UNITING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT || ACTS 2:1-13
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS POURED OUT ONTO ALL PEOPLE
With the pouring out of the Holy Spirit God wants to fill people from all walks of life with His presence and welcome them into the family of God. The Gospel, the good news of Jesus is for the world.
“‘I look upon all the
as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work which I know God has called me to; and sure I am that His blessing attends it.’” —John Wesley
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the
.” —Matthew 28:19 (NLT)
“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my
, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the .’” —Acts 1:8 (NLT)
THE HOLY SPIRIT UNIFIES GOD’S PEOPLE
When people say “yes” to following Jesus, they are added to the family of God together with all of God’s people and a local church is just one expression of that worldwide family of God.
“Those who believed what Peter said were
and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.” —Acts 2:41 (NLT)
We are to do everything we can to maintain unity, binding ourselves together with peace found through the Holy Spirit as we all have the same Holy Spirit making its home in us. We are now one church, worldwide, of all different shapes and sizes, denominations and non-denominations, all imperfectly together making up the worldwide family of God with the mission of bringing Jesus to the world.
“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been
by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the , binding yourselves together with . For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.” —Ephesians 4:1-7 (NLT)