Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

Pastor Koay Kheng Hin
5 June 2022

Today is Pentecost Sunday according to the Jewish calendar. As we worship the Lord today as an assembly of believers, it is just timely, in these adverse times that we are experiencing now, we look back at the beginnings of the church to draw insights to encourage and exhort us as a church.  

The sermon text for today is drawn from the book of Acts, Acts 2:1-4 and I read. 

Acts 2:1-4
2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

These verses are set within the context of the day of Pentecost of AD 30. For the Christian faith, the Pentecost of AD 30 two thousand years ago will be remembered as the day when the church was born. 

For the Jews, Pentecost was considered the anniversary of the giving of the law at Mount Sinai and a renewal of the Mosaic covenant. Jesus had died and then three days later resurrected from the dead. After his resurrection, he had appeared to ten of his disciples, minus Thomas, that very Sunday evening. 

It was then that he spoke the following words to them, ………Luke 24:46-49. In these four verses, Luke mentions four things: the gospel, the preaching of the gospel to the nations, the disciples being witnesses and lastly, waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit. 

In Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”, these same four things are implied. 

After giving the instructions of Acts 1:8, Jesus ascended to heaven. As Jesus had instructed, his disciples waited for the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples when they gathered together in the upper room. 

On this day, “ALL OF THEM WERE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.” with the sign of speaking in other tongues! The church was born! 

This meant that as children of God the Holy Spirit dwells in each and every one of us, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you…..” (1 Corinthians 6:19) and in a corporate sense the Holy Spirit dwells in the church, 1 Corinthians 3:17, “……for God’s temple  is sacred, and you are that temple.” 

This is in stark contrast to the fact that the Holy Spirit would come only upon specific individuals at certain times to perform specific tasks such as when the Holy Spirit came upon Samson in power for him to tear a lion apart with his bare hands(Judges 14:6). 

Acts 1:8 speaks to us today. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we are all called to be witnesses of Jesus, to proclaim his death and resurrection, and to preach the gospel beginning from our community until the nations of the world. 

The significance of Pentecost is its reminder of the purpose for which God birthed the church. The church is tasked with a mission, the mission to preach the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of us disciples are to be witnesses of Jesus, testifying to his death and resurrection, and that forgiveness of sins is found in the Person of Christ. 

IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

That is the significance of verse 4. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit in order that they become effective witnesses for Christ. This is aptly demonstrated by the narrative of Acts. 

We have the powerful sermon of Peter in Acts 2 culminating in the salvation of three thousand persons. Acts 2: 37 gives an insight into the power of the Holy Spirit, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart…”. By Acts 7:55-56, we encounter Stephen in his martyrdom, “⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” We have Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” 

The Holy Spirit does a work in the witness. Ephesians 5:18-20, “¹⁸Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”, this gives us an indication of what the Holy Spirit does in the witness giving them the desire to give glory to God in praise and obedience.

The Holy Spirit empowers us as witnesses by working through us. He gives us gifts, the charismata, to enable us to serve effectively in the ministry of the church to edify (build up) the church. 1 Corinthians 12: 7, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” comes to mind. Gifts such as the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, interpretation of tongues, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership and showing mercy make us effective witnesses. The church, in the exercise of these gifts of the Holy Spirit, is then edified (built-up). 

One important point to note is that the focus of the church must necessarily be upon the Person of our Lord and  Savior, Jesus Christ. We are called to be witnesses of Christ, not witnesses of the Holy Spirit. 

The words of Jesus in John 16:14 regarding the work of the Holy Spirit, “He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” Is insightful. That is why the writer to the Hebrews can exhort us to fix our eyes on Jesus, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,…….”(Hebrews 12:2).

“BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT.”! is an exhortation for us to be aware and conscious of the Person of the Holy Spirit working in us and working through us, to yield ourselves in humility to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in us and to exercise in faith the gifts of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us to edify (build up) the church.).

Therefore to be filled with the Holy Spirit concerns our practical experience of his presence and his power, for he is already in us. I end with Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”