Acts 2 - Supernatural Power Boost! (2022)
Acts 2 NLT
"They were all together in one place (probably 120 people in a small room) and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit..." Acts 2:1,4
Already brimming with confidence from the numerous, convincing post-resurrection appearances and interactions with the resurrected Jesus, NOW, the disciples are filled with spiritual power by the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit.
Peter was a prime example of what happened next. Only a few weeks earlier he had denied that he even knew Jesus, yet now he finds himself in front of a very large crowd in Jerusalem speaking boldly about Jesus and especially emphasizing the resurrection:
"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. (But) God has raised this Jesus to life and we are all witnesses of the fact!" Acts 2:29,32
As Peter reached the climax of his speech, Luke (the same one who wrote the gospel account) observes that Peter's listeners were "cut to the heart" by his words and asked: "WHAT SHALL WE DO?" (vs 37) Peter explained to them how to follow Jesus and verse 41 tells us that "...about 3,000 people were added to their number that day!"
This was the powerful beginning of the "new normal" for the disciples (without Jesus physically there) as they began to go about "being witnesses" and "making disciples" according to Jesus' last instructions and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Finally, in Acts 2:42-47 we are given a kind of blueprint of what a group of disciples looks like when they get together.
They devoted themselves to...
1. The Apostles teaching - we need to be in the Word of God
2. The fellowship - sharing what's going on; being authentic
3. The breaking of bread - having a meal together/sharing life
4. Prayer - praying with each other and for each other
This early group of disciples really did live out the idea of "loving one another", "loving your neighbor as yourself", and being "fishers of men". The outflow of their fellowship incredibly was that "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
