The Spirit's Mission

Acts 2:1-4, 14-15, 22-24 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. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Rev. Bruce Finn
(PCA church planting coordinator)

Our mission is the mission of God, of Jesus. Understanding our roles will be helpful for us. The movement of the gospel moved throughout Judea, then to the next state, Samaria. Finally to the ends of the earth.

Wimps into witnesses

We are all wimps in sharing our faith. We do not have boldness in sharing our faith. We see Peter transformed into a powerful witness by the Spirit. Peter denied Jesus. He hid when Jesus was crucified, in great fear for his life.

Turns crowds into communities

The church is a motley crew of people. People who would not usually get along or like each other become a fellowship. A group of people who don't speak the same language and are from different places come together to celebrate a festival. When the Spirit comes, the people, the motley crew comes together into a mission-centered community.

Turns cities into saturation points

Jerusalem had 600,000 people. On pentecost, 3,000 became followers. Later 5,000 became believers. In meeting at homes, this would mean that there were at least two hundred house churches in the city of Jerusalem in a very short period. There was access to the gospel throughout the city in a very short period of time. The Spirit desires to saturate the city with Christians.

The Spirit of Witness

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."

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Every Christian is empowered and commissioned to this, sharing the Good News.

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

We are also called to make disciples.

But how? How are we to do this?

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Witness

It tells us of our Father, our Abba. We are saved. It speaks of God's love.

The power of witness

When the Spirit is poured out, people testify and witness. Sure, there were miracles. But those miracles were for the sake of witness. The end is not a miracle, it is the verification of the disciples' witness. The spirit is living and working to open hearts to God and Jesus.

When we consider the phrase "do not grieve the Spirit", we generally think of overt sins. But if we are not living a life of active evangelism/witness, we are grieving the Spirit. Half of what the Holy Spirit desires is for Jesus to be known in us and through us.

By ourselves, we are apathetic. We don't want to be witnesses. Jesus tells the disciples to wait for the Spirit. The implication is that we are powerless without the Spirit.

The power of conviction for witness comes from the Spirit. We get this heart for witness from the Spirit. Otherwise, our witness is half-baked. It has little conviction behind it. It gives us boldness to share. It gives us wisdom to dispute. It also orchestrates opportunities to witness. The eunuch and phillip is an example of this. There is also the power of conviction for salvation. People are convicted of salvation through the Spirit. We do not convict people by our arguments or actions. The Spirit does it.

The Holy Spirit wants all the world for Christ

To stay in step with the Spirit, what do we do?

We are to be both locally and globally oriented. Glocally, as they now call it. We are living out our lives here in active evangelism and we are supporting overseas missions.