2:1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
One of my favorite phrases in the entire Bible is Acts 2:1 for one simple statement: When the Day of Pentecost had FULLY COME…Waiting is no fun whatsoever! We want what we want when and how we want it, and most of us hate waiting or delays. But God’s ways are not our ways, and God’s timing is not our timing. The morning of the Day of Pentecost, 120 believers were having a simple prayer meeting. It’s possible that someone might have even prayed, “Come, Holy Spirit!” And suddenly, the Spirit came, and nothing would ever be the same again.
First, there was a “rushing mighty wind.” One of the Transformations videos produced by the Sentinel Organization includes film footage of a baptism service in a small church in a remote part of Alaska. Just as the baptisms start, the place begins shaking and a “rushing mighty wind” roars through the building. Thinking that the sound equipment might be malfunctioning, the guy handling the sound system turns off the sound system, only to have the noise of the wind become even stronger. Although there are no visible tongues of fire descending on people’s heads in the video, the voice of the Holy Spirit is indisputably evident.
“Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.” Matthew 3:11 documents the prophecy of John the Baptist.“I baptize you withwater for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Now John’s prophecy is coming true. Fire purifies and consumes everything that is not permanent. When Isaiah sees God Almighty in the temple, one of the cherubs brings a coal from the altar and touches it to Isaiah’s lips because Isaiah confesses that he is a man of unclean lips and he dwells amidst a people of unclean lips. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is purifying the minds of the believers so that they will be able to speak clearly and truthfully of the things of the Kingdom.
The Crowd’s Response
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Because of the Feast of Pentecost, Jewish believers have come from throughout the world. Now these people hear these back country Galileans speaking perfectly in many different languages. Has this really happened in modern times? In the book Before We Kill And Eat You: Tales of Faith in the Face of Certain Death, H. B. Garlock and his wife Ruthanne Garlock describe a confrontation H.B. and a translator had with cannibals in Liberia. Garlock and his translator had traveled up-country to witness to a tribe that had slaughtered every previous missionary and government official. The book takes its title from the statement of the cannibal chief as his men are about to murder Garlock and his interpreter. The chief asks Garlock, “Before we kill and eat you, do you have anything to say?” Although Garlock spoke one or two tribal languages and his interpreter spoke other languages, Garlock knew nothing of the language spoken by these cannibals. That’s when the Holy Spirit took over. When Garlock opened his mouth, suddenly eloquent speech in the language of the cannibals poured forth and continued for a long time. Garlock never did learn exactly what the Holy Spirit had said, but at the end of the speech, the cannibals had come under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit and they not only released Garlock and his friend, but also helped them on their way. (Later the Garlocks would work in Ghana, living in Yendi in 1935, and we met their son John in 1995.)
But if 120 people suddenly speaking in all the known languages of the Roman Empire isn’t enough to convince onlookers, now Peter stands up and begins to preach.14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to ee corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’
29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses…. 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Rushing winds, tongues of fire, and the gift of languages might seem like enough, but now an even greater miracle occurs. Peter, the relatively uneducated Galilean fisherman with his strong regional accent, begins addressing the crowds. While Peter is a natural leader with a forceful personality, he has remained in the background when meeting the public. Peter probably had a basic education in Torah; however, as soon as he got big enough, he began fishing with his father. Fishing is an honest trade, but it doesn’t bear the same social status as scholarship or being a merchant in town. By the time Peter gets through, 3,000 people decide to follow Jesus.
The results of Peter’s sermon are a lasting testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit’s ability to change hearts. I once heard a testimony from a senior lawyer from Atlanta. This lawyer lived next door to a local pastor who kept inviting the lawyer to his church. Finally, the lawyer decided to visit the church just to satisfy the pastor. That particular Sunday, there were lay witness speakers, and one insurance salesman gave his testimony. The lawyer mentioned that he had listened to polished speakers throughout his long career; had the message been given by a polished speaker, he probably would have ignored it. But two things were evident: this insurance salesman was NOT a polished speaker, but he was a man whose life God had changed profoundly. It was the very lack of polish in the presentation that drew that lawyer to Jesus that morning.
When we first came to Ghana, we met Madames Pauline Smith and Adeline Wichman, two single lady AG missionaries who eventually spent 50 years in missions. Aunt Polly and Aunt Addie taught us that God wasn’t nearly as worried about our ABILITY as He was about our AVAILABILITY. Once we make ourselves available, God can empower us to fulfill His perfect Will for our lives.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is available for all believers. Some people are afraid to ask because they fear speaking in tongues. But God will not override anyone’s free will. God can manifest His Holy Spirit in a number of ways, and speaking in tongues is only one of them. God is gentle, and He will lead you into the right gifts and manifestations at the right time if you will only ask Him and then trust Him. But make no mistake. First, you choose to follow Jesus. Then God can baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, many reading these words long for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Graciously give that gift to all who ask sincerely and who are prepared for it. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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