When Heaven Speaks

The quickest way to not experience the Holy Spirit is to have illegitimate disunity. Dr. Tony Evans says God works through His people when His people work together. That's why it is in the interest of the devil to stir stuff up, because he knows that the Spirit of God works in the context of unity. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.

Dr. Evans says that being under the influence can be either good or bad, depending on what's doing the influencing. Today, as he takes us to Acts chapter 2, he'll talk about the fulfillment of God's promise to empower His people through the intoxicating presence of the Holy Spirit. Let's join him. So we come now to chapter 2. When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all gathered together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributing themselves, and they rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance. First thing I want you to observe is that the Spirit came to them when they had gathered on one accord. The point I want to make here is that the Spirit does not work in disunity. They were together.

They were on one accord, on the same page. The quickest way to not experience the Holy Spirit is to have illegitimate disunity, because He will not work in disunity. And so that's why it is in the interest of the devil to stir stuff up, to craft and create disunity, because he knows that the Spirit of God works in the context of unity. So He does that with our human relationships, with family, with brothers and sisters in Christ, with church, with elders, deacons, members. You know, all this stuff keeps coming up.

And you wonder how some fights start over nothing and they wind up being World War III. That's what the enemy does, because he wants to keep disunity in order to keep the Spirit away. But they're together in one place and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They are under divine control. To be filled with the Spirit is to be under divine control.

It is to be totally consumed with spiritual control. And in the midst of this control, it says, they began to speak with other tongues. Now there were Jews, verse 5, living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.

And when this sound occurred, the crowd came together and were bewildered, because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own language. So the filling of the Spirit caused them to do what Acts 1-8 said, You will be witnesses of me. God wants Jesus to be witness to so much that He gives them the power to do or to say what was not natural to them.

Now, why was this gift being utilized at this time? In 1 Corinthians 14, we read in verse 20, Not to those who believe, but to unbelievers. But prophecy is a sign.

Not to unbelievers, but to those who believe. But he says it is written, the Scripture has already declared that the reason for this gift is a supernatural indication that something from heaven is taking place right now. For the purpose of non-believers, which is why, Paul says, if somebody is in fact speaking in a tongue, there's got to be somebody who can interpret it. Or else, he says, it's nonsensical.

Nobody understands what you're talking about. And if it's a gathering of believers, he says, prophecy is for them. The proclamation and application of Scripture is for them, not something that they do not understand. Now, Paul does talk about, he says, though I have the tongues of angels. Now the problem with the tongues of angels is, whenever angels are speaking in the Bible, they're speaking human languages. You never see an angel speaking a language that's not the language of the people they're talking to.

So they're speaking human languages. What about praying in tongues? Is there a communication between me and God that is unique, that does not fit the norm of human speech? The Bible does say in Romans chapter 8 that the Holy Spirit speaks in groanings that cannot be uttered. He speaks in ways that has to be interpreted for the Father. So there is the possibility that in your personal time with God, there is a communication between you and God that you and God understand.

But that is not for the purpose of the body, unless somebody can make sense of it, so that the body is edified. And now God is supernaturally bringing His message of Jesus Christ, first of all to the Jews. You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem. Everybody was there at the day of Pentecost from all over the Jewish-speaking world. All the Jews had gathered to celebrate the Pentecost, the Passover, and now they were hearing the supernatural gifting. And it tells you all the nations that they had come from in verses 9 and 10 and 11 and verse 12 says, And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, What does this mean? What's going on here?

How can this be that they are speaking in this language? So the point I want to make about the filling of the Spirit is, however it manifests itself, it takes you to a place you wouldn't naturally go. There is a supernatural activity occurring that is beyond normal human explanation. So the fuller you are—that is, the more under the Spirit's control you are operating—the more supernatural experience you have.

Remember what I explained last time? That with the kingdom of God and the Spirit is the agent of the kingdom comes power. You shall receive power. With the Spirit comes power. That is, supernatural ability to do things outside of the norm. It wasn't just to do magic tricks. That's why when they refused to accept the message, even though they had experienced the sign, he told them, I will give you no more signs, because you refuse to connect the miracles with the message.

And that's what a lot of people want. They want heaven's blessings without the message. So some were asking, What does this mean?

What's going on here? And of course, this was the coming of the Spirit, and that's why this thing of the filling of the Spirit or being under the Spirit's control, yielding to Him, is so critical. Others were saying in verse 13, They are full of sweet wine. Sweet wine.

Now, that actually explains something about the filling of the Spirit. Ephesians 5 18 says, Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit. He is saying, Be drunk, but not with wine. When you are filled with wine, meaning intoxicated, you're acting outside of your normal self, because something else is in control. Well, what wine does to a person when they're intoxicated, the Spirit does to a believer who is intoxicated.

They're acting outside of their normal self. You will literally be able to say, This is not me. Because I would normally say this or react this way, because something else is controlling me. Now, there's only one way you can get drunk, and that is drink. You don't get drunk by looking at liquor. You don't get drunk by thinking about liquor. You don't get drunk by talking about it.

You get drunk by drinking it. So it is this consuming of the Spirit's control over your life, giving Him full orb control that lifts you to another level of operating. That is the filling of the Spirit, being absorbed by Him. But remember, the sign is always designed to lead you to the message. So when the sign happens, it's time for the message. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses.

When the power comes, the message should be shortly connected to it. So one of the reasons God's not free to give the power is because He knows there won't be the message. There'll be silence, or it'll be hidden Christianity.

No, this was a public demonstration of the sign for the message, as 1 Corinthians says. Dr. Evans will tell us more about the purpose behind public displays of God's power and why we don't see them as often these days when he returns in a moment with more insights from his enlightening teaching series in the book of Acts. It's a profound exploration of the early church and its powerful lessons for our lives today. We'd like to offer you all 14 full-length messages in this two-volume audio collection available on CD or digital download with our thanks when you make a generous contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station. In addition to the complete Acts audio series, we're excited to include an added bonus, his powerful book, Kingdom Purpose, designed to help you discover your one-of-a-kind calling from God and learn how to live it out with passion and clarity. Take advantage of this special limited-time offer before time runs out. Visit us today at tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222. That's online at tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222.

Right now, here's Dr. Evans once again with more of today's message. One of the questions I regularly get is, does God still use visions and dreams? During biblical days before we had a Bible, God used visions and dreams for revelation.

So you read throughout the Bible, a person had a vision of this or a person had a dream about that as a way of God speaking. We do know with the closing of the canon—that is, the completion of Scripture—there is no new revelation. That is, in the sense of writing Bible. The Bible is finished.

But there is illumination. Illumination has to do with understanding revelation. So while God is not writing more Bible, He is revealing and understanding an application of the Bible that's already written to your personal circumstance. He says that in the last days that God's Spirit would be poured out and there would be the supernatural. Now He's leading into something bigger than the moment He's talking about here, and let me just give an explanation. If the Jews would receive Christ, Christ would bring in the kingdom right away.

But the pouring out of the Spirit, He was still going to do, which is what is occurring now. And who is it occurring with? Jews. This is all Jews right here. So God is giving you the Spirit.

He's giving you the opportunity to respond to Him before judgment. Men of Israel, verse 22. Listen to these words, because it has to start with the Jews. That's why Jesus will not physically come back to earth. He will rapture the Christians, but He will not physically touch ground until the Jews receive Him as Messiah.

But right now, He wants to start the message to Israel. Listen to my words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs, which God performed through him in your midst, just as you yourselves know. So He came, He demonstrated Himself to be who He was by the miracles He performed. This man delivered over to the predestined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men, and you put him to death.

But God raised him up again. The resurrection, verse 24. Putting an end to the agony of death, for David says of him... Now this is very interesting in verse 25. David says of who? David says of Jesus.

Well, we met. David's living hundreds of years before Jesus. Hundreds of years before Jesus. But Peter says to the Jews, who know the Old Testament, David talked about Jesus. He was looking forward to the one who would come from His throne, who would be the Holy One. And he says, and that one is who he spoke of. He was speaking of Christ. Verse 32. This Jesus God raised up to which we are witnesses.

Now, if they knew Jesus didn't rise from the dead, hadn't seen Him, talked to Him, ate with Him after He rose from the dead, then you either have to be crazy or you know it's true. They say we are witnesses of the resurrection. Therefore, having been exalted by the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out forth this which you both see and hear.

The supernatural activity you see right now. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand. The Lord said to who? The Lord said to who? God said to God, sit on my right hand. Okay, you got that right? The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand.

Why? Because Jesus Christ is part of the Godhead. So God says to God, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him, Jesus, both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. The miracles lead to the message. So if you want to experience more miracle, can God trust you with some message? Is Jesus going to be exalted if He fills you with His presence?

Or do you just want the stuff, the supernatural activity? So when they heard this, they were pierced to their heart. They said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Because you didn't cut us.

You didn't cut us with the message. Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This verse has been misunderstood and misused. Remember, repentance is to bring you back into fellowship. Men are saved by faith in Jesus Christ over and over and over again. But oftentimes, you'll see faith alongside repentance. Because faith saves you, repentance bonds you.

In other words, relationship. It has to do with the re-establishment of relationship or the connection between you and God. When you accept Christ, that's a legal connection, justification. When you repent, that's a relational connection. So He's calling them not just to salvation, but a relational connection.

How do I initiate the relational connection? Baptism. Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 1.17 that baptism isn't part of getting saved. His point is, you're now going public. Because you repented, you're back in fellowship with me. So now you are putting on a wedding ring. You're letting it be known.

You are willing to be publicly associated with me. Again, this is why many Christians are not seeing the power of the Spirit because they're not willing to wear the ring. They want to be married without anybody knowing it, which automatically will negate the Spirit's power and presence operating to its fullness in your life. He says this is the starting of the church, and with many other words, He solemnly testified and kept exhorting them, saying, Be saved from this perverse generation. So it was not only salvation to go to heaven. It was being preserved from judgment that was going to come on that generation, which did come, if you're looking at history books, in 70 AD when the Roman general Titus marched on Jerusalem and destroyed the city, including destroying the temple. That's what Jesus meant when He said, One stone will not be left on top of another. That actually happened.

Go back to history books. 70 AD, Titus, Roman army, came in and destroyed it, and the city, due to their rejection of Christ, which meant that there was no protection of God. So then, they who bleed received the word and were baptized, and that day they were added about 3,000 souls.

So you talk about an evangelistic campaign. 3,000 people get saved on that day, and in verses 42 to 47, it says that when 3,000 got saved, they devoted themselves, verse 42, to teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer, feeling a sense of awe. Many wonders and signs were taking place.

Why? Because they're full of the Holy Spirit. And all of those who believed were together, and they had all things in common. And they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing with them all as anyone might have need, day to day continuing with one mind in the temple, breaking bread from house to house. They ate their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding to their numbers day by day, those who were being saved.

You have the four things. You have worship, which is the celebration of God for who He is, what He has done, and what you're trusting Him to do. You had fellowship because they were fellowshipping with one another. They were together, had things in common, meeting each other's needs.

Fellowship is mutually sharing the life of Christ within the context of the family of God. They were in the apostles' doctrine. They were learning truth because you can't grow beyond what you know. And so they were learning the Word of God through the apostles' doctrine.

And then there was outreach. The church was so powerful, folk were getting saved day after day. Every day new folk were getting saved because—why? Because everybody's giving public testimony to Jesus Christ. And we're just waiting for the preacher to do an altar call. Everybody was talking about Jesus.

Why? And what was happening? Everybody talking about Jesus. They're together in unity, and it says—and here's the verse I love in this section— verse 43, Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. They were going, wow, whoa, did you see that?

How could that be? And they kept on seeing it. The Holy Spirit's power was just pulsating everywhere.

Power just jumping everywhere. Because they were public about Christ, so they were filled with the Spirit. And so God could do His thing, and everybody had a sense of awe. Dr. Tony Evans, talking about the amazing days of the early church and explaining how you can experience that same power in your life today, starting by having a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you're not sure what that means, Tony would like to help you cut through the confusion by explaining it in clear, simple terms. Just visit tonyevans.org and follow the link that says Jesus.

You'll find everything you need to know, including some free resources to help you. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Also, I want to remind you that the lesson we heard today is part of an inspiring series exploring the Spirit-empowered journey of the early church in the book of Acts. This two-volume audio collection delves deep into the pivotal moments and powerful teachings that shape the foundation of Christianity. Each message is designed to illuminate the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit and the bold faith of the apostles, offering you practical insights to apply in your own spiritual walk. We send you all 14 messages in this powerful collection, either on CD or as digital downloads, as our thank you gift when you make a generous contribution to support the ministry of the alternative.

But that's not all. We're also including Tony's insightful book, Kingdom Purpose, designed to help you discover your unique, God-given mission in the world and live a life of significance and impact. This special double offer is only available for a limited time, so be sure to visit us at tonyevans.org to request it today. Or if you prefer, call us at 1-800-800-3222 to speak with a member of our resource team who can assist you personally. That's 1-800-800-3222. As we've been learning, the book of Acts is the story of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of early church believers. Tomorrow, Tony will tell us about the significance of one particular miracle that teaches us about the importance of seeking what we truly need from God rather than just what we want. You won't want to miss it.