Untitled Sermon

Pentecost

Scripture: Acts 1:1-9, Acts 2:1-47, John 3:16

Introduction

Birthdays are a big deal. And, some birthdays are a bigger deal than others. Like first birthdays for instance… That’s a milestone no one wants to miss. And yet for some reason, many of us just seem to blow right past the actual birth of the church. Sure, we all know about the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and we’re all pretty familiar with His resurrection at Easter... But how many of us know that the church itself was birthed at Pentecost?

The story begins in the first chapter of the Book of Acts.

Here we see the disciples gathered together, minus Judas of course, and Jesus is with them giving some final instructions.

He tells them to wait for power from on high to come to them and that they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.

Then, He also tells them that because of this, they will be His witnesses and testify about Him to the very ends of the earth.

Then He ascends out of their sight.

Read Acts chapter 1:1-9

After Jesus ascends, the disciples are caught staring up into the heavens by an angel who essentially tells them to get going.

They all head back to Jerusalem and around 120 of them are gathered together.

At this time, Peter leads the group to replace Judas, and Matthias is chosen as the twelfth apostle.

All of this is the backdrop for what is about to happen next…which is an absolute one of a kind event in human history that forever changed the world.

This event is the birth of the church, which we recognize annually in the celebration of Pentecost.

The Creation Of The Church

First and foremost, we see at the beginning of Acts chapter 2 that the church was created by God.

Read Acts 2:1-4

As I said before, the church being born is a big deal. The formation of the church was on God’s mind from the very beginning of time.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus first talks about the church and He says, “not even the gates of hell will prevail against it.”

He says this before His death and resurrection, meaning He already knew what the ultimate plan was.

Starting a church wasn’t something the apostles were mapping out and planning.

They were doing the last thing Jesus instructed them to do, which was to wait for the Holy Spirit to come.

When, "Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven."

God started the church. God created the church.

God brought the church into being, and it is His Church, not ours.

We are just a part of it and It’s essential for us to realize that.

Illustration idea: Talk for a moment about the many different denominations present in your town. You’ll have to be careful, and do it respectfully, but the point is to highlight that there are a lot of different ideas about how church should be done. Evidenced by the hundreds, if not thousands of different denominations present in the world today.

A lot of us have ideas about how to do church.

Proverbs 19:21 reminds us, “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.”

The church was God’s idea from the beginning.

The church is the bride of Christ.

There is no other plan or purpose of God for how we are to share the good news of Jesus with others.

The church is that plan.

The church may never be the most popular institution in the world, because it goes against popular culture.

God wants the church to stand for the truth, His truth, and to be unshakable in our presentation of the Gospel.

The church belongs to God.

It is His church, not ours.

The Mission Of The Church

The mission of the church is to communicate the love of God to a lost and dying world.

At Pentecost, the Spirit was given to empower the mission.

The early church was filled in order to pour out.

They were filled with power to proclaim the gospel.

Read Acts 2:5-15

The theme of Pentecost, believe it or not, is communication.

It is really a shame that the whole idea of speaking in tongues has become such a controversial issue.

When you read about Pentecost, the truth is, God gave the gift of tongues to the apostles for one purpose.

The purpose of tongues is to communicate and proclaim.

There was clearly a communication problem in the room with people from so many various places and backgrounds.

But God empowered them all to hear the gospel in their own language.

He gave the gift of tongues to the apostles and disciples could communicate and proclaim the gospel to everyone.

This was an early sign of things to come for the church.

The mission of the church is to communicate the gospel.

Now if God wants to give us a miracle to do that, praise Him for it.

Today, we’re still translating the scriptures into different languages, and we’re trying to win converts from different countries, and sending them back as missionaries to their own people.

We must continue doing whatever we can to spread the good news.

The moment you become a Christian, God commissions you to share this simple message with our little part of the world.

Illustration idea: How many of you have ever watched a sporting event, a Super Bowl or Monday night football game, and seen the giant sign saying "John 3:16?" How many of you have seen that? Well, Rockin’ Rollin Stewart is responsible for that happening. "Rockin’" is a nickname. His name is Rollin Stewart. His story appeared in People Magazine years ago, and it is a fascinating story. Rollin Stewart was an alcoholic. He met Jesus, accepted Him as his Savior, became a Christian, and God healed him of his alcoholism. One day, the idea struck him that if he could just get into major sporting events and put the word of God before the people, it would be seen by hundreds of thousands of people. So for a number of years, Rockin’ Rollin Stewart and his wife, Margaret, and a friend named William James, lived a very spartan life. They averaged driving 55,000 miles a year in an old beat up van, telling their story, and using the money they collected to buy tickets for major sporting events to hang out a sheet saying, "John 3:16."

Do you ever wonder how many tens of thousands have turned to read what that passage says?

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Now, it might not be your thing to live a frugal life, drive around an RV, and attend as many sporting events as you can just to share a single bible verse. But that’s not the point. The point is that when you and I are saved then we are commanded to share the good news with others. This is called the great commission and you can read it at the end of the gospel of Matthew 28.

Read Matthew 28:18-20

Go, make, and teach disciples. That’s what Jesus said, and that’s what the Spirit came to empower us to do.

The Goal Of The Church

The goal of the Church is to establish a unique fellowship equipped for the mission of sharing the gospel.

Read Acts 2:37-41

Isn’t it amazing to see these early Christians after they first hear the good news about Jesus? On the Day of Pentecost there are 3,000 new converts, and they suddenly share something that has never been shared before, they are the firstfruits of the church.

All of them know they are guilty and that they’ve crucified Christ with their sins. But now they have repented of their sins. They’ve been baptized. They’ve been redeemed, and they’ve been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, they are part of a new family, freed from a life of slavery and darkness. As Paul says in Colossians 1:13-14, “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

And this new community was nothing like what the world had to offer. This community was rooted in love and generosity, empowered by the Holy Spirit to testify all the way to the very ends of the earth. It’s no wonder the church saw exponential growth in the beginning. All were devoted to one another, to the apostles teaching, to prayer, and communion as it says in Acts 2:42-47.

We are called to be different people, a different culture. An oasis in the midst of a desert, a shade tree on a summer day, a cup of cool water when you are thirsty, a place to come and know you won’t be rejected, that you’ll be accepted and loved, brothers and sisters, the family of God, empowered by God for eternal life together.

The world changed after Pentecost because of the church’s influence on that world. And it ought to be the same today.

Conclusion

Today we celebrate the birth of the church at Pentecost. Today we celebrate God’s plan to share the good news of Jesus. And yes, the gospel is for everyone, the whole world. But it’s also for you. Jesus loves you, He gave His life for you.

If you’re lonely, tired, or weary. If you’ve been taken advantage of, beat up, or abused. If you’ve tried everything else and you’re out of options… Then maybe today is a good day for you to consider a rebirth. Maybe today is the day you give your life over to Jesus, and invite Him to take control. It’s what we in the church call, being born again.

If that sounds like you today then we invite you to become a part of our fellowship this morning as we extend the invitation of God.

Let’s pray together.