Acts 2:1-13 “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. They were completely amazed. ‘How can this be?’ they exclaimed. ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! Here we are - Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!’ They stood there amazed and perplexed. ‘What can this mean?’ they asked each other. But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, ‘They’re just drunk, that’s all!’”
1. The Promise Of The Holy Spirit
John 14:16-17 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 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.”
Luke 11:13 “If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
- The Purpose Of The Holy Spirit
a. To Introduce You To Christ
1 Corinthians 12:3 “No man can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
b. To Infuse You With Power
Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 3:6-7 “Peter said, ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ He took him by the right hand and lifted him up and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.”
c. To Initiate Real Change
John 16:8 “When the Holy Spirit has come, He will convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.”
d. To Equip You For Serving
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. For to one is given the word of wisdom though the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually as He wills.”
e. To Offset Your Inadequacies
Romans 8:26 “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”
Ephesians 5:18 “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
The big idea: You need the Holy Spirit