And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Acts 2:2
If you are anywhere near someone using a jack hammer, you will know about it. Those things are incredibly noisy! A jack hammer is probably the best known of a family of tools known as pneumatic. Pneumatic, according to Merriam Webster, means related to or using a gas such as air or wind. A pneumatic drill, for example, uses compressed air to power a piston that rapidly strikes a drill bit, enabling it to drill holes or break up hard surfaces such as rocks or asphalt. So what does a jack hammer have to do with the entrance of the Holy Spirit into the Christians at Pentecost? It’s all in the name.
The Greek word for Ghost and Spirit in Acts 2:4 is Pneuma. Sound familiar? So when we look at our text, we can see how appropriate it is that the first evidence of the arrival of the Holy Spirit is the sound as of a rushing might wind. Just as the compressed air powers the jack hammer, so the Pneuma, the very breath of God that gave Adam a living soul in Genesis 2:7, is the power that enabled the Christians at Pentecost to become vibrant testimonies for Christ. Indwelt by the Pneuma, those disciples were enabled to preach and teach, endure persecutions and tribulations, and to demonstrate to the world the transforming power of the Gospel.
The miracles of Acts 2 – the sound of the wind and the sight of the fiery tongues – are not with us today, nor are they needed. But the power of the Pneuma, the Holy Spirit, is just as evident in the lives of believers, as His presence enables us to fulfil the will of God in our lives. He opens up the Scriptures to our understanding. He directs our lives into the image of Christ. He emboldens us to be faithful testimonies in our world. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/eYlslcNK2fU