A Rushing Mighty Wind

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1-4)

I've noticed something about the Holy Spirit in Scripture. Whenever you read in the Word that "The Holy Spirit" comes upon somebody, you know something big is about to happen. Often, something world-changing.  

In Numbers 11, Moses needed to make a point. 

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. (vs 24-26)

In Judges 3, the Spirit of the Lord comes to the judge Othniel to deliver Israel again. In fact, the entire book of Judges is filled with references to the Spirit empowering men to deliver God's chosen people. 

In Judges 15, we read about Samson:

Then the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him; and the ropes that were on his arms became like flax that is burned with fire, and his bonds broke loose from his hands.  He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand and took it, and killed a thousand men with it. (vs 14-15)

Samson already had great strength already, but it took the Spirit to put him into action.

In 1 Samuel 10, Saul is annointed with these words (in verse 6): "Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man."

Time and again, throughout Scripture, we read about the Spirit of God -- the Holy Spirit -- empowering man to do God's will. Indeed, it was by the power of the Spirit (Luke 1:35) that Mary conceived the Savior of mankind, Jesus Christ, in the flesh.  

So, we come to Acts 2, and the Spirit coming upon the Disciples in the upper room. For what purpose? As we shall see, for the purpose of accomplishing God's will. The Holy Spirit has a specific mission. This is the testimony of Scripture, in passage after passage: that the work of the Holy Spirit, in each of us, is that we might be empowered to accomplish God's will.