· In Acts 2 we see the coming of the Holy Spirit.
· The response of the crowd reminds us that miracles can get people’s attention, but it takes the proclamation of the gospel, to get them into the kingdom.
· These men were speaking in “other tongues”, in a wide array of human languages, not heavenly language.
· It was confirming God’s missionary intent for his church.
· The Spirit is given so that the world might know, that Jesus is Lord, through our effective communication of the Gospel.
· You can’t have God in your life without having the Holy Spirit in your life.
· There is no such thing as the born again believer in Jesus Christ who does not have the Holy Spirit.
· Being filled with the Spirit does not mean you get more Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit simply means the Holy Spirit gets more of you in obedience.
· The gifts of God are given for this reason, that the peoples of the Earth may know that the Lord is God.
· We are all called to be missionaries.
Always have been.
We are all called to be witnesses for the Gospel of Christ.
A sense of need is a gift.
Today we will consider a third essential truth:
Great blessing is often found on the other side of a God Created Sense of Need.
1. A Sense of Need is often God’s Invitation, to Deeper Community.
The church is a Community of Believers.
We Need one Another.
2. A Sense of Need is always God’s Invitation, to a Sense of Freedom.
We don’t set aside, the old stuff too easily, do we.
God creates a sense of need in us.
It’s good to be holy dissatisfied.
3. Mature faith, Engages Holy Dissatisfaction, with Holy Anticipation.
We ought to engage holy dissatisfaction, with holy anticipation.
Great blessing is often found on the Other side of God Ordered Waiting.
Acts reminds us than sometimes our first work is waiting.
1. God’s calls to Wait are Preludes to Promises.
Jesus called them to wait upon a promise.
When God makes a promise, fulfilment is never an issue, just timing.
2. God’s calls to Wait are Essential.
Acts 1, says to spirit-less disciples, wait and I will bless.
3. The time for Fulfillment often depends more on God than on Us.
The time for the fulfillment did not depend upon them and their efforts, but rather upon God and upon his wisdom.
4. When God says “wait” our Initial Explanations will likely be Incorrect.
Waiting often involves the removal of something we have come to depend upon, so that something better might come.