The book of Acts is such an exciting book, because this is when the disciples of Christ are charged with putting the words of christ into action. The acts of the apostles showcase the apostles actions- what they did in response to the the words of the Lord.
Just a few days ago we read in the book of John 20:22 where Jesus breathed on the disciples, telling them to "Receive the holy Spirit". He was essentially telling them the the holy Spirit is like his breath, and in Acts chapter 1 Jesus tells them to wait for the gift - the baptism of the Holy spirit.( Acts 1:5)
In response to this command to wait for the gift of the holy spirit, the apostles, and many other believers ( about 120 people) met in an upstairs room.
It is remarkable to note that among the 120 believers and disciples was Mary, the carrier of the Son of God, and she would be privileged with being the vessel of the Holy Spirit, yet again.
The other thing that grabbed my attention is in in chapter 2 verse 1, when the Holy Spirit inhabited the earnest praise and prayer of the unified group of believers, all of them began to speak under the influence of the Holy Spirit- they began to speak in another tongue. It was not just for the 12 Apostles but for the whole lot of them. The gift of tongues was the evidence that they had been baptized in the Holy spirit.
In Acts 2:17, Peter, newly filled with the Spirit of God, makes reference to what was being heard, proclaiming their Holy Spirit enabled speech to be the fulfilment of the promise through the prophet Joel ( Joel 2:28-32).
He preaches the Gospel, and the crowd is cut to the heart . It grabs them and they believe. In response to their belief they now question, what are we supposed to do. Peter, without hesitation responds, Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins,and you will receive the gift of the Holy spirit! For the promise is for you and your children...
What a promise, and what an honor to be the dwelling place of God, who is Spirit, and who is Holy- The Holy Spirit dwelling in us.
That is why, when we feel, we can't take anymore, remember, greater is He in us, than we could ever be of ourselves. Acts 1:8 says we will receive power, after the Holy Ghost overtakes us, and he takes over. Praise be to God!
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I think it's amazing too that before Jesus ascended, he told the disciples that with the gift of the Holy Spirit, they would be discipling to the ends of the earth! Wow! Up until that time, they were only teaching and baptizing around Jerusalem mainly (and other nations whose language they understood) and now they're being told that they're going to carry the precious gospel to other lands!
Let this encourage us! When we start to doubt our effectiveness in our ministries, in our witness, and in fulfilling our missions to people of other languages, we need to pause and remember that we have been more than equipped to carry out what He's sent us out to do! Afterall, God wouldn't send you if you were useless! =) When God wants you to preach the gospel to a person who doesn't share your language, you better believe that God can allow you to with His precious gift of tongues! How cool is that?! With the Holy Spirit now living in us, we have the power source to be able to do such things! The Bible doesn't say that they were able to speak in other languages permanently, but under the weighty influence of the Holy Spirit, I'm sure they could! And all that God may be glorified and there'd be no reason for someone not to know Him. He's more than enough, so with Him living in us through His Holy Spirit, we have more than enough! Hallelujah!