
22:18And I thought,
22:19first of all,
22:20I'm thinking new wine
22:20is grape juice
22:22that has just began
22:23the fermentation process.
22:24So we're not even
22:25talking about fermented wine.
22:26It's new wine.
22:27Half a percent
22:29of alcohol,
22:30one percent of alcohol.
22:31I'm thinking to myself,
22:32how many gallons
22:33of this stuff
22:33do you need to drink
22:34to get drunk?
22:35I mean,
22:35seriously.
22:36You could have at least
22:37said,
22:37oh,
22:37they're drunk
22:37with aged wine.
22:38But no,
22:39they're drunk
22:39with new wine.
22:40Again,
22:40just making it
22:41so much more ridiculous
22:42to those people.
22:43That's what they're thinking.
22:44Yeah,
22:45the disciples
22:45were under the influence,
22:47but it was not of wine.
22:48It was of the Holy Spirit
22:50they were under
22:50the influence of.
22:52So these people
22:53are amazed
22:54and perplexed.
22:55And that just reminds us
22:56the gospel often
22:57causes,
22:58creates divisions.
23:00Even Jesus said,
23:01I've come to cause divisions,
23:02even one's own household.
23:04The gospel creates
23:05divisions at time.
23:07Now,
23:08this section here
23:09is interesting
23:09because there's been
23:11seen as a comparison
23:12with the giving
23:13of the law
23:13on Mount Sinai.
23:15Later on,
23:16it's not,
23:16I'm not sure
23:17whether in Jesus' day
23:18they celebrated this,
23:20but later on
23:20in Judaism,
23:21about the second century,
23:23the second century,
23:24they celebrated
23:25the giving of the law
23:26at Sinai
23:27as part of their
23:28Pentecostal liturgy.
23:29So it became part
23:30of the service
23:31of Pentecost
23:32was they would remember
23:32the giving of the law
23:33on Mount Sinai.
23:35So there's this comparison
23:36going on.
23:36I think it's a good comparison.
23:38Actually,
23:38Dennis hit it on this morning.
23:40It was great,
23:40Dennis,
23:40thank you.
23:42At the giving of the law,
23:443,000 people died
23:46at the giving of the law.
23:48Moses goes up
23:49on the mountain,
23:49gets the 10 words
23:50to bring back down
23:51and what are they doing
23:52at the foot of the mountain?
23:53They've made this golden calf.
23:54They've taken all their earrings
23:55and nose rings
23:56and throw it in the fire
23:57and poof,
23:58out comes this golden calf.
24:00I don't know how it got there,
24:01Aaron says.
24:02So they're dancing
24:03in front of this thing
24:04and on that day,
24:06we read in Exodus chapter 32,
24:08and the sons of Levi
24:10did according to the word
24:11of Moses
24:11and that day
24:12about 3,000 men
24:14of the people fell.
24:173,000 people died
24:18at the giving of the law.
24:20Now you're not going
24:21to see it today,
24:21but next week
24:22you're going to see it.
24:23At Pentecost,
24:243,000 people are saved.
24:28Acts 2, 41.
24:30So those who received
24:31his word were baptized
24:32and there were added
24:33that day about 3,000 souls.
24:35The giving of the law,
24:36the law brings condemnation
24:38because none of us
24:39could keep it,
24:40but the coming
24:40of the Holy Spirit
24:41reminds us of God's grace
24:42and God's mercy.
24:453,000 people were saved.
24:47So this sign,
24:49both the wind
24:50and the speaking
24:51and the speaking
24:51in different languages,
24:52the sign prepared the crowd
24:53for Peter's gospel presentation
24:55which comes next week.
24:56He's speaking in an Aramaic.
24:58They don't need any tongues
24:59at this point.
25:00He's speaking in a language
25:01that they all recognize,
25:03Aramaic,
25:03as he's preaching this message.
25:05No tongues were needed.
25:07So now the church
25:08has been empowered
25:09for her mission.
25:10She now has the ability
25:11to go out
25:12and be witnesses.
25:13Remember what Jesus said?
25:14Wait.
25:16Power will come upon you
25:17to be my witnesses.
25:18And now we can.
25:19The church is empowered
25:20to be God's witnesses
25:21in this world.
25:23Believer,
25:24you and I
25:25are presently engaged
25:26in a worldwide mission.
25:28It's bigger than
25:29Medical Lake Community Church.
25:30It's bigger than Medical Lake.
25:31It's bigger than
25:31the state of Washington.
25:32It's a worldwide mission
25:34that we're on.
25:35Whether it's at work
25:37or at home
25:38or in the public square,
25:40Jesus said we would be
25:41his witnesses
25:41when the Spirit came.
25:44I don't know
25:45if you've thought about it.
25:46You probably may have.
25:47But then Satan
25:49comes along and says,
25:50no.
25:51Do you realize
25:53that you play a role
25:55in advancing
25:56the kingdom of God
25:57in this world?
25:58Every single one
25:59of the believers do.
26:00Not just the leadership,
26:02not just the pastors,
26:03not just the deacons
26:04or the elders of a church.
26:06Everyone plays a role
26:07in advancing
26:08God's kingdom
26:09in this world.
26:10That's why the Spirit
26:11came on all of them.
26:12Do you know
26:14what your role is?
26:17Do you know
26:18what your role is
26:19in advancing
26:19the kingdom of God
26:20in this world?
26:21We all play different roles
26:22but we all work together.
26:23If you think about
26:24the role of the path of life,
26:26she listed those
26:27four things up there.
26:28Their role in advancing
26:29the kingdom of God
26:30in this world
26:30is number one,
26:31life instead of death.
26:35Life instead of death.
26:37Life, healing from trauma.
26:42Peace instead of confusion.
26:44And harmony in relationships
26:46that are so very important.
26:48That's their role
26:49as they're advancing
26:50the kingdom of God
26:51in this world.
26:51They play their part.
26:53We play our part.
26:55You would say,
26:56oh, but Medical A Community Church,
26:57it's such a small church.
26:59I mean, really,
26:59it's just such a small group
27:02of people.
27:03Well, it may be true
27:03but have you ever been
27:04in a tent with one mosquito?
27:07What possible impact
27:12could we have?
27:12Well, yeah,
27:13your sleepless night
27:15understands what it means
27:16to have one mosquito
27:16in your tent.
27:18Something happened
27:19in Acts 17
27:20which is interesting.
27:21Acts 17.
27:22And when they could not
27:22find them,
27:23they dragged Jason
27:24and some of the brothers
27:25before the city authority
27:26shouting,
27:27these men
27:28who have turned
27:29the world upside down
27:30have come here also.
27:32Just a small group
27:33of people
27:34can turn the world
27:35upside down
27:35because the message
27:37is a message of life.
27:40It's not the size
27:41of the group
27:42but the power
27:43at work
27:43in that group
27:44that's important.
27:46The Holy Spirit
27:47has been given
27:47for us to carry out
27:48the worldwide mission
27:49of God.
27:50We want to be faithful
27:51to carry out
27:51his mission
27:52and watch him
27:53gloriously save people.
27:55God is building
27:56his kingdom
27:57and he's using
27:58us to do it.
28:01All of us
28:02to do it.
28:04What's your role
28:05and are you all in?
28:09Let's pray.
28:10Father, we thank you
28:10that you have given us
28:12your spirit.
28:12You fulfilled your promise
28:14you made centuries ago
28:15through Joel
28:15that you would pour out
28:17your spirit
28:17on all your people.
28:20All who believe
28:21on the Lord Jesus Christ
28:22receive the spirit of God.
28:23Thank you for that,
28:24Father.
28:26You have not left us
28:26orphans
28:27but you have sent
28:28your spirit
28:28into us
28:29to help us,
28:30to guide us,
28:31to instruct us,
28:32to lead us.
28:34And so we thank you
28:35for the indwelling
28:35Holy Spirit
28:36and we thank you
28:37for empowering us
28:38for the mission,
28:38the worldwide mission
28:39and the role
28:40that you've given
28:41to each one of us.
28:42And I pray, Father,
28:43if someone here today
28:44does not know
28:45what role
28:45that they're playing
28:46to advance the kingdom
28:47that you would show them,
28:49that you would show them
28:49what their role is
28:50so that we can all
28:51be about your business,
28:52all of us together,
28:54advancing your kingdom
28:55both in Medical Lake,
28:58Spokane County,
28:59state of Washington,
29:00United States
29:02and around the world.
29:03Thank you
29:04for using us
29:05for your kingdom.
29:07We pray in Jesus' name.
29:08Amen.
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