Pentecost: The Comforter has Come

The Helper

John 14:25-26 ““I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

Acts 1:4-8 “While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

Pentecost Sunday

From the Greek word meaning 50 days....it was 50 days after Easter that Jesus disciples were gathered together praying...

40 days Jesus walked with his disciples after his resurrection

10 days they waited and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come.

Luke says in Acts 2 that the Holy Spirit came on them and they were “filled with the Spirit” and they begin to pray, and preach, and speak like men and women on FIRE.

Jesus left his disciples (ascended), but told them to Wait and Pray

Wait for what??? ....The Holy Spirit (helper, counselor, comforter)

Principle: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who BREATHES eternal life into our mortal bodies.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit is God with us, making us ALIVE!!

How do we receive the Holy Spirit?

Wait and Pray (ask)

Most of us don’t like to wait...

There is a way in which our right-now, technology-foused society keeps us always thinking we don’t have enough or we are going to be left without (scarcity)...

Our face pace ramps up our anxiety and we become scarcity-driven and fear-based Christians....that’s a picture of life without the Holy Spirit!

Principle: God is an on-time God, but he is not an on-demand God…it is in the waiting and praying that we find the gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

IT’S THE GIFT WORTH WAITING FOR!!

Pentecost is the climax of the Church calendar because it represents a “taste” of where all this going!

Advent: Preparing for Christ's Coming at Christmas.

Christmas: Celebrating Christ's Coming.

Epiphany: Celebrating Christ's Manifestation to the Magi/Gentiles.

Lent: Preparing for Easter.

Easter: Celebrating the Resurrection.

Pentecost: Celebrating the Outpoured Holy Spirit. [Birth of the Church]

The Savior we hoped for has come, and now he has sent the Holy Spirit to complete the work he finished on the cross…through his Church!

[Tell your neighbor, God’s not done with you yet!]

Truth: In a world of uncertainty, Pentecost reminds us that what God began in Jesus he is now completing by his Holy Spirit!

Philippians 1:6 “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Anybody ever get impatient? Ever feel like God must have forgotten about you?

Illustration: Jennifer and I prayed for God would give us his promise of children for our family…but in the waiting we often felt forgotten…some of you know the end of that story that God gave us two miracles; a son and a daughter…and many other spiritual children who have filled our home...

In those dark seasons of doubt PENTECOST breaks in to remind us that God is not one who forgets his promise...

In fact, the Holy Spirit is a guarantee that God will in fact do what he said he would do....it just requires FAITH as Peter says, “repent and believe!”

Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.”

At Pentecost there were Multiple Languages, One Message

What was the Holy Spirit’s message on that first Pentecost Sunday?

No Power Greater than Jesus

Peter: This same Jesus was that crucified has conquered death.

Healing has come to the nations

Each one heard in their own language…what was chaos and uncertainty has now become the lordship of Jesus Christ.

You’ve been invited to get in on the last days!

Peter: Joel prophesied in the last days the Spirit would be poured out on ALL FLESH.

Illustration: Oprah show…used to be one winner got the big prize…Oprah changed the game....”You get a new car! You get a new car! You get a new car! You get a new car!”

What can the Holy Spirit bring to your life today...

The Holy Spirit brings Peace and Comfort in troubled times.

Christians have often become more known for what we are mad at or who we are at war with (culture wars) than being known as a peaceable and content people.

I’m not talking about not having standards: Jesus IS the standard…I’m talking about living from fight to fight, rather than from faith to faith.

Principle: Your life should not be defined but what devils you are fighting! <most of us don’t need any additional devils to fight>

What we need is a people who have learned to “follow the peace”…

Illustration: When Jen and I have had to make life-changing decisions, we pray and follow the peace (what direction do I sense a settledness?)

The Holy Spirit breaks the power of bitterness, regret, and unforgiveness.

The enemy will use your past to keep you locked up in bitterness, regret, and unforgiveness.

We keep repeating, over and over, rehearsing what happened thinking somehow that will makes us feel powerful…but all it does is keep us enslaved!

Principle: There is FREEDOM in letting go of those things you can’t control, can’t change, and trusting the Holy Spirit to do what you cannot do.

The Holy Spirit reveals God’s Purpose for You.

The Spirit is not searching for perfect people, or good people, or qualified people....

The Spirit uses broken people, imperfect people, abused people, lost people....That’s how he chooses to make himself known.

Paul wrote the Corinthians, “I didn’t come to you with great preaching or an impressive resume..I came humbly and by the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Points us to Jesus.

John 15:26 ““When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me.”

When you feel that conviction…that’s the Holy Spirit pointing you to Jesus.

When you feel the burden of the guilt of your past…that’s the Holy Spirit saying give that to Jesus.

When you feel the weight of your past…that’s the Holy Spirit saying it’s too heavy for you, give it to Jesus.

When you feel that burning in your heart…that’s the Holy Spirit saying don’t wait, don’t push it aside, come to Jesus now.

The Holy Spirit is calling you to Wait, Pray, and Receive his comfort today!

**When the people outside the upper room heard what Peter was saying about the Holy Spirit they asked this question:

Acts 2:37-38 “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”