Wind and Fire

“Wind and Fire”

Acts 2:1-15

Preacher: Rev. Mark Bartsch

Kobe Union Church

8 June 2025

Pentecost. For many Christians, it doesn’t carry the same weight as Christmas or Easter. But it should. Because without Pentecost, we wouldn’t have a church. We wouldn’t have boldness of the Holy Spirit. We wouldn’t have power to overcome. We wouldn’t have the Spirit of God living inside us. Acts 2 tells the story of the first Christian Pentecost—a dramatic and powerful day. But to understand it, we need to go back. Way back. To a mountain. To a people set free. And to a law written in stone.

Shavuot: The First Pentecost (Exodus 19–32)

Pentecost has its start in Acts 2. It name is Shavuot. Shavuot, or the Feast of Weeks, happened 50 days after Passover. It was a harvest festival, but more importantly, it commemorated the giving of the Torah—the Law—on Mount Sinai. The people of Israel had been rescued from slavery in Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb. Now, at Sinai, they were becoming a covenant people.

Exodus 19 describes how God came down on the mountain with fire, smoke, and the sound of a trumpet. The people trembled. Moses went up the mountain, and received Ten Commandments or Ten Words from the Lord written on stone tablets.

But while Moses was receiving the law, the people were breaking it. The only betrayal I can think that is strong enough is a bride or groom having and affair on their wedding night. Impatient and afraid, they built a golden calf and worshiped it. When Moses descended, he shattered the tablets in grief and anger. Then something tragic happened: Moses called for those who were “on the Lord’s side” to step forward. The Levites did—and they were told to go through the camp and slay their fellow Israelites who had rebelled and betrayed the Lord who had just rescued them. That day, 3,000 people died (Exodus 32:28). This day that began with joy and ended in tragedy.

Acts 2: A New Pentecost, a Better Covenant

Now fast forward about 1,500 years. Jesus has died at Passover as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb. Fifty days later, His followers are told to wait in Jerusalem. To wait and pray and they did. They did not fall asleep like they did in the garden.

Suddenly, they hear the sound of a rushing wind—violent and mighty. Tongues of fire appear over each of them. They begin speaking in other languages. And the crowd in Jerusalem—a multicultural mix of Jews from every nation—hears the gospel in their own tongues. It was a reversal of the tower of Babel. 

And on that day, 3,000 people are saved (Acts 2:41).

Do you see the reversal?

• At Sinai, 3,000 died because of idolatry.

• At Pentecost, 3,000 were made alive because of the gospel.

• At Sinai, God wrote His law on stone tablets.

• At Pentecost, God wrote His law on human hearts (Jeremiah 31:33).

• At Sinai, fire fell on a mountain.

• At Pentecost, fire rested on people.

This is a new covenant, and it changes everything.

The Spirit as Wind: Invisible Yet Unmistakable

Let’s look at that wind. The Bible says the sound was like a rushing wind. Not an actual wind, but a sound like it. Why? In both Hebrew (ruach) and Greek (pneuma), the word for “spirit” is the same as “breath” or “wind.” The Spirit is the wind of God.

Think back to Genesis 1: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters…” That was the ruach—God’s creative breath, bringing order to chaos. And when your life is chaotic like I know many of our lives are pray to God to give you his Spirit to create order out of your chaos. 

Or Genesis 2:7: “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Adam only became alive when God’s breath entered him. We have no record of God breathing life into any other of his creation. 

Wind is unseen, but its effects are obvious. You can’t grab it, but you can feel it. You can see what it moves. It can be gentle or powerful, refreshing or terrifying. And like wind, the Holy Spirit isn’t something we can manipulate or control. Jesus told Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases... So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

Biking Against the Wind

Let me tell you a story. When I was 15, I did something crazy. I joined a group that biked half way across the United States—over 1,300 miles—from the Ohio to Colorado. No one bikes going east to west because of the wind. Day in day out we biked against the wind. Somedays it was relentless. We would watch other groups going the other way flying along and we struggled. 

I learned very quickly that wind matters. It can make the difference between flying and barely moving. Sometimes we’d be going downhill—but the headwind was so strong, we had to pedal hard just to keep from stopping.

There were moments I wondered: “Am I going the wrong way?”

That’s how it feels when we live against the Spirit. Everything is harder. There’s no lift. Just drag.

But when you ride with the wind—when you walk in the Spirit—it’s like you’re being carried. Even the uphill moments feel lighter. There’s joy, clarity, peace, and power.

Barriers to the Spirit’s Work

The Spirit still wants to move like wind today. But there are things that block Him.

1. Unconfessed Sin

Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God.”Sin doesn’t just displease God—it hardens our hearts. It’s like closing the window when the wind is blowing outside. You miss it. You don’t feel it.

2. Pride and Self-Sufficiency

James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”Pride says, “I’m good.” But the Spirit only fills empty vessels. If we’re full of ourselves, there’s no room for Him.

3. Quenching the Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, “Do not quench the Spirit.”We quench the Spirit when we ignore His promptings. When we explain away what He’s doing in someone else. When we refuse to listen.

4. Grieving the Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 warns, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.”This comes right after a list of toxic behaviors: bitterness, rage, slander, malice. These things choke out the Spirit like weeds in a garden.

Ezekiel’s Vision: The Wind that Brings Life (Ezekiel 37)

There’s powerful Ezekiel 37. God takes the prophet to a valley full of dry bones. It’s a place of death. Total hopelessness. God asks, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answers, “Only you know, Lord.”

Then God tells him to prophesy—to call on the breath. And the wind comes. The bones rattle. They come together. Flesh appears. And finally, the breath of God fills them—and they live!

This is what the Holy Spirit does. He brings life to what is dead. Hope to what is dry. Fire to what has grown cold.

A New Kind of Priesthood

Remember Exodus 19:6? God said to Israel, “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” At Sinai, the people rejected that call. The Spirit doesn’t fall on just the apostles. It falls on everyone in the room—men and women, young and old.

And Peter declares, quoting Joel:

“In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit on ALL PEOPLE…” (Acts 2:17)

This is the priesthood of all believers. You—yes, you—are part of that. You are called to carry the presence of God into your workplace, your school, your home, your neighborhood.

God’s Spirit Today

The Spirit of Pentecost is not a history lesson. It started in the past but is happening today.  Have you experienced Him? Have you invited Him? He may not come with tongues of fire—but He may come with a deep conviction, with supernatural peace, or with a boldness you didn’t know you had. The wind is still blowing. The fire still falls. The Spirit still speaks. Will you open your heart to Him?

Let the Wind Blow Again

The Spirit hovered over the waters in Genesis.The Spirit descended in fire at Sinai.The Spirit rushed like wind at Pentecost.The Spirit brought bones to life in Ezekiel’s vision.And the Spirit wants to breathe into your life today.

Are you resisting the wind? Or are you catching it? Throw off the windbreakers of sin, pride, and fear. Open the window of your soul. And say, “Come, Holy Spirit. Blow through my life. Burn in my heart. Use me for Your glory.” Let the wind blow again. Let’s pray.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think Pentecost is often overlooked compared to Christmas and Easter, and how might our view of the Holy Spirit change if we gave it more weight?

2. What parallels do you see between Mount Sinai in Exodus and Pentecost in Acts 2?

3. The Spirit came as a mighty wind and fire—both powerful, uncontrollable forces. How do these images challenge or comfort you in your relationship with God?

4. What are some barriers in your own life that may be blocking the work of the Holy Spirit (like sin, pride, fear, etc.)?

5. Acts 2 says the Spirit was poured out on all people—men and women, young and old. How does that change the way you view your role in God’s mission?