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How Do You Catch the Wind?
by B. Clayton Bell, Sr.
Text: Acts 2:1-24
Topic: How the Holy Spirit "catches" us
Big idea: Scripture is full of impossible demands, which are unattainable without the power of the Spirit.
Keywords: Holy Spirit; Pentecost; Power, divine
Introduction
- Good advice without power is bad news.
-Illustration: In this brief illustration, Bell tells of a time his car battery was completely dead. A service station attendant offered this bit of "helpful" advice: "We can take care of it. Bring it on in."
Scripture is full of "good advice" that we cannot carry out on our own.
- Old Testament Law and The Sermon on the Mount become "bad news," telling us what to do and what not to do, but giving us no power.
- After all his miracles, Jesus told the disciples to do the impossible: "Go and do greater works than these."
Jesus knew his disciples needed more than precepts; they needed power.
- Jesus told them, "You will receive power from on high…But you've got to wait for it."
- If it weren't for the good news in Acts 2, we wouldn't be here today.
The disciples were filled with the Spirit.
- The symbolism of the fire and wind used here, representing the Spirit, is important:
-Jesus said the Spirit is like the wind, blowing wherever it pleases.
-Fire represents the holy presence of God.
- The Holy Spirit, with the gift of tongues, broke the communication barrier so that everyone could hear the gospel in his own language.
- The people were amazed, astonished and perplexed when they saw these phenomena; something extraordinary had happened.
The sequence of events with Christ and Pentecost is also applicable today.
- First, we take in Christ's teachings, then we are filled with the Spirit and are consequently equipped for his service.
- Why isn't today's church as alive and powerful as the first church? Two reasons:
-We have shut the Holy Spirit up in some quiet closet of our lives
-Many people are either ignorant of, or are insensitive to the Spirit's power within them.
- Where Christ is lifted up, there you can be sure the Spirit of God is at work.
- Pentecost reminded Christ's early followers that Christ did not leave them alone and still serves as a reminder for us today.
How do we catch the wind of the Holy Spirit?
- We can't put it in a box; we can't leash it; we can't bottle it; we can't catch it.
- We can receive the Holy Spirit when our sails are unfurled and we're ready to obey.
Conclusion:
- We can't catch the wind, but we can be caught by it, by turning our life over to the Spirit.
- Has Pentecost happened in your life?
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