Let's talk about describing a Platypus to AI …

When we talk of Spiritual things, our 5 senses and intellect are often not up to the job. The language and details we use are often inadequate for what we ‘know’ and ‘experience’. You may have had a deep encounter with God, but when you try to explain it to someone, the explanation severely lacks the power that you experienced and it becomes about the way you communicate it rather than the content.

In the Old Testament, we see the Power of God coming upon people: Enabling them in Leadership, Prophesy and Service. People such as Moses, Samson, Saul, David. This power of God was temporary and for a specific task.

As Moses attempts to explain his experience at the burning bush, the encounter that changed his life forever. It was a deep spiritual encounter that we can’t really grasp the depths of from his description. Language is not up to the task. But we do see the impact it had on his life.

We read about the Israelites camping around the presence of God at the Tabernacle. Moses describes the presence of God in each of these moments as being ‘like fire’.

Let’s read another experience of the Spirit interacting with people.

In Numbers 11 Moses said to God, If you really love me, kill me now. I can’t bear with these people. 600,000 men – all complaining about the food God was providing (that they didn’t need to work for).
Moses felt alone.

Joel:
Fast forward 800 years, all the ups and downs throughout Israel, and we get to the prophet Joel. Joel picks up on this ‘wish’ from Moses. In Joel 1 and 2, Joel speaks of Isreal’s past sin and God’s judgement.

Then at the end of Joel 2, Joel describes The Future Day of the Lord and says rend your hearts, not your garments – return to God. God is gracious & compassionate, slow to anger and full of love.
Joel explains that the spirit will not just fill the temple, but the hearts of all his people so they can truly love and follow him.
The Future Day of the Lord will renew all creation. God will defeat evil both in the world, but also within us. We’ll read the end of Joal chapter 2 later when Peter quotes it on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

John the Baptist:
John knew something of who Jesus was and what he’d come to do. Listen to his words.

Jesus:
From here, Jesus taught, healed, confronted, loved… After his resurrection, Jesus again, walked, taught and shared meals with many. Luke shares some teaching from Jesus towards the end of his physical time on Earth.

Notice it is Jesus sending the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts can be described as ‘The Acts of the Apostles’, or perhaps ‘The Acts of those keeping up with the Holy Spirit’ or possibly more accurately, ‘The Acts of Jesus Christ after his ascension’.

OK, so here we are now, together with 120 believers, 10 days after Jesus’ ascension with all this historical and current context. Praying and waiting… What is going to happen next. What is about to happen is a deeply spiritual moment. A supernatural experience.

In Genesis 1 we read about the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of a void and formless earth, and then speaking Light and Life into existence.
The spirit of God bringing about creation. Here we are going to see the spirit of God hovering around this people, bringing about the birth of a new creation, a new enlightenment – the body of Christ – His church.

This will be an experience that changes the lives of those involved forever. Each of the disciples giving their all for Christ, right up to and including their death. They count everything else as naught.

It starts with what is like a big and violent wind coming from heaven and observed by people all around. We then start to see what seems to be tongues of fire above each others heads… and we all began to speak in other tongues or languages.

God-fearing people from all around the known world were in Jerusalem for Pentecost (the feast of Shavuot).

Here we see a reversing of the tower of Babel, where all these people start to speak in languages they don’t know, people from around the world hear the good news of Jesus in their own heart language and come together.

Let me show you where these people came from. It’s no accident that this Day of the Lord is sharing the birth of his church in a way that people from all over the world can understand it.

Let’s read what Luke tells us about this day.

Notice the events that took place as Jesus died – the Sun going dark, the temple curtain torn from top to bottom. The earth shaking. But especially note Joel’s last bit: Everyonewho calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This ‘Day of the Lord’ is for Everyone. We’ll see this through Acts as Luke shows us the baptism of the Holy Spirit in various places: Jerusalem today, Judea, as Philip and then Peter and John share with the Samaritains in Acts 8, and with Cornelius’ family in Acts 10. As the Spirit "poured out upon" (Acts 2:17–18, 33), "falling upon" (Acts 10:44), "coming upon" (Acts 1:8; 8:16; 19:6)

These disciples and many others go to their death with this ‘knowing’ the Jesus gives them freedom and new life.

Paul – who missed this experience, but had his own baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 9 later wrote:

…have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Romans 6v3-4 NLT.

God has made this Jesus who you crucified both Lord and Messiah – he is now ruling and king.

You will receive the Holy Spirit

Never too late – it’s for everyone – have you called on the name of the Lord – you will be saved.

Questions:
1) Have you had deep spiritual experiences that you would like to share with others?
2) Did these Spiritual experiences have a lasting impact on you?
3) What do you think the people in the crowd had possibly already experienced of Jesus, his miracles and the past 50 days?
4) What do you think it would have been like hearing a bunch of Galileans speaking in so many of the world languages.
5) Have you ever been in a group of 3,000 followers of Christ? What must it have been like on that day of Pentecost as so many choose to follow Christ.
6) Looking at the following image showing how Luke and Paul describe the person of the Holy Spirit, which words have been your experience of the Holy Spirit?