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[Music] morning everyone welcome to free grace Baptist Church to visitors with us this morning and of course welcome to everyone else it's a joy to be together in the house of the Lord for the worship of our triune God just a couple of announcements before worship first off it's the ARP General Assembly this week Jim and I will be gone this week for that so there will be no Wednesday night Bible study this week so that we'll reconvene the Wednesday following as well it's the Lord's Supper tonight in our evening service so just a reminder regarding that will turn in your Bibles with me then as we now turn to worship our great God we're going to read from Isaiah 44 Isaiah 44 beginning in verse 1 Isaiah 44 verse 1 through verse 8 this is the Word of God yet hear me now o Jacob my servant and Israel whom I have chosen thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb who will help you fear not o Jacob my servant and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen for I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground I will pour my spirit on your descendants and my blessing on your offspring they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses one will say I am the Lord's another will call himself by the name of Jacob another will write with his hand the Lord's and name himself by the name of Israel thus says the lord the king of israel and his redeemer the lord of hosts I am the first and I am the last besides me there is no God and who can proclaim as I do then let him declare it and set it in order for me since I appointed the ancient people and the things that are coming and shall come let them show these to them do not fear nor be afraid have I not told you from that time and declared it you are my witnesses is there a god besides me indeed there is no other rock I know not one Amen let's stand together and sing we're gonna sing 105 in our Trinity hymnals that's him number 105 we'll stand and sing together [Music] pray Heavenly Father we come to you now is the gathered Saints of the Lord Jesus Christ to worship You Father Son and Holy Spirit and we approach in prayer asking God that you would help us to worship your right on this year Lord's Day morning and we rejoice once again and having been brought forth from sleep to cast our eyes upon the beauty of your creation to reflect again with joy upon the Lord Jesus Christ and all of the benefits that you pour out upon your people and condescending love and grace and kindness and mercy and we do pray God that you would help us to praise you for a truly Lord God you alone are to be praised to be honored to be worshiped we do pray that in this place this morning your name would be hallowed that throughout the earth your name would be hallowed that all of your saints gathering together would throughout the day as they gather for worship that they would sing your praises that they would reflect with joy and in earnest upon all the glories of their triune God and we pray in a special way God that you would cause us to reflect with great joy upon the gospel of Jesus Christ our Savior we know that we are not saved by our own deeds by our own works by those things done in holiness of heart but we're saved solely and alone by virtue of the perfect work of Jesus Christ our Savior we do pray that you would cause us to rejoice in his person in his work we would reflect with joy upon the fact that he came into this world sinners to save that he lived a life of perfect obedience to your law in the place of all who believe in his name that he died upon Calvary's cross in the stead of all who believed in him and that that death was a death of certainty it was not a maybe or perhaps atonement but that he so died upon Calvary's cross to secure the salvation of a multitude which no man can number in that we rejoice and we rejoice being counted among that number we thank you that he rose again the third day in power and in victory we rejoice that he ascended to your right hand where he now lives ever to intercede for his people he rules he reigns over his enemies and subdues the hearts of his elect and we rejoice in these truths and we pray that we would have that proper posture of as Christians in worship that we would be humbly standing before you in great awe and reverence a law before the the majesty of heaven and earth and that you would receive praise that you would receive honor and that you would receive right worship we do pray that you'd be with those Lord God who can't join us or who are with us but are struggling with sickness with illness and with disease as we pray each and every lord's day god we would ask again that you would help them that you would strengthen them in body that you would heal them and we do pray once again that in the midst of those physical de-stresses in the midst of affliction and disease you would comfort their hearts that you would fill them with high and heavy thoughts of their God and of his Christ and God that they would be encouraged even though they walk with these illnesses and we do pray though Lord because you are the great physician that you would heal and that you would grant reprieves from those pains and discomforts in the physical man we do pray that you'd be with those who are struggling spiritually we ask that you would lift them up that you would restore them that you would strengthen them in spirit we pray God that you would return to them by your spirit the joy of their salvation and lift them up from out of that place and we pray that you would cheer each and every one of our hearts as we reflect upon your word as we reflect upon your glory as we reflect upon the reality that though we were dead in our trespasses and sins you brought us forth an amazing grace to behold the glory of your son we do pray that you would help us now to worship you we pray God for those who are pregnant we pray that you would continue to watch over mothers and the babies in the wombs we rejoice in these gifts you give to your people and we do pray that you would be over these that in due time these babies would be brought forth healthy and with great rejoicing we ask Lord God for each and every one of the young people in our midst that at a young age by your grace they would own the Savior and rejoice in his name we would ask God that you'd be with your persecuted church as we do pray and as we ought to pray often we would ask God that you'd strengthen our brothers and sisters in cry you are in those nations where there is so much anger an opposition and violence brought upon your people we would ask that you'd strengthen our dear Christians and that God that in the midst of this suffering and persecution and opposition you would encourage them you would cause them to look with eyes of faith upon a risen Christ and see in him their courage and their confidence and God we pray that you would help them to remain steadfast in the confession of their faith without wavering knowing that God is faithful knowing Lord God that you are faithful in bringing about your promises we do just pray that you'd be as well with those who persecute them that those who are presently persecuting your people that you would by amazing and victorious grace bring many forth from the darkness and madness of their idolatry and sin to life in Christ that they would be found among those whom they formerly persecuted and we pray God that you would judge those who would remain in opposition to their dying breath we would ask that you would be with those who rule over us we pray that you would cause those in government power to rule in righteousness and justice and we would ask God once again that those who would seek to pervert the nation's that you would cast them down and we would ask God that you'd be with us now in worship we just rejoice that we can freely gather to worship Father Son and Holy Spirit that we can rejoice together in Jesus Christ our Savior we do pray that you would cause each and every one of us because it is possible only with you to sing the praises of our God to rejoice in Christ to reflect with warm Christian hearts that we can gather in freedom unmolested by the outside world with full Bibles to rejoice in you and we do just pray that you'd be with pastor Butler as he proclaims your word as he preaches we ask that you'd be with him that you would strengthen him in the pulpit that you would just tend to him as a minister that preaches not from his own strength and ingenuity but rests upon the triune God do be with him as he preaches and be with us as we take in that element of worship we pray that we would have attentive ears and ready hearts to hear what the Spirit has for the church today that we would take in your word that your Saints would be strengthened and nourish encouraged by your truth and we would have that equipment to go into this upcoming week to live for your glory sake and we would ask once again God that the worship today and the preaching of the word would be unto the salvation of sinners at all who entered in outside of Jesus in unbelief that you would by your grace and for your glory bring them forth by spirit and grace by your word to behold the glory of Jesus Christ we pray in his precious name Amen let's stand and sing again this time we're going to sing in the same hymnal 369 that's three six nine let's stand and sing as a church [Music] you turn in your Bibles again with me to Luke chapter 11 Luke 11:1 to 23 that's our new testament scripture reading for this Lord's Day morning so once again this is the Word of God beginning in Luke 11 at verse 1 now it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased that one of his disciples said to him Lord teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples so he said to them when you pray say our Father in heaven Hallowed be your name your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us day by day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us and do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one and he said to them which of you shall have a friend and go to him at midnight and say to him friend lend me three loaves for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey and I have nothing to set before him and he will answer from within and say do not trouble me the door is now shut and my children are with me in bed I cannot rise and give to you I say to you though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs so I say to you ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find knock and it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds into him who knocks it will be open if a son asks for bread from any farther among you will he give him a stone excuse me if a son asks for bread from any father among you will he give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will he give him a serpent instead of a fish or if he asks for an egg will he offer him a scorpion if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give the whole the spirit to those who ask him and he was casting out a diamond and it was demon and it was mute so it was when the demon had gone out that the mute spoke and the multitudes marveled but some of them said he casts out demons by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons others testing him sought from him a sign from heaven but he knowing their thoughts said to them every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation in a house divided against a house Falls if Satan also is divided against himself how will his kingdom stand because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub by whom do your sons cast them out therefore they will be your judges but if I cast out demons with the finger of God surely the kingdom of God has come upon you when a strong man fully armed guards his own palace his goods are in peace but when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils he who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters amen let us pray God we thank you for this your word and we rejoice in these words of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for this model prayer we thank you that we can come to you in prayer and we pray that when we do we would we would seek you first and ask Lord God that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven after hollowing your name and giving you honor and praise that we would know that you are a gracious and a kind in a merciful God who does answer prayer who blesses us with our daily bread who gives forgiveness we do pray God that you would help us to - to realize this to live by this to approach you confidently in prayer by virtue of the finished work of Jesus Christ our Savior in his intercession we do pray Lord God that you would cause us to be those now who continue in worship with ready hearts ready to hear from our God ready to engage in those blessed aspects of worship the reading of the scripture pereire the preaching of your word the singing of hymns we rejoice in these things and ask once again now that you would help us to worship you in spirit and in truth and Lord God that you would be exalted upon the praises of this gathered assembly we pray in Christ's precious name Amen let's stand again and sing our final him before the preaching will be 253 you'll stand with me in sing 253 [Music] [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 I'll read verses 1 to 13 when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one Accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance and there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews devout men from every nation under heaven and when this sound occurred the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language then they were all amazed and marvelled saying to one another look are not all these who speak galilaeans and how is it that we each hear that we hear each in our own language in which we were born parth ian's and Medes and Elamites those dwelling in Mesopotamia Judea Cappadocia Pontus and Asia Phrygia Pamphylia Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene visitors from Rome both Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arabs we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God so they were all amazed and perplexed saying to one another whatever could this mean others mocking said they are full of new wine amen well let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word and we thank you for the coming of the Holy Spirit we acknowledge that you are the Great and the Living God you are from everlasting to everlasting you are one true and living God who exists eternally his Father Son and Holy Spirit we thank you for this account in the book of Acts we thank you for the promise of fulfill a fulfilled that that Jesus gave with reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit and I pray that you would guide us now by the spirit to understand these things may we be edified may we be encouraged and may we see even more importantly the great resources available to us in terms of the mission of the church we ask that you would forgive us for our sins and our unrighteousness we ask that you would deal graciously with any and all who have come here this morning that have not been forgiven those who have not believed the gospel we pray that today would be the day of salvation that you would reach down in mercy and in grace open hearts and cause sinners to see that Jesus Christ alone is the way of salvation and we pray these things in his most blessed name amen well if you look specifically here at verse 2 at verse 1 in chapter 2 it says the day of Pentecost if you go back to chapter 1 at verse 2 it says until the day in which he was taken up now it's not the case that was one day and then the very next day but I think this is a way that Luke shows us the close connection between the Ascension of our Lord Jesus and the descent of the Holy Spirit in other words the Ascension and enthronement of Christ his entrance into his current session at the right hand of the majesty of God on high led to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in power and this also demonstrates the fulfillment of what Christ had spoken Christ promised them the Holy Spirit Christ urged them to stay in Jerusalem to remain there until they were in dude with power from on high so we see not only this close link between Ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit but the fulfillment of Jesus word the fulfillment of Jesus promise to the Apostles as well their obedience they did tarry in Jerusalem they were endued with power and this is the means by which now they embarked on the mission to be test witnesses to him to testify to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in Jerusalem Judea Samaria and then to the ends of the earth so when we look at this particular chapter one or this section I want to look at two things primarily first the descent of the Holy Spirit and descent kids simply means the opposite of ascent if Jesus ascended on high the spirit now descends from heaven to earth to empower God's people in a very specific way so the descent of the Holy Spirit and then secondly the response of the crowd in verses 5 to 13 but with reference to this descent note the occasion it's the day of Pentecost and essentially the day of Pentecost also known as the feast of weeks came at 50 days after the Passover it was one of three pilgrim feast one of three of the feasts where the people of Israel had to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate this particular feast day the book of Deuteronomy specifically indicates this in Deuteronomy 16 as well Bo mentions that Pentecost celebrated not only the firstfruits of harvest but also beginning in the second century BC commemoration of God's giving of the law to Moses at Sinai so since the second century BC the Jews believed that Pentecost was also a celebration of when God spoke the law to Moses on Mount Sinai and that being the case this is significant the Lord speaks the law from Sinai in the book of Exodus the Lord gives the spirit here on that self same day and to demonstrate his power and his majesty and his glory now note the coming of the holy spirit it tells us in verse 1 when the day of Pentecost had fully come they were all with one Accord in one place the oil is probably the hundred and twenty disciples not just the Twelve Apostles but the hundred and twenty disciples that are mentioned there in the previous section in Acts chapter 1 but note in verse 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 then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire and one sat upon each of them this section reminds me of the Keith Green song rushing way blow through this temple and I think this is precisely where that brother got the reference suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting so the origin of this sound indicates the supernatural mass of it it comes from heaven we see the comparison it wasn't a rushing mighty wind but the sound sounded as if it were indeed a rushing mighty wind and then you note the extent of it it filled the whole house where they were sitting so it was quite a glorious thing a hundred and twenty disciples here this particular sound and then notice the sound is accompanied by sight it's not only a manifestation of the glory of God that is audible but it's also visible fact Bruce says that the manifestation of the spirits Advent was visible as well as audible and again I think these signs and wonders confirm to us that it was in fact of God signs and wonders are not given to dazzle the persons that see it signs and wonders are not given to impress the persons that see it but signs and wonders accompany things to indicate or validate that it's truly of God so they hear this particular sound and then notice in verse three then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them again the tongues of fire are distributed among the 120 this reference is found in the prophet Isaiah where fire appears to be tongs it certainly fits in well here because the emphasis in the following section is going to be upon the specific tongue spoken by the disciples under the inspiration of power of the Holy Spirit but if we stop here for just a moment and ask why why in the world does God do this in terms of sight and sounds to manifest his glory well if we look at the chapter we look at the section we compare it with Old Testament narrative we'll see it was what's called a theophany a manifestation of God God comes on the day of Pentecost in a very powerful and in a very glorious way in some respect - can - when the the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle that Israel had constructed there in Exodus chapter 40 it's akin to when the glory of Yahweh filled the temple that Solomon had built the Shekinah glory of God was present among the people of God in a very powerful and in a very awesome way as well when you think of fire God comes to Sinai in fire according to Exodus 1918 God comes in terms of his manifested glory in the in the storm and in the cloud and with the wind the Lord God is manifesting here - the people of God that it has come what had been prophesied by Joel specifically has come to fruition in the coming of the holy spirit as Jesus had said as the disciples were expecting it has come upon them at this particular time it marks the shifter it marks a significant shift in terms of redemptive history now notice they are filled with the holy spirit according to verse 4 they were all filled with the Holy Spirit began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance when we see this language of having been filled with the Holy Spirit it answers to what jesus promises in acts 1:5 this is the baptism of the Holy Spirit again there are persons that suggest that once you become as a believer in Jesus Christ at some subsequent period in your life you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit that's not the baptism of the Holy Spirit the baptism of the Holy Spirit is seen here in acts 2 acts 8 and acts 10 where Christ manifests his glory from the right hand of the Father gives the people of God his spirit inconsistent or rather particular instances that answer to the mission outlined in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 it's not a private thing it's a corporate experience it's not for the edification of one it is rather for the communication of the gospel to the many and so this outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then notice the disciples speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance now I want to look at this whole issue of tongs here specifically in Acts chapter 2 now the only other place in scripture that deals with tongs is in first Corinthians 12 to 14 if we went through first Corinthians 12 to 14 it wouldn't be a study in the book of Acts I commend to you certain things to read on first Corinthians 12 to 14 but I would also highlight to you we ought not to approach first Corinthians 12 to 14 as something fundamentally different than what we see here in the book of Acts if acts 2 indicates that these weren't languages languages which foreign people were able to understand then why would we assume in 1st Corinthians 12 to 14 it was a prayer language it was a private thing it was for therapy on the part of the tongue speaker there are languages in 1st Corinthians 12 to 14 also there are many many similarities that could be outlined but again we don't have the time to comb through 1st corinthians chapters 12 to 14 but here specifically notice they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance the tongues enabled the disciples to speak in the foreign languages of their audience it's probably the most basic definition that we can give the word is glow saw you might have heard of glossolalia glossolalia refers to tongue speaking or tongue talking as my brother likes to refer to it but glow sup means language it's not unintelligible it's not gibberish it's not bantering on it is intelligible language and that is what the Spirit gave to the disciples at this particular juncture the tongues enabled the disciples to speak of God's activity in the language of their audience note as well that this tongue speaking is identified as prophesying it's not gibberish it's not unintelligible it's not for the private edification of one particular in person note that when Peter points to Joel's prophecy to interpret this as the fulfillment thereof this activity of tongue speaking is referred to as prophecy notice in 2:17 and it shall come to pass the last day says God that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh your sons and your daughters shall prophesy where it's Peter says this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel so tongue speaking ought to be understood relatively connected to prophesying again that a specific application of 1st Corinthians 12 to 14 we're not dealing with two separate absolute independent categories the issue is is that tongue speaking and prophesy were both the means are a vehicle by which the Word of God was revealed to others you got to keep that in mind tongue speaking and prophesy in the early church was necessary a were necessary because they didn't have Matthew to Revelation they didn't have the New Testament documents so God the Lord raised up or set aside tongue speakers and prophets to communicate his mind to communicate his word the clue the simple argument goes is that once the New Testament canon is complete we no longer have a need for tongue speakers or prophesies because we have the written revelation of God's Word but I want to show you something else that is very consistent the biblical narrative we're going to try to make some larger observations as we move through this passage this morning turn to the Book of Numbers for a moment numbers chapter 11 numbers chapter 11 you make shame users have recently read this so it shall simply be a review for you but for those who and I'm the chain user as somebody who's as Robert Murray McShane's Bible reading calendar kind of takes you through the Bible and you know each and every day you read a few chapters well numbers is where we happen to be in that but essentially what happens in numbers 11 the people are whining I know that really shocks us but that's what's happening so much of the history of Israel can be identified this way they whine not much has changed has it anything Paul tells us in Philippians 2 do nothing with grumbling and disputing or do all things without grumbling and disputing well essentially what we have in numbers 11 is the wilderness generation that well at this point are crying or whining or complaining because all they have to eat is this manna from heaven and it's that typical of us God gives us free food we complain God gives us free stuff and we complain I mean it's it's very typical to you know liberal sort of politics today we get free stuff but we want more we just complain and we hold out our hands all the longer but they're essentially complaining that that's all they've had is bread and then Moses goes to y'all and he says Yahweh I can't do this why don't you just kill me now because I don't think I can manage or a function properly with this multitude of people that are whining for me and God says select seventy man I want seventy elders men that are noted you know I've been recognized one of the people and I'll you know take some the spirit from you and I'll put that spirit upon them what happens when God does that with the 70 they start to prophesy they start to prophesy in the tabernacle but there were two fellas by the name of Eldad and Medad that did not or were not in the tabernacle they were among the camp and they prophesied as well and somebody who heard them prophesy ran and told Moses these two fellas Moses are prophesying and then Joshua says we can't let that happen we can't let other persons prophesy now notice in numbers chapter 11 verse 28 so Joshua the son of nun Moses assistant one of his choice men answered and said Moses my Lord forbid them then Moses said to him are you zealous for my sake o that all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them see Moses not only doesn't say you're right Joshua we need to put the kibosh on these two prophets he says would to God that he pour out the spirit upon all of his people so that they would all prophesy well isn't that what we're looking at in the book of Acts was prophesied in Joel 2 in the last phase or in the latter days God would pour out his spirit upon all flesh and what would they do they would prophesy this has come to pass what Moses longs for in numbers 11 has become a reality in the of Acts we see on the day of Pentecost any cost the outpouring of the Holy Spirit results in prophesy specifically in the foreign languages of those who were gathered together in Jerusalem for that pilgrim feast what a perfect opportunity to reach the various nations of peoples than on a pilgrim feast day when the various nations of people would be present in Jerusalem do we appreciate the wisdom of God in all of this yay and amen he's absolutely genius when it comes to carrying out his will but going back to the book of Acts acts with reference to the tongs the tongs were intelligible language as now there are some who suggest that the miracle wasn't that the disciples spoke in foreign language but they probably spoke in their native Aramaic or Greek the the miracle was that the various persons heard them in their particular language again this isn't a new interpretation Calvin deals with it John Gill deals with it the various fellows that I use all deal with it and they all say no that's not what happened the emphasis in the passage isn't upon here ears or or hearing except insofar as they heard what the disciples spoke in fact it's conspicuous they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance notice as well verse 6 and when this sound occurred the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language again verse 8 it says and how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we are born are our native tongue and then in verse 11 B it says speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God the emphasis isn't upon the hearing the emphasis isn't upon the ears it's upon the tongs spoken by the disciples and again not gibberish not unintelligible not some private prayer dialogue but the communication of the mighty works of God in the various languages of those who were there on the day of Pentecost tongue speaking shouldn't be confusing tongue speaking should it be difficult the subject of tongues unfortunately has become a mass in professing Christianity because of the excesses of the charismatic and the Pentecostal movement that look at tongues as if they themselves are an end they're not an end it was a vehicle by which Galilean preachers could speak in foreign tongues why because those foreigners needed to hear the truth of Christ and His gospel it really is that simple you meet your charismatic your Pentecostal friend and they say have you have you been filled with the spirit have you uttered in tongues why what's the mark if somebody that's a genuine Christian in the book of Acts it ain't Tom speaking it's faith in Jesus if you are here this morning I will never tell you to go out and speak in tongues in fact I might tell you please don't ever do that but I will tell you believe on Jesus the emphasis in the book of Acts is on faith and repentance what Peter say at the end of the book at the end of his Pentecostal sermon in Acts chapter 2 repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and then you'll receive the promise of the Holy Spirit not tongues brethren the tongues were a vehicle by which the disciples were enabled to communicate the great works of God to needy sinners that's it as well the miracle if it wasn't the hearing would be shifted to the hearers and not the speakers that doesn't make sense the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples they began to speak with other tongues if they were simply speaking Aramaic or Greek and the magic happened on the receivers and then the miracle was on the receivers end it wasn't upon the disciple who had been filled with the Holy Spirit up to that point just having been able to here what these men were communicated communicating was no indication that they actually had received the Holy Spirit John Gill comments whence it appears that it was not one language only which was spoken by the Apostles which men of different languages heard and understood as if it was their own for then the miracle must have been in the hearers and not in the speakers and in the cloven tongues as a fire should rather have sat on them than on the disciples and these men said to be filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit rather than they it shifts the locus of the miracle as well the statement in verse 7 notice in verse 7 then they were all amazed and and said look or not all these who speak galilaeans now there's probably one of three possibilities as to why they brought that up remember that Peter was identified by the servant-girl because he had a different dialect the Galileans had a different dialect they sounded a bit different that's one option the other is they were looked at as uneducated hillbillies and I don't mean to offend anybody but remember can anything good come out of Nazareth kicking anything good hail from that you know a country bumpkin region that's you know up in the North sort of the way a New Yorker would look at a an Eastern Kentuckian or or a Vancouver I would look at a Chilliwack II I can anything good come out of chiloé act there were these country bumpkin folks or it might just be there they're Jews they speak the native air America Greek the point is how in the world are these Galilean man speaking in foreign languages it's not the hearing that's on parade it's the speaking of the tongues that's on parade and it couldn't be more conspicuous in the narrative in fact Alexander says that words don't make sense if this isn't communicating to us that the miracle was in the tongue speaking and then the statement in verse 13 the others I'm gonna argue that the others in verse 13 the mockers the detractors are native Jerusalemites that were unbelievers and rejecters of all things Jesus what do they say they say these manner filled with new wine literally they're filled with sweet wine that means they're drunk now brethren if the Apostles or the disciples were speaking the native Aramaic or Greek why would it have sounded like drunken gibberish to these native Jerusalemites lords if they were speaking the same language of the native Jerusalemites why in the world would it have sounded like drunk and gibberish but they weren't they were speaking the tongues of the various peoples that were then present that's why it sounded like drunken gibberish to the others who mocked in verse 13 the emphasis isn't in the passage is that the Holy Spirit comes he fills his people and the manifestation of this not the the rushing wind of the sound and not the visible the the visible sort of manifestation but the manifestation of the spirits presence is that they prophesy and the prophecy comes specifically via tongues again tongues isn't some strange weird thing that has been co-opted by certain groups and professing Christianity and made absolutely unintelligible we would never get that from the narrative we have to import that from our theology and impose it on their that what's happening here that's what's going on here is normative for the people of God through all ages no it's not they were prophesying concerning the great works of God most high utilizing the tongues given them by the spirit in order to communicate to the various people groups that were then present now why why was this why did this happen again fulfillment of Jesus words fulfillment of Old Covenant prophecy Peter's gonna go there in act two he's going to say these men are not drunk as you suppose it's it's only the third hour of the day rather this is what the Prophet Joel had spoken but well in terms of practically the tongues not only expressed the revelatory Word of God but were the confirmatory sign to the revelatory Word of God in other words it's not only that God gave revelation via tongues through these disciples but the very fact that they were able to communicate to the various foreigners that were then present confirms that this was indeed supernatural it's a gift of the Holy Spirit it's a power from on high because these are Galileans either with their dialect or their country bumpkin Ness or the fact that they only speak Aramaic or Greek how in the world could these men ever communicate to the Parthian and the Elamites and the various people that are then represented it was a manifestation of the glory of God a sign and wonder that confirmed that what was going forth was in fact the revelatory Word of God Alexander said it served like any other miracle but with a special propriety and force to prove the reality of the of an extraordinary spiritual influence which might otherwise have been denied or doubt it and it's just here that persons that are favorable toward tongues speaking today say well well that's it right we should have tongs operative in the life of the church because it manifests the power of God yeah provided it's done where God has authorized it there's no need for it today and then we're told we're deists or we're deniers of the supernatural or we've got problems you don't think God can do things today oh yeah we do we just typically think that the power of God in regenerating a dead sinner is a sign of the supernatural Ness of the Holy Spirit there's no denial of the supernatural among those who do not see tongues speaking as operative today there is didn't know denial whatsoever that God is able to do what God is pleased to do there's a denial however that what goes on in the name of tongs and in some of the confessing churches of Jesus is what Luke is talking about or what Paul is talking about in first Corinthians twelve to fourteen I don't want to show a hands but if any of you been to a tongue service I wasn't there in acts two but I'm certain it didn't look like what I've witnessed bizarre strange odd no regard for interpreters no regard that anybody has any intelligible understanding of what's happening the zany or the better the goofy or the holier that's just not our God our God is not about goofy to be holy our gods not about zany to promote his glory our God is supra rational our God is reason our God is intelligibility our God when he supplies the gift of tongues in the church at Corinth says there better be an interpreter our God is not the author of confusion brethren there is no denial of the supernatural by those of us who deny the operation of tongues in the church today but rather there is an affirmation of God's glory in the church today and then the tongues were employed to make known the wonderful works of God look at verse 11 we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God John Calvin made this very perceptive observation he said the diversity of tongs did hinder the gospel again I think we hear that word tongs and we go Pentecostal we think weird things we think I bought a Yamaha should have bought a Honda I think that we hear tongs and that's where our minds inevitably go it means languages Spanish Chinese English Hebrew Aramaic Greek it's its language when you hear the word tongue you shouldn't think and when you hear the word tongue you should think Holy Roller when you hear the word tongue you shouldn't think snake handlers you should think language English Chinese Spanish he says the diversity of tongues did hinder the gospel from being spread abroad any farther so that if the preachers of the gospel had spoken one language only all men would have thought that Christ had been shut up in a small corner of Jewry but God invented a way whereby it might break out when he divided the Kuenn he divided and clothed the tongues of the Apostles that they might spread and a spread abroad amongst all people which was delivered to them towards the sign of tongs the demonstration of tongue confirms that it's the revelatory Word of God with a supernatural origin the purpose was to make known the works of God the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ not just to one small band and Jewry as Calvin says but to all the nations of the earth that's what's going on here now note the response of the crowd Luke is very conspicuous to describe for us the enormity of the crowd again it's a Jewish feast day it's one of the three required feasts wherein those who adhere to the Jewish religion must travel to Jerusalem now notice in verse 5 and there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews devout men from every nation under heaven notice in verse 9 parth ian's and Medes and Elamites those dwelling in Mesopotamia Judea Cappadocia Pontus Asia Phrygia Pamphylia Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene visitors from Rome both Arabs I'm sorry both Jews and proselytes Cretans and Arabs so you see this general statement in verse 5 and then the specific description in verses 9 to 11 again one of the reasons why so many people were there it was a required thing proselyte here was a Gentile that had converted to Judaism and the proselytes that were Jew Gentiles that converted to Judaism had to undergo circumcision they had to participate and all of the the sort of religious calendar of Israel they had to abide by Torah Bruce notes that most proselytes to the Jewish religion were women men didn't want to get circumcised they are probably the devout ones they adhere to the religion but they're not full-blown proselytes the point of the narrative is that diaspora Jews that means dispersion Jews come to Jerusalem on this feast day on this feast of weeks they come this is the assembled audience as well the nations flowing to Jerusalem is suggested to us by this particular scene Isaiah the prophet prophesied in Isaiah chapter 2 verses 1 to 4 that in the latter days the nations would stream to Jerusalem to hear the word of Yahweh to hear the law of Yahweh this ought to jump out at us the nation's assembled to hear what the authorized designation designee of our Lord Jesus speaking the truth of God's Holy Word but another reason why is the reversal of Babel the Tower of Babel what happens at Babel God confuses them with tongues and disperses them here they're confused but the tongs brings them together it's a beautiful thing and I don't think there's a direct correspondence in terms of the list of Nations indicated in verses 9 to 11 and what we find in Genesis 10 which is a table of the nation's but there's a conceptual correspondence Genesis 10 the table of the nations Genesis 11 the godless building enterprise of the unbelievers they try to make a name for themselves they try to build a tower that will reach up into the heavens and so what does God do he confounds them he confuses them he gives them various tongues and then they are dispersed but what do we see happening here at Pentecost we see a reverse so love that we see that God in His mercy and in His grace in this age of Messiah sends the spirit and power they're confused alright they're hearing the languages that they themselves know since their birth but in this instance it's not to disperse them but it's to band them together as the people of God John Gill said with reference to this comment these cloven tongues cannot but bring to mind the division and confusion of the tongues or languages at Babel which gave rise to different nations and different religions but these divided tongues gave rise to the spreading of the gospel and settling the true religion among the nations of the world so one of the things that we often emphasize in terms of a biblical theological approach to the Bible what God starts at the beginning he finishes at the end he finishes and it's because of the work of the second Adam it's because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ there's this reversal of Babel based on new covenant realities now note the question concerning the phenomena the people are perplexed the people are puzzled I mean if I went to a place and i heard somebody if i was in china and some guy stood hoppitty and he preached the gospel and he was preaching to me in england english i'd be pretty shocked by that well we're gonna see if Chinese people and this guy's preaching to me in English that's amazing so you can't fault them for a bit of perplexity with reference to their response but notice confusion verse six and when this sound occurred the multitude came together and and we're confused and you're not confused in the sense that we don't want anything to do with this but confused in the sense that wow these are Galileans they're speaking to us in whatever language as well they are amazed verse seven then they were all amazed and marveled saying to one another again verse 12 notice so they were all amazed and perplexed saying to one another whatever could this mean now Peter is going to answer this and Peter is going to respond to this and Peter's gonna tell them what this means but at this particular point in verse 12 there they're shocked what's happening here but note specifically the content that is being communicated it's another thing that bugs me about Pentecostalism and charismatic sysm they have these prophetic meetings and the prophecies always for the individual you're gonna get a new car you're gonna get a new job you're gonna get what's behind door number two they Hawk blessings in the name of Jesus to any recipient they may happen to wander in their tongues were never given for the private benefit of the individual prophecy certainly wasn't either I've got a prophetic word for you I'd get that at the local Chinese restaurant in the fortune cookie I don't need some so-called preacher the gospel of Jesus Christ telling me to quit my job and pursue another because there's more benefits available and God's told me that's hogwash brethren it's bad bad terrible theology that people get duped into it just shows that people want something why can't we just want Christ why can't we just want the forgiveness of sins why can't we just want the imputed righteousness of Jesus we really are those those murmurers in the in the wilderness in numbers 11 we're tired of this bread we want me we're tired of the meat we want bread we're just never happy and it seems there's a class of at least professing preachers that will cater and pander to people in this carnality this isn't why they prophesied on the day of Pentecost this isn't why God gave them the take gift of tongues you there from Elim you're gonna get a new job you there from pontus you're gonna get a new coat that's not what it was these meetings for prophesying and tongue speaking where man is at the center is anti-god notice verse 11 we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God why does God give tongs so that you can be internally at peace no so that you can achieve some level of mental health which these are the claims tongue speaking according to psalm promotes this in our peace it promotes this tranquility at whatever it promotes it's not promoting God and that's what tongues were doing in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost notice they are speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God that's what tongues were about John Gill says not the works of creation and Providence though these are great and wonderful but of redemption part an atonement justification and salvation by the Messiah by his obedient sufferings and death and also of his resurrection from the dead so that's the content that was spoken as these men were given the spirit they were given tongs to speak in the foreign languages of their audience their subject and discourse was the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and then as I said verse 12 they're amazed or perplexed what can this mean while Peters going to answer but Peters response specifically comes to the mockers of verse 13 notice others mocking said they are full of new wine again I argue I will maintain the others here are native Jerusalemites that are opposed to Christ and are opposed to Christianity don't we see that in Matthew haven't we seen that in Matthew continual contempt for Christ and for his disciples represented in the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem such that our Lord Jesus prophesized the destruction of their temple Matthew 23 the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 Jesus tells them that the that the temple will be destroyed do you think they all got religion between the time that Jesus said that and the time that he ascended on I know these are the markers since the proselytes it's the devout it's the the ones that are holding the feast they're the ones that have come to Jeru I'm on this feast day they're the ones that are amazed they're the ones that are perplexed they're the ones that are ultimately by God's grace going to believe the gospel but it's these others that are mocking they say they're full of sweet wine they're drunk they're out of their minds they don't know what they're talking about those markers demonstrate something I think that Luke wants us to appreciate as we enter into the book of Acts the mockery ultimately instigates Peters response notice in verse 15 for these are not these are not drunk as you suppose since it is only the third hour of the day John Gill said it drunkenness could never have furnish them with a Faculty of speaking with many tongues he says men generally lose their talking's by in temperance they don't get better at speaking when they're intemperate they get worse but it also highlights another function of tongues and one that goes on with by Pentecostalism and charismatic ISM as far as I know tongues are a sign of judgment prophesied by God or promised by God in Deuteronomy 28 now anybody who's been in our church for any amount of time Deuteronomy 28 should resonate in your head covenant curses and in 2849 one of the Covenant curses is is that persons will come into your land that you will not understand their language what's that mean foreign invaders when Paul is dealing with tongues in Corinth in 1st Corinthians chapter 14 he quotes from the prophet isaiah 28:11 and 12 and the specific application by Paul in that context is that tongues are a sign for unbelievers it's judgment now follow me why judgment here at the Jerusalem Temple in Acts chapter 2 because God is showing us something remember the the tabernacle became the temple it was located in Jerusalem it became the political and the religious capital of the Davidic Kingdom now the Davidic Kings were not consistent they were not faithful so God sends Babylon in to desecrate and decimate the Jewish temple it is rebuilt by Herod it is then occupied again by the Judah Heights during the time of Jesus it was a sign of pride for them it was the argument that if the temple stands that must mean you always with us but when we note the Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ he doesn't look at it that way he cleanses the temple he denounces the temple he says that the temple is going to be destroyed so I would argue that the tongs in Acts chapter 2 communicated the great works of God to those whom God had purposed to save but to these mockers to these detractors to these ones who opposed it was a sign of judgment you got to see this because later in acts 2 when Peter is speaking and he quotes the Prophet Joel and he uses this sort of cosmic phenomena he's not talking about the end of the world we argued in Matthew 24 that that cosmic phenomena meant the destruction of the temple in AD 70 Peter does the same thing in acts 2 Stephen is going to go before the Sanhedrin to the council why because he spoke against this place see there's a shift there's a movement coming whereas in the old covenant God's temple was among the people God's temple in the new covenant he's within the people by the Holy Spirit what's Paul say in 1st Corinthians 3 in 2nd Corinthians 6 you are the temple of God now I know we take that passage and we say well you can't smoke and you shouldn't eat sugary doughnuts and all that sort of thing but that's not the emphasis primarily you the church the people of God are the temple of God Paul tells us this precisely in Ephesians 2 Peter tells us this precisely in first Peter - where's the temple in the new covenant community it's in us by the power of the Holy Spirit it is the church we are living stones of this great building place of God and this is all going to eventuate in the New Jerusalem that descends out of heaven into the midst of the people what is the Prophet say there or John the Apostle say there was no temple God and the Lord Jesus are the temple you see this is a sign to the unbelieving mockers that there's a shift coming Jerusalem is going to be radically altered the temple is going to be destroyed the locusts of the people of God is no longer attached to Jerusalem but it's worldwide it's comprehensive every tribe every tongue every people every nation because God Most High promised Abraham and it's realized in our Lord Jesus Christ tongues are a sign of judgment for unbelievers and this manifests that GK bill says the tongues of foreigners this is the the isaiah prophesy the tongues of foreigners specifically they're Assyrians remember the northern tribes were cut off in 722 BC well what happens when you're an Israelite and you speak the language of Hebrew and all of a sudden you start hearing at Syria brethren things aren't good I'm not going to get into the whole immigration thing we need to make immigrants learn English so I think we should but the bottom line is is that when you are outgunned in your own homeland by native or by foreign speakers things aren't good for you and it was a sign of judgment during the prophecy of Isaiah bill says the tongues of foreigners ie the Assyrians being heard in Israel would indicate that judgment on the nation was commencing as the foreigners were invading the desolate nation did you get that right not gibberish not unintelligible thought not for me but the actual languages of another body politic selling your land that can't bode well he goes on to say likewise the same judgment appears with the tongues at Pentecost though this time it indicates Israel's definite destruction together with her temple remember we saw that in Matthew's Gospel what does Jesus say therefore I'm taking the kingdom from you wish nation is real Commonwealth and I'm giving it to a nation that bears fruits consistent with it this shouldn't be it you know wow Butler never heard this we heard it a lot in Matthew's Gospel but look at the continuity look at the consistency in the Cochin see Peter or Luke understands what's going on and they highlight or he highlights this over and over again the focus of the redemptive purposes of God are no longer confined to ethnic Israel they are going out to every tribe tongue people and nation bill says though this time it indicates Israel's definite destruction together with their temple the voices Israel hears are not those of the Assyrian soldiers preparing to destroy the land but Galileans proclaiming that the establishment of a new temple had begun I think that's what we need to get here it's not for your personal fulfillment or what am I going to do after this gigs over it's to magnify the great works of God most high it is to communicate to those who don't have that same you know give a receptor sort of dynamic it is to get the Word of God into the languages of the peoples to get it out there to magnify Jesus Christ but it's also a sign of God's judgment for these Jerusalemites as they mock the disciples they mock Christ in his earthly ministry they will continue to reap the benefits or the bad benefits of their having rebelled against God and so it's not a Syrians they to worry about its Galileans proclaiming the great works of God most are I hope that makes sense I think that's the redemptive historical shift that we're seeing here in the book of Acts so in conclusion we ought to learn first with reference to the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit the Spirit comes as promised by Jesus he told them Luke 24 Acts chapter 1 we should always stand amazed at the fulfillment of Scripture I know it's kind of old hat for us as Bible readers assuming we're all Bible readers we come to that formula used often often in the New Testament as it was or as it was said in the scripture as it was stated or as it has been said we can't get used to that brethren you know there's so many hundreds and thousands of years happen between some of these original promises and their their fulfillment for me you know we hear this all the time the Bible you know it's all full of all contradictions that's amazing because you know Isaiah prophesied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ seven hundred years before Jesus Christ came to the earth do we actually sort of let that roll around on our heads and say wait a minute yeah David writes concerning crucifixion in Psalm 22 you know long before they even knew what crucifixion was the prophet or rather Moses the Prophet says in Deuteronomy 18 or God through him says I will raise up one like you from among your brethren him you shall hear and then in Matthew 17 God says this is my beloved son him you shall hear you see the Bible is all about connecting the dots for us what was given in the Old Testament terms of anticipation is brought forth in the New Testament terms of fulfillment or realization we ought to be thankful for that we ought to praise God for that we ought to realize that he's got it under his control and that should make us very very happy the Spirit comes as sent by Jesus notice in verse 33 therefore being exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit he poured out this which you now see and here all three persons of the Trinity Wow the Bible doesn't teach the Trinity yes it does you just don't want to see it promise of the father sent by the father/son spirit the actual missions happening there reflects something concerning the the the various processions or relationships among the persons of the Trinity it's a beautiful thing but it's Christ who has send it on high and he sends forth the spirit the Ascension of Jesus results in the descent of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit comes to empower the Apostles in carrying out their mission 1:8 now while the tongues may not be available to us today the Spirit is and I think I say this a lot I got a list you probably have a list at home things that Butler nags us about a lot it's at least mentally we should pray on Sunday morning for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit why do we show up here in an unspiritual state seeking to accomplish spiritual things why is that now I'm not saying you didn't train for the Holy Spirit this morning but if you didn't listen we want sinners to be saved we want the people of God to grow what marriage is to be better family relationships stronger what children to love and esteem their parents parents to love and esteem their children we want all that those are spiritual things it's not fight easy tips from the recent you know guru of parenting that's gonna fill you know the void in your life you and I need the Holy Spirit we want the gospel to go forth and we want sinners to be saved God saved my so-and-so God save my lever pray for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit we need his illuminating power we need him to guide us to direct us to lead us to open our minds to open our hearts to show us the truth as it is in Jesus we must have the spirit so the thought the idea that that tongues have ceased doesn't mean the Spirit has seized again these are the sort of harebrained argument that must mean you don't believe in the Holy Spirit of course I believe in the Holy Spirit don't we confess with the Apostles cream I believe in the Holy Spirit we most certainly affirm that we need to pray on Sunday morning we need to pray on Sunday afternoon we need to pray on Saturday night God send the spirit that hymn we sang in 253 I'm sure we've sang it recently oh we're singing the same names dad hymn is great let's go up singing to God to send forth the Holy Spirit plenitude and grace whoever our apostate nation is we we pray that your influence would be felt secondly I've mentioned that what we find more often than not in the book of Acts is a description of redemptive history and something that's not prescriptive in other words there's no imperative here this is how you must live I want to show you this very quickly very clearly that what Luke is highlighting is not for our personal imitation now I mentioned earlier that the gift of tongues is only mentioned here and it's mentioned in first Corinthians 12 to 40 I'm sorry 12 to 14 do you know that in 1230 just make sure here yeah 12:30 Paul says that not everybody has tongs they don't I don't I don't get this okay this is the mark of ones having received the Holy Spirit if I turn to first Corinthians 12 just so you see that I'm not making this up Paul tells us we ought never to assume that everybody's going to have the Holy Spirit yet in certain circles this is the mark of having had the Holy Spirit or having received the Holy Spirit notice first we'll go back to verse 28 and God is appointed these in the church first apostles second prophets third teachers after that miracles then gifts of healings helps administration's varieties of tongues are all apostles are all prophets are all teachers are all workers and miracles do all have gifts of healing do all speak with tongues do all interpret now the way he's asking the question expects a negative response we have that Convention in England English as well I said you don't want to poke your eye with a fork do you I'm expecting a note and when Paul goes through those various offices and gifts he expects a no no course not everybody as DS so why would anybody say this is the mark of the holy spirit that you speak in tongues how do they get around that but their two acts - the gift of tongues in the book of Acts is on display at crucial times in redemptive history and in each instance corresponds with the mission parameters set forth in chapter 1 verse 8 it's a long packed statement let me read it again the gift of tongues is in the book of Acts is on display at crucial times in redemptive history and in each instance corresponds with the mission parameters in acts 1:8 so you have this Pentecost in Jerusalem in acts 2 spirit comes they speak in tongues this corresponds to the mission parameters of acts 1:8 you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem now notice in acts 8 Acts chapter 8 this is what we can call the samaritan pentecost at again corresponding with those mission parameters set forth in acts 1:8 be my witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria notice in acts 8:14 now when the Apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God they sent Peter and John - that who when they had come down prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit for as yet he had fallen upon none of them they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit now in this instance they don't speak in tongues but they received the Holy Spirit here in Samaria remember Samaria is connected to Judah and Samaria back in the day was at one time unified with Judah but as well back in the day Samaria kind of became its own nation they were looked down upon by the Judah heights so this is really another ethnic people see see the mission parameters Jerusalem Judea Samaria Jerusalem they get the Holy Spirit they speak in tongues Samaria they get the Holy Spirit they don't speak in tongues but notice third acts 10 Acts chapter 10 this is Peter with the household of Cornelius now Cornelius was a Gentile flat out bottom line Gentile notice in 1044 while Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word and those of the circumcision who believed were astonished as many came with Peter because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God again mission parameters in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 witnesses in Jerusalem acts 2 witnesses in Samaria Judea Samaria acts 8 witnesses to the ends of the earth Gentiles in acts 10 those are the three instances where the Holy Spirit comes and tongue speaking results that's it though I should mention acts 19 this is John the Baptist's disciples and they get some dealing with Paul specifically but those are the three instances now again look at what's happening corresponds to the mission parameter witnesses in Jerusalem Judea Samaria to the other ends of the earth not in your private life not for new cars or houses not for wives not for you no homes or anything like that its corporate it's not to be duplicated it is with reference to that agenda set forth by Christ the Holy Spirit comes in power to manifest and to demonstrate as Raymond says that Christ is exalted Lord at the right hand of the Father Alexander helpfully points out in light of my interpretation of tongues as a sign of judgment to those others look at what Luke is doing acts a Judeans and I'm sorry Samaria Samaritans are being included in the people of God and then Gentiles are being included in the people of God more judgment upon those ones who were mocking those who rejected Jesus Christ what we have our key instances where the Holy Spirit is coming adding persons foreigners to the people of God to demonstrate that what's happening is that Israel as a body politic is no longer God's chosen people but rather they've entered the rank-and-file of every other the true sons of Abraham are not ethnically descendant they are those spiritually connected through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ isn't there with Paul says in Galatians 3:26 229 you Gentiles are sons of Abraham you Gentiles who's a true Jew according to Roman's - is he one circumcised outwardly no he's circumcised inwardly Paul writing to a Gentile Church in Philippians chapter 3 says we are the circumcision the NES renders it properly we are the true circumcision these Judaizers are mutilators it's the people of God United by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ that are the circumcision they are the people of God so brethren the emphasis in acts 2 acts 8 knacks 10 is not on your spiritual well-being it is on communicating the great works of God first to Jews and then to Gentiles Thompson says Luke's focus in these taxes on the end of fulfillment of prophecy salvation history in the beginning of the last days rather than paradigms for individual experiences and each of these chapters Luke emphasizes corporate experience now if you come from a tongue speaking Church you probably have heard things that you disagree with and I will grant that that you disagree with it but take these things and reflect upon them and ask the question are these gurus of tongs handling accurately the biblical data or have they produced an environment that is contra Bible in demanding for people or demanding rather from people that they speak in tongues as the sign that they have received the Holy Spirit see to me that's barbarism spiritual barbarism it's oppressive it's abusive and it certainly is not consistent with what scripture says we you don't expect everyone to speak in tongues do we Paul says no of course not you don't like Brussels sprouts do you well the expected answer is no I don't we don't expect everybody to do that and yet there's a group of people it says that's the proof that you've received the Holy Spirit no the proof that you've received the Holy Spirit is that you by grace and believe the gospel is this what Paul says in Ephesians 1 we believe in what happens we receive the Holy Spirit he is the seal he is the guarantee he is the downpayment of what God will realize in the consummated glory all the blood bots have the holy spirit all those who looked at Christ have the holy spirit all those who are born again have the holy spirit it's not subsequent it's not a second work of grace we ought not to be praying for a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit in the charismatic sense brethren we have the spirit now there's a filling with the spirit do not be drunk with wine and which is dissipation not be filled with the spirit and I love it Ephesians 5 what's filling with the spirit look like Tom talking no prophesying no personal satisfaction no it looks like singing hymns and psalms and spiritual songs unto God it looks like speaking to one another and love it looks like submitting to one another in the fear of God you have the Holy Spirit ladies when you submit to your own husband's as unto the Lord you have the Holy Spirit husbands when you're not jerks to your wife you have the Holy Spirit kids when you've believed by God's grace on the gospel and you'll actually want to honor your parents that's what the Holy Spirit does he he produces holy not weird not strange not odd duck that's why Paul says I'm believers gonna come in about with all these people speaking in tongues again what's happening here if you've ever been to a tongues meeting you've thought what's happening here brethren it isn't that hard but I want to end on this note if you have come here and you've come from a tongue speaking Church again I just encourage you to reflect upon these things search the Scriptures ask the proper questions put in as proper biblical theological categories and contacts and realize that tongues are I would almost say primarily judgment judgment here judgments certainly when the Assyrians came judgment certainly when the Babylonians came but for those who are not believers you may never be able to sort of repeat everything I've said with reference to tongues my only hope is is that you'll remember that they spoke the wonderful works of God and as I think Gill successfully shows what we find there what is the wonderful works of God or what are the wonderful works of God yet creations great who this morning didn't look outside and say wow notice that having been a native Californian you don't appreciate the Sun coming to my 21st year and Joe ACK yeah appreciate the Sun used to puzzled me a fellow in our church back in the day it would sought be sunny outside he'd be you know just doing like this just soaking it in well growing up in Southern California that's just old the sun's our constant companion but man after three months here of rain a day like this you can't but say who could deny God on a day like this that shows the folly of atheism his works of Providence are glorious he governs all his creatures and all their actions our God is in the heavens he does whatever he pleases Nebuchadnezzar knew and confessed there was none that can stay his hand or ask what do as thou hast no works of redemption it's the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ it's his life of perfect obedience to the Father his fulfillment of everything given to him in terms of the Covenant it is his death at Calvary wherein he served as a substitute and as a sacrifice the way that Bowl our that way bird for the poor was taken to the tabernacle or to the temple where the worshippers slit its throat and turned it over to the to the to the priests who then offered it up in fire to God Most High that's Christ that's Jesus that's the significance of John 1:29 behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world the Lamb of God not simply in his meekness and in his mildness but in the fact that his throat was cut and he was offered up for our sins not literally but figuratively it pleased Yahweh to bruise him to crush him as the Naas renders it as our substitute as a sacrifice but he doesn't stay in the tomb he's raised the 3rd day he meets with his apostles for these 40 days he ascends on high he sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father he's the responsible agent who sends the Holy Spirit on that day and he is still the savior for any and all who come to him in faith that Lord Jesus is the focus of the tongue speaking on this day of Pentecost so it ought not to surprise us that after Peter preaches the gospel after Peter calls them to believe the gospel 3,000 souls are added to that there are sinners that see their sin they see that Christ is the savior and they by grace belief don't continue in rebellion don't continue in unbelief don't continue to resist him who speaks from heaven well let us close in a word of prayer father thank you for your word and thank you for the clarity of acts 2 and for what you did there in terms of the manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit God we confess our neediness we confess our nothingness apart from Jesus we pray for the Ministry of the Holy Spirit I'd pray specifically that he'd be at work now that sinners would respond to this message concerning Jesus his life as death as resurrection God that it would be the case that sinners would be born to born again by your grace born from above and then looking unto Jesus Christ and faith strengthen our hearts as believers conform us more and more under the image of your son may we know the presence and the power of your Holy Spirit and while there's no baptism of the Spirit like we see here on Pentecost there is certainly that filling of the Spirit that we can seek from you and as Paul says not to be drunk with wine but to be filled with the Holy Spirit grant us help in this grant a strength grant us grace to gather again together tonight to worship you in spirit and truth and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed