A Bold New Life

Graduate Sunday

Good morning everyone and welcome to Burr Oak. For those of you visiting today I am Pastor Ben and it is so good to be with you today. I am going to ask that the little kids stay up here for just a moment before heading to Jr. Church. Today we are celebrating our graduates. Would all of our graduates please come forward.

HAVE GRADUATES COME FORWARD INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND TELL PLANS FOR AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

It has been a tradition here at Burr Oak to give a gift to our graduates as they prepare for their next season of life. Where I broke tradition is that we usually ask you what you want, either a Bible or some books. Since I know each of you already have a Bible, your gifts this year are all the same. I hope that they encourage you when you feel stuck and remind you that no matter where the Lord takes you in this life, you have a family here that will always be there for you.

I would now like to invite up moms and dads, board members, and anyone else that would like to pray over these graduates. If you are unable to come up front you can just extend a hand towards them from where you sit.

PRAY FOR SENIORS

Seniors would you mind sitting here together towards the front please for the message? In the church calendar today is the day we remember Pentecost. What better day than to remember our graduates than on the day when the Church remembers the day when God poured out his power for his children to boldly live a new life.

Our message for today is A Bold New Life: The Promised Power of Pentecost and we will be looking towards Acts 2:1-21. If you brought your own Bible or want to follow along on your device please turn there now. If you are using the blue pew Bible it is on page 1007. Or as always you can follow along on the screen.

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

Acts 2:1–21 ESV

1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

May the Lord bless the reading of his word.

As we consider our passage for today there are three biblical truths that we will consider. The extraordinary amidst the ordinary, the gift’s intended purpose, and confidence in Christ.

The Extraordinary Amidst the Ordinary

Without a doubt the miracle at Pentecost is one that has left the church for 2,000 years in both amazement and confusion. The events we read and the outcome of that day forever changed the history of the earth, but has often left the church divided as to what this section of Scripture means. As we look at our passage for today, we start by seeing a time stamp.

Acts 2:1 ESV

1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

The question we need to wrestle with is, with Luke writing after the fact is he putting to paper a name for this day, or is he referring to something else? Pentecost was actually a festival that was established in the OT.

Leviticus 23:16 ESV

16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord.

The Jews referred to this one day festival as the festival of weeks as it came seven full weeks after the passover. At this festival the Israelites farmers would present their first fruit offerings. However, sometime between the end of the OT and the start of the NT the festival of weeks morphed into remembering something different. Commenting on this John D. Barry states,

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Pentecost in Jewish Tradition

In Jewish tradition, Pentecost retained its connection with the annual harvest, but it also became a covenant renewal festival and a celebration of God giving the law.

VanderKam argues that Luke views Pentecost as being a covenant renewal festival indicating that what we see happening in our passage is the sign of the covenant being established with the Church. To signify this, the Lord had done what he had done previously, he established the covenant with wind and fire.

Acts 2:2–3 ESV

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

Could be seen as an echo of what God did at Sinai.

Exodus 19:18 ESV

Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

What an extraordinary event to witness. Yahweh shows up in a way that only he can. Oh how we long for that experience! Yet, far to often the waiting for this experience causes us to miss what Yahweh wants us to do. Now do I believe that at any moment Yahweh could fill this room full of his presence, that a mighty rushing wind, and fire could fill this place and leave us all in awe, oh yes I believe that could happen. However if that is what we are waiting on then I believe that we have misunderstood the purpose of this day in Acts 2.

If Yahweh showing up in smoke and fire like he did in Exod 19 indicated the starting of a covenant with a group of people, how are we to understand what happened on Pentecost in roughly 35 AD? More that 500 years prior to this, Yahweh had told them that he would one day establish a New Covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31–32 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.

The NT affirms that through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, through the corporate out pouring of Spirit, this new covenant was established and it was not like the former.

Ephesians 2:15 ESV

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

Hebrews 8:13 ESV

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

After Pentecost, when we read of people confessing Christ, we see the manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit appear, but we do not read of wind and fire. See Pentecost was an extraordinary event as it was the mark of the beginning of the new covenant in Christ as Christ was the fulfilment of the old covenant. Does God show up in extraordinary ways? Absolutely! Often times this is through the ordinary aspects of our lives. Just living in relationship with Christ and being willing to be his servant.

The Gift’s Intended Purpose

Yet, what was the intended purpose of this gift? Picking back up in our passage from today, now understanding the history of Pentecost, we can see that it is no accident that all these people were in Jerusalem.

Acts 2:5 ESV

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

While this day was a day of celebration much like our Labor day in the fall, this was an ordinary day. Nobody gathered there in Jerusalem was expecting something like this to take place. Of all the people there on that day only 120 of them were waiting because they were told to. They knew they were waiting for the Helper to come, but they did not know what that would look like. For all these peoples from all these different nations, this was a typical religious holiday day.

And while it may have felt like an ordinary day for many of them, in the grand scheme of things it was anything but. Here is a picture showing where all the people had come from that we read in verse 9-11. When we consider all the nations and cultures present, only Yahweh could have orchestrated an event like this.

As we continue in our passage we find the implied purpose of this gift.

Acts 2:6 ESV

And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

With all the different nationalities and cultures present there, there was a shared language that they all spoke in order for doing business. Yet as we read this section what we see is that what is being communicated to them to get their attention is coming across in the language of their homeland. While as humans they had common ways of communicating with each other, the common mode would not carry the message that needed to be communicated that day. It is believed that in the next section when Peter gives his sermon, that he was no longer speaking in tongues but addressed the whole crowd in the common language.

The intended purpose of the gift, was to serve those that heard so that the gospel message could be communicated. This is the intent with any gift of the Spirit. Paul tells the Corinthians that since God has now reconciled himself to us through Christ, that we now have been given a ministry of reconciliation. Why does reconciliation need to take place? Because a separation has happen. That separation has created a barrier. Whether you want to call that barrier a wall or a canyon, we are unable to cross it on our own. When we come to know Christ he makes a way for us to get past that barrier and then empowers us to help others. The gifts that are given to the Church through the Spirit are to be used to serve those around them to help them draw closer to God.

Yet, not everyone will be able to perceive why it is what you are doing. Just as our passage indicates there will be those who do not understand your gifting, or your calling. They will perceive it to be foolishness. With this perception of foolishness they may go as far as to mock you.

Acts 2:13 ESV

But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Yet, you do not need to be shaken, for you can have confidence in Christ.

Confidence in Christ

Peter addressing the situation, with the concerns and questions, begins to inform the crowd of the reality of the situation. That while they may believe that what is happening is foolishness, it is in fact God moving amongst them. That Yahweh, the God of promise is once again showing this to be true.

Polhill, commenting on this section states that Luke has several emphasis that he wants the reader to connect with. First the church has been empowered by God to carry out her mission. Second Pentecost is the festival of first fruits, and what we see here is the first fruits of the Spirit. The third emphasis is that this does not mark the culmination of the Spirit’s work but rather the beginning. Closely related to this is the final point. With this being the beginning of the Spirit’s work, Pentecost inaugurates the final period of God’s plan of salvation. This last point is important for us to understand. Look at how Peter begins his quote of Joel.

Acts 2:17 ESV

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

And in the last days. Just as what happened on Pentecost has created confusion, so does the understanding of what the last days are. We look at what is going on around us and believe that the end must be nearer. What we need to understand is that for nearly 2,000 years we have been in the last days. It is the title given for this time period in which the Church is to be at work by the power of the Spirit while we wait for the return of Christ.

And in these last days Yahweh pours his Spirit out on his people granting them ways to serve each other to draw them closer to himself. And all creation will point to the glory of God coming as the day of Jesus’ return comes. And the reason for this, so that all who call on the name of the Lord might be saved.

If we were to continue on through Peter’s sermon through verse 41 we would see that Peter’s confidence for his message was Christ alone. A fisherman from the sea turned preacher. A man believed to be uneducated in terms of knowing God’s word. His confidence was in Christ and the message Christ came bearing.

Acts 2:38–39 ESV

And Peter said to them, “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 for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Advice to Our Graduates

So, graduates, what is some practical advice I can give you in light of our message for today.

First realize that while Yahweh can show up in extraordinary ways, he does not over look the ordinary.

That often times those will be the moments that he has called you to to glorify him most.

Second, learn your gifts.

Discover what your strengths and talents are, but realize that they are not for yourself. They are for you to serve those are you. They are for you to bring glory to God through the way you live in relationship to others, making a way through or over the barriers that are keeping them from God.

Third, realize that you do not need to have confidence in yourself.

The strength you can muster to accomplish a task is fleeting. There will come a time that it will fail you. Place your confidence in Christ alone.

Fourth, do not become so prideful that you refuse to repent of your sins.

You will sin against God and against your fellow man. Hiding from or ignoring your sins will not bring resolution to your turmoil. So do not hide your sins or ignore them, rather repent as that is the only way to freedom.

Fifth, just as Christ is faithful to forgive you for your sins against him, extend forgiveness to those who have wronged you.

Un-forgiveness is a prison that you do not want to dwell in.

Finally, when you have reached what you believe to be the end of your physical, mental, or emotional strength. When you feel like you have carried yourself as far as you possibly can. When you finally find that you are at the end or yourself, turn your eyes to Yahweh for he is faithful.

A bold new life is ahead of you. If you find yourself in a place of desperation not knowing which path to take. Open up and read the book of Proverbs. It will be a road map to lead you along this path of life. And remember, no matter the places that you go, there are people here at home that love you, and want what is best for you.

END IN PRAYER