Where the Spirit of the Lord Is Part 1

by John Lowe
(Laurens SC, USA)

5/18/2003
Title: Where the Spirit of the Lord Is
Text: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:1, 4).
Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

Read Acts 2:1-21
Acts 2 records the awesome historical event that changed the church forever-the coming of the Holy Spirit into the life of the church on the Day of Pentecost.
It happened just as definitely as Jesus’ birth and resurrection, and the believers were never the same.
The church really became the church at Pentecost.
We don’t need Pentecost again as such, just as we don’t need Jesus’ birth, death or resurrection to occur again.
But we constantly need the power of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, in control of our lives and the church.
Acts 2 is a fascinating chapter of scripture.
It has much to teach us as a church if we are to know the Spirit of Pentecost.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is something spiritually special.

This is the story of Acts.
This is the story of the church through the centuries.
This is the message to us today.
I’m going to read to you the first six verses of Acts 2, again.

1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
Pray for the lesson.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there are four results.
First, the Spirit of the Lord brings the presence of the Lord.
On the Day of Pentecost, there was a sudden and strange awareness of supernatural happenings.
A sound from heaven like a mighty rushing wind filled the house where the disciples were staying, and tongues of fire came to rest on each of them.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages not previously learned.
The crowd heard them speaking and banded together in amazement.
A very special moment in God’s eternal plan was taking place-the coming of The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was entering a new temple-He was entering believers.

Israel carried the tabernacle as they journeyed through the wilderness, but the tabernacle was just an empty tent until Exodus 40:34: “Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
The temple of Solomon was just an empty building until 1 Kings 8:10-11: “And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.”

Now in the New Testament the Lord has filled a new temple, not one of skins and tapestries or of stones and ornaments, but His new temple, the church.
Christ is the foundation of the church, and born-again believers are the living stones of His church
On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit began to indwell all believers just as the glory of God had filled the tabernacle and the temple with His awesome presence!
He indwells the church because He dwells in each believer in a personal, intimate way.

In John 14:17 it says, “for He dwelleth with you,” and in 1 Corinthians 6:19 it says, “your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,” and in Ephesians 2:22 it says, “ye also are builded together for an habitation of God.”
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the manifestation of His power and there is the awareness of His holiness in relation to sin.
This is what the mighty wind and tongues of fire represent.
It is personal to those who sense that something wonderful is happening.
But it is perplexing to many who do not know the Lord.
Second, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the power of evangelism.
The Day of Pentecost reveals that the Holy Spirit uses and blesses two primary methods of evangelism.

The first method is personal witnessing.
Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This is the commission that still holds for today.
This is not only given to the church as a body; it is a personal command to every believer.
This was given to those men of the early church even before the Holy Spirit had come and formed the church.
It is a direct command from Jesus, and it is for you and me today.

It is our business to get the Word of God out to the world.
We can’t say that it’s up to the church to send missionaries and to give out the gospel, and then set back and let others do it.
Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
These apostles were from Galilee.
They couldn’t speak all these other languages.
But they are speaking them now.
For you see, the Spirit gave them utterance.
Then verse 11 says, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
There were people in the crowd that day from three continents.

Certainly, they were from diverse languages and dialects.
However, they each heard these Galileans speak in an understandable dialect.
May I say, these were not unknown tongues?
They were languages that were understood.
The early believers did not receive the fullness of the Spirit just to give them a spiritual uplift, but rather to make them powerful witnesses and to equip them for service.
Not all of us have the gift of evangelism, but every Christian is a witness!
Being filled with the Spirit precedes personal witnessing.
Acts 4:31 says that when they were filled with the Spirit that they spoke with boldness.

The second method of evangelism is powerful preaching.
Acts 2:14 refers to Peter’s preaching when he stood up and raised his voice.
He preached powerfully with the Spirit in control.
It was the first great sermon of the New Testament and it was preached on the Day of Pentecost, and three thousand believed his words and were added to the church.
Such preaching leads people to repentance.
The message of Simon Peter brought conviction to them.
Verse 37 says that when they heard they were pricked in their heart and they asked the disciples, “What shall we do?”

Such preaching is anointed.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is for service.
This is the only work of the Holy Spirit that we are told to do anything about-we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
Such preaching is bold.
Read Peter’s sermon in the second chapter of Acts; his message was bold and presented the gospel in a way that could be used by the Holy Spirit to convict those who heard it, of their sin and need for a Savior.

Such preaching is also Christ-honoring (2:22-24).
Peter called Jesus “a man approved of by God,” and he spoke of His miracles, he said that His death was predetermined by God, and he said that death could not hold Him-God raised Him from the dead.
The Holy Spirit honors these methods of evangelism.
He honors your personal witness and He honors powerful preaching.

Third, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there will be the victory of the harvest.
Pentecost was called the Feast of Harvest and it celebrated the summer harvest.
It was on that day, as recorded in the book of Acts, that the Holy Spirit harvested three thousand souls.
The number itself was significant because that was how many was killed on the day Moses brought the Law down from Mount Sinai and found the people worshipping the golden calf.

The analogy is this: The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life.
This is the age of the Spirit.
He is still harvesting souls.
We are still under the order of Pentecost.
George Whitefield saw thirty thousand converted in his revivals in America.
In the 1858 revival, about fifty thousand people were saved each week.
Through Billy Graham’s ministry, hundreds of thousands have come to Christ.
The harvest of the Holy Spirit is seen throughout the world.