Expecting God to Move

Acts 2:1: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

As simple as this scene-setting introduction to Acts 2 is, we are given a profound insight into what is driving these believers. The group is probably the same people mentioned in Acts 1:14-15, including the twelve, some of the female disciples, some family members of Jesus, and others, totalling around 120 people. The location is likely to be the upper room from Acts 1:13. What is significant about this moment, and the point to draw out in this preach, is the reason why they were gathered together: they expected that God would do a new thing.

Expectation of the new: Over the previous three years, the disciples had seen God do some incredible things, through the earthly ministry of Jesus and then through his death and resurrection. Yet when they gather, the purpose is not to reminisce about what has gone, nor to try to continue with what had happened before in their own strength. Instead, they gathered to pray together in the confidence that there was more that God wanted to do in their time. Jesus had promised them in Acts 1:8 that the Spirit will be poured out, and so they positioned themselves to receive what was promised and experience what God wanted to do in them. We likewise have promises of Scripture such as Luke 11:13 and Acts 3:19, as well as prophetic promises, of God moving today. Like the earlier believers we should gather expectant for God to do what he has said and move in fresh ways in our day.    .

Shaped by what has gone before: Though the disciples were expecting a new move of God, they did not set this against how God had moved in the past, but realised that what God was about to do was shaped by what had gone before. By meeting on the day of Pentecost they were celebrating one of the great Old Testament festivals (Exodus 23:16) that involved remembering the story of how God had worked in the past (Deuteronomy 16:9-12). Expectation of God moving does not mean despising tradition, and as we long for the Holy Spirit to move in our day, we do so in a way that honours what God has done before, both in Scripture and in history. We shouldn’t think of God moving in our day as a silo that is disconnected from how he has acted before, but more like part of a stream of him working new things in every time and every place that flow together as he builds his kingdom in the world.

The gift of prophecy: The theme of expecting God to move in new ways, while being shaped by the old is perfectly illustrated in the gift of prophecy. It would be good to say a few words to introduce the idea of spiritual gifts generally, perhaps looking at 1 Corinthians 12:4-6. The gifts are empowerments given by the Spirit to each believer to enable them to build up the church and reach the lost in particular ways. Prophecy is one of those gifts of the Spirit, and is where believers are given words or pictures from God to share with others. In Peter’s Pentecost sermon, it is affirmed that this gift will be available to old and young, slave and free, male and female alike (see Acts 2:17). Prophecy links to the idea of expectancy, because it is the recognition that God still speaks, and has new and fresh words for his people, and yet these words are not disconnected from what he has already said, but is weighed against Scripture.

Response: Create some time for people to listen to God and share prophetic words with the congregation.