Title: The Suddenly’s
Acts 2:1-4; 12-13
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.
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
You will be surprised how often the adverb, ‘suddenly’ is used in the bible. But we should not be amazed because God works in the suddenly’s.
Meaning of ‘suddenly’:
- It not only means quickly, but it also means unexpected.
- It also means that at any point your whole circumstance can change.
- It has the mysterious, miraculous and supernatural acts of God
- It is life changing and circumstances altering
Most of the scripture that I will be quoting throughout this message will have the adverb ‘suddenly.’
Acts 16:26: ‘Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake.’
Acts 2:2-3: ‘suddenly a sound came from heaven and the people were filled with the Holy Spirit’ Acts 22:6: ‘Paul suddenly heard a voice from heaven?
Isaiah 9:1: ‘But suddenly there will be no more gloom for the land that suffered.’
A sudden event took place in Los Angeles in 1971.
But there was no doubt some divine ‘Why’ also. Are they finger pointing to a great happening ahead. Are they an empathic voice speaking to the spiritually unconcerned? Are they stern reminding that self-sufficient Israel cannot after all control all things?
Psalms 83:16-17 ‘Make them afraid with thy storm…. that they may seek thy name.’
Another translation put it as ‘So persecute them with thy tempest and make them afraid with thy storm.’
The KJV version on the other hand says, ‘Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.’
In Psalms 83 the different terms used to describe God’s judgment as a wind storm:
- whirling dust
- chaff before wind.
- tempest
- your storm
The COVID-19, the Ukraine War, the Israel-Hamas War, the high prices of food and lodging should remind us that self-sufficient man cannot after all control all things.
We all do not like sudden unexpected experiences. They caught us unprepared.
The bible did mention to us about sudden and unexpected event. Some are good and some are bad. But we are to prepare for them. They come suddenly and without warning. This morning, I want to mention 3 sudden unexpected events that can happen to us in our lifetime.
- Sudden Destruction
Proverbs 29:1 ‘He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.’
The NIV translation puts it as, ‘Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed -without remedy.’
The hard neck is used as a figure of speech to speak of the stubborn attitude that resists and disobeys God.
The phrase, ‘will suddenly be destroyed’ points to the stubborn, rebellious man who continues in his disobedience for a long time, until he is suddenly destroyed and there will be no hope for him.
I Samuel 4:18 says, ‘And it came to pass, when he made mention of the Ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake.’
If we are often reproved by our parents, friends, ministers, even by our own conscience and the providential hand of God, and yet remain stubborn in our wicked ways we will experience sudden destruction.
Isaiah 47:11: ‘Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.’
Concealed beneath the surface are the seeds of sorrow and of death; they are invisible, but they are there. They are always inevitable. We are not able to put it off. Wealth cannot purchase its departure. Authority cannot order it away. Ingenuity cannot escape its power.
Jeremiah 6:26 says, ‘O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.’
- A sudden Revival
Acts 2:1-2 says, ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.’
Malachi 3:1 says, ‘Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.’
The phrase ‘my messenger’ can mean a proper name or an angel who identifies himself as the angel of the Lord.
The phrase, ‘he will clear the way before Me,’ has the connotation of ‘making clear’ of obstacles. It was used of preparing for a royal visit by preparing the roads. This verse has a dual prophecy. The first was fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus Christ and the second is referring to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Revival through the ages has usually broken with suddenness. I believe the coming revival will be sudden. When the church is at its driest, then revival will suddenly come. Revival originates from God, and we can only cooperate with God by praying. Pray for revival every day.
A sudden revival means God will suddenly come upon the church, refreshing and anointing, empowering and people would just fall in love with Him again, consecrate their lives and serve him wholeheartedly.
- The sudden return of our Lord
1 Corinthians 15:52, ‘In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed’.
It is from the phrase, ‘in a moment,’ we get the English word ‘atom’ from the Greek term, which meant ‘undividable.’
‘In the twinkling of an eye’ is used of the blinking of a star or the rapid movement of gnats’ wings.
The implication of these two terms is that Jesus’ return will occur very rapidly once it begins.
In a single moment, Jesus will gather His people (both dead and on the earth) to Himself, for resurrection.
Rapture – the Latin word for caught up in the air and will receive their resurrection bodies.
In Mark 13:36, ‘therefore watch lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.’
Sleeping has the connotation of being spiritually dead.
Clark in his commentary says, ‘a porter asleep exposes the house to be robbed, and well deserves punishment.’
Barnes on the other hand says sleeping means you are ‘inattentive to your post, neglecting your duty and unprepared for His coming.’
Psalms 80:3 says, ‘turn us again, O God. And cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.’ This is pointing to revival.
