No parents...not Earth, Wind, & Fire. You read it right. Wind, Fire, & Speech as found in Acts 2:1-8.
Acts 2:1-8 - 1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!
We discussed these three elements found in the upper room where the disciples were meeting on the day of Pentecost and how they represent the Holy Spirit as He relates to us today.
Wind:
The wind represents the power Jesus spoke about in Acts 1:8, when He said, "8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Thankfully, the disciples only experienced the sound of the mighty wind, or else the entire room where they were meeting might have been destroyed as if by a tornado! Funny thing about wind is that it blows wherever it pleases. You can hear it, but you can never tell where it is coming from. The power of this wind of the Holy Spirit sends a powerful message to all who listen, the message of Jesus Christ, His death, and Resurrection. And the power of the message of Jesus Christ can demolish strongholds and any other scheme of Satan that rises up against it...the same way a tornado can demolish an entire neighborhood or city in its path of destruction.
To demonstrate this, we used a table fan. First we asked the kids to write on strips of paper those things the enemy uses to keep people from hearing God's powerful message of redemption. They wrote things like lies, money, "stuff", hardships, trials, relationships, TV and movies, hate, crime, unbelieving friends, illness, "busy-ness", hypocrisy, etc... Then we turned on our Holy Spirit fan and watched it blow Satan's attempts at deception away.
Fire:
The Holy Spirit being represented by fire symbolizes the purity and presence of God. For purity, we talked about Isaiah's feeling of unworthiness in the presence of a holy God and how his guilt was removed and sins were forgiven.
Isaiah 6:5-7 - 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
To demonstrate purity, we used a large glass bowl. We gave the kids strips of paper again and this time asked them to write something they had accomplished on one and a material thing they owned on the last. Already in the bowl was a rock, which represented their solid foundation in Christ as Christians. They put their strips of paper in the bowl with the rock and we proceeded to light the bowl's contents on fire. We talked about how, in the end, all that really matters and will be left is their faith and how they chose to use it and their God-given gifts to serve God and further His Kingdom. All of their accomplishments (awards, trophies for sports, A's on report cards, career, etc...) and their possessions (nice car, big house, lots of money, nice clothes,...) would count for about as much as what was left of them in the bowl after our fire...nothing but ashes!
1 Cor. 3:11-13 - 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
We also talked about how God's presence was seen in the pillar of fire by the Israelites as they were led through the wilderness.
Exodus 13:21 - The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night.
To demonstrate the Holy Spirit as God's presence to the kids, we did a little experiment. We placed two candles in the center of two different saucers. The we poured one-half cup of water on both saucers. We talked about how when we don't have God's spirit in us, He can't live in us. We put a clear glass over one candle of the candles. The we lit the second candle. We discussed how the Holy Spirit draws us to God and God into us. This time we told them that the oxygen inside the glass represented God, the flame represented the Holy Spirit, and the candle represented us. Putting the glass over the lit candle, we watched how the Holy Spirit draws God into our lives (as the flame drew the oxygen out of the glass).
Speech:
Lastly, we discussed how the Holy Spirit being poured into our lives represented God keeping the promise He gave to Abraham in the Old Testament.
Genesis 12:2-3 - 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
God poured the Holy Spirit out on the disciples giving them the ability to speak in every language on earth so that everyone who heard them proclaim the message of Jesus Christ could go back to their own country and tell others they knew. We too have that ability, as children of Jesus, to tell others about the Good News of salvation. Not only do we have that ability, but it is our responsibility.
Matthew 28:18-20 - 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The result?
Revelation 7:9-10 - 9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
Oh what a glorious picture!!
