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man ; he is beyond their philosophy. When the world can explain a preacher and fiis power you may be sure it is not o f the right sort, but when a preacher and his powers bewilder the world and upset its philosophy, then it is likely that he is a Spirit-filled man. It was a very real speak ing in definite tongues that was manifested on this occasion. People were present from the most remote parts .o f the inhabited world, representing many languages and dialects,, and the speakers were Galilseans, and yet these people gathered from the four corners o f the earth heard them speaking in their own tongues. If anyone can see' any resemblance between what occurred here and what occurs in modern meetings where they claim to speak with tongues, he has a vigorous imagination. v> 11. We do hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.” On an occasion when such a rare and wonderful experience came to the disciples we might have expected those filled with the Holy Spirit to have spoken o f themselves, or o f the blessing that they had received, but in point o f fact, they did nothing o f the kind. They were entirely taken up with God, and spoke not o f their own experiences, but of “ the mighty works o f God.” Any man who is really filled with the Holy Spirit will not talk much about himself, or even about his experiences, but o f the mighty works of God, and especially about the most wonder ful o f all His works, manifested in the life, and work o f the Lord Jesus (cf. John 15:26; 16:13, 14). These Spirit-filled men and women on this occasion lost sight o f self entirely and were taken up wholly with the mighty works- o f God. The mighty work o f God which they especially empha sized was His raising Jesus Christ from the dead (vs. 24, 32). The Spirit-filled man is not only sure to be much occupied with Jesus, but especially occupied with the res urrection o f the Lord Jesus (cf. ch. 3:15; 4:8, 10, 31, 33). When we are Spirit-filled Christ will occupy the whole horizon o f our vision. vs. 12, 13. "And they were all amazed, and. were perplexed, saying one to another,
What meaneth' this? But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine.” Again we read o f their amazement and perplex ity, but there were some who had an explan ation, but a very unworthy explanation. It is always so, there are some who attempt to explain everything, and always seek to put the worst interpretation they can upon the acts and conduct o f others. The con temptuous explanation in this case was that the disciples were drunk. The explanation was not altogether without reason, for the effect o f both wine and o f the Holy Spirit is stimulating: but here the similarity ends, and we come to a tremendous contrast; wine stimulates ««naturally—the Holy Spirit stimulates supem aturally. The stim ulation in the former case is followed by wretched reaction, but in the other case one is uplifted permanently to a more exalted vision and power (Eph. 5:18 cf.), Wine often makes a man see double, but the filling with the Holy Spirit makes men see Christ in the largeness which is really His., Because there is a stimulation o f the Holy Spirit as well as a stimulation o f wine, the best cure, and the only cure for the craving o f alcoholic stimulants is to have the holy stimulation that comes from being filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter met their mocking accusation with God’s own ariswer. He went to the right place to get the explanation o f the strange scene before his eyes, not to human philosophy, but to the Word o f God. He told them it was the fulfillment o f one o f the Old Testa ment prophecies (cf. Joel 2:28, 29). The complete fulfillment o f this glorious proph ecy which Peter quoted, lies still in the future, though a future that may be very near at hand, and this great outpouring o f the Spirit that is to come is to be followed by judgment, “blood and fire and vapor o f smoke/’ the darkening sun and the blood red moon that will- constitute the “Day o f the Lord,” and 'Will be “a great and notable day” (v. 20). Then, as now, whosoever shall call on the name o f the Lord shall be saved, (v. 21, cf. Rom. 10:13). •But the right time to call on the name o f the Lord in order to be ready for that day, is now.
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