When the Spirit Comes, the Church Goes

Acts 2:1-6 “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.”

When we talk about the Day of Pentecost, we usually think of the Holy Spirit descending on the church, the birth of the church, the church being enabled to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the day when Jesus’ promise was given…

Luke 24:29 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

The Holy Spirit is at work
There is something happening here that we often overlook and forget. As the disciples were gathered to be prepared to share the Gospel, the same Spirit assembled another crowd outside the door of the upper room. There was curiosity rising in their hearts, there was hunger being stirred up, and there was heart-softening happening. The Holy Spirit was moving, preparing one group to speak and another group to listen; one group to give and another group to receive.

Establish the connection
God prepares people to speak and to listen, but He cannot establish the connection Himself. He needs the supernaturally prepared church to go out of the upper room and meet the needs of the crowd outside that room. We cannot just pray for people, we have to go out and establish the connections.

Two ways you can make connections with people around you:
1. Dare to believe that the Holy Spirit is with you.
In John 14:16, when Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit, He emphasized that the Holy Spirit will be with you forever. We all know that it is a spiritual fact that the Holy Spirit is always and forever with us, but we need to dare to believe in this truth. Sometimes, we feel the presence and the atmosphere of the Holy Spirit, sometimes we don’t. But He is forever with us.

Markus was a high school student who decided to pray for revival in his school. He prayed for over a year and nothing happened. He thought to do something radical. He promised to invite any first guy he will meet at school on that day to his lifegroup.
So, as he came to school, the first guy he met at the doors was Daniel. Markus invited him to his house for an event, just that he did not mention what kind of event it would be. Daniel was quite sure it was some kind of party. But as he went and was met by Markus’ mum at the door, he got confused. Then he saw people with bibles, singing songs. One by one, they started to pray. Daniel realized that his turn will come and wanted to leave, but then suddenly decided to ask to pray for his grandfather dying from cancer, as he was given 3-4 weeks to live. As Daniel recalls after, it was the weirdest party he ever went to. Shortly after one week, Daniel tells Markus that his grandfather got a new report from the doctor, stating that he was completely healed and there is no cancer! Now, he really wanted to know everything about Jesus the healer and the Savior. Today, Daniel has graduated from two years of Bible College education and serves as a missionary in Central Asia.

It took one teenager’s courage to establish that connection.

2. Take a step outside the boat.
Peter was the son of a fisherman. From about 3 years of age, he was trained to become a fisherman. The boat was a place of his security and knowledge; his comfort zone of expertise. Then Jesus called him to step out, and to meet Him outside the boat.

As we come to Christ, our boat of knowledge and experience is very small, but as we study, pray and fellowship, we grow. As our experience grows, we feel more comfortable and professional. But, Jesus then comes and calls us out of the boat to experience something we have never experienced before. There will be times when Jesus uses your experience and there will be other times when He calls you out of it, in order to establish new connections.

As 16-year old Johana was walking on the streets of the city centre to her lifegroup, she prayed, “God use me now”. At that very moment, she saw a girl coming towards her, crying and speaking on her mobile phone.  Johanna had approximately 3 seconds to think about how to handle the situation. Then she threw her arms wide open, and this girl walked right into her embrace and continued to cry on her shoulder. As the girl cried, Johanna prayed and invited her to her lifegroup. She went, but did not speak much. The girls prayed for her and testified about Jesus. A week later, this girl wrote an email to Johanna, saying that she was about to end her life on the day they met. She had planned everything and was just making the last phone call to say goodbye to her aunty. She was overwhelmed and cried but then looked up and saw Johanna. A sparkle of hope came into her heart. After she went back home, she decided to give life another chance. She finished her letter by saying that she needed that Jesus they were talking about. Today this girl is in church, and she is one of the most joyful people you will meet.

It happened because one teenager decided to step out of her boat and act boldly. It is the Holy Spirit who prepared one girl to act, and another one to accept.

Discussion Questions
1. Can you share a time in your life when you have felt the courage to believe God and acted upon it?
2. Share some of the fears or hesitations that you may have that could prevent you to step out of the boat?
3. Is there a situation in your current circumstances when you could able to step out of the boat, and see the Holy Spirit at work in the future?
4. Pray that God will lead you to that supernaturally prepared person.