A Sound, A Wind, A Fire
Acts 2:1-4
A Sound
The Sound of Abundance
41And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 1 Kings 18:41
The Sound of War
4 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army. 2 Samuel 5:24
The Sound of Victory
…And it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20
Uncertain Sound
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 1 Corinthians 14:8
Sound The Alarm
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand. Joel 2:1
A Wind
The Wind of Deliverance
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Genesis 8:1
The Wind of Provision
Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It brought them down all around the camp to about three feet above the ground, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. Number 11:31
The Wind of Judgment
At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them. Jeremiah 4:11-12
The Wind of Restoration
9Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus says the Lord Jehovah: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9
A Fire
The Fire of Sacrifice
6And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. Genesis 22:6
The Fire of Preparation
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Exodus 3:2
The Fire of Demonstration
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 1Kings 18:38
The Fire of His Presence
23And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the people. 24And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat: which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. Leviticus 9:23-24
The Strange Fire
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Leviticus 10:1-2
A Consuming Fire
24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4:24
Reveal the Fire Within
16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. Judges 7:16
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands Judges 7:20
A Tongue
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:2-8
Jesus often employed natural examples to bring about spiritual understanding:
The man who sowed seed.
The woman who searched for a lost coin.
Servants who invested their master’s money.
· All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,
· If we can control the tongue we can control the whole body
· Very large things can be controlled by something very small
· The tongue is a fire
Why did God choose tongues as a sign? He took the most difficult, uncontrollable member of our body and caused it to yield to divinely inspired speech.
It may be impossible for man in his own strength, but not for God.
Tongues are a sign that God is in control and prepared to do the impossible through a yielded vessel.
