Acts 2:41-47

The Results of Pentecost:

• V. 41 – QUANTITY GROWTH

Jerusalem – AD33 – 3,000 baptisms in one day
Burma – 1977 – 6,000 baptisms in one day
South Africa – 1993 – 70,000 baptisms in one day

• V. 42-47 – QUALITY GROWTH

Six Spiritual Qualities of a Healthy Church

1. Learning more about God – v. 42 ‘apostles’ doctrine…’
See Acts 1:3 for the preparation that the apostles received
What is vertical growth and why is it vital?

2. Fellowship – v. 42 ‘fellowship’
Horizontal growth

“One of the key factors of church health is to design ways and means for fellowship to be an integral part of church life week in and week out.” C. Peter Wagner

What does true fellowship look like? (Coffee and a smile?)

Breaking bread - v. 42 & 46
Two kinds: Lord’s Supper and shared meals – What does each accomplish?

Radical giving of self – v. 45 ‘sold their possessions’
This is way beyond the tithe!
Luke 12:34

3. Worship – v. 46 ‘temple courts’
What does worship do that nothing else can touch?
What must you do to in order to facilitate worship?
What happens in corporate worship that can’t happen in personal worship?

4. Prayer – v. 42 ‘prayer’
Korean prayer movement changing the world!
How has prayer changed you?


5. Power Ministries – v. 43 “…many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.”
Healings, deliverance and miracles were commonplace.
What stops us from unleashing this same power today?

6. Outreach – v. 47 “and the Lord added…”
Why must the focus be outward?

Acts 2:14-41

WHAT DID PENTECOST MEAN?

2:14 – The answer to verse 12 “Whatever could this mean?”

‘and said to them…’ – Peter’s words were just as anointed by the Holy Spirit as the tongues of verse 4!

apophtheggomai {ap-of-theng'-om-ahee}
1) to speak out, speak forth, pronounce
1a) not a word of everyday speech but one "belonging to dignified and elevated discourse"

This message of Peter’s could not be explained by the skills of man, but only by divine anointing.

2:15 – NO, we aren’t drunk, it’s only 9AM.

2:16 – Fulfillment of prophecy


Joel 2:28-32 NIV

“And afterwards, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls.”

Acts 2:17-21, NIV

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”



“Last days” – the period of time between Christ’s first coming and his second coming

Revelation 12:12

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ‘LAST DAYS’
• Outpouring of the Holy Spirit – v. 17, 18
• Prophecy – v. 17, 18
• Visions and dreams – v. 17
• Signs and wonders – v. 19, 20
• Salvation to all who believe – v. 21

This is what Pentecost meant then, and it is what it means now.




2:22-36 - THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL

Signs and wonders, miracles, visions, dreams, tongues and prophecies DO NOT SAVE PEOPLE. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ saves people. – See Romans 1:16

So, Peter carefully outlines the story of Jesus and demonstrates the Gospel message:

• 2:22 – Jesus’ life and ministry on earth
• 2:23 – Jesus’ crucifixion
• 2:24-32 – Jesus’ resurrection
• 2:33-35 – Jesus’ exaltation
• 2:36 – Jesus the Christ, the Messiah


2:37 – The People’s Response

What does it mean to be ‘cut to the heart’?
Can you be saved without being ‘cut’?


2:38-40 – Peter’s Instruction

Repentance & Baptism

• What is repentance? When should repentance happen?
• Why is baptism important? When should baptism happen?
• What happens when one repents and is baptized?


2:41 – The Results

• What was the quantity of growth?
• What was the quality of growth?
• What happens when you have one without the other?

Acts 2:1-13

v. 1 - Pentecost
Pentecost = ‘fiftieth’

Exodus 34:22

Exactly seven weeks after the festival of Firstfruits is the celebration of Shavu’ot (“Weeks”), one of the three pilgrimage holidays where Jews would come to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifice of their firstfruits at the altar. Since Shavu’ot occurs on the 50th day, the Greek translators of the Torah called this day “Pentecost.”

Is it a coincidence that the Holy Spirit would come and empower Christ’s people to be ‘witnesses’ to the world on the same day that the people of Israel celebrated the first fruits of the harvest?

John 4:35,36

Matthew 9:37,38

What was it that the 120 were praying for ‘in one accord’ (1:14)? (The Principle of Spiritual Agreement)

v. 2 – First Sign of the Spirit: AUDIBLE ‘Suddenly a sound…’
Wind as analogy of the Holy Spirit – John 3:8

This sound was loud enough that it drew the attention of the people in Jerusalem and caused them to gather in the Temple courtyard. See v. 6

v. 3 – Second Sign of the Spirit: VISUAL ‘there appeared…’
Luke 3:16

Fire as symbol of the Holy Spirit
1 Kings 18:38
Exodus 3:2
Isaiah 6:6,7

v. 4 – Third Sign of the Spirit: ORAL ‘they began to speak…’

The Christians spoke in at least 15 different languages that they didn’t learn! (v. 9-11)

Is this the ‘greater work’ that Jesus spoke of in John 14:12?

v. 5-8, 13 – The Amazed Unbelievers

These were Jews who lived throughout the Roman empire, gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks. They were ‘Hellenized’ and molded by the Greek culture. There heart language would have been the tongue of their native countries. So, for God to speak to them, in their own language, was an amazingly powerful tool to reach them for Christ.

Pentecost was the largest gathering of the year for the Jews, and there could have been between 100,000 and 200,000 Hellenistic Jews in the city when the Holy Spirit came.

v. 12, 13 – Receptivity and Resistance
In any setting where the Gospel is proclaimed some will receive and some will resist. Isn’t it amazing that in the face of God’s miraculous power – people can turn away and reject it!?

Speaking in Tongues

Has never been more prominent than it is today!

Key Dates:
• Dec. 31, 1900 – Prayer meeting in Topeka, Kansas
• Spring, 1906 – Azusa Street Meetings, Los Angeles (see www.azusastreet100.net - April 25-29, 2006)

During first half of 20th Century, ‘Pentecostals’ were labeled as a cult group amongst so-called mainstream denominations.

Today – some 700,000,000 people world-wide are Spirit-filled believers who either practice tongues, or support them.

The Gift of Tongues
• Speaking in tongues is prayer with or in the Spirit. (Eph. 6:18)
• It is our spirit speaking to God, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
• It takes place when a Christian believer speaks to God, but instead of speaking in a language that he knows with his intellect he just speaks, in childlike faith, and trusts God to provide the form of the words.
• The regenerated human spirit now is joined to the Holy Spirit is praying directly
• to the Father, in Christ, without having to accept the limitations of the intellect. (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)
• As the new life in the Spirit is expressed, or exercised, the spiritual life is built up or edified. (1 Corinthians 14:4, Jude 20)

Two KINDS of Tongues

1. The Gift of Tongues - Words that come from God to a group of people, accompanied by the gift of INTERPRETATION of Tongues.

2. Prayer Language – Speaking to God in a language given by the Holy Spirit.
• 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
• 1 Corinthians 14:5
• 1 Corinthians 14:18
• Ephesians 6:18

A simple, childlike act of faith.

All you need is the indwelling Holy Spirit (are you a Christian?), and the willingness to trust Him to guide your voice as you speak.

Praying in tongues creates a path for the Holy Spirit to move out from your spirit and baptize (overwhelm) your…
• SOUL (psychological nature – intellect, will and emotions)
• BODY (physical nature)

This enables God to have greater influence over your whole being.

You are literally helping yourself grow spiritually. (1 Cor. 14:4)

Praying in tongues allows the Holy Spirit to gain a much stronger hold and leadership over your life as your surrender your speech to Him.


Evangelism Barrier Breaking Milestones
• Breaking the barriers between Hebrew Jews (those living in Israel) and Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2)
o Acts 2:4
• Breaking the barriers between Jews and Samaritans through Philip in Samaria (Acts 8:5-25)
o Acts 8:17
• Breaking the barriers between Jews and Gentiles through Peter in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10)
o Acts 10:44,46

In each case the Holy Spirit came in power, indicating that the gospel would be spread only through the combination of supernatural intervention and human obedience to God.

Acts 1:9-26

Acts 1:9-10 – The Ascension of Jesus

See Matthew 16:21-23, John 16:7

How can this be?
What advantage is it to us if Jesus goes away?
Are we better off without Jesus?

Acts 1:11 – The Angelic Appearance

Why did God send these two angels?

Acts 1:12-15 – History’s Most Powerful Prayer Meeting

See Luke 24:51-53
The New King James Version says that during this period of time, they ‘were continually in the
temple praising and blessing God’

What does praise, worship and prayer do for you?

Christ’s agenda for this ten day prayer meeting: Luke 24:49

The disciples were regrouping in preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit and for the task of
world evangelization! What is the value of regrouping?

Acts 1:5 tells us why they prayed – they knew that the coming of the Holy Spirit was imminent.

Jeremiah 33:3

“This sounds very much as though God, in His sovereign wisdom, has so arranged reality that, although He might desire to do some things, He will not do them unless, and until, Christian people are obedient and faithful in their prayer lives.” C. Peter Wagner


The Principle of Agreement:
The KJV says: “…all continued with one accord…” v. 14
Matthew 18:19

Acts 1:15-26 – Replacing Judas – or – “Peter’s Big Idea”?

Did Christ want Matthias to be the 12th Apostle?

What did Christ assign the disciples prior to His ascension? Luke 24:49

Interesting that we never hear from Matthias again.