Positioned For Power
FROM THE TOMB TO THE UPPER ROOM
Positioned for power
Act 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Act 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
Act 2:7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
Act 2:8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
When God’s people are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, God releases power for His purpose.
The disciples experienced Pentecost because:
They were in the right place.
They were there at the right time.
And they were doing the right thing.
God has always moved when people positioned themselves properly.
- THEY WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE
“They were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1)
“Stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)
Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them,commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which,saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
You could be in the right place doing the wrong thing
Here today choosing God, but your life choices need to change.
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked [He will not allow Himself to be ridiculed, nor treated with contempt nor allow His precepts to be scornfully set aside]; for whatever a man sows, this and this only is what he will reap.
Gal 6:8 For the one who sows to his flesh [his sinful capacity, his worldliness, his disgraceful impulses] will reap from the flesh ruin and destruction, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Sometimes the miracle is attached to the place God told you to stay.
Psa 92:13 Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God.
Isaiah 40:31 — those who wait on the Lord renew strength.
- THEY WERE THERE AT THE RIGHT TIME
“When the day of Pentecost had fully come…” (Acts 2:1)
Act 1:3 For forty days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God’s kingdom.
Act 1:4 While he was still with them, he said: Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do.
Act 1:5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Ascended.
Ten days later—the Spirit came.
God was following a divine calendar.
Pentecost comes from the word that means 50.
Pentecost was originally a harvest feast. They also commemerated the giving of the law
A feast of firstfruits or the harvest.
God took an Old Testament feast and filled it with New Testament meaning.
At Sinai in Exodus, God gave Moses the Law, God formed Israel as a nation. OT Pentecost
At Pentecost in the NT, God birthed the Church 50 days after the passover
At Sinai, law written came on a stone 10 commandments.
At Pentecost, the Spirit came into hearts .
Heb 10:16 “When the time comes, I will make an agreement with them. I will write my laws on their minds and hearts.
Heb 10:17 Then I will forget about their sins and no longer remember their evil deeds.”
At Sinai, 3 thousand died after rebellion.
At Pentecost, 3,000 were saved.
Right Time = God’s divine timing
III. THEY WERE DOING THE RIGHT THING IN THE RIGHT PLACE
Acts 1:14 — “These all continued with one accord in prayer…”They were not arguing. Not politicking. Not debating leadership. Not building platforms.
They were praying.
Unified.
Waiting.
Seeking God.
Three things they were doing:
- They were praying
Prayer preceded power.
No prayer.
No Pentecost.
The Church was born in prayer.
- They were unified
Psalm 133: Where unity is, God commands blessing.
- They were waiting
God pours out power on prepared people.
Right Thing = Prayer, unity, and obedience
- WHAT WAS GOD DOING ON PENTECOST?
- To create a Spirit-filled witnessing Church
- To reach a global audience
Act 2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
In today’s geography, Acts 2 covers three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe, spanning much of the known Roman/Parthian world.
- To move from temple presence to people presence
In the Old Testament:
God dwelt in tabernacles.
Then temples.
At Pentecost:
God moved into people.
You became the dwelling place.
The Church is not a building.
The Church is Spirit-filled people.
- To launch Kingdom expansion
Pentecost was not simply to fill a room—He wanted to fill a people who would change the world.
Here is the question
Are you positioned for what God wants to pour out?
Are you in the right place?
Are you trusting God’s timing?
Are you doing the right thing?
Because suddenly still happens.
When God’s people get in the right place, trust God’s timing, and do the right thing—God sends power for His purpose.