Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Welcome to the Chroma Church podcast.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: We're going to go Back to Acts 2. It's Pentecost Sunday, and I want to. We've been spending this month talking about the Holy Spirit, and I want to finish that particular journey this morning by going back to Acts 2. So why don't you stand as we read Acts, chapter 2, verse 1?
When the day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting.
Then they appeared to them, divided tongues as of fire, and one sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear each in our own language in which we were born?
Parthians and Medes, Elamites, and those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judah and Cappadocia, Pontius and Asia, Phygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya are joining Cyrene. Visitors from Rome, both Jews and Proselytes, Cretians and Arabs. We hear them speaking in our own tongues, the wonderful words of God.
So they were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, whatever could this mean?
Others mocking, said, they're full of new wine.
Let me just say to you, if we're going to get criticized for anything, okay, if they're going to mock us about anything, let's let them mock us for the joy of what the Holy Spirit begins.
We're not full of new wine. We're full of Holy Spirit. New wine. Okay, take a seat.
You know, when. Because when it. You know that whenever the Holy Spirit moves, there's always killjoys, you know, and. And it's too emotional. It's. It's too joy. It's. It's just too joyful. It. Can it be too joyful?
Can we not be the happiest people that walk the earth?
I think so.
Okay.
Pentecost means 50th.
It happened during the Festival of Weeks, which is celebrated 50 days after Passover, where the Jews would gather to give thanks for the first fruits of the barley and the wheat harvest.
And they would remember that God gave his Law to Moses on Mount Sinai 50 days after Passover.
So the Holy Spirit comes 50 days after Easter. And just as God gave his law on Sinai through Moses, he now gives his Spirit to write his law onto our hearts.
So the festival of weeks, they celebrated the writing of the law on stone tablets.
But now he writes his law in our hearts. In fact, Jeremiah says this. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know me. For from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more.
So Pentecost is about the Word and the Spirit. Pentecost is not just about the Holy Spirit. If you've been around here, you'll have heard me say this so many times. If all you have is the word of this book, you'll dry up. And if all you have is the Holy Spirit, you'll probably blow up, okay? But if you have the Word and the Spirit, you'll grow up. And that's what we want to do as a church and a people.
We don't want to get dry and dry up, and we certainly don't want to blow up. It's very messy. But when the Word and the Spirit come together, we start to grow up and we become mature in our faith and the representatives of Jesus Christ to the world.
So the first thing I want to say is that the sound from heaven, you know, we read when the day of Pentecost had 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 so when we read of this, I don't know what you think of. I always love reading the Bible and picturing what was. What was happening.
And so the writer, Luke isn't saying there was a wind.
Luke is saying there was a sound like the wind. And actually, the word for sound is the Greek word, funnily enough, phone, which is how it's pronounced, which is normally translated voice.
In almost everywhere else in the Bible, it's translated the voice.
You see, the first thing that happens when the Holy Spirit fills the room is the voice of God is released in the room.
And I picture the voice of God starting to thunder. So the wind doesn't cause the Voice. The voice causes the wind.
Because when we speak, there's a movement of wind, right? So what's happening is when the Spirit comes in, the Lord starts to speak. I am the Lord your God. I am the one who walks in the heavens. I am the one who delivered you out of Egypt. I am the one who is now filling you and putting my law on. On your hearts. I am the one that is going to cause you to be carriers of my word, fishers of men. You're going to go to the world.
I am empowering you for life. And that may well have sounded like a mighty wind coming in the room, but it was the voice of God, the voice of heaven speaking, that felt like this mighty wind in the room. Because when God speaks, you'll know it. You know, the other examples are when Jesus is baptized. You remember, this is my son who I'm well pleased. The voice. When the gospel said the voice, it's that same word, the voice of God, that causes this wind.
The other times, the transfiguration. And the voice comes from the cloud. This is my beloved son. Hear him.
You see, God wants us to hear his voice.
The Holy Spirit comes so that we can know God, so we can hear what he's saying. This is really important because it's not about an experience.
It's about learning to hear God and to know God. See, if all we have is an experience and nothing changes in our life, we've missed it. What we want to do is hear what God says. So I.
When Pastor Ricardo was here a few weeks ago, or a week ago, time flies. I have no idea when it was.
I had the privilege of going to France.
They did a couple of nights in France, and I only got the first evening because we had to be back here for a wedding. And at the end of the meeting, there was a couple and I got introduced to them because they could speak English, and they were from Holland, and they'd heard about the meeting that was going on in Paris. So they jumped in their car and driven to Paris from Holland because they were really hungry for the Holy Spirit. And the man had never had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. And in the meeting, he'd had an incredible encounter. And the woman was just blubbering. I mean, she was just crying. So it was hard to understand exactly what had happened to her. But when she regained consciousness, she said, I can understand.
I understood everything. I said, what do you mean? She said, I don't speak French or Spanish, but I understood it.
And she said, I still can't speak it. But I suddenly realized that as they were speaking in the room, I could understand what they were saying.
Acts 2.
When the holy Spirit comes, the curse of Babel is suddenly broken and we can understand what's happening. It wasn't just a miracle. For Acts chapter 2, it should be a normal occurrence.
So the next thing that happens is people start to gather. Why do they start to gather? Because they hear the sound.
Verse 6. When the sound occurred, the multitude came together. You see, the Spirit, the voice of God, gathers people because people are hungry, because they need not only the presence of God, but when his presence comes, so does his voice.
So when you encounter the Holy Spirit, and I want you to encounter the Holy Spirit, and we're going to talk about that, I also want you to learn to receive the word he speaks for your life.
Because the emotion won't change your life, but the word that he speaks over your life will.
You see, whenever I've had a major encounter with the Holy Spirit, he speaks. And he often changes the direction of my life.
So I remember way back in 1987, some of you weren't even born, and I was. I. I was working as a youth worker. We were preaching the gospel. People were getting saved, but their lives weren't changing. And I. I remember walking on the. The beach. We were in Merseyside at that time, and the tide never comes in on that beach. It goes, like, out a mile. And I would go out on the beach and I would just pray, God, you've got to do something. Why you. When you. When you. When I got saved, everything in my life changed. Everything. It was like God switched a switch. I just changed. And I'm saying, why is that not happening to these people? And I'd be praying and praying and praying. Anyway, I went up to this conference in Edinburgh. It was in the usher halls. And I remember just standing there and praying, look, Lord, I'm not sure about all this. So there was a lot of joy, all right? And I was a lot more reserved then. I'm still reserved, observed, but not that much. And there was. And there were Americans in the room. And I was thinking TV evangelists and all that kind of stuff. So. But. But I. I remember looking at what I was doing and praying, lord, what I'm doing isn't working.
And I'm not sure about all this stuff, but if you have anything for me here, I want it.
And I remember that instantly, the spirit of God just hit me. And for about 20 minutes, it was like electricity going through me. But it changed everything.
I remember going back, and suddenly, as we preached the gospel, people were encountering the Holy Spirit. And many of those people now are leading churches all around the country because they encountered Jesus there as teenagers. You see, when we have an encounter with the Holy Spirit, it changes everything.
And then, vivi miento, you know, 97, 30 years later, 2017, I don't know if I'm doing the maths right. 30 or 40 years later, when you're my age, you don't care.
Again, going there, and I was hungry for the Holy Spirit and, you know, my daughter laughing as Pastor Ricardo is going down the line, praying for people, and they're all falling. And I kind of, you see, I kind of.
Somewhere along the line, I've got a badge of merit that I don't fall over.
And if you can get me over, I'll give you five pounds or ten. And it was going up and up because no one's getting to me over.
Okay, but do you understand?
That was the wrong heart, you know, when I met Juliet and we fell in love and, you know, I didn't go to, you know, the first kiss, you know, well, I don't like your lips, you know, or I don't, you know, I. You know, if it's. If it's not a good kiss, sorry, you're done.
It wasn't like that at all, because there was. And I need to be careful because I'm not on my notes and she's not here to keep me in line. But there was passion.
There's meant to be passion, okay? Because. Because we were in love, and when we encounter the presence of God, there should be some passion. And sometimes we get in this stance. Okay, God will give me your best. He has his son.
Okay? And. And it's like, so, you know, I'm. I'm not going anywhere. And so, you know, and Emma, you know, just whispering in my ear as she watched us, you know, there was loads of pastors, big stage, and he's just walking down, they're going, boom, boom, boom, boom. What are you going to do?
Here we go. And I'm like. And again, the voice of the Holy Spirit. Now I know his voice. And he said to me, steve, if you can't fall for me, there's nothing I can do for you.
Because I'd got this place where my heart was hard. Okay, God, if you want to know. And of course, he can knock me over and I mean, he can flatten me if he wants to.
Thankfully, Pastor Ricardo didn't care less. And I think he pushed me, okay? Because he was like. He's like all those. Ricardo. He took one look at an English guy and said, they're gonna need some help. Whack.
But as I lay on the floor, the Holy Spirit going, now everything changes.
Now I have you.
And look, what I'm not saying is, oh, you gotta fake this and fake that. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about, don't be like this to God. It's like this to God, okay? And if he chooses to blow on you, wonderful. If he chooses to speak on you, if he chooses to make you shake or laugh or cry, all of those are good things. But the attitude of heart goes, God, give me your best. And he goes, I have.
I've given you my best already. Now I want to empower you.
And you know, you'll be pleased to know, even though she's not here, that now if Juliet wants to kiss me, it's yes, please, please.
Okay? She doesn't. We don't have to have a discussion or, you know, anything about why, because we're in love.
And so if the Lord wants to encounter us, yes, please.
Whatever you want to do, Lord. And if you want to move me out of my box, I'm very happy.
And so many of you had an encounter with the Holy Spirit. And what I want you to say is that the fruit of it is not so much what you felt, but what you heard.
You see, you'll feel many things. But what did he say?
You see, when the apostle Paul has an encounter with Jesus, it changes the direction of his life. He's destroying the church, and he's struck down.
And Jesus says, you know, Saul, why do you persecute me?
You see, an encounter with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus will turn everything around. And you see, I'm in no doubt that the Holy Spirit is changing the direction of many lives in this place. He's changing your plans.
He's calling you into his service, and you'll go, yeah, but I just serve him doing this or doing that. And I'm a good lawyer, and I'm a good doctor, and that's how I'm serving. And absolutely, yes, you can. But. But.
But, you see, he called me into the ministry, into the service of leading his people.
And I believe he's doing it to some of you.
And it is the highest calling, and it is the lowest calling.
It is the greatest privilege.
Yet it is lowest because he calls us to be a servant of all. And some of you are starting to receive that call. That's why the Holy Spirit is coming upon you. You see, as the Lord blows across this land and revival is released, who will be the pastors for the next generation? Who's going to do it?
You know, I'm going. You know, you'll be wheeling me around soon.
I mean, I'll do it as long as you wheel me around, you know, and I, you know, keep my. Keep my faculties. But who will be the church planters?
If just 10% want to come to church this week, there won't be room in the city.
Who's going to plant the churches? Who will be the prophets?
Who's going to speak the word of God? And if some of you are here in the core, and I believe you are, the next season of this church is going to be training in and equipping the saints.
You see, the Lord has laid the foundation. He said the first, this last seven years is laying the foundation. Now. Now we're going to equip the saints and, and, and we'll. We'll equip you to be Christians as lawyers and accountants, as doctors.
But I want your money.
I know you. I know they're always scared someone's going to say, I want your money in church. I want your money.
Why? Because someone's going to have to pay for us to equip the pastors, the evangelists, the prophets, and the. The teachers. We need to train them. It costs money.
And we're going to use that money to train and release so that this nation is transformed because the spirit of God is speaking and blowing. And whenever there is a move of the Holy Spirit, ministries are released.
And so men and women are hearing the call, and some of you are hearing the call. And you're like this, speak, Lord, your servant heareth.
Okay. Every time he speaks to me about going to Hawaii, it's, yes, Lord, your servant heareth. All right. Go onto the streets of Leicester and preach my name. Sorry, Lord, was that you?
It's funny, isn't it? Selective hearing. My children had it all the time they were growing up.
You see, the spirit, when he starts to blow, releases the ministers that are going to take the fire across the world.
And Jesus is clear. He says, I'm way off my notes now.
He said that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray, therefore, the Lord would send out workers into the harvest.
You're the workers.
You're the workers that are going to go into the harvest. And on some of you, it's going to Be a surprise, because the call of God is coming really quick. Number two, the fire. Tongues of fire rest on the 120.
When the holy Spirit comes upon you, you cannot help but speak. Because Jeremiah says his word was in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones.
But that fire also changes what and how we speak.
Because the fire and the passion of God comes upon us. And this is not about an angry God who's angry at people. This is a loving God who, who loves people who have given his Son. And so suddenly the slightly cross message that the church often portrays becomes the wonderful loving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to men and women. Because the spirit of love is on us. And this fire does two things. It purifies us, but it also empowers us. We are refined or redefined, if you like, and empowered. You see, the apostles are now different men.
You know, they're not hiding in the upper room now. They cut. Now they're out in the streets. But with the fire, the utterances of the Spirit, the Spirit changes what we say. Words of declaration, words of healing, words of hope. You see, that's what happens when the Holy Spirit comes on us. We're no longer praying for the sick. They're healing the sick.
You see, and, and, and, and I know it's important that the curse of Babel was broken at Pentecost. But if we don't go outside, nobody will know.
Revival is in the air.
But how we respond to what God is doing will determine whether the fire goes out or not.
You see, God.
God is always willing to pour out his fire.
He's always willing to revive the nation.
The question is, will they. Will they receive it with faith? Will they believe? And I think we have a generation that is right now.
You see, we know how to pray for the sick here, but now we need to do it on the streets.
We know how to lead people to Jesus here. Now we need to go outside and lead them to Jesus. You see, I believe we are to walk the streets and fill the stadiums.
I don't want to do this, but it's time. You see, it's way easier staying in here.
It's way easier talking to you lot, who on the whole, like me.
But going outside, taking the message of Jesus outside, you know, is there another city like Leicester? Where from every nation under heaven.
That's what Jerusalem was like. That's what our city is like.
You see, the Holy Spirit has been talking about this for a while. And he said. He said, do a march.
And I Went, oh, no, I hate that.
And he said, I really don't care.
I want you. I want you.
And the question is if I'm going to be marching on my own or whether you're coming with me.
It'll be one thing with Steve with his banner. Steve loves Jesus.
Walking through Leicester and people throwing things at me. It'll be a whole different thing if a thousand people show up and say, we all love Jesus and this is his city. And we are proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. And no matter what religion, what your background is, he gave Jesus to die for. You now give your life to Jesus because he wants to turn you around. That's revival.
That's what happens if you have an encounter with the Holy Spirit. You have to speak now. Not everyone is going to shout on the street corners, but we could.
We could show our face out there.
This terrifies me. I'm just being honest with you. Is it all right to be honest?
I find it terrifying.
You know, there were two streams in his church.
The word preachers and the Holy Spirit rollers.
Okay. And you normally find, you know, well, I'm a word guy, or, you know, I'm a shake, rattle and roll guy.
And what happens, you see what happens when streams merge?
You get a river.
And you've heard that message again and again.
The river of the Spirit is coming.
You see, you cannot preach without the anointing, and you cannot have the anointing without preaching or prophesying.
It goes hand in hand. And the church has been living in a stream of. But the Holy Spirit is coming as a river. Now we've heard it again and again.
And you say, well, what is the message? What are we going to speak? Well, Peter does it. Peter, standing up with the 11, raised his voice and said to the men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you. And heed my words, for these are not drunk as you suppose, since it's only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass on the day, on the last days, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, shall speak, shall speak out the words. Your young men shall see visions. Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and maidservants, I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above. And I signs in the earth beneath. Blood, fire, vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon into blood. That's not happened yet. Okay. Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
That's why the Spirit comes.
That's why what Jesus started, he now ushers the kingdom of God in. You see, Jesus calls us to be word workers. We preach and we demonstrate the kingdom because we are filled with Holy Spirit power. The reason I wanted Ricardo to come here was so that you can see it can happen in England.
It doesn't just happen in South America. It's not a South American Holy Spirit.
It is the person of the Holy Spirit. And wherever he is, he acts. And England can do it. We can see it in England. That's what he wants.
And the truth is, I think I'm going to start pushing some of you over.
Not because he can't, but because there's a difference between resist, you know, resisting and not yielding.
And I want you to yield to the spirit of God. And if it takes a push, I'm up for it. And you can push back.
You see, as we encounter the Holy Spirit, a confidence, a boldness, a new message just arises in the church.
Songs of declaration as songs have changed. Healing, salvation, new life for this church.
But it needs to go wider. You know, somebody was just telling me one of our new converts, they got themselves in a bit of trouble and you know, they were falling back into their, their old life. So they, they finished a relationship they were in and then did a three day fast to get, to get back serious with, with, with God so that they could live for Him. How did they know to do that? No one told them to do that.
The Spirit of God.
The spirit of God within us. And he. And he is I. You know, he says, he, he, he starts, he starts stirring us up and says, I, I want your life.
Come and do business with me. You see, revival is here. The question is, how will we respond? Will we yield or resist? Will you receive the Holy Spirit, hear his call like Timothy Silas Apollos? Or will we be like Jonah? I'm going to run away.
[00:29:07] Speaker A: Thanks for listening to the Chroma Charge podcast. If you enjoyed this message, you can like and subscribe. You can also turn join us in person or online every Sunday at Cromer Church. For more information about us, including our ministries, events, worship and how to donate, visit our website at Cromer Church.
