Acts 2:1-13 gives us the record of the inaugural event of the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer. Who is the Holy Spirit? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives? What was so special about that Day of Pentecost? Join Pastor Jim as he unfolds some of the timeless truths about the Holy Spirit and untangles some of the misunderstandings that have centered around this passage.
Sermon Notes
If we desire to know God’s will:
- We must be walking in trusting obedience.
- We must lean into the community of faith.
- We must earnestly seek God through prayer.
- We must joyfully place ourselves under the authority of scripture.
“Spirit”
Hebrew = ruach
Greek = pnuema
- “Holy Spirit” – 93 times
- “Spirit of the Lord” – 28 times
- “Spirit of God” – 24 times
- “My Spirit” – 40 times
- “the Spirit” – 245 times
“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:2
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27
“He (Jesus) breathed on them and said to them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:22
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 12:13
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit…”
Ephesians 5:18
The Holy Spirit’s role in our lives:
- Convinces us of the truth
- Convicts us of our sin
- Converts us into new creatures in Christ
- Connects us to the body of Christ
- Comforts us in our trials
- Conforms us to the image of Christ
Two starkly different responses to the coming of the Spirit:
- Amazement & Perplexity
- Arrogance & Incredulity
“It seems to be assumed by some that the chief evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit is noise. Have we forgotten that a dove is as much an emblem of the Holy Spirit as are wind and fire? When he visits his people in power, he sometimes brings quietness, silence, reverence and awe. His still small voice is heard. Men bow down in wonder before the majesty of the living God and worship. ‘The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him’ (Hab. 2:20).”
John Stott
Balanced Christianity
“If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would have stopped, and everybody would have known the difference.”
A. W. Tozer