How is it that we hear? Acts 2:8

We all should be craving a Pentecost… A visitation of the Holy Spirit with power... An empowerment as a result of it.

Jesus Himself said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict the world of sin.

HE would convict the world of sin. HE would do that work. WE do not need to.

One of the hardest things to do is to convince someone that what they are doing is wrong. Pride will not allow it. The person’s identity, their security, having shifted to who they are rather than Who Christ is within them, is challenged.

When this happens… pray that the Holy Spirit come.

I remember learning about Pentecost as a child. I remember learning about it again later in life. One of the amazing things that was discussed was how the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in different languages.

But something slipped through the cracks on this one… something huge. Something that gives us a hint into how the Spirit has no respect of persons. (meaning that He see all men equally)

Let’s take a quick look at the following passage:

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” Acts 2:1-8

Every man heard the apostles speaking in his own language. This is what confounded them. The Apostles were speaking one language… but every man heard them in their own language…

Every man heard.

It would not have been confounding if some men heard Peter but couldn’t understand the other ten, and if some men heard John, but couldn’t understand Peter. That would make sense.

What doesn’t makes sense is that 11 guys were heard in at least 15 different languages.

In 1 Corinthians 12:10 we learn that one of the gifts of the Spirit is the interpretation of tongues.

We can only hear the wonderful works of God (v11) through the Holy Spirit!

So if you want to have someone hear the truth of the Gospel the first thing you should be asking is that the Holy Spirit come!

We all hear from God. Every one of us. If even just once… if even just for a moment.

The men gathered in Jerusalem heard from God, regardless of who it was that was talking. Because it is not about the speaker…

it is about what God is doing in the one being spoken to.

When the Holy Spirit drops like a bomb it doesn’t matter what the person is saying… the one to Whom He is speaking will hear.

It doesn’t matter grammar if is correct… the one to Whom He is speaking with hear.

It doesn’t mtetar how polepe slepl or if tehy get it rghit… the one to Whom He is speaking will hear.

The question should not be, “Do we hear from God?” but rather

Do we listen?

Listening is active. It is acting on what you have heard.

Do we find ourselves ready to ask the same question the crowd did when they heard Peter speak?:

“Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

Too often it is easy for us to simply dismiss the voice of God because it would cause us inconvenience; it would cause us to have to change.

The world is always ready to support you if you say, “I don’t think God really speaks anymore.”

And that should tell you something.

For we are not of this world, though we are in it.

Listen.

Act on what you hear God saying to you.

SDG