2. Acts 2:1-4
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

3. Over the past few weeks, we’ve learned that :
following Christ’s death and resurrection, He spent 40 days teaching His followers
Christ ascended to heaven, telling his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of a gift – the Holy Spirit.
the apostles returned to Jerusalem and, in this environment of confusion and uncertainty, spent the next ten days in prayer and worship of God.
under the direction of Peter, they also chose Matthias to replace the departed Judas Iscariot

4. The apostles must have wondered about what exactly this gift of the Spirit was.
They had received some basic instruction prior to Christ’s death, but there really is no precedent for the giving of the Spirit anywhere in Scripture.
We do encounter some references to the Spirit of the Lord in the Old Testament, but they are few and far between.
What would this gift be? An outpouring of insight, knowledge and revelation? Would it be gifted strength, skill, and power?

5. “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).
If witnessing is simply reporting what one has seen, then why would divine power be a necessity?

7. We learn that on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles are all gathered together in one place.
Pentecost is a Greek word meaning “fiftieth” used to describe the Jewish “Feast of Weeks” which occurs fifty days after Passover.
The Feast of Weeks was a celebration of the first fruits of the wheat harvest.
The apostles were not just gathered together, but they were gathered together “of one accord”.
Without division they gathered to celebrate Jesus in prayer and worship.

8. In what must have been a chaotic scene, the room was suddenly filled with the sound of a violent wind – described in Greek as the “blare of a blasting, violent wind”.
Why wind?
The wind-breath-spirit connection is a very strong one:
In the creation account, God’s breath joined spirit to flesh and gave life to Adam.
Jesus likens the Spirt to the wind in John 3
upon appearing to the disciples following His resurrection Jesus “breathed on them and said,  “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). 

9. “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water
“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. (Luke 3:16)
Amidst the deafening roar of the wind, the apostles witnessed tongues of fire that separated and came to rest upon each of them.
Why tongues of fire?
To fulfill John the Baptist’s prophecy
To provide a link to God’s presence with His people in Exodus

10. Just as the Spirt had ignited tongues of fire above their heads, He ignited their tongues to speak in other languages.
This gift of tongues seems to have been very helpful for the early church in determining how the church ought to be comprised – those with the given ability to speak in tongues were declared to have received the Holy Spirit and thereby acknowledged as a part of the church.

11. Speaking in tongues was initial evidence of the arrival of the Spirit for a specific given timeframe.
Though tongues is the initial – first, not only – evidence of the giving of the Spirit, by the time of Paul’s letters, all kinds of other spiritual gifts – evidences of the presence of the Holy Spirit in one’s life – were at work within the church.

12. Why the speaking of other languages?
The apostles were told to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit before becoming Christ’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth and as one moves out from Jerusalem, one very quickly encounters language barriers.
This empowering as Christ’s witnesses comes with an explosion of different languages, pointing to one simple fact - the church of Jesus was to be multilingual, the Good News of Jesus is for every tongue on earth, and the mission field is made up of all people and all languages; it’s a global mission.

13. A Reversal of Babel
The events of Pentecost allow followers of Jesus to make Christ’s name great across all possible language barriers, while being scattered to the very ends of the earth.

14. As did the apostles, have you received the Holy Spirit?
The Spirit is given to those who place their faith in Jesus, to those who follow Christ.
Are you aware of His presence in your life?
If so, reflect on the form that this takes; what does the Spirit’s presence in your life mean to you?
If your answer is “no” or “I’m not so sure”, then allow me to be bold and urge you to ask God a very specific question: Holy Spirit, why am I unaware of your presence in my life?