When those early disciples got in that room and waited on the Holy Spirit, they were cocooned from the world. They were caterpillars waiting on their wings. Where is that room in our life? Can we really be transformed, like them? Where are the people to whom that is happening today?
Part II: They Got OUT of that Room
After the Holy Spirit came, those early disciples never became gluttons of grace. They never tried to repeat Pentecost and hold Pentecost II. They did not run into the streets and hand out fliers inviting people to come to a spirit-filled meeting where their lives would be changed. They did not get up the next morning and tell their neighbors, " Man, you missed it! You should have been there!" (Question:Why do we do that?)Rather, they took what God had done in their lives into the world. They went into alleys and streets, coliseums and market places. And the Jesus inside them poured out of them.
How do we do that? What is the difference between chandelier Christianity and light bulb faith?
Part III They Got INTO the World
Those men and women in those three decades made an impact on the world that is lasting til this very moment. They confronted a hostile culture; they flowed from a warm center outward; they stayed on task. What can we learn from them? How did they evangelize?
NEXT IN THIS SERIES ON THE BOOK OF ACTS:
ACTING OUT FOR THE GOSPEL THE WAY THEY DID