The book of Acts is instrumental in documenting the acts of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians.

• The Holy Spirit is mentioned 56 times in the Book of Acts.
• Compare that to the word love which is mentioned ZERO times.

This does not discount the value of love as it is well documented throughout scripture of love’s importance and significance.

“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.” Acts 1:8

The baptism of the Holy Spirit gives the believer power. The word for power comes from the Greek word dynamis and means to be able, capable, and achieving power.

Acts 1 explains how 120 believers are waiting together for God’s promise to arrive. This was the sum of Jesus’ followers after His resurrection. And now, they wait, wait, wait.

How many of us enjoy a good, long, undefined time of waiting? Nothing will test the fruit of the Spirit like having to wait.

Patiently waiting is never wasted time but prepares us for what’s to come. Patiently waiting is one of the most productive things you can do.

It was no coincidence that God sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Beginning with the crucifixion of Jesus, God was fulfilling prophecy in chronological order of the Jewish festivals.

The Old Testament festivals serve as a template for God’s new, often redeeming acts. Pentecost commemorates God giving Moses the Ten Commandments.

If you’re familiar with this story in Exodus 32 and the giving of the Ten Commandments, it’s another example of impatient waiting.

As Moses is on the mountain receiving the Law from God, the people become anxious. So they ask Aaron, Moses’ brother, who is left in charge, to forge a golden calf from their gold so that they can worship it.

God sees this and tells Moses to get down there and address your people. God’s judgment falls on the people, and it says in Exodus 32 that “about 3,000 died that day.”

Now fast-forward to after the Holy Spirit baptizes the 120, Peter goes out, boldly preaches, and Acts 2:41 says, “…about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

What these two events reveal to us is how the letter of the Law kills, but the Spirit gives life, 2 Corinthians 3:6. The Law proves our guilt. It cannot save us.

The Law reveals our need for a Savior. Like a thermometer shows us that we have a fever and are sick, it cannot make us well.

Jesus was crucified on Passover. During the Passover celebration, a spotless lamb was sacrificed, commemorating God’s protection from the death angel and delivering the people from Egypt. Jesus is the spotless lamb who takes away the sins of the world and sets us free.

Three days later, Jesus was resurrected on the Jewish Festival of First Fruits. First Fruits celebrated God’s blessing of the harvest, and the first fruits of the harvest were given as an offering to God. Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection.

Fifty days later is Pentecost, when God gave the Law to Moses, and now we receive the Holy Spirit.

As a side note, do you know what the next Festival is on the ancient Jewish calendar? It’s Rosh Hashanah, and it is symbolized by the blowing of trumpets.

Do you know what the next prophecy is to be fulfilled in scripture? The rapture? 1 Thessalonians 4:16 says Jesus’ return will happen at the sound of the trumpet of God.

Everything new that God did in the New Testament points back to an Old Testament act or principle.

God gave three recognizable signs so those present would know they received the promise.

#1 Audible: “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind.” Acts 2:2

The word wind in Greek is pneuma and means breath, to breathe, or wind. It is the word used for the Holy Spirit throughout scripture.

#2 Visual: “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.” Acts 2:3

Fire was a symbol of God’s presence. God revealed Himself to Moses as fire in a burning bush. During the Exodus, God led the people at night with a pillar of fire.

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire.” Deuteronomy 4:24

#3 Verbal: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:4

The word tongue is translated from the Greek word glossa and means speech or language. When the 120 were baptized, they spoke in a language they did not understand. This was a sign that points directly back to Genesis 11.

In Genesis, all people were united with one language. But as mankind’s heart grew evil, evil intensified because they could work together. So God gave each group of people their own language to slow the invention of wickedness.

With the baptism of the Holy Spirit, God unites people and draws them together through various languages, redeeming the events in Genesis 11. Of the three signs, only the last one, tongues, is repeated in scripture.

But is the baptism of the Holy Spirit for today and for everyone?

“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.”Acts 2:39

The purpose of this power is to be a bold witness for Jesus to the ends of the Earth and advance His kingdom.

As Luke 11:13 says, how much more will God give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!