June 8 | A New Testament Pattern To Follow

Series | The Spirit Filled Life

Scripture | Acts 10:46, “For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

Lesson 8 | A New Testament Pattern To Follow

After the Day of Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the 120 in the upper room the disciples began to preach throughout the whole region.  One of the biggest internal questions they dealt with while preaching was, “Does God want the Gentiles (non-Jews) to be saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit in the same way as the Jewish believers?”

In Acts 10:11-16 Peter received a vision from God that clearly showed him that all people were “acceptable” to be “touched” with the Gospel message.  Afterward, Peter went to the home of a non-Jewish man named Cornelius.  Cornelius was a centurion in the Roman army and a “god-fearer,” which meant he practiced the Jewish religion but hadn’t yet fully converted to Judaism.

Cornelius also had a vision the previous day where an angel visited him and commanded him to get Peter to come and preach to his whole family, Acts 10:2-7.  After Peter’s vision confirming that all people were acceptable for the Gospel message men were waiting to take him to Cornelius’ house.  While Peter was preaching to Cornelius and his household, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues and praise God.

The above passage is the descriptive record of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit among the Gentiles as it was with the first disciples.  However, no one was reported to “understanding” the languages as happened at Pentecost.  Thus, the languages the new believers spoke were supernatural and spontaneous- but only for God to understand, 1 Corinthians 14:2.

After seeing them get saved and filled with the Holy Spirit Peter said in Acts 10:47, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”  Therefore, the following things are true, (1) The Gospel is for all people, (2) The baptism of the Holy Spirit with the physical evidence of speaking in other tongues is also for everyone in all times, and (3) God can pour out His Spirit anywhere and anytime if people are thirsty for His rivers of living water!     

Reflection | When was the last time you preached to someone and prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit? 

Action | (1) Preach the Gospel to everyone you can, whenever you can. (2) If someone you’re preaching to is born again, ask them if they want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (3) Lastly, make time everyday to speak in tongues and praise God!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 1 Kings 3:3-4:34, Acts 6:1-15, Psalm 126:1-6, & Proverbs 16:26-27. Click here to read online.