And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:3-4a)

After Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples met to pray and seek God, waiting for the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. God kept His promise, and these words from Acts 2 tell how the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples on Pentecost. This outpouring of the Holy Spirit came with some strange things: a strange sound and a strange sight.

Notice the strange sound: suddenly there came a sound from heaven. The association of the sound of a rushing mighty wind, filling the whole house, with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit probably has connection with the fact that in both the Hebrew and Greek languages, the word for spirit is the same word for breath or wind. Here, the sound from heaven was the sound of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the disciples.

The sound of this fast, mighty wind would make any of these disciples who knew the Hebrew Scriptures think of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

– In Genesis 1:1-2, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing over the waters of the newly created earth.
– In Genesis 2:7, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, blowing life into newly created man.
– In Ezekiel 37:9-10, it is the Spirit of God as the breath/wind of God, moving over the dry bones of Israel bringing them life and strength.

This single line tells us much about how the Holy Spirit moves.

– Suddenly: Sometimes God moves suddenly.
– Sound: It was real, though it could not be touched; it was something real that came through their ears.
– From heaven: It wasn’t of earth; it was not created, manipulated, or fashioned here.
– Mighty: It was full of force, coming with great power.

Notice that this happened nowhere else in Acts when the Spirit was poured out. Several other times the Holy Spirit powerfully filled the people of God (Acts 4:8, 4:31, 13:9, 13:52, 19:6). Those were wonderful and valid works of the Spirit, yet on none of those other occasions did they hear a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. The strange sound was for that particular day, but not of lasting importance.

Sometimes, God does “one-offs” – a special something for a single occasion. Can you imagine if, on a later occasion the disciples said, “Today we weren’t really filled with the Spirit because we never heard that sound”? Or, if they said, “Next time we must hear the same sound – and hear it even louder!”

That kind of thinking is a trap. Give God the credit to know when a special experience is necessary, and when it is not.

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 2

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying.… These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. (Acts 1:12-14)

Are you good at making important decisions? In Acts 1, the disciples had a big decision to make. They understood from the Scriptures that it was proper to replace Judas, the disgraced one who betrayed Jesus and then killed himself. But exactly who should replace Judas and fulfill his office? The steps they took in Acts 1:12-14 give us an example to follow before we make important decisions.

First, notice their obedience: Then they returned to Jerusalem. Just before He was carried up to heaven, Jesus told them to return to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. That is exactly what they did. Sometimes we hear God speak to us in through His word, but we quickly forget it. Many a good sermon has been lost on the walk from the church to the parking lot! But here the disciples did what Jesus told them to do, even though He was no longer physically present with them. If we want to make the right decisions, it begins with being obedient right now with what we know to be God’s will.

Second, notice their unity: These all continued with one accord. When we saw the disciples in the gospels, it seemed they were always fighting and bickering. What changed? Peter still had his history of denying Jesus, Matthew was still a former tax collector, and Simon was still a zealot. Their differences were still there, but the resurrected Jesus in their hearts was greater than any of their differences. When we seek God about a big decision, a lack of unity with our brothers and sisters in Jesus can really get in the way. Being out of fellowship – either through our absence or through bad relationship – puts us in a bad place for decision making.

Finally, notice their prayer:  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication. They all prayed, and they continued in prayer and supplication. The idea of the word supplication is a sense of desperation and earnestness in prayer. Prayer showed that they depended on God and the depth of their prayer showed the depth of their dependence. God honors it when we deeply depend on Him; it is another way

There is obviously more than these three parts to making good, godly decisions; but these three things give us an essential foundation: obedience, unity, and prayer. Now is the time to give attention to these three areas, before you might find yourself needing to make a big decision. If you are in a decision time right now, then don’t wait – give attention to obedience, unity, and prayer.

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 1

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, His disciples asked Him about the restoration of Israel – giving the Jewish people the prominence promised by the prophets when the Messiah’s reign was fully realized. Jesus told them it was best they didn’t know that, but He had something even better for them.

Jesus promised, but you shall receive power. If the national kingdom they wanted would be delayed, the power they needed would not. They would soon receive power with the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised power, but not the power to dominate and subject others; this is the power to spread God’s message of reconciliation in Jesus Christ, bring people to true freedom in Jesus.

The promised power meant that Jesus could promise these once-weak disciples, you shall be witnesses to Me: The natural result of receiving this promised power would be that they would become witnesses of Jesus, all over the earth.

Notice that this really wasn’t a command; it was a simple statement of fact: When the Holy Spirit has come upon you… you shall be witnesses of Me. The words shall be describe what will happen, not what they had to do. In other words, Jesus didn’t recommend that they become witnesses; He said they would be witnesses.

If we want to be witnesses, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The best training program for evangelism is of little effectiveness without the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told them where they would be witnesses: in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. As Jesus mentioned each of those places, we may imagine the objections the disciples might think of in regard to each of the places of ministry Jesus described.

– Jerusalem: Wasn’t that where Jesus was executed at the word of an angry mob?
– Judea: Was not the ministry of Jesus ultimately rejected by those in Judea?
– Samaria: Many Jewish people of that day were deeply prejudiced against the Samaritans.
– In the end of the earth, the Gentiles were seen by some Jews of that day as nothing better than fuel for the fires of Hell.

Yet God wanted a witness sent to all of these places, and the Holy Spirit would empower them to do this work. Since I live in what would be an “end of the earth” from Jerusalem, I’m glad what they started continued to the present day!

That command didn’t end with those first disciples. Today, God has a Jerusalem, a Judea, a Samaria, and an end of the earth where He wants His people to be His witness. But remember: we need the power of the Holy Spirit to do it. Ask and receive today.

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 1

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1:4-5)

Right before He ascended to heaven, Jesus gave His disciples important instructions. First, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem. At this moment, Jesus had nothing else for the disciples to do other than to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit (here called the Promise of the Father). Jesus knew that they really could do nothing effective for the Kingdom of God until the Spirit came upon them.

Jesus commanded them to wait.

– To wait means the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit was worth waiting for.
– To wait means that had a promise the Holy Spirit would come.
– To wait means they must receive the Spirit; they couldn’t create an experience themselves.
– To wait means they would be tested by waiting, at least a little.

It is significant that this coming, filling, and empowering of the Holy Spirit was called the Promise of the Father. Even though there is a sense in which this was now also the promise of the Son of God, there is meaning in the phrase, the Promise of the Father.

– It shows that we should wait for it with eager anticipation, because a Promise of the Father who loves us so much can only be good.
– It shows that it is reliable and can be counted on; a loving and powerful Father would never Promise something that He could not fulfill.
– It shows that this Promise belongs to all His children, since it comes from God as our Father.
– It shows that it must be received by faith, as is the pattern with the promises of God throughout the Bible.

Jesus explained more about this Promise when He added, you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The idea of being baptized is to be immersed in or covered over in something; even as John baptized people in water, so these disciples would be “immersed” in the Holy Spirit.

When would it happen? As Jesus said this right before He ascended to heaven, He added: Not many days from now. They knew that this Promise of the Father would come, but not immediately. It would be days from now, but it would not be not many days.

Jesus had a purpose in not telling them exactly when it would come. One purpose was so the disciples would learn to wait in expectant faith. Even so, we should resist “creating” a move of the Spirit. Instead, we trust the Promise of the Father and have expectant faith regarding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our life. The real move of the Holy Spirit is worth it.

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 1