Pentecost Sunday: Acts 1-2. Devoted To Prayer

Pentecost Sunday: Acts 1-2 Meditation.m4a

Opening: Why We Gather on Pentecost

Leader: So we're going to start. Guys, I just want to give you a little bit more — I mentioned it in the GroupMe, but Pentecost Sunday is important. Sometimes it's important for us to take time away from our norms and really seek God's face. I think that's exactly what God instructed when he gave the festivals — there are something like seven different festivals they would observe each year, and for a lot of those festivals they would spend sometimes an entire week away from home and away from work. They would give all their energy to making the trip to Jerusalem, and they would worship there together, celebrate, and really focus their hearts on a particular thing God wanted them to focus on.

So this is going to be part of our annual rhythms. Each Pentecost Sunday — and it'll probably grow into more than a single worship time; we want to make it a bigger event where we can come and really seek God's face together for a good period of time. Each year we want to devote our attention to the Lord, just as they did in obedience to him.

Acts 1 really shows you how all the events around Jesus' life, death, and resurrection intersected with a festival they would celebrate called Shavuot, or Pentecost. People would come and worship and seek God's face at that time. That's why, as we'll read, all these people were there celebrating — they had people coming from all around, speaking different languages, Jews from all over the world, gathered to celebrate this festival. And God had a special plan to meet them.

So let's look at Acts 1. We're going to read and discuss. This isn't going to be a typical teaching time. We'll do two segments this morning: first, Acts 1 and how devotion to prayer leads to an outpouring of the Holy Spirit; then Acts 2, and how God's outpouring of the Holy Spirit brings about powerful witness. Let's start by reading. Why don't we just go around — if you're willing to read, jump in after somebody else. Do about a paragraph each, and we'll go all the way through Acts 1. I'll begin.

Segment One — Acts 1: Devotion to Prayer

Leader (reading Acts 1): “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father — ‘which,’ he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’

“So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’

“Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room where they were staying — Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

“In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood. For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it,” and “Let another take his office.” Therefore, from among the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us — one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.’ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

Leader: Thanks, guys. We'll stop there and come back in a minute. Let's just piece this together. What's the flow here? What just happened? Call out the different pieces of the story — let's retell what we read in our own words.

Participant: Jesus showed himself to the apostles and was with them for forty days. He died, he rose again, and before he ascended into heaven he was there — everybody was seeing him, the holes in his hands and feet. They were touching him, eating with him, learning from him for forty days.

Leader: And what did he tell them?

Participant: Don't leave Jerusalem.

Leader: Yeah — wait for the promise of the Father. They were going to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Later, in Peter's sermon, he'll point to Joel chapter 2, where we get the prophetic word that God will send out his Holy Spirit on men and women and children, that everyone would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That's the promise the Father had given. And he said, don't depart from Jerusalem — wait. That's not something we're good at doing. ‘Go and wait. I'm going to give you this, but go and wait.’ Every one of us gets antsy when somebody says, ‘You're going to get this, but wait. Wait for a while.’ Then what happens in that next section?

Participant: I think they're still not quite getting it, maybe?

Leader: Right — ‘Is now the time when Israel's going to rule the world? Are you going to come in here in full power?’ And Jesus says again, ‘You're going to receive the Holy Spirit. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth.’

Participant: It's interesting too — if you go back to verse 2, at least in my translation, it says that until the day he was taken up he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles. Even Jesus' instructions were coming through the Holy Spirit to the people.

Leader: That's great — I hadn't really meditated on that before. Jesus' own words were empowered by the Holy Spirit. It's really setting up this whole section of what the Holy Spirit is going to do.

Participant: I love that, because he also says crazy things — I think in John 14 to 16 — where he says, ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.’ And then he says the Father will send the Holy Spirit in his name. So God is one, and yet three. There's this amazing mystery that when Jesus says he's going to pour out his Holy Spirit on us, when he says he's not going to leave us, it's really he himself coming to us through the Holy Spirit.

Leader: ‘What you've been hearing from me all along was empowered by the Holy Spirit — you were experiencing me. Now I'm gone, but it's the same message over here through the Spirit.’ Yeah, it's pretty cool. ‘You will be my witnesses.’ He tells them the purpose of the Holy Spirit coming on them — that they would be witnesses. We'll keep focusing on that in the second half. But then what happened? They're looking on, and what happens to Jesus?

Participant: He ascended. He started to rise up.

Participant: And Scripture says in another place that he was seen by more than five hundred people.

Leader: That's right — there were a lot of witnesses. Sometimes you see paintings depicting the ascension as a big crowd up on a hill, like the times he met them in open places, out in fields. And then, right before their eyes, he's lifted up this time, just as he said: ‘I'm going to my Father to prepare a place for you. But here's what you're going to do.’ He gives instructions, and right before their eyes he's lifted up into the clouds, out of their sight. Just imagine seeing this man you walked with for three years lifted up — there he goes. What did their faces look like just then? If I were them, I'd be like…

Participant: I think many of them would be like, ‘Wait a minute, I have more questions.’

Leader: Seriously — ‘How are you leaving now?’ It's like Elijah getting taken away with the chariots of fire, and Elisha is like, ‘Give me that — get back here,’ grabbing his cloak. ‘Sure, take it, I don't need it anymore.’ But Jesus is going up, just like he said he would. And then all of a sudden, while they're standing there gazing, two men stood by them. They weren't there before. Now two men in white robes — which I assume are angels — say, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go.’ So they've gotten their word. Do you think it took an angelic appearance to shock them out of staring up at the sky?

Participant: Yeah. I wonder how long they stood there staring — ‘What are we doing now?’

Leader: Right. So the men give them instructions: basically, it's time to stop staring into heaven, because this Jesus you saw go is going to come back. So slowly they disperse — ‘Okay, these guys in white just told us we need to let go. We'd better listen to the Lord, who said wait in Jerusalem, don't leave, don't go back to your villages. Go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit.’

Participant: I think it's important to note that only 120 went to the upper room in obedience to the Lord's instruction. There were many more people there, many who had heard his message, but they chose not to go. We don't know exactly why — was it doubt, unbelief, walking away as some had before? Or did they feel they weren't worthy to be the ones who went to the upper room? We don't really get that information, but it's interesting to realize that not everyone who heard Jesus' message went to the upper room.

Leader: Do you think the upper room is the only place they had to be — or just Jerusalem generally?

Participant: I don't know. It seems like the Holy Spirit came on the people in that place together, and then it grew. So maybe if other followers of Jesus were in Jerusalem, they met up with them.

Leader: Those are interesting thoughts. I just don't know that there would be a room that could hold everyone — there were five hundred people on the hill.

Participant: Well, five hundred could fit in one room. It's a big room.

Leader: It's important to note that the angel gives instructions just as Jesus had. He said, ‘Go, wait for the Holy Spirit. You're going to be witnesses.’ They've just asked about when the kingdom is coming — when everything will be restored to the way it's supposed to be, where the whole world worships the one true God, everyone's obedient, no more enemies, no more of this cursed world and death. They've just asked this, but then Jesus is gone. The angels say he's gone, but he's going to come again. So it signals to us that a new era is beginning right now.

Leader: If you were there, what would you expect?

Participant: That he'd make it quicker than he has. ‘Okay, I'm waiting…’

Leader: Absolutely — every human being since Christ came has been like, ‘Lord, why? How long?’ This is why many fall away, as he said he warned. We today have doubts; we wrestle with them. ‘Lord, it's been years and years. You say you're coming, but where are you?’ Here's what I think we need to keep in mind: he's called us to a mission. In between the first coming of Jesus and his coming again, he said, ‘You're going to go and be my witnesses to the end of the earth.’ And here's the good news — if Jesus had come before our generation, we wouldn't be alive; if he had come before we came to Christ, we'd be lost. Peter says, don't count God's slowness in coming back as slowness, but as patience — patience for all the lost, all the people he wants in his kingdom. His arms are still open. He's saying, ‘You still have a mission, Jeff. You still have a mission, Ethan.’ Every one of us, down to our children — we don't know what their mission will be, but they have a mission to be little flames in this world. He wants to set each of us apart, fill us with his Spirit, and send us out into the world. That's the age we live in right now — the age of the Holy Spirit, of God's presence among his people, indwelling us so that we can be his witnesses and light the earth.

Leader: Let's keep talking about what happened. I don't want to linger too long here, but notice the kinds of things happening when they go out. They return to Jerusalem, just as Jesus promised, from the mount called Olivet — which many believe will be the primary place Jesus returns to. I don't know for sure; Scripture says every eye will see him, so I think everyone on earth will see the glorious King coming out of the clouds, but maybe he lands there first, where he ascended. They go to Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away, up to the upper room where they were staying. ‘All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers.’ About 120 people. So what kinds of things do you think they were doing as they devoted themselves to prayer? What do you take away from this text — what do you imagine?

Participant: I believe they were searching their hearts, and that there was some confession among them, forgiving one another. They were being called to a very important mission, and there may have been some unsettled issues that needed to be resolved. So it seems to me there would have been a humbling of their hearts among themselves, especially the apostles.

Participant: I think it's cool that, earlier in the Gospels, Jesus' brothers were not believers — but now they're there with their mom in the upper room. So at some point between then and now, they came to believe their brother was the Lord. That's awesome — it speaks to the significance of James' ministry and all that.

Leader: Man, that's great. So there's a belief and conversion taking place that's manifest here. People are in awe and wonder at all that's just happened. And yet — I think Sally Lloyd-Jones, the author of that book, is right — there's probably some fear too. They just killed the Lord; he's risen from the dead, but rumors are spreading that they're the ones who stole the body. ‘Everybody thinks we stole him, and we're sitting here having watched him rise.’ So they're feeling all this anticipation as they wait, mixed with fear because of the authorities. These were some nasty spiritual leaders, and they knew what could happen to them. What other things do you think were happening as they devoted themselves to prayer? By the way — this is ten days.

Leader: Here's how we know: Acts 2 says, ‘When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.’ The day of Pentecost was fifty days after the resurrection, and Scripture says Jesus had been speaking to them for forty days after his resurrection. So forty days Jesus is with them, then ten more days they're in Jerusalem devoting themselves to prayer, with lots of people there. Again, this is taking time away from your normal life to seek God — a whole week-long festival, away from their jobs and work, seeking him. Imagine ten days of that: meditating, speaking the word to one another, praying. What else do you think is happening?

Participant: I wonder if they're just processing the last three years — or even the last four days, probably all of it. It must have been a whirlwind. And then for him to be gone, and they're just waiting, not knowing what it's going to be like with the Holy Spirit, how that will feel different than it was with Jesus. Just hearing people's stories, processing, grieving that he's not there.

Leader: All of Peter's sermons are very much, ‘Guys, look at this spot in the Old Testament — Jesus fulfilled it. This had to happen because it was spoken of him.’ Post Acts 1 and 2, Peter's always pointing back: ‘Look, this was fulfilled. Jesus' ministry fulfilled this.’ I think for sure they were looking back — ‘Didn't he say this? This is what happened. Doesn't Joel say that?’ — those kinds of conversations. It's so much of what we do when we're waiting: ‘The Lord promised this,’ and trying to trust him even though we don't see it yet.

Participant: Think of the aftermath of something traumatic, like the loss of a loved one. They lost their friend Judas. It just dawned on me — the conversation Peter brings up doesn't come out of nowhere. He's lost his friend. He's obviously grieved and troubled over the situation. Just a few short weeks ago, their friend who'd been with them for years, who did the same works as them, betrayed all of them, took his own life, and was lost. After big traumatic events — like after 9/11 — people bind together. They gather, they meditate, they pray. The petty stuff falls away.

Leader: And the other interesting thing is that leadership seems to be coming into place, doesn't it? Because Peter's the one who speaks — and we know Peter was often the first one to speak. He's taken the podium a few times here. Maybe leadership is starting to form, the natural sense within the group of who's going to speak, who's rising into different roles. I can imagine him saying, ‘Guys, it's up to us now. We've got to do this right and follow through on what the Lord has given us to do.’

Leader: So they're waiting, praying, worshiping — perhaps quietly because they're nervous — mourning, perhaps making amends with one another. A lot can happen in ten days. Imagine if we sat together for ten days after an event like that.

Leader: Do you think all of them were together for the whole ten days?

Participant: I'm sure people went out, coming and going for food and whatever else. But I think there was a lot of time together.

Leader: I'm imagining one of two things — or maybe both. How was day nine different from day one? Was the Holy Spirit's coming the climax of a building crescendo, where they got more and more excited? Or was their enthusiasm tapering off because they're waiting and nothing's happening? I've heard one depiction where they were doubting — ‘Did we all just have the same dream? Can we trust what Jesus said? Did it happen and we missed it?’ The guy who went out for groceries — ‘Did it happen while I was gone? Am I too late?’

Participant: I think there's a clue in chapter 2 — I know we're still in chapter 1 — but in those first verses it says, ‘When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all in one accord.’ So through that whole process you're describing — the doubts, the fears — they were finally getting to day nine or ten, getting into one accord. That unity of focus was a very important thing for them to have in order to receive the promise of the Father.

Leader: ‘One accord’ is like consensus. Surely they were searching the Old Testament and coming to one conclusion about what this was, seeing the Lord's work. That's really helpful.

Leader: You think they just had a ten-day-long Bible study? Went through the entire Old Testament — ‘Oh yeah, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’

Participant: Something like that.

Leader: He had given them those forty days of teaching. Luke says he showed them in the Old Testament — the wisdom writings, the prophets, the songs, all of it — where it shows that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise, and how his message would go to the end of the earth. So they're coming back to all these texts he'd shown them, meditating on them, teaching. I don't think it was just eyes-closed worship — people are getting revelation from God, seeing things, talking about things. They're even asking God for leadership around this new decision: ‘We need to appoint somebody new in Judas' place.’ And they say, ‘Lord, we commit this decision by lots — basically rolling dice. We commit it to you; we want you to appoint somebody.’

Participant: It's interesting — not funny, but after chapter 2, you never hear them roll dice anymore.

Leader: That is interesting. They drop it off.

Participant: Do you think it's because the Holy Spirit came, so then they had wisdom and insight? They didn't have to guess what God wanted.

Leader: That's cool. So they devoted themselves, God gives them wisdom, and he appoints Matthias. Guys, I just want us to sit for another couple minutes with this idea of having to wait on the Lord and linger. Devoting ourselves to prayer is never an easy thing, because prayer is waiting on the Lord. Prayer is sitting in a space where you say, ‘God, I want you to do this, and now I present my request to you. I show you my love and affection.’ And then there's a lot of waiting. So I just want to hear for a moment — what are the ways you devote yourself to prayer? In this in-between time, as we wait on the Lord, as we wait for him to fulfill things or answer prayers, what does devotion to prayer look like for you? ‘These all, with one accord, were devoting themselves to prayer.’ We have the Holy Spirit — he's already come — but what do we take away, what do we draw from a moment like this? I think there's something here for us. We live in a similar experience of waiting: ‘God, we want you to come back. We want you to work.’ Share some of your own experience.

Participant: It's happened with me — crying out with someone else's words, and singing to him.

Participant (Jeff): I mean, I'm struggling with just trying to be patient through the recovery — all the radiation treatments and chemo. And it's not done yet. So when you talk about patience or waiting — I'm praying about not hurting like I do, but it's just not happening yet, you know?

Leader: Yeah. So there's a longing — ‘God, where are you? Please move more.’ Some frustration?

Participant (Jeff): Oh yeah, for sure.

Participant: I was thinking along the same line. Sometimes — hopefully not in your case — prayers are just decades of the same prayer.

Participant (Jeff): I'm cured — that's what I've been told. But I won't have my PET scan until the end of June. So honestly, one of my biggest challenges right now is that I believe I'm cured, but if they find something, the idea of having to go back through radiation again is absolutely overwhelming. It was so devastating. So I just keep trying. June 25th or 29th, whatever it is — it'll be a big day for me. Sorry, guys, I've been getting off track.

Leader: No, thanks for sharing that. Let's pray. God, I pray that the PET scan would be totally clear — that you would work so that all the cancer is totally gone, with no need for radiation or any more chemo. I pray that you would draw close to him, that he would feel your presence in this waiting, that you would speak to him and that he would know your care and understand your love for him — that he would see this waiting is not in vain or wasted, but that you always work in our waiting, even in times where you feel silent or far away. We pray that your hand would be on him, and that come the end of June things would be totally clear, and that Jeff would know in the deepest parts of his soul that you are the one who healed him. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Participant: Thank you. Amen.

Leader: You're hitting on a lot of our experience. It's all at different levels of intensity, but that waiting and anticipation — ‘What if you don't answer the way I want you to?’ — that's scary.

Participant: I'm thankful that in those times we also have the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said he would be our Comforter. We can speak the promises and the comforting Scriptures over our lives. I think that's part of waiting on the Lord in our times of prayer. Not only are we worshiping and praising — but in our waiting, when doubts and fears try to come up, when the enemy tries to put a thought of fear or worry in our minds, instead of accepting and believing that, we can choose to resist it and choose the word of the Lord. We can decree God's promises over ourselves and find comfort in that.

Leader: That's good. The fact that we each have a personal Bible is amazing — something rare in the history of the world — and now we can take these words and apply these truths to ourselves. The Psalms are packed with these same longing prayers. We're given this word for personal devotion, and we're not alone in it — we get to minister this word to one another. I love that they're not alone doing this. Acts is so full of that. You get some moments of personal prayer — Peter up on the roof before God shows him he's going to save the Gentiles — but more often in Acts they're together, praying. They devoted themselves to prayer together, in one accord, united around a similar prayer and passion and mission.

Leader: Dad, you said something — if God sometimes doesn't answer for decades, what does being devoted to prayer look like in seasons where you're waiting decades? What does it look like?

Participant (Dad): Sometimes it's just remembering — ‘Oh gosh, I've got to keep that prayer going; I've got to keep trusting him.’ I guess that's one of the benefits of having lived a few decades, and of being able to look at people who've lived a few decades and hear stories of people who just persist and persist, trusting. With one particular prayer, so many people have told us, ‘God's going to answer this in a favorable way.’ Just having those encouraging words along the way — maybe every five years someone says, ‘I got a word from the Lord; I'm convinced this person is going to come to Jesus.’ And there's some juice to keep going for another five or ten years. Then it's like, ‘Oh shoot, I haven't prayed for two days for that one.’ So it's consistent, faithful, steady prayers of faith.

Participant: I've heard different people do it differently too. People who come to Christ later discover, ‘My mom fasted for me every Monday while I was in prison.’ It really is a group thing. I've had people like Willie come up to me and say, ‘Keep going.’ Willie is a man of discipline out in California — he knows our family, so we're all big fans of Willie. You may want to meet him someday.

Leader: What else? Devoting yourself to prayer in this time of waiting in between — Jesus has been lifted up into the clouds, the angel said he'll come back in the same way he went, but here we are, also waiting, devoting ourselves to prayer. What does that look like for you personally, or with your group and your family?

Participant: Changing what I do when I'm not praying. For me particularly, limiting the amount — but also very specifically the content — of what I watch or listen to. Historically, when I try to pray, that's when movies start playing in my head, or scenes from a TV show I've been watching. So the less I'm watching that, the less often those come up as distractions, and it's easier to focus when I have the things of God throughout the day instead of my own pleasures or whatever I want to pursue selfishly.

Leader: Dude, I think you've hit on one of the biggest reasons for our last couple of generations. I do believe that one of the biggest reasons we're not devoted to prayer is that we're so distracted by entertainment. We cope with the world's suffering by entertaining ourselves endlessly. I'm not trying to shame anybody — it's an exhortation to me as much as anyone — but watch out that your focus and your devotion to prayer isn't just eaten up by the world's constant attention-seeking.

Participant: Good word, dude.

Participant: Something else I wanted to share: disappointment can be a very powerful thing in our lives when things don't happen the way we'd like, or prayers aren't answered as quickly. We have to become disappointed with disappointment — put it aside and find ways to overcome it, because it can lead to harder places like depression, where we quit praying altogether. So we need to be on guard about not letting disappointment get to us. One way I've tried to do that in that space of delay that just goes on and on is to remind the Lord that we have a history together, and that he's given me promises. I remind him that he's perfect in all his ways — because I need to hear that, and I need to hear myself say it — to know I can trust him even when it seems like he's not showing up. I'll say things like, ‘Your timing is perfect.’ Those things help me endure through the delay. So reminding the Lord of his character has been helpful for me.

Leader: Yeah — ‘This is who you are, God. This is how you've been toward me. Help me keep believing this.’ David prayed like that: ‘Lord, answer me according to your righteousness, according to your faithfulness. Hear my pleas for mercy — this is who you are. Hear me, please.’

Participant: Continuing in the vein of praying for specific requests — a willingness to keep being raw and honest with the Lord as you pray. Lament, which is bringing our complaints to God, being real and honest with him, and then reminding our hearts of what he said, what is true. For me, not being honest with the Lord has prevented me from continuing to pray for things. If I haven't been willing to deal with the hard emotions — ‘Why aren't you answering? It feels like you've forgotten me’ — that's stopped me. So being honest helps me keep going.

Leader: For me there are two enemies of devotion to prayer. One is exactly that — when I actually have a distrust, or I'm wrestling with the Lord, or there's unrepentance, something straining my prayers, and either I don't realize it or I'm too frantic to face it. It's the elephant in the room. Until I work through that, trying to pray is like offering sacrifice with my heart far from him. And he's like, ‘No, I know what you actually want to talk about — talk to me about that.’

The second piece, connected to it: if I don't pray first thing in the morning, I get so distracted the whole day that it becomes nearly impossible. It's unbelievable how, once the day gets going, carving out thirty minutes of uninterrupted time feels impossible. So I have to start in the morning before anybody's awake, and guard it. There's always so much going on in my heart that I don't realize, because I'm on autopilot — so much spiritual autopilot. Often the Lord is trying to press me on something he cares about, or I'm feeling really tangled up. I'm the promoter of journaling here — I have to sit down and really write out what I feel. Very simple: ‘I feel this way. I feel angry.’ I literally have to shepherd my heart — corral it. ‘What am I actually feeling right now?’ I have to get really granular. Then: ‘Why do I feel that way? What does God say about it? And what does he want me to do about it?’ Those four questions. I write them down with lines between them. For me that's super helpful, because I know the Lord wants my heart, and there are things I'm tangled up with that are hard to sort through if I'm just living life. I have to sit down and do an inventory. But it's so rewarding — because so often I end up feeling at peace, in sync with the Lord, and there's no better feeling than that in the world.

I think we say this regularly, but personal prayer is something we need to become so acquainted with that it's just part of our lives. We can't just be people who pray with people — we need to be able to pray alone. And we also can't only be people who pray alone — we need to pray with others. This is how God set up the world, so we need to fight for that personal devotion. Anytime your heart is feeling unsettled — the fear that rises up around an upcoming PET scan, whatever's going on, ‘I'm waiting on this, God, I've asked for this’ — those overwhelming emotions are an invitation from the Lord: ‘Come and wait on me. Come seek my face. Come be with me. Let me comfort you, counsel you, minister to you.’ You go to the Lord, and then you welcome a brother or sister: ‘Hey, I need you to pray with me right now.’

And I want to say — you guys are devoted to prayer. I see it in so many of your lives, in your marriages and your homes. Keep up that good work. Take it a step further: put away more distractions. This is the world we live in right now — we're in between the first and second coming. We're waiting. Those ten days are like a little microcosm of the waiting we're in. We're waiting on the Lord to come, and waiting on him to meet us — and he does. Let's sing this song. We need a fresh wind. I want us to redevote our hearts to this kind of prayer. Grab a lyric book — turn to page 36, ‘Fresh Wind.’

God, we want to recommit to being people who devote ourselves to the Holy Spirit, to prayer, to seeking your Spirit. Please help us now as we sing.

(Singing — “Fresh Wind”) Spirit sound, rushing in… Holy Ghost, breathe on us, we pray, even now. As we repent and turn from sin, revival, come… Breath of God…

On this line, present to him in your mind the thing you're waiting on — the biggest burden. ‘This is what I'm waiting on, Lord. We need a fresh wind. We need you to come and fill this space. We're waiting on you to meet us in this. Help us believe you're going to come with your Holy Spirit and bring comfort, meet us, and empower us. We need it. Fresh.’

(Singing) Pour your Spirit out… over the hearts of earth… So be the Church, alive… in every city, every kingdom rise… We can hear the wind blowing, blowing upon me…

We want to be people of faith. We need to know that he's going to come, that he's going to do the things we ask for in his perfect timing. We can't be a bright people if we're full of doubt that God is good for us personally. It's really hard to witness and be a light to others when we're saying, ‘Lord, I'm in doubt over this thing — are you good to me here? Do you love me in this way? Are you going to answer this prayer?’ So we really do need him to refresh our hearts again, to remind us that he's good, he's coming, he's going to provide. Let's ask him to do that. On this bridge, sing it again — this is what we want; we want to be able to prophesy the same.

(Singing) We can hear the wind blowing through our hearts… We can hear the fresh wind… Pour your Spirit out… for your anointing… the power of your presence… Pour your Spirit out…

Lord, I'm so convinced that you will pour your Spirit out, and that you have what we're after — we see it in Scripture and we've seen it in our own lives; you've moved and worked. So as we ask you to pour more of your Spirit out, would you remove distractions? Would you remove doubt and fear that hinder us from seeing your face and asking for more of you? Would you give us more faith, more vision for who you are and the work you have for us and the work you're doing in this world and in our cities? Would you get us out of our own way? By the power of your Spirit that you've poured out on us, that lives and works in us, give us power and authority in the name of Jesus. And specifically for myself — in the ways I've used entertainment, my phone, TV shows, all these things that waste my time and remove me from your presence — would you remove or keep me from that, and keep reminding me that you have poured your Spirit out. Thank you, Lord. God, help us devote ourselves to prayer. Would entertainment feel cheap and silly by comparison? Entertainment is a grace — you've given us good things to enjoy — but we don't want to use it improperly or let it take over. So please help us. You've given us this instruction to wait on you in prayer, and I pray we would never forsake it. Thank you, Lord.

Even though the Holy Spirit has come into our hearts — and he is here for every Christian — I'm convinced this is still the cycle we live in until he comes again: a constant need to come back, seek his face, and wait on his presence, so he can speak life again, remind us of these truths, speak the gospel, and answer prayer. We get filled up, and we go out and keep doing what we do, going out in faith because he comes every time. That's what we're asking for every single morning. We go to bed, we wake up with burdens again, and then we're called to wait on him. That's the cycle we're in. It's hard, but it keeps us dependent on the Lord — and that's a really beautiful thing.

Segment Two — Acts 2: The Outpouring and Powerful Witness

Leader: All right — let's go back to Acts 2 together. This is the fruit of their prayers. ‘When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.’ Ten days of seeking the Lord together — and boom, all of a sudden, on the day of Pentecost, in the morning. Peter says a little later it's only nine in the morning; they'd maybe been there since eight. ‘And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ Somebody jump in and read a paragraph.

Participant (reading Acts 2): “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians — we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.’ And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

““Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.”

““Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Leader: Amazing. Let's just meditate on the result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Think about what kind of people they were, and then what kind of people they became when the Holy Spirit came on them.

Participant: That would have been the craziest thing to witness. We saw that picture of those little flames over the guys' heads, just sitting there — little flames of fire rising above their heads. That's insane. It would be a wild thing to witness.

Leader: Yeah — and what happened? They couldn't contain it.

Participant: They went out and had to share it, spread it, preach it — and signs followed, and many were believing and getting saved.

Leader: That's right. As the author says, they flung the doors and windows open — they weren't afraid anymore. They were bold.

Participant: And the people who heard were pierced to the heart. The Holy Spirit wasn't only active through their preaching; he was going out and convicting the world of righteousness and judgment — doing exactly what he was there to do, drawing others into the fold through the gospel. So it wasn't just head knowledge; it was a piercing of the heart, hearts of stone becoming hearts of flesh. The depth of the message was profound.

Leader: That's right — which gives you insight into the age the Lord has us in. It's not an age where you say, ‘I was born a Muslim, so I'm always a Muslim,’ or even, in Christian circles, ‘I'm a Christian because I was baptized as a baby.’ People fill in the blank of what they think makes them a Christian — because their parents were. But this is different. The era we've been welcomed into is one where the Lord wants you to be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, your heart pierced, so that you say, ‘Jesus is Lord. I can't help but say it. I have to give him everything. To him I owe my allegiance — every part of me.’

Participant: And even the comment they make — ‘What should we do?’ — shows this willingness to do whatever. They're pierced to the heart: ‘What do we do? Tell us, Peter. Whatever it takes.’

Participant: That same sentiment was echoed by the Philippian jailer, I think — ‘What must I do to be saved?’ The Holy Spirit was active in Paul and the others, the same message and power convicting others: ‘We've been struck with the awareness of our need. What must we do to be saved?’

Leader: Amazing. What else do we see happening?

Participant: Peter quotes Joel — that final line: ‘It shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ What a wild turn of events — anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. To make that so automatic, the capstone of the gospel going beyond the Jews to anyone who believes — it's incredible that God would make his salvation accessible to that degree. There's no limit to it. No special people — just anyone.

Leader: And the limitlessness of that word — anyone. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, including the most unimpressive people, the most wicked, the most horrific. Anyone who calls. What a message.

Participant: I've always thought of it this way. You see Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees — they have this hard posture; they think they're already over the line that separates everyone else from Jesus. And Jesus is saying, ‘No, you need to go back over the line and ask those kinds of questions — what must I do to be saved?’ And they're like, ‘No, we're already righteous, already on your side.’ The way you present yourself to Jesus matters — there are very different messages. If you think you're already righteous, he has very harsh words for you. But if you're humble and confess your sin and ask for a Savior, he gladly receives you over the line to himself, because he bridges that gap for you.

Leader: There's clearly power involved here — power in every direction. They start speaking languages they don't know. Have you ever felt the Spirit of God come on you in a powerful, tangible way? I hope you have. For me, when it's happened, it's either ecstatic praise — ‘God, you're so good’ — sometimes in the car driving, where I just have to shout; I can't even help it.

Participant: Daniel in traffic — people look over and think that guy's mad.

Leader: Right — but it's just the Holy Spirit. ‘Jesus, you're so good — ’ you just start to shout. And in this case I've literally jumped out of the car and run over to teenagers walking down the street: ‘Guys, I've got to tell you something — Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.’

Participant: Like what James would do if he ran over.

Leader: Anyway, that's the sort of thing the Holy Spirit wants to do. He turns little, weak, scared, faithless people into people who look like they just rose from the dead, declaring God's praises — even in tongues they don't know. Now, I think there are two different kinds of tongues in the Bible. There are angelic tongues, which are often a personal prayer language — rarely used in corporate gatherings with interpretation, like prophetic words. But most often, tongues are a personal prayer language — you before God, when you don't know what to say: ‘I'm going to pour out my spirit before you.’ If you don't have that, we can talk more — I'd love to pray. I think God has given me that gift. It's a crazy thing; I still don't fully understand it. Then there's the other gift of tongues, which still happens sometimes today, especially in the missions world — people go out and God pours out his Spirit so they can share the good news in other tongues, given the ability to speak languages they've never known. That's what begins to happen here. But I think he does it in an abnormal way here to show that the gospel is going to go to every people, nation, and tribe. That's the point. He gives the Holy Spirit because the age they're entering is one where they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Leader: So they come and wait, and he empowers them. Peter, of all people — ‘I don't know the man,’ he'd said, when the rooster crowed. Now here he is: ‘Men of Israel — you killed him, but he rose again. Repent.’ That's a resurrected man. The Holy Spirit comes and raises him up.

Leader: Now let's finish up. Look at verse 42. All these people — thousands of them — power comes on Peter, the gospel goes out, people get baptized and repent, the gospel spreads. And in verse 42: ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.’ It says they broke bread in their homes, served one another, met in homes, and worshiped with glad and generous hearts, and the Lord kept adding to their number day by day until he comes back. This is the cycle. We come to the Lord, waiting — ‘all together in one place, devoting themselves to prayer’ — and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. They become witnesses. Then they come back together into a home, week after week, day by day. They seek his face together. They listen to what Jesus taught the apostles, and the apostles passed Jesus' teaching down to us, recorded in the Scriptures. And we get to devote ourselves to the Scriptures, to prayer, to breaking bread, to meeting in homes.

Participant: In the Amplified, it says they ‘steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to instruction and fellowship.’ That paints a deeper picture of how fervently they were committing to it.

Leader: Yes. So there's this reality that our Christian life in between the first and second coming is a big inhale — ‘Fill me with your Spirit, God’ — and then an exhale: ‘I'm going to go into the world and declare this good news with your power.’ Then inhale again. Isn't that beautiful? The Spirit — that word is pneuma, the same word as breath or wind. God intends for us to breathe. This is how he created the world: he breathed the breath of life into Adam's lungs, and Adam became a living being. This is the cycle we're called into daily, moment by moment. Every breath we take is meant to be dependent on God — this intake of God's Spirit, his presence, and then this output of blessing to the world. That's what he wants to do — witnesses in this day until he comes again.

Leader: So, guys, as we breathe this week, take deep breaths and meditate on this truth: the Holy Spirit wants to fill you afresh every single day, so you can pour out your energy and give him all you have. Let's devote ourselves again to the Holy Spirit, to prayer, to seeking him, to being witnesses in the power he gives us. Can anyone think of a song to close with?

Participant: ‘And they were filled with awe’ — that's what it says. That we would be filled with awe.

Leader: Yes — it's so easy for it to become routine for me, checking off lists. Filled with awe. That doesn't quite answer your question about a song, but I'm glad you mentioned it.