Multiply: Be Led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:14-47)
When you are led by the Holy Spirit, amazing things happen—in your life, in your family, and in your communities.
Transcript
We’ve spent the last two weeks talking about the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. Two weeks ago, I explained how you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe in Christ. I told you that God has a mission for you. But you need His Spirit in you. Last week, we talked about how Pentecost changed everything because the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now, this week, we see the third step of life in the Spirit: being empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission.
The first time I was really aware of being empowered by the Holy Spirit was about 12 years ago. I was in youth ministry, and I was talking with a guy I was mentoring. He was having girl problems, and I wasn’t sure what to say. So, I prayed. (Always a good idea.). Then, as the conversation progressed, I started asking more better questions. I started to notice connections that he didn’t see. I even knew things that he hadn’t shared with me
We finished the conversation, and he was at peace, but I was a little weirded out by the whole thing. Quite honestly, I wasn’t usually that wise. Still not.
But then it clicked. That was the Holy Spirit. That was the Holy Spirit making me more than I normally was. I even had a name for it – Super Greg. I know… it’s silly, right? But I had to come up with a way to describe what I had experienced. There’s normal Greg, and then there’s Super Greg – where I was more than I normally was. I was empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission.
What would it look like for you to be empowered by the Holy Spirit? For you to have your own super-powered version of yourself – empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission?
In today’s passage, we see two incredible and counter-cultural examples of being empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission. The first one is in an individual. The second is in a community.
We left off last week in Acts 2 with the disciples filled with the Holy Spirit and miraculously speaking the wonders of God in every language so that the diversity of people in Jerusalem could all hear it.
Now, people had two reactions to this.
The first was verse 12: “Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Amazement, curiosity, wonder.”
The next reaction was verse 13: “Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Laughing, mocking, accusing. By the way… this is the first recorded instance of the “Go home, you’re drunk” meme."
The rest of chapter answers both the mockers and the amazed. And, more importantly, it gives us two pictures of what it looks like to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission.
The first picture is the Apostle Peter. He stood up to address the crowd. But before we get to that, I want to remind you that during his 3 years with Jesus, Peter wasn’t exactly an A student.
He regularly misunderstood Jesus’ teaching.
He argued with the other disciples about who was the greatest.
He refused to believe that Jesus was going to die.
Publicly denied Jesus 3 times
And much more.
And yet, somehow, he stood up and delivered one of the most powerful speeches in Acts. And, as a result, 3000 people believed in Jesus and got baptized.
Talk about a glow up? He went from zero to hero. Dud to stud. How? Empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission.
Let’s hit some of the highlights of his speech.
He began with this. “15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:”
And then he quotes the passage you just heard about men and women being filled with God’s Spirit. Basically, “Why are you surprised? This is exactly what the prophets said would happen.
“22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.”
Peter continues to explain Jesus and the Holy Spirit with the Old Testament.
Then he concludes with the power statement: “36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
Here was the crowd’s response. “37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Maybe some of you have asked that question at church before: “What do I do with what I just heard?” Peter’s answer then is the same as my answer now.
“38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter gave two conditions and promised two blessings.
They must repent and be baptized
They will receive the forgiveness of sin and experience the Holy Spirit.
And 3,000 people said yes to Jesus and got baptized, and the first church was born.
Peter spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit. And people responded by the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
“So, Peter is the first example of a person empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission. But what if this happened to a whole community? Imagine if every person in this room and listening online was empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission?”
That exact thing happened in the other passage you heard earlier—the first community of believers. People living in loving community, committed to prayer, Scripture, eating together, caring for those in need. Living selflessly, joyfully, faithfully.
When I hear that passage, I see the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful, gentleness, and self-control. But this makes sense. When you are fed by the Spirit, you will produce the fruit of the Spirit. That’s how it works.
I cannot emphasize how revolutionary this community was from everyone and everything around them. And we all know that there’s no way that we, as humans, could do something like that. This is community created by the Holy Spirit.
So, the Holy Spirit empowers individually and communally. So, what does this look like for you… in your life and your faith journey. What does it mean for YOU to be empowered by the Holy Spirit for God’s mission?
If we put all of Acts 2 together, it can paint a pretty good picture, and maybe even help you see what your next spiritual step is. What do you need to focus the next day, week, month, or even year on? Here are 7 suggestions that come directly out of Acts 2. [19]
Believe in Jesus – Believe that Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. And receive the Holy Spirit today.
Repent – Turn away from your old life, your selfishness, and your sin. And turn to Jesus. And be forgiven.
Be baptized – Some of you have claimed Christ and never been baptized. We’re gonna have the baptism set up for a month starting next week. Publicly identify yourself with Jesus and with God’s family.
Understand God’s general mission – Be God’s witnesses. Talk about what you’ve seen and heard. Build God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Discover God’s mission for you – How is God inviting you to join him on his mission? Pray. Talk to someone. Pay attention to what breaks your heart.
Be empowered by the Spirit – Ask the Holy Spirit to fill all of you. Pray for God’s power in you.
Boldly engage in God’s mission in community – Just do it. Be courageous. Do hard things. Take faith-filled risks. And don’t do it alone.
What’s it going to be? It’s time to poop or get off the pot. God is inviting you into something incredible—to bring hope, salvation, and restoration to our world… with the love of the Father, the forgiveness of the Son, and the power of the Spirit.
How do you do it? It’s a very simple two steps: (1) Be available. (2) Be obedient.
