The theme verse for our study this year is Acts 1:8;

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts chapter 2 begins the fulfillment of this prediction.  Acts chapter 2 begins to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit to turn ordinary people into power-filled witnesses.  Acts chapter 2, the account of the Day of Pentecost, is where the witness begins.  It all began one Sunday morning just about a week after Jesus had returned to the other side. Watch what happens…

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

Wind and fire; two symbols of the Spirit, vividly demonstrates the beginning of a new era in God’s interaction with his creation.  The disciples had been following Jesus’ command to wait for the gift.  On Pentecost Sunday it came. The wind and the fire came and began to spread across the world. 

I think Luke had to have had Genesis 1 in mind. Listen to the first three verses of the Bible from the NRS.

NRS Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

The word in Hebrew and Greek the word for Spirit has two meanings; spirit and wind.  Just like the Spirit moved in the 6 days of creation to begin this world, the Spirit like a wind moved in the creation of the church!  But wind was not all that happened in the house where they were waiting.  There was also fire.  Remember Luke 3 and what John the Baptist said?

Luke 3:16  John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Why fire?  Fire is not something that creates, but something that consumes. Fire is dangerous.  Fire spreads.  Fire burns.  Fire is hard to control.  Fire seems to go where fire wants to go.  If you were around in May of 2000 you may remember that fire and wind made a devastating combination.  The wind drives the fire.  Isn’t that fascinating? The wind of the Spirit, which is like saying the wind of the wind, pushes the spark of fire through Jerusalem and through Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  What a great metaphor.  Wind driving fire is what the early church was all about.  These embers of 120 disciples who were burning with the truth of a resurrected Jesus were blown into a blaze which burned their world and changed everything!  Isn’t the Spirit amazing! 

After describing the Spirit like a wind and something that seemed to be tongues of fire, the seeming tongues of fire become real tongues of speech.  It is important enough to read again.  (elaborate)

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

The first gift of the Spirit is the gift of speech!  How appropriate!  The Spirit moved the 120 to speak in languages which everyone around them understood. 

Acts 2:5-11 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.  Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?  Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  Phrygia 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!"

Why is the first gift a gift of speech so important? Witnesses speak.  Witnesses speak to others.  Witnesses speak to others so they will believe.  The power of the Spirit to move us to be witnesses is all about the power of words to spread the fire. 
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The question I want to ask this morning is the same question that is asked in the next verse of our text. 

Acts 2:12  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

What does this mean?  What does all this wind and fire and words and witness mean to us?  Here we are some 1,970 something years later and all the way to the ends of the earth away from Jerusalem, so what does this spectacular event of Pentecost mean to us?  I hope the answer is more meaningful than verse 13.

Acts 2:13  Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

I guess there is some in every crowd who just don’t get it.  To have been at one of the most impressive moments in history and write it off as a bunch of drunks, may be one of the saddest lines in the Bible.  If it wasn’t a bunch of drunks, then what was it?

Here is the real question I want to struggle with this morning, “Was this a unique, one time event or are the miraculous events of the day of Pentecost a pattern for us as well?”  Pretty important question?  Should we expect wind and fire as we witness for the Lord, or not?  Does the Spirit still move like the wind of creation, does the wind still drive the fire and give us words or are we kind of on our own? 
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Did anyone hear a wind this morning?  There are about 80 something of us here this morning, not quite 120 but close.  Did anyone hear a violent wind in our building this morning?  Perhaps, we heard some drips from the roof or some thunder from kids running upstairs, but I did not hear something like wind.  What about something that seemed like tongues of fire?  How about languages other than English?  The events of Pentecost morning certainly are not our experience.  This morning was rather boring.  I got up took a shower had my coffee went over this sermon, taught a class, had doughnuts and met with you here.  We all just showed up for with less than miraculous expectations.

Do we get the wind and fire or was that a one time thing? I would like to advocate that the answer is, “Yes.”  Yes, we do get the wind and fire and yes, the birth of the church was a unique event.  “What?  You can’t have it both ways can you?”  I think we can. 
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Let’s go back and read a couple of verses again, this time more carefully.

Acts 1:4-8  On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "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 when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jesus predicted the power of the Holy Spirit would come upon those who were with him and they would be witnesses, not only locally, but to the ends of the earth.  Did any of those who were alive with him in 30 AD make it to Los Alamos?  I don’t think so.  They didn’t get to the ends of the earth.  It seems to me that the promised gift is bigger than the apostles or even the 120. Luke writes with broader audience in mind.   Listen to two other quick verses.

Acts 9:17  Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord-- Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here-- has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul, is filled with the Spirit as well.  He is part of the spreading the Gospel.

Acts 10:44-46  While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.  The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.  For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Wow, even Gentiles several years later get the gift.  It is not limited to the original 120 the wind and fire spread to more.  But let’s go back to the Pentecost story. Peter actually answers our question.

Acts 2:12-21  Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"  Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."  Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.  These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 

No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.  I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”

During the AC, which Joel calls the LD or last days, the Spirit is poured out on all kinds of people.  Sons and daughters will prophesy.  Young and old will dream dreams.  Men and women will get poured on.  Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will experience the pouring of the Spirit!  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord gets the wind and the fire. 

Joel predicted it.  Peter preached it. The Spirit did it. There was something new that began on the day of Pentecost. In the new kingdom of God, the church, the filling of the Spirit is to be the identifying mark of all Christians.  All who call upon the name of the Lord will be filled with Spirit, so they too can become witnesses.   That is the point of the opening part of Peter’s sermon; the Spirit is for all.  This is part of the big plan predicted by Joel. And we are a part of it as well.
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“If that is right, Tim, how come I have never heard the wind or seen the fire?”  Perhaps we need another analogy.  Let’s use a birth analogy.  The birth of the baby is miraculous.  Anyone who has actually been there and done that is hard pressed to disagree.  Birth is spectacular.  Birth is miraculous and stunning.   But children growing and becoming adults is still phenomenal.  Henry grows up to be Zach’s size, who grows up to be Hanna’s size, who grows up to be Tyler’s size, who grows up to be Tracy’s size, who grows up to be my size.  Isn’t that is still miraculous; different but no less impressive.

When God gave birth to the world, the Spirit moved in amazing ways and created all that we see in 6 days.  Since then, the earth works.  But it is no less miraculous that everything is still controlled by His power.  It was spectacular in birth and amazing in function.

The birth of the church was… overwhelming; wind and fire.  But the spread of the church, the growth of the church, the maturing of the church, the going to ends of the earth, is different but not less wind blown, if you catch my draft. (Sorry, preacher humor.)

Birth, growth, maturing are different looking things, but no less Spirit-involved.  You would expect the Spirit’s involvement to look different at different stages and situations of the church’s evolution. 

Getting back to our question, “What does it mean for us?”  Here, I think, is the bottom line.  The power of the Holy Spirit is moving throughout the AC, these last days.  The Spirit fills each of us as Christians.  He moves us, and guides us and helps us to be witnesses of the resurrected Jesus.  The Spirit is going to do what the Spirit chooses to do, when he chooses to do it.  He is in your life.  His wind drives the fire in you. 

The trick, from our side of it, is to learn to listen, to be submissive and to react to his guidance.  We don’t have to have it all figured out.  You can’t do that anyway.  All we need to do is be open to the wind which moves us and be ready to burn when he lights us.  And we can do that!  Isn’t that exciting? 

Acts 2:17-18    "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’”