Receiving the Spirit’s Power - Acts 2

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: When the Power Goes Out

Imagine you’re at home in the evening, when suddenly, without warning, everything goes dark. There’s a power outage and nothing in the house works anymore. The lights are off, the furnace stops running, and the TV and internet are off. You suddenly feel helpless, wondering when the power will come back on.

Before the Holy Spirit came, the disciples were like a house plunged into darkness. They knew they did not have the power to carry out Jesus’ command to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. And neither do we. So today we’re going to talk about Receiving the Spirit’s Power.

Acts 1:4–5 (ESV) … he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus told the disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. This promise was the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They were not to rely on their own strength or understanding. They were to wait until God empowered them.

Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The baptism in the Spirit would give them the power they needed to be witnesses for Jesus. The power of Spirit baptism would light their lives to push back the darkness. Not only did Jesus command every believer to be Spirit baptized, He showed us its importance by His own example.

Jesus was baptized in water by John the Baptist. While still in the water, Jesus prayed and was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Luke records afterward that Jesus was filled with the Spirit and moved in the power of the Spirit.

We need that same power in our lives today. The kingdom of God is not advanced by words alone. It requires supernatural power working through God’s people.

1 Corinthians 4:20 (ESV) For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

So how do we get the power of the Spirit, how are we Spirit baptized? Simply by following Jesus’ example and the disciples’ example. We must pray and ask God to baptize us in the Spirit and He will.

How the Holy Spirit Comes

Acts 2:1–3 (ESV) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

The followers of Jesus had been devoted to prayer in the upper room for ten days. They knew that they were praying for the baptism in the Holy Spirit, but they had no idea of what to expect. Suddenly they heard a sound like a mighty rushing wind filling the entire house.

This wind was a sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit with power in their midst. Then tongues of fire came and rested on the heads of each of the believers. These flames looked like fire and represented the purifying power of the Spirit.

John the Baptist had prophesied that Jesus would baptize His followers with the Spirit and with fire. What was happening on Pentecost was the fulfillment of that promise. God was doing something entirely new among His people.

Acts 2:4 (ESV) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Two important things happened all at once with everyone in the room. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. To be baptized in the Spirit is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What was the evidence that they had been Spirit baptized? They began to speak in other tongues under the direction of the Spirit. This outward sign revealed an inward work of God.

Speaking in tongues in the Bible is speaking in a language that you have never learned. It could be a known language, as we’ll see in this passage. Or it could be an unknown language, unknown to the speaker and unknown to the hearer.

Seeking the Spirit’s Power Today

As we continue through the book of Acts, we’re going to see that this experience of Spirit baptism was not just for the apostles and not just for those in the upper room. As we see many other people baptized in the Spirit later in the book of Acts, we do not see any further mention of rushing wind or tongues of fire. Those manifestations of the Spirit only occurred the first time people were Spirit baptized.

Throughout the rest of the book of Acts, the sign or evidence of Spirit baptism was speaking in tongues. That is the same evidence of Spirit baptism today. The followers of Jesus were already saved; this was not the day they were saved.

Spirit baptism does not automatically happen when someone is saved. It must be sought with prayer as exemplified by Jesus and these disciples. Spirit baptism is not optional for a believer, and neither is water baptism.

Jesus gave instructions for each and every believer to be water baptized after believing and to be Spirit baptized. If you are a believer and have not been Spirit baptized, I would encourage you to pick up the book in the foyer called Power for Life. It will help you understand more about Spirit baptism and pray for it.

We all need the power of the Spirit in our lives. Spirit baptism is an initial filling, and we can be filled again and again with God’s power. Now let’s continue with our story and see why the Gospel is for everyone.

Why the Gospel Is for Everyone

Acts 2:5–6 (ESV) Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

On the day of Pentecost, Jews would come from many other nations to worship. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jews needed to believe in Jesus the Messiah in order to be saved. There was a sound that attracted the crowd to Jesus’ disciples.

I’m not sure if it was the sound of a rushing wind or the sound of the disciples speaking in tongues or both. However, what the disciples were speaking was intelligible to different members of the crowd. Different disciples were speaking different languages, and the people heard them speaking in their native tongue.

Acts 2:7–8 (ESV) And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?”

The visitors at Pentecost were bewildered, amazed, and astonished. They knew that these Jews from Jerusalem were not able to naturally speak their languages. Clearly something supernatural was happening in and through Jesus’ followers.

Acts 2:11 (ESV) … we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

All of the believers speaking in tongues were praising God. They were speaking of God’s mighty works. They were being witnesses for Jesus through the power of the Spirit, just as Jesus had promised.

This was not the end, but just the beginning of the witnessing of the early church. God was making it clear that the Gospel was for every nation, not just for the Jews. He was also emphasizing that Spirit baptism was for all people, no matter where they came from.

Living as Witnesses to Everyone

What does the story of Pentecost have to do with us today? First of all, God calls every believer to be a witness to everyone, to all different kinds of people around us. We are naturally more comfortable with people just like us.

But God is calling us to speak about the mighty works of God to people who are not yet saved. He calls us to talk to people who are deep in sin and believe things that are not true. God calls us to boldly go to others because the Gospel is for everyone.

How can we have the boldness and power to do that? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit that comes through Spirit baptism. Without the Spirit’s power, we will shrink back in fear.

Remember the Five Friend Focus. If you haven’t yet filled out an FFF card, take one from the chair in front of you. Write down five friends or people you know who are not saved or not going to a biblical Spirit-filled church.

For people outside this church, that will probably be more than ninety percent of the people you know. Make a commitment to pray for them daily and to be a witness to them as God leads. As God moves on their lives, share your victories as a God story with us.

What Is Your Response to Spirit Baptism?

Acts 2:12 (ESV) And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

When God moves supernaturally, the book of Acts calls it signs and wonders. Signs have meaning, they point to a supernatural reality that is not obvious. The people here were amazed, but they were also perplexed.

They wanted to know why this was happening and what it meant. God loves to answer people who ask Him what the supernatural means. Those who seek to understand what God is saying will find God’s truth.

But everyone in that crowd was not seeking God. Some responded with curiosity, while others responded with rejection. Their hearts determined how they interpreted what they saw.

Acts 2:13 (ESV) But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Others had an entirely different attitude; they were mocking. To mock is to make fun of something in a derogatory way. These people were not interested in any deeper meaning.

They made fun of the disciples praising God by accusing them of being drunk. The speech that they were hearing made no sense to them. There were two completely opposite reactions to this supernatural move of God.

Choosing to Seek God’s Power

We need to ask ourselves, what is my reaction to this story of a supernatural Pentecost? Is Spirit baptism something that I want to know the meaning of, that I want to obey Jesus and pray for? Or is Spirit baptism just for others and not for me?

God wants us to be like the people who asked questions and looked for answers. I was introduced to Spirit baptism by a friend while I was in college. The Baptist denomination my father pastored in believed none of the supernatural was for our day.

But I had questions and began to seek out the truth of God by reading the book of Acts many times. I became convinced that Scripture clearly taught that Spirit baptism was for every believer for all time. So I prayed and asked God to baptize me in the Spirit, and He did.

I began to speak in an unknown tongue and have been blessed to continue to this day. We all need the power of God in our lives that comes through Spirit baptism. And we need to help others discover that same power as well.

Conclusion: Pursuing Everyday Supernatural Living

Many years ago, I became convinced that the book of Acts, indeed the entire Bible, was not just a history book. It was a book that showed us what God is like and the things that He does. The supernatural events on the pages of the Bible are the kind of things that God does for people who seek Him with their whole hearts.

I invite you to join me in earnestly seeking after God for everyday supernatural living. Don’t be satisfied with what you’ve experienced in God so far; there is always more. As we continue to seek God, He will bless us with the Spirit’s power to be His witnesses.

Join with us on Tuesday mornings at 6:30 a.m. to pray for revival in our lives, our church, and our city. As we seek God together, we will see Him move in powerful ways. God is faithful to pour out His Spirit on those who ask.

📘 Continue the Journey

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