What Meaneth This?

Acts 2 :1-12

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

⁶ Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

⁷ And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?

⁸ And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?

⁹ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,

¹⁰ Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,

¹¹ Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

¹² And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

We Should live every day in the expectation that God will move ‘suddenly.’ We should preach every sermon, teach every lesson, sing every song, sow every seed, pray every prayer; with the expectation that, ‘suddenly,’ someone will fall under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and be saved, ‘suddenly’ someone will be healed, ‘suddenly’ the chains of alcoholism and drug addiction will be broken, ‘suddenly’ a marriage will be restored, suddenly hope and joy will be restored to someone who suffers from depression, ‘suddenly’ fear will be destroyed, ‘suddenly’ someone will be filled with the Holy Ghost!

The two identifying marks of Pentecost were and still are:

1.     “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

2.     “And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?”

The truth is we need some ‘what meaneth this’ moves of the Spirit in our midst today. Something that has no other explanation other than God. These men are full of new wine. This was spoken critically, but it was spoken truthfully, they recognized that they were full. The sad truth is today, most of us are not full like that. Most people in churches today are satisfied with just enough Holy Ghost to get them to heaven.

The prophet Elisha said to the little widow women who borrowed the empty vessels, to set aside that which was full. Full meant ready for service, we’re not truly ready for service until we’re full. That’s why Lu 24:49 Jesus told his disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endued with Power from on High.

When the upper room got filled, the occupants of the upper room got filled. When the occupants of the upper room got filled, it overflowed out into the streets. And when we get full, we will overflow. When we are truly filled with the Holy Ghost, it will not be limited to church services. Jesus said out of your belly shall flow rivers of living waters.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and spake with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

The first evidence of being filled with the Holy Ghost was, they spoke with other tongues. There are many other responses to the Spirit; shouting, dancing, running, jumping, crying, laughing, or all the above, but when we get full there will be an outward manifestation. Many of the Issues we struggle with could be solved forever by this powerful Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

One of the reasons so many continue to struggle with the sinful habits of their past, is that they are not filled with the Holy Ghost. It is not enough to just believe, you must be baptized of the water, and of the Spirit. (Acts 19 shows that you can believe and not yet have the Holy Ghost).

You may be asking yourself or saying to yourself, “why do you Pentecostals always harp on being filled with the Holy Ghost?” because, you cannot be full of the Holy Ghost and be full of lust, full of anger, full of hate, full of unforgiveness, or jealousy, and strife at the same time. The infilling of the Holy Spirit, is the indwelling presence of God in the believer, and God cannot coexist with sin.

This condition of being full must be maintained, it’s not a little dab will do you experience. You must keep in contact with the source. The Apostle Paul said, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess but be ye filled with the Spirit.”

That means, keep being filled. Paul is speaking of being full of the Spirit in contrast to being drunk with wine. He is saying that when a person becomes full of the Spirit his or her life will show that they are under the influence. When you are under the influence of the Holy Spirit you live holy, you think holy, you talk holy. You sing different, preach different, you testify different, walk different, talk different, everything about you demonstrates that you are under the influence of the Holy Ghost. You are drunk on the New Wine!

They said on that day: What meaneth this? Somebody said: They’re drunk that means they are full, intoxicated, inebriated, under the influence of.

The crowd asked the question: What Meaneth This? What meaneth this, when a drug addict is suddenly free from the need and the desire for drugs? What meaneth this, when the alcoholic suddenly has no more desire for alcohol? What meaneth this, when a husband and wife are on the verge of divorce, but they walk out of church hand in hand, like high school sweethearts, head over heels in love? What meaneth this, when someone who has given up on life and given up on themselves and is ready to commit suicide, but suddenly hope springs up and joy fills his or her heart and they walk around singing and praising God and thanking him for the privilege of being alive?

What meaneth this?! How can these things be?!

My friends there are some things that have only one answer, it’s not technical and it’s not confusing, it’s simple: Jesus breaks every fetter!

When the church is truly full of the Holy Ghost, it will still provoke the same question today: What meaneth this?