
Unstoppable
From Confusion to Clarity: Understanding the Work of the Spirit
April 23, 2023
Text: Acts 2:1-13
Topic: The Church, Fellowship, Prayer, Generosity
Application Point: As we continue to devote ourselves to God and one another, God will draw people into His kingdom.
Sermon Title: From Confusion to Clarity: Understanding the Work of the Spirit
Acts 2:1 (NASB95)
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
Exodus 32:1 (NASB95)
1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
Exodus 32:7 (NASB95)
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves.]
Exodus 32:26-28 (NASB95)
26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the LORD, [come] to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him. 27 He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Every man [of you] put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’” 28 So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.
1. Pentecost transitioned from
to
with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:2-4 (NASB95)
2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
Genesis 1:1-2 (NASB95)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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 2:7 (NASB95)
7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Ezekiel 37:9-10 (NASB95)
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
Matthew 3:11 (NASB95)
11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John 16:7 (NASB95)
7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
2. The gift of the Holy Spirit should
us not
.
Acts 2:5-11 (NASB95)
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 They were amazed and astonished, saying, “Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 “And how is it that we each hear [them] in our own language to which we were born? 9 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs–we hear them in our [own] tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
3. The purpose of the filling of the Holy Spirit is power for the
of the
.
Acts 2:12-13 (NASB95)
12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”
4. Are we
to answer the question: What does this mean?
1Peter 3:14-15 (NASB95)
14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always [being] ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;
Application:
1) Be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in your life: Just as the apostles received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, we too can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We need to be open to the Spirit’s work and be willing to surrender ourselves to Him.
2) Be bold in sharing the gospel: Persecution and mocking will come but be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have.
3) Trust in God’s plan: The events of the Day of Pentecost were part of God’s plan to spread the gospel to all nations. We too can trust in God’s plan for our lives and have faith that He will guide us as we seek to serve Him.
Life Group Questions:
1) Is there a difference between the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit and a continuous filling from the Holy Spirit?
Ephesians 5:18, Acts 7:55, Acts 13:9, Romans 15:13
2) What is the difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit? Galatians 5:16- 25
3) What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? How do we do this? Ephesians 4:17-32
Expanded Sermon and Study notes available online and in the foyer.