The crippled man was lame from birth for thirty years. He is begging at the temple. The apostles are going to the temple at 3pm. They don't give this beggar money. Instead, they get his attention and he is commanded to walk. So he gets up and walks.
The people at the temple are amazed. They know this beggar. They know of his lameness. And suddenly, he is walking.
Looking Inward
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. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "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. For David says concerning him, "'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' "Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."' Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. - Acts 2:14-41 ESV
Rev. Dwight Yoo
Use of the WORD
For us to be good witnesses, we must use the word. There is hesitation on our part to bring up the Bible. Many Christians are excited about deed ministries. But we must use the word to minister well. We must have a balance of ministry between word and deed.
Christ-centered word
Peter was explaining the Pentecost and how Jesus has come... And the end of days approached. He explained how passages of the Bible spoke of Jesus as the Savior. He covered the old testament through the three major sections: the law, the prophets, and the palms. In each, Peter shows how they pointed to Jesus. He is the central figure of the entire Bible and at that time, the entirety of the Jewish scriptures.
The power of the WORD
We look at how three thousand were baptized and have some modern skeptical thoughts. We think that perhaps the people were less sophisticated.
But we forget, it was not easier back then. The Jews were greatly offended by the idea of a crucified Messiah. Greeks were polytheistic and very secular. It was not easier. So then, why? Because there is power in the WORD and in the gospel. The message itself as hard as it is to intellectually accept, is powerful.
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. 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. 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? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." - Acts 2:1-13 ESV
Rev. Dwight Yoo
Era of the Spirit
Pentecost happened fifty days after the Passover. It was around the time of harvest, which aptly described God's harvest of souls for salvation. The Hebrew and Greek terms for the Holy Spirit were associated with wind and breath. But the Holy Spirit is not an inanimate thing; He is a person.
What is the Holy Spirit?
He is one of the three persons of the one God. He is not lesser or inferior to Jesus and God, the Father. He was hovering over the water at creation. He empowered people in the Old Testament. But this is a new period, the Holy Spirit will be poured out on all believers, young, old, male and female.
How then can one be filled with the Spirit, if they have the Spirit now and forever? How does that work? The clarification comes from the prior caution to avoid drunkenness. We are called to be influenced by the Spirit rather than strong drink.
So then, how do we know the Spirit is influencing us? The ministry of the Holy Spirit is one of spotlighting Jesus and glorifying God, the Father. He does not draw attention to himself, but rather points us to the Father and the Son. We can have periods of life where we are a source of grief for the Spirit. We go astray from the goodness of following God's desire for our lives.
Effect of the Spirit, Corporately
The Galileans were considered backwater, uncultured, and uneducated people. Hence, the surprise of the people around them. How could there be such learning of so many languages? It is the opposite of the tower of Babel. God is bringing back together that which divides us. He is reconciling all people. God brings all tribes and nations to salvation.
We, as believers, are called to live in community, not just in the community. We are to value the multitude of cultural expressions of faith and worship of God.
Effect of the Spirit, Individually
The Holy Spirit comes down as fire. It is to make our hearts burn with passion for God. He is here to empower us to witness to Christ and the Good News of salvation.
