Did You Hear What I Said? Acts 2:1-13

We have been reading from the book of Acts this week, discovering how the church started. We first looked at Jesus final instructions to the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until the Father sends the Holy Spirit, which will be their way to reach the lost.

In today’s passage the Holy Spirit makes his dramatic entry. I have been in several church services on Pentecost Sunday where the church attempts to duplicate this amazing event. I have seen a church line a few dozen people across the front of the church, with each person reading a verse from Acts 2. The fun part for the congregation is listening as each reader speaks in a different language.

I have also seen a church have people stand up sporadically within the congregations and, in unison, read from Acts 2 each also speaking in a different language. While both of the demonstrations are fun to watch and powerful to imagine how the Holy Spirit affected the apostles, they are both incorrect examples.

You see, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles that day and they started to speak, the hearer did not hear different languages, they heard their own language. That is the miracle! The disciples were not speaking different languages, but the crowd, filled with people of different tongues all heard the message that was being spoken. There was no confusion.

What I love about this event is how it is impossible for us to give an accurate reenactment without the aid of the Holy Spirit. God is huge. He is powerful. And only He can communicate the message of the gospel, tearing down all communication barriers. Praise God.

Read today's passage at Biblegateway Acts 2:1-13

1 Corinthians 14:20-28

A few years ago I had the privilege of participating in a short term medical mission trip to Honduras. Not having medical training I could only be useful as a go-fer. When the doctors and nurses needed something - I would go fer it.

When I wasn't needed for this chore I was able to spend time with the people of that country and their children. I did not speak their language and when I wanted to communicate with them I needed an interpreter. Playing with the children was fun and teaching them an American game was amusing. We struggled to understand one another as there was not always an interpreter available.

I would use pantomime to instruct the children on the rules of a game. It became apparent to me I needed to speak the same language if I was going to teach them a game. It would be necessary for me to speak so they could understand me if I wanted to have a relationship with them. I also learned how much they respected my efforts to speak their tongue, how much more willing they were to listen.

That is exactly the lesson Paul is teaching us today, and the Corinthian people in his day. When we speak in a foreign language no one will understand us without a translator. We will only be the entertainment and not the messenger.

Read the text for today at Biblegateway here.