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CloseRyan Sim - May 13, 2014
Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer Spirit
The book of Acts was written by Luke, a medical doctor who took an interest in the teachings of Jesus through his mentor, Peter. He’s examined the evidence for Jesus’ life in his earlier letter, the Gospel of Luke, and this time he’s looking at what happened to those who decided to continue following Jesus. Jesus has given his followers a huge mission – we learned this last week – to share his good news with the entire world. To the ends of the earth! He gave this mission to twelve central disciples and a hundred or so people who may have gathered around them in this story. It would be hugely daunting, with no modern communications, travel options. They were in uncharted territory, and needed a guide. Jesus promised them the Holy Spirit, and said to wait for him to arrive. Here’s what happened on the day of Pentecost, a Jewish festival. 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. 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. 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.” (Acts 2:1-13 ESV) How could they know if this was truly the Holy Spirit, their guide for this mission they’d been assigned? They experienced three phenomena that only God could produce. Wind It sounded like wind, but wasn’t. It was the Holy Spirit. Not a bad attempt at a physical description of God’s Spirit – we know we can feel the wind, see its effects, but also that we can’t ever pinpoint or control its source. It’s out of our control, and in the case of a sailboat, we have to admit this if we ever want to get anywhere, by adapting ourselves to the reality of the wind’s direction and strength. Flames It looked like fire, wasn’t. This phenomenon didn’t burn them or produce heat. It just appeared and rested on them. They were on fire! Tongues These people sounded like they were speaking languages they knew, but they weren’t. They were speaking other people’s languages. Tomorrow we’ll see the meaning of all this, particularly the languages or tongues. Why all these odd signs of the Spirit? John the Baptist said Spirit would come with wind and fire. God has used these signs before – in Exodus God appeared as a pillar of fire to guide his people. But why now? Question: What do you think God is trying to teach these disciples through wind, fire and speech? What’s he showing them about the Holy Spirit?
Related Topics: Ascension, Early Church, Jesus, Pioneer | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio
From Series: "Pioneer Story"
We read through the Book of Acts as a Pioneer Story for the church.
More From "Pioneer Story"
Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer StoryMay 5, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer StoryMay 6, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer StoryMay 7, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer StoryMay 8, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer StoryMay 9, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer SpiritMay 12, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer SpiritMay 13, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer SpiritMay 14, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer SpiritMay 15, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer SpiritMay 16, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PeopleMay 19, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PeopleMay 20, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PeopleMay 21, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PeopleMay 22, 2014 |
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Friday - Act On It - Pioneer PeopleMay 23, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PracticesMay 26, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PracticesMay 27, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PracticesMay 28, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PracticesMay 29, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PracticesMay 30, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PreachingJune 2, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PreachingJune 3, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PreachingJune 4, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PreachingJune 5, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PreachingJune 6, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PushbackJune 9, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PushbackJune 10, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PushbackJune 11, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PushbackJune 12, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PushbackJune 13, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer ProofJune 16, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer ProofJune 17, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer ProofJune 18, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer ProofJune 19, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer ProofJune 20, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PrioritiesJune 23, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PrioritiesJune 24, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PrioritiesJune 25, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PrioritiesJune 26, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PrioritiesJune 27, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PainJune 30, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PainJuly 1, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PainJuly 2, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PainJuly 3, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PainJuly 4, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PlayersJuly 7, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PlayersJuly 8, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PlayersJuly 9, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PlayersJuly 10, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PlayersJuly 11, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer ProgressJuly 14, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer ProgressJuly 15, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer ProgressJuly 16, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer ProgressJuly 17, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer ProgressJuly 18, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer ProdigyJuly 21, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer ProdigyJuly 22, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer ProdigyJuly 23, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer ProdigyJuly 24, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer ProdigyJuly 25, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PorkJuly 28, 2014 |
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Tuesday- Study It - Pioneer PorkJuly 29, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PorkJuly 30, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PorkJuly 31, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PorkAugust 1, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers And PagansAugust 4, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers And PagansAugust 5, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers And PagansAugust 6, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers And PagansAugust 7, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and PagansAugust 8, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers And PrerequisitesAugust 11, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers And PrerequisitesAugust 12, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers And PrerequisitesAugust 13, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers And PrerequisitesAugust 14, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and PrerequisitesAugust 15, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers and PoliticsAugust 18, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers and PoliticsAugust 19, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers and PoliticsAugust 20, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers and PoliticsAugust 21, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and PoliticsAugust 22, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers and PhilosophersAugust 25, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers and PhilosophersAugust 26, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers and PhilosophersAugust 27, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers and PhilosophersAugust 28, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and PhilosophersAugust 29, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers and ProfitSeptember 1, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers and ProfitSeptember 2, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers and ProfitSeptember 3, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers and ProfitSeptember 4, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and ProfitSeptember 5, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneers and PowerSeptember 8, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneers and PowerSeptember 9, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneers and PowerSeptember 10, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneers and PowerSeptember 11, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneers and PowerSeptember 12, 2014 |
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Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer PotentialSeptember 15, 2014 |
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Tuesday - Study It - Pioneer PotentialSeptember 16, 2014 |
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Wednesday - Change It - Pioneer PotentialSeptember 17, 2014 |
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Thursday - Act On It - Pioneer PotentialSeptember 18, 2014 |
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Friday - Reflect - Pioneer PotentialSeptember 19, 2014 |
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