How Do I Share My Faith With Others? | Acts 2:13-36 | Kevin Queen

Well, hello, Cross Point, how are you today? You're all right. Why don't you go ahead and stand to your feet. Take a moment to say hello to someone next to you. Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week, just coming into the house of the Lord, seeing folks you hadn't seen in a few days, maybe being refreshed by the Holy Spirit, encouraged in your faith. Well done for getting here today. My prayer is that you would encounter the Spirit of the living God. We'll do our best to do well with the sounds that you hear, but our hearts burn for King Jesus. And it is to Him and to Him alone that we sing and we play and we pray. And if you want a fresh encounter with the Lord today, you have an invitation to respond to. You can enter into His presence with thanksgiving. I just want to encourage you to open your hands as we begin this time together. God, we are here for you. We welcome you, Holy Spirit. ♪ Come and move how you wanna move Lord ♪ ♪ We're ready for you ♪ We're ready for you today. Move in us, Lord. Fill us afresh with your Spirit. Living God, living God. Let's seek Him together.

♪ There's nothing worth more than whatever comes close ♪ ♪ No thing can compare, you're our living hope ♪ ♪ Oh, your presence, Lord ♪ Sing it. ♪ I've tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves ♪ ♪ When my heart becomes free and my shame is undone ♪ ♪ Only by you, Lord, and your presence, Lord ♪ Come on. ♪ Your presence, Lord ♪ Come on. ♪ Your presence, Lord ♪ Sing Holy Spirit. ♪ Holy Spirit, you are welcome here ♪ ♪ Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere ♪ ♪ Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for ♪ ♪ To be overcome by your presence, Lord ♪ Sing Holy Spirit. ♪ You are, oh, you are welcome here ♪ ♪ Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere ♪ ♪ Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for ♪ ♪ To be overcome by your presence, Lord ♪ ♪ Your presence, Lord ♪ Always seek your presence. ♪ Your presence, Lord ♪ ♪ Let us become more aware of your presence ♪ ♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ ♪ Let us become more aware of your presence ♪ ♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ Let us become. ♪ Let us become more aware of your presence ♪

♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ ♪ Let us become more aware of your presence here ♪ ♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ Oh, we wanna be more aware, oh Lord, more aware. ♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ Let us become. ♪ Let us become more aware of your love for us ♪ ♪ Let us experience the glory of your goodness ♪ ♪ Your presence Lord ♪ Just sing those three words. ♪ Your presence Lord ♪ You can speak them out if you need. ♪ Your presence Lord ♪ It's why we're here, it's what we're hungry for. ♪ Your presence Lord ♪ ♪ Oh, your presence Lord ♪ ♪ Let this be an offering, light the flame, we burn for you ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Like a mighty rushing wind ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ Come on, we hunger. ♪ Let this be an offering, light the flame, we burn for you ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Like a mighty rushing wind, pour your Spirit out again ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ Come on, do it again. ♪ Let this be an offering, light the flame, we burn for you ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Like a mighty rushing wind, pour your Spirit out again ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪

♪ Let this be an offering, light the flame, we burn for you ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Pour your Spirit out, pour your Spirit out again ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Holy Spirit, sing holy, holy, holy ♪ Come on in now, come on in now. ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Sing holy, Holy Spirit comes ♪ ♪ Pour yourself out like an offering, oh ♪ ♪ Holy, Holy Spirit, you sing ♪ ♪ Sing holy, holy, holy Spirit, come on in now ♪ ♪ Holy Spirit, holy, holy Spirit, oh we burn for you ♪ ♪ Holy Spirit, oh we burn for you, holy, holy Spirit ♪ ♪ Holy Spirit, oh we burn for you, holy, holy Spirit ♪ Holy Spirit, we invite you in. We invite you in. Holy Spirit, move with what you're doing. Like a mighty rush. We make room for you to move your voice. Come join us. ♪ Here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every burden, every crown, this is my surrender ♪ ♪ This is my surrender ♪ ♪ Here is where I lay it down ♪ ♪ Every lie and every vow, this is my surrender ♪ ♪ And I will make room for you ♪ To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to Yes, I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to Here is where I lay it down

Every burden, every crown This is my surrender Here is where I lay it down Every lie and every doubt This is my surrender And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room, and I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room for You Shake up the ground with all my tradition Break down the walls with all my religion Your way is better Shake up the ground with all my tradition Break down the walls with all my religion Your way is better Shake up the ground with all my tradition Break down the walls with all my religion Your way is better Shake up the ground with all my tradition Break down the walls with all my religion Your way is better And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to

And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And I will make room for You To do whatever You want to, to do whatever You want to And so I wanna pick up kind of where we left off. We've got 12 apostles, we've got the 120 disciples that are in that upper room and they're waiting together. Well, what are they doing? Well, they're doing exactly what Jesus told them to do. Acts 1, 4, he said, "'Do not leave Jerusalem, "'but wait for the gift my father promised, "'which you have heard me speak about. "'For John baptized with water, "'but in a few days you will be baptized "'with the Holy Spirit.'" So Jesus said, go to Jerusalem and what? Wait. He said, I want you to wait for the gift. And so today we're talking about this idea to answer the question, what is the gift of the Holy Spirit? What difference does it make in our lives that the Holy Spirit is here? How does that gift change everything? These are the questions that we're gonna be talking about today. Now, you know, this is not the first time that disciples have heard about the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Acts 1, he said,

the gift, the Holy Spirit that you've heard me talk about. So when we read through the gospels, especially when you get to John 14, 15, and 16, Jesus, he gives a masterclass on the Holy Spirit. Now, upper room discourse, he's teaching. I would encourage you, go back and read that. Some point this week, Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit. So he's taught the disciples about the Holy Spirit, but they haven't just heard him speak about it. They've watched how Jesus has lived. And everything Jesus did in his life was through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit in him. So his teaching, his preaching, his healing, his miracles, his loving his enemies, all of that was through the power empowered by the Holy Spirit. So the disciples, for three years, they had a front row seat to hear Jesus speak about the Holy Spirit, but also to live empowered by the Holy Spirit. And Jesus is saying, the gift that you've seen me demonstrate is here for you. You just gotta wait. And so they were familiar with this idea. So they go back to Jerusalem and they wait. How long did they wait? 10 days. How do we know that they waited 10 days?

In chapter two, verse one, let's pick up together. So we pick up in our reading today. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. What is Pentecost? Pentecost is a Greek word that means 50th, means 50. So 50, 50 days. It was the Greek term that referred to the Hebrew festival Shavuot, which was a harvest festival. Shavuot means weeks. So seven weeks after Passover was the Hebrew festival Shavuot. Now it was the harvest festival. It was where they celebrated the wheat harvest. And so they would come and they would bring the first fruits of the wheat harvest back to Jerusalem. Every was one of the pilgrimage festivals, different pilgrimage festival than Franklin, but different pilgrimage festival. They would come back to Jerusalem. They would bring first fruits of the harvest and they would bring them and they would offer them. They would offer them because God told them, hey, when I bless you, when you enter into the promised land, remember he kept them alive through man. And he said, when you get in the promised land, I don't want you to forget about me. When you experience your crops

and you experience your harvest through first fruits, you will remember that I am your provider. You remember that I care for you. Your trust in me is not in your crops, but your trust is in the living God. And so this was a way that they would be reminded of that. But also with Shavuot, also with the festival called weeks or 50 days after Passover, it was a commemoration or a celebration of the giving of the law. When Moses went up on Mount Sinai and received the law, this was the festival where they remembered that, where they celebrated that, this receiving of the law with joy. So how do we know that they waited 10 days? Well, in Acts chapter one, it tells us that Jesus, that Jesus, after he was raised from the dead, that for, it tells us for 40 days, Jesus is preaching and teaching and hanging out, talking about the kingdom of God. So 500 eyewitnesses saw him during that time, during those 40 days, the resurrected Christ. And so the disciples, they see Jesus ascend. He ascends into heaven, but before he ascends, let's go back down. Before he ascends, Jesus tells them, I want you to go back to Jerusalem and wait. And then he ascends, the disciples are looking up in the sky.

And then after that, they go back to Jerusalem and they wait, just like Jesus told them to. Now, 50 days, Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, Jesus was preaching and teaching for 40 days. If we do the math, that leaves 10 days. So they are waiting for 10 days. Now, we know they waited 10 days. They didn't know how long they were gonna wait. So we know how long they waited. Jesus didn't tell them how long they would wait. Jesus just said, go back and wait. Have you ever wanted more clarity than God gave you? Have you ever wanted to know the detail? We want to know the details and the specifics. And we want to know, we want to know the agenda. We want to know the plan. We wanna know the itinerary, but the disciples didn't know that. All they knew is that he said, go back and wait. God rarely gives us the level of clarity that we want, because I think God knows if he did, we would say, okay, I got the plan, I'll take it from here. And God wants us to live in a relationship with him where we trust him. See, we won't spotlight faith, but God gives us flashlight faith. We won't spotlight faith to see the future, but God usually gives us flashlight faith that's just enough to take the next step because he wants to know,

will you take the next step and trust me? Because it's about faith, it's about trust in a relationship with him. So the disciples, they took the next step and they trusted. And I was thinking about this. I was like, man, this is so hard for us because I believe that two of the idols or two of the gods or two of the things that are worshiped in our world today, in our age today are clarity and convenience. Clarity and convenience. We hardly have to wait for anything in our culture. And when we do, we often know how long it's gonna be before it shows up. I, or just for fun, I ordered five gallons of Pacific Ocean water from Petco yesterday. Some of you are really worried about me right now, but I ordered it and five gallons of Pacific Ocean water showed up from Petco and I watched it. They deliver, Petco uses DoorDash. And so I'm, this is new for me. And so I'm watching it now. I'm watching five gallons of Pacific Ocean water make its way across town and show up. And when it gets to my house, I'll just show you proof. There is a, there's a picture. So DoorDash, I'm sure that delivery guy, his name was Carlos. I'm sure he was like, what in the world? Like, and just dropping this off.

And some, I don't have tropical fish. I'll explain this a little later on in the service. Some of you are really concerned about your pastor. So it's for an illustration, but as I'm thinking, and I'm thinking, man, that's how we're used to living in our culture today. But did you know you can buy a car? I just found this out. You can buy a car today on your phone and it can show up in your driveway. This, I've never done this, but it can show up in your driveway this afternoon. Like that is the world that we live in. But I was just thinking like life doesn't work like that in the things in life that matter most. Where we want clarity and we want convenience and oftentimes in the things that matter most, we don't have that. Like waiting on a pregnancy test or waiting for an adoption or waiting for a relationship or waiting for somebody in a relationship to put a ring on it or waiting for your heart to heal. Maybe you're waiting for somebody to say I'm sorry or you're waiting for a prodigal to come home. In the areas of life that matter most, we oftentimes don't have clarity and convenience. It's waiting. And then this is where we can resonate with the disciples

because they didn't know how long they would be waiting. I'm sure they show up just like Jesus said on day one to that prayer meeting. And they're like, all right, nothing. Day two, nothing. And then somebody goes, you know what? Maybe on day three, Jesus loves the third day. Jesus loves the third day. On the third day, surely Jesus. And they wait the third day, nothing. Day four, maybe it'll happen day four. Day four, nothing. They keep showing up day five, day six. And then somebody's like seven days, seven days. That's a biblical number. Like God created the world, seven days. Surely on the seventh day, the Holy Spirit will show up. The gift will be given. Seventh day, nothing. Eighth day, they show up. Has God forgotten about us? Ninth day, he did say Jerusalem, right? Did he say Jericho or did he say Jerusalem? Did he say Japan? Like where are we supposed to be? And they just kept showing up. Faith is when you keep showing up, not knowing when God's gonna show up, not knowing when God's gonna move, not knowing when he's gonna answer,

but you keep showing up with expectancy. And they showed up on the 10th day in faith and God shows up. It says that they were all together in one place. I just think this is a miracle. They didn't lose anybody. People keep showing up. They keep showing up for the prayer meeting, but it doesn't just mean physically, it means relationally. See, they weren't just in proximity together. They were united in spirit and in purpose. See, it's possible to live in the same house, but be miles away. It's possible to be in the same company, but be separated in relationship and not be together. It's possible. It's possible to be in the same bed, but feel miles apart. But what we see here is possible to be in the. the same church, but then there'd be distance. I think one of the reasons that God had them wait is so that they could get right with God and get right with one another. See, I think sometimes we say, we're waiting on you, God, but sometimes God goes, I'm waiting on you because the Holy Spirit will not be poured out on a divided church. The repentance and the reconciliation and the restoration of those relationships and the seeking God and seeking him in one purpose together

says that they were all together in one place. Which poses another question. Man, how would they know when the Spirit was poured out? How would they know when the gift showed up? They didn't have door dash. So how do they know when the Spirit shows up in the gathering, in the meeting? I mean, I can just imagine they're waiting and somebody gets goosebumps. They're like, was that it? The Holy Spirit come? Maybe somebody like shudders and they're like, what was that? Did you get the Holy Spirit? Maybe somebody shivers or gets warm inside and like, did the Holy Spirit just show up? How would they know? What's the notification that the Holy Spirit shows up? Well, what we see here is that there was, it was unmistakable what happened. Verse two, it says, suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. Man, can't miss this. I mean, it sounds like a tornado. It sounds like a 747 taking off. I mean, this sound, it says, it sounds like a rushing, like a rushing wind, like a violent wind.

Now, why a wind? This is where the languages help us. So in the Hebrew language, in the biblical languages, the word for spirit is the same as breath or wind. In Hebrew, it's ruach. In Greek, it's pneuma. In Aramaic, it's ruha. So these words carry the same idea of spirit and breath and wind. So when they hear the wind, they know God has made good on his promise. The spirit has been poured out. The gift has arrived. Verse three, and then they saw what seemed. So it's not just audible. It's not just hearing it, it's visual. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. So it says that there seemed to be tongues of fire. So they didn't actually, there was no actual fire. It was the vision of fire. So it weren't like, stop, drop, and roll, Bartholomew. Like they were, nobody's head was on fire. This was a vision, the tongues of fire over their heads. Why fire? Because in the Old Testament, fire represented God's power and his presence, God's power and his presence. In Exodus three, remember Moses encounters a burning bush, a bush that's on fire, and it's not consumed.

It's the presence and the power of God. In Exodus chapter 13, God leads his people with a pillar of fire by night to say my presence is with you, God is there. Exodus chapter 40, God's glory fills the tabernacle. God's glory, God's presence is there. In 2 Chronicles chapter seven, the same thing happens with the temple. God is there. In Exodus 19, fire falls on Mount Sinai. When God gives the law to Moses, God is there. Now remember, Pentecost is a commemoration of that time, that day when God gives the law at Sinai. So at Sinai, fire falls on the mountain. Here at Pentecost, fire falls on people. At Sinai, only Moses can go up the mountain. At Pentecost, God comes down to his people. At Sinai, the law is written on stone. At Pentecost, the spirit is written on their hearts. So God has given this gift. God has fulfilled the promise. The gift has been given to his people. The fire of God represents the presence and the power of God. Man, I was thinking about this. I am so glad that the fire fell on each one of them. I said each one of them, all of them received the fire. Can you imagine if only 119 got the fire? Can you imagine if you were the 120th? Here, you're looking around, everybody else got a flame,

then on their head, and then they're looking at you, and you got nothing. You just get out your lighter and ch-ch. Like, there was, I mean, aren't you so glad? Aren't you glad that it wasn't just the apostles? Aren't you glad that it wasn't just the super elite in the room? Here's what you need to know. The Holy Spirit is available for all, for all who put their trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is given to everyone. Verse four, it says, "'All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.'" Now, we're gonna come back to the. languages in just a moment, but I wanna spend the next few minutes building out a theology of the Holy Spirit, building out this framework for how we can understand the Holy Spirit, because it's not the last time we'll hear about the Holy Spirit, it's the first time we'll see the Holy Spirit show up, but 56 times in the book of Acts. So just like when we went through the gospel of Mark, we were asking the question, who is Jesus? And Mark helped us understand. Now through Acts, we're asking the question, who is the Holy Spirit?

And Luke is gonna help us understand through this book of Acts to understand the Spirit. And I also realized that we all have a different background when it comes to this conversation. For some, maybe we grew up in a church, maybe you grew up in a church where there wasn't a whole lot of conversation about the Holy Spirit. I grew up in a church where I don't remember hearing many sermons, if any sermons, about the Holy Spirit. It was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible. That was supposed to be funny, but that was where I grew up, where they had a greater appreciation for humor like that. And then I was thinking, there are some that maybe you didn't grow up at church at all. Or maybe all that you know of the Holy Spirit is what you've seen on TikTok or Instagram Reels. Or maybe for some, you grew up in a church where the Holy Spirit was talked about a lot, and it kind of freaked you out a little bit. Or maybe the Holy Spirit, you kind of thought of the Holy Spirit like that weird cousin at the family reunion, where you never knew what they were gonna do, what they were gonna say. You just knew you got nervous when your friends came around.

And so we all have a background when it comes to the Holy Spirit. So here's what I want. I want to build a Bib, like what does the Bible actually say about the Holy Spirit? And how do we begin to think about the Spirit of God? So if you've ever, ever wondered about these things, we're gonna be talking about this. And so kind of give us a 101 so we can all get on the same page. But the truth is we will never fully grasp the mysteries of God. I mean, the moment you think you've fully grasped God, you need to get another God, because your God is too small. So we can never fully grasp the mysteries of God, but this does not mean that we can't know God. This doesn't mean that we can't have a relationship with God. This doesn't mean that God can't be known. God wants to be known. That's why He's given us the Holy Spirit. It's also why I bought five gallons of Pacific Ocean water. Put some in here and I just want to demonstrate. This is a really full glass and I have a really shaky hand. I don't even know if that's gonna work. I'm making a mess up here. But what I want you to see is this glass

is full of Pacific Ocean. Some of you California folks who have moved to town, I've got Pacific Ocean water for you. So this smells like home. You know, this is Pacific Ocean water. You'll have to take my word for it. I've got four, over four and a half gallons left if you need some. But this glass is filled with Pacific Ocean water. Here's what you see. Not all of the Pacific Ocean is not in this cup, but everything that's in this cup is the Pacific Ocean. We can't contain all of God, but we can be filled with the Spirit of God, with the fullness of God. And so what God wants us to do is to be filled with His Spirit, to be overflowing with His Spirit. I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. You know why? Because I spill, I leak. You know what? Whenever you bump into somebody and they're carrying something, have you ever noticed that what they're filled with spills out? If you were to bump into me, this would spill out. What we're filled with spills out in life. I wanna be, because I can either be filled with, full of the Spirit or I can be full of myself. We can't be filled with those.

So to be emptied of ourself, of our selfishness, of our self-centeredness, and to be filled with the Spirit of God, that's why God has given us His Spirit. And so we can experience the fullness of God. This is the good news of the gift that Jesus has promised. So let me just say this. This is the good news of the gift that Jesus has promised. So let me break this down for you. My hope is that we would see this, that we would experience this in our lives, not just on Sundays, but that there would be a Monday reality in our lives to be filled with the Spirit, with the presence and the power of God. So if you're taking notes, let me give you some truths about the Holy Spirit that will help us here. The first is that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. You may have heard that before, third person of the Trinity. This is not like a rank. This is not like an order. This is a distinction saying we have one God. This is the biblical doctrine of the Trinity, that we have one God who exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit that means said the Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is a person. Here's what that means. The Holy Spirit is not an it, the

Holy Spirit is not a force, not a vibe, not a feeling. The Holy Spirit is a person and just like any other person you can have a relationship with them. And so the Holy Spirit is relational. The Holy Spirit can be welcomed and accepted and the Holy Spirit can be grieved and rejected. So Holy Spirit is a is a person. Third, the Holy Spirit is the presence and power of God in the life of the believer. The Holy Spirit is the presence and the power of God in the life of the believer. So how do we experience God's presence and power in our lives? I just want to highlight, highlight some of the truths that Jesus gives us in that John 14, 15, and 16 in the Upper Room Discourse. The last teaching that he had with the disciples before he went to the cross. I want to give you some things that Jesus tells us about the Spirit. And in John 14, 16 Jesus introduces a word for the Spirit. He says the paraclete, the paraclete or the Holy Spirit. And that word paraclete means the counselor, the defender, the advocate, your helper, your strengthener, your encourager. He says he will be with you. In John 14, 17 he says he is the Spirit of truth that lives in you and with you. In John 14, 26 he says the Holy Spirit will be your teacher and remind you of everything I've taught you. This is why it's important for us to be in the Word because because if we don't know the Word, if we haven't read the Word, then we can't be reminded of things that we haven't learned. But Jesus said the Holy Spirit will remind us of what he's taught us. John 15, 26 he says the Holy Spirit will testify about Jesus. John 16, 8 says the Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin and righteousness and judgment. John 16, 13 the Spirit will be your guide to truth. John 16, 13 the Holy Spirit will speak to you and speak through you. John 16, 14 the Spirit will glorify Jesus the Son. What does that mean glorify Jesus the Son? It means the Holy Spirit never points to himself. The Holy Spirit says hey, never says hey everybody look at me. The Holy Spirit always glorifies the Son. I want you to imagine I had a whiteboard up here. Imagine there was a whiteboard with the name Jesus written on that white board. The Holy Spirit is like hidden behind the whiteboard pointing around and saying look at here, look to Jesus, look at him. The Holy Spirit, the Father

the Father, the Father sends the Son. Jesus promises the Father to send the Spirit and the Spirit points to Jesus. The Spirit lives to glorify the Son, to testify about him, to point to him, to glorify Jesus. Now what we'll see in the book of Acts is that the Holy Spirit does three primary things in the life of a believer. You write these down. The first is presence, the second is formation, and the third is mission. The first is presence that we have intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us. This encounter that we can walk with God experiences presence every single day. The second is the formation. The Holy Spirit lives in us to make us more like Christ, to change us from the inside. The law was outside in, the Spirit is inside out. The Spirit works in us to transform us, to make us more like Christ, and then the Holy Spirit lives in us to equip us to live a life on mission, so that we can live a life bigger than us, so that you can live a life bigger than you. Verse 5, we see this. It says, now they were staying in Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. And when they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. So what they heard drew them in. Now we can't tell from the text, did they hear the rushing wind, or did they hear the languages being spoken? Whatever they heard caused them to be drawn in. It was a crowd, and we'll talk more about this next week, but but archaeology, our findings in archaeology lead us to believe that they were at the temple, that they went to the temple, and that there were thousands of people, maybe three to five thousand people drawn in. Now look at their response. Verse 7, they were utterly amazed and they asked, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? So you've got all these people who have come from all over for the Harvest Festival, and they speak all these different languages, and they can hear in their own languages the wonders of God being proclaimed, and so they're bewildered because they hear the languages being spoken, and these people are Galileans. Now why would they mention this? Because Galileans were not known for their education. Galileans were not known for their sophistication when it comes to linguistic studies. Galileans

were considered kind of backwoods. It would be unheard of for Galileans. It would be like being in Bellbuckle, Tennessee and hearing somebody fluent in Swahili. You'd just be like, really? And so they were trying to figure out what is going on here. Why am I hearing this in my own language from Galileans? because God loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I keep a report card in my desk drawer and it's my report card from my junior year in high school. 2.33 GPA, earned it. Some of you just had hope. Some of you just like, and some of you are looking for a new church. I don't know, but like 2.8. Good news is it went up my senior year to 2.38. So I improved. There's always room for improvement. I keep this in my desk drawer. I'm just telling you, it would be a surprise for any of these teachers that you see their name on this report card to see what is happening today. It doesn't make sense. My junior year is when I gave my life to Jesus and he began to change me from the inside. And so I keep this as a reminder that God loves to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And so these people who did not know these languages, they're now fluent in these languages.

They ask the question, then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Frigidae and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues amazed and perplexed. They asked each other, what does this mean? It's a great question. What does this mean? Why are we hearing this in our own language? What does this mean, this miracle that's taken place? It means that God is on mission for the nations, that we have a God who loves the nations and he wants everyone to know him. And so this supernatural moment is taking place because God refuses for even the languages to be a barrier for this move. Couple of weeks ago in between services, I met this couple who were from Honduras and they watch online. And the wife speaks English and the husband does not. And when I saw him, I was like, hola, como estas, buenos dias. My name is Kevin. So I was like, and his eyes got big because I think he thought I spoke Spanish.

I think I sold him in the first couple of minutes, but that's all I got, you know? So I'm like, I'm done. And then I started thinking, man, how cool would it be if I just got up here that day and I just gave the whole message in Spanish where he could hear, where he could understand to speak in his heart language. I want you to see that's what's going on supernaturally here because God is communicating his heart for the nations. We're gonna see this in the book of Acts. It would be amazing if I could do that and speak, preach in Spanish. I was thinking about a story that I heard one time. Pastor Mark Rutland tells a story of being in Mexico and he was in a rural town and he was preaching. When he showed up to preach in this rural town of 70 people, he had his father-in-law that was with him. His father-in-law was a nominal Christian, brought him with him on the trip. And Dr. Mark Rutland got up to preach. And when he started to start to preach, he didn't speak, the translator didn't show up. So he was just, and he only knew just a little bit of Spanish. And as he got up to speak, like he just began to preach fluently in Spanish. Like just began to preach in Spanish and the people could understand everything. And he's just talking and his father-in-law is like,

stops, he goes, what are you doing? And he says, I don't know. I think it's a miracle. And then he just continues to preach. And to this day, you can look it up. Dr. Mark Rutland is fluent in Spanish. He gave an altar call that day. The first person to come forward was his father-in-law. So I hear a story. How many of you would love to have Spanish just download? Would love to have a language just downloaded today. That would be awesome. That would be better than Duolingo. Like that would be amazing. Can you imagine? But it's, oh, here's the one you see. It's not so that we can order the number two, the numero dos at La Hacienda. It's not that we can speak Spanish when we're ordering. It's so that the mission can go forward. See, the Holy Spirit equips us for the mission of God. I'm not promising you another language downloaded today. I am promising you that as we live on mission, the Holy Spirit will show up in our lives in ways that we can't explain, in ways that are unexpected, just like the Spirit did this day. That's why Jesus said in the upper room, John 16, seven, he says, but very truly, I tell you, it is for your good that I'm going away.

And unless I go away, the advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. Check that out again. Just read that again. But it is, but very truly, I tell you, it is for your good that I'm going away. Unless I go away, the advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. This is before Jesus went to the cross and Jesus is telling the disciples, it is for your good. It is better than I'm leaving you. Now imagine being one of the disciples. You're like, what are you talking about, Jesus? What could possibly be better than having you here with us? How could it possibly be better that you go? And what do you think about this? Because if Jesus was still with them in person, they're thinking, how could it be better than you being right here beside us? It would be one on 12. It would be one on 120 in the upper room. It would be one on thousands who were gathered. That Jesus could only be in one place at one time. And so Jesus is saying, it is better that I go because when I go, the Father will send the Spirit and now you can experience my presence and my power in your life every single day. So here's what Jesus wants you to see. Is that the Spirit inside you is better than Jesus beside you.

The Spirit inside of us is better than Jesus beside us. This is the gift. Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? And Jesus is telling us that this is available for us. Jesus is telling us that I'm gonna send the Spirit and I'm gonna be here for good in you so that you can be here for good right where I put you. And that the Holy Spirit, the gift of God, it comes to encourage us and to comfort us and to lead us and direct us and guide us and counsel us and help us and teach us and remind us and speak to us and speak through us and testify and glorify Jesus and convict us of sin and lead us to do what is right. That Spirit that we've received, Jesus said, it's better that I go. Have you received that gift? Some of you wonder, well, how do I get that gift? How do I get the gift of the Spirit? If you want the gift, that's a good sign that the Spirit is working in you. If you desire the Holy Spirit, that's a sign that the Holy Spirit is working in you. Well, how do you get that gift? It's threefold, trust, repent and receive. First, the Holy Spirit is given to those who are followers of Jesus. You must be a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus to put your trust in Jesus in the finished work of the cross that you're not saved by your good works,

you're saved through Christ's finished work of the cross. So put your faith and trust in Jesus that on the cross, Jesus took your sin, on the cross, he took your punishment, on the cross, he took the wrath of God for you so that you could become a child of God so that you could become adopted into the family of God. And so the first thing to do is to put your trust in Jesus. If you've never done that, then today can be the day where you receive his forgiveness and you receive new life, you receive the spirit of God. So the first is to put your trust in Jesus. Second is to repent. To repent, that means to make a U-turn, that means to return to him. It means to turn from your sin, to turn from the thing that is killing you, to turn to the one who saves you. It means to make a U-turn and to come back mentally and in your heart to return. I want you to think about the flame that was above their head. Fire signifies purity, that you need to know that Christ purifies you, that the spirit works in your life to transform you. But it begins with trusting in Jesus and then with repentance. And then third is receive, is to receive. By faith, receiving. Now, I can't promise you the sound of a 747.

And I can't promise you, I can't promise you that there will be a little fire above your head. And I can't promise you that you'll be fluent in Portuguese. But I can promise you that if you trust in Jesus and if you repent, you'll receive the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus said that, if even earthly fathers know how to give good gifts, that your heavenly father will not withhold the Holy Spirit from those who ask. So if you wanna receive, you just need to know that the Holy Spirit is not a wage that you earn. it's a gift you received. He is a gift you've received. And the posture, so if you desire the Holy Spirit, it's a very good thing. And for some, maybe you're a follower of Jesus, maybe you're a believer today. And a believer in Christ, then my encouragement to you would be, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians says it this way, continually being filled with the Holy Spirit every single day. And so maybe today you're just saying, God, would you fill me afresh? Maybe you've allowed your life to be filled with some other things and some other loves. And to put God first today and seek first his kingdom.

Say, God, would you fill me with your spirit? He would love to fill you up. The good news is, if you want the Pacific Ocean today, you don't have to travel across the states. We got it right here. If you want the Holy Spirit today, God is present. Kingdom of God is here. It's just looking for hearts that would say, God, empty me of me and fill me with you. It's a gift to be received. And Jesus said, I want you to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we get to celebrate baptism today with our very first baptism. We get to celebrate together. Well, good morning, church. I wanna introduce you to Mel. And she's joined with her husband, Marshall, and her sister, Amanda. And Mel's gonna share her story with us today. She's gonna go public in her profession of faith. And this is a moment to celebrate with her. So Mel, this is such a special moment. And we're so excited and honored to celebrate this moment with you. And I just wanna say thank you for sharing your story. And I wanna remind you that there's so much power in your testimony.

Because every time you share your story, you're telling others all that God has done in your life. And when you share your story, it builds your faith and it builds the faith of everyone who hears it. So thank you for sharing your story. We're ready to hear it. Hi, my name is Mel. And I'm a graphic designer here at Crosspoint. I was baptized in the Presbyterian Church as a baby and have known the name of Jesus my whole life. I grew up surrounded by faith-filled family members and friends and gave my life to Jesus at a young age. Through school, college, and moving to Nashville, I've gone through seasons of learning more about Jesus's character. And I've always been held in his hand, even in seasons of distance and disobedience. I felt some conviction recently to be baptized as an adult, since I didn't choose my original baptism. I felt called to outwardly express how I've been inwardly changed by the gospel. That step felt scary, especially as someone who works at a church. However, once I started having conversations with the Lord and friends and family, I felt the Holy Spirit move. Because of those conversations, my sister Amanda is also getting baptized today, and a friend in my small group, Caroline, is also getting baptized today.

Looking back now, fear of others' perceptions almost kept me from obedience, but the Lord had a plan. If I'm honest, it's easy for me to be tempted to take Jesus for granted. And a lot of my life has been a fight against being lukewarm in my faith. I remind myself that God has protected me from trials I'll never know, and from a distance from him, I only knew for a short time. Jesus is so, so beautiful, and the evil one wants the gospel to lose its potency every time I hear it. But the more I seek the Lord's character, the more the enemy and his lies flee. A few weeks ago at prayer, Pastor Kevin was talking about taking our shoes off to fully experience the Lord's glory. Like Moses, when he first encountered the voice of God in the wilderness, he removed any barrier he could between himself and God when the Lord asked him to take his shoes off. Today, I've taken off my shoes. I want to continue to seek the Lord's face with urgency and obedience through baptism, and this is my next step. Church, can we celebrate this powerful testimony? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I want you to know that God loves you. He loves you more than you could ever imagine, and he has a purpose for your life, and that purpose is for you to know him. It's for you to have a relationship with him, and it's for you to enjoy him. forever, and he also has a plan for your life, and that plan looks like living for him, worshiping him, glorifying him in all you do, living for him in a way that points other people to him. So I have two questions for you, Mel. Do you believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins? I do. Do you commit to follow Jesus for the rest of your life? I do. It's my privilege to baptize you, my sister, in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. So proud of you, Mel. I mean, faith is contagious. Faith is contagious. So however the spirit is leading you today, follow the spirit. If it's to be baptized, follow the spirit. If it's to put your faith and trust in Jesus for the first time, follow the spirit. If it's to pray for fulfilling, follow the spirit. And I wanna pray for you as we prepare to celebrate these baptisms today, and maybe yours. Father, I thank you. Thank you that you are here. Thank you that you are moving. Pray that you give us courage today, faith today,

to follow your spirit where you lead us. God, I pray for those who need to put their faith and trust in Jesus for the first time. You can pray a prayer like this. Jesus, thank you for loving me. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Turn to you and turn my life over to you. Be savior and Lord. I'm gonna live for you on earth, and live with you in heaven. Thank you for saving me. God, I thank you for those even now that you have saved that have gone from death to life. God, thank you for the change you'll bring. Would you give them courage to let their faith be known? Maybe even today through baptism, to let their faith be known. God, I pray that today we just, that we would join with the rejoicing of heaven over each one, that up there would come down here. We pray in Christ's name. Amen, amen.