Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19970720.htm

ACTS: THE LOCAL CHURCH AS GOD'S AGENCY FOR DISCIPLING MEN
Part IV: Functioning On God's Power For Ministry To The Maximum
(Acts 2:1-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Christians generally really want to be greatly used of God. They don't want their days and years to be spent in futility, in just "spinning their wheels" achieving nothing.
    2. The Early Church has been a model of desire for the rest of us throughout the history of the Church, for people of that era enjoyed displays of great divine power and blessing in ministry. One of the great di splays of that power and blessing was displayed on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:1-11.
    3. We examine that text to discern what it takes for us today to function in God's power to such a maximum.
  2. Functioning On God's Power For Ministry To The Maximum, Acts 2:1-11.
    1. The believers who gathered in Jerusalem to await for the coming of the Holy Spirit were not great people as this world would have viewed them: The group was with one accord in one place in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost were regular believers in Jesus, Acts 2:1. They were followers selected by Jesus as His inner group, and also Jesus' earthly mother, Mary and some of Jesus' half brothers, Acts 1:13, 14b.
    2. This group did not contain overachievers, but people who were conscious of their need for God:
      1. Before Jesus had left them, this group had wanted to know if the Messianic Kingdom would be established now that Jesus had risen from the dead, Acts 1:6.
      2. When Jesus did not reveal the timing of that Kingdom's arrival, but rather gave them instructions about waiting for His Spirit in Jerusalem, only to ascend to heaven, they were speechless and somewhat aimless, and had to be directed by waiting angels, Acts 1:7-11.
      3. They simply returned to Jerusalem in accord with Jesus' command to wait for the Spirit, Acts 1:4, 12.
      4. While there, they spent time in prayer and in the selection of the next disciple to take Judas' place, a selection dependent on God's leading by lots, Acts 1:14, 26.
      5. While there, they were gathered together, realizing their part of a group RATHER than working to achieve as isolated units of self-made ministers, Acts 1:13; 2:1!
    3. Yet, when the Holy Spirit came, God's Spirit fully equipped them to have a powerful ministry totally apart from any human motivation or enabling, Acts 2:1-11:
      1. While dependently gathered together, and in prayer, not knowing when the Kingdom would come or what their roles would be, the Holy Spirit came upon this group of ordinary people, Acts 2:1-2a.
      2. His arrival was accompanied with a demonstration of enormous power:
        1. There was the sound of a great, rushing wind that filled the whole house where they were sitting, 2b.
        2. There then appeared tongues of fire resting upon the heads of each of them, v. 3. This display signaled the arrival of the Spirit in accord with John's and Christ's predictions, Mtt. 3:11; Acts 1:5.
        3. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in human, Gentile languages they had not formerly known, and in those languages proclaim the wonderful works of God, v. 4, 8-11.
        4. The effect was that a whole crowd of Jewish Pentecost pilgrims rushed together to see this great display of divine power, and they were astonished at how these mere, untrained Galileans were able to speak of God's great works in such l anguages, Acts 2:5-8, 11.
Lesson: The Early Church believers were known for (1) what they humanly LACKED rather than what they POSSESSED, (2) and for their NON-PRESUMPTUOUS DEPENDENCE (a) on God (b) and on His use of fellow believers around them (meeting in the group) (3) so that the DISPLAY of ministry power on the Day of Pentecost gave glory only to GOD -- not to man!

Application: We are effectively used by God today in Christian service (1) not because we go great in self-promotional or self-motivated efforts, but through DEPENDENCE on God with meekness, prayer and interdependence on other gifts in the body, cf. Acts 2:1 with 1:14. (2) In this position, GOD equips us with the gifting, the motivation, the message and the impact on others around us for an effective ministry, for then only HE gets the glory -- not sinful man! (cf. Gal. 2:9; 1 Cor. 1:26-29)