The Blessings of Pentecost

The Blessings of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-6 (KJV) 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

Introduction

Today, we celebrate Pentecost, a cornerstone event in our faith journey that is richly detailed in Acts 2:1-8. This passage captures a moment of divine transformation and empowerment that holds profound blessings for us as believers.

· It said that the average Christian and the average church are somewhere bogged down between Calvary and Pentecost. They have been to Calvary for pardon, but they have not been to Pentecost for power. Bethlehem means God with us. Calvary means God for us.

·On this wonderful day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit of God came down to indwell believers. The church was formed and spiritual power was made possible to live the Christian life and to obey the command of the Lord to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

· This is Pentecost Sunday!

· The Phenomenal Power of Pentecost, the day the church was born.

· a. It was a special day.

· b. It was a sensational day

· God had promised to pour out his Spirit on this day. On this day the church would be formed and have the power to continue the work of Christ in the world.

· This wasn't the first day that Pentecost had come. But it was the festival that the prophet foretold that God would send his Spirit. The festival had been taking place for fifteen hundred years.

· What took place fifty days after the resurrection of Christ? Pentecost always fell on the first day of the week, symbolizing, even in Old Testament typology, the end of the Sabbath and the Consecration of a new day for a new dispensation.

· It was also known as the “Day of the first fruits”, Numbers 28:26 or the “feast of the Harvest”, Exodus 34:22.

· God ordained and commanded His people to observe three annual festivals, Passover, Pentecost, and the Day of Atonement, as divine appointment to honor and remember His presence, provision, and protection.

· The day of Pentecost had come fifteen hundred times before. Verse 1, “Now it was fully come..”. It had come and gone, come and gone, ever since Moses instituted the feast. But now it had come to stay.

· So in our text, we find the disciples together. They’ve been told by the resurrected Lord to wait in Jerusalem to receive power from on high.

· So they’ve been waiting together. Verse 1, “They were all with one accord in one place..”. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

· Picture this today, if we’re told go wait in a room, imagine what would be going on in the room. Someone will be on the cellphone, texting, playing on their smartphone, on FaceBook, or just looking around.

· Mercifully, the disciples had no such distractions. They are occupied, listening, praying, and worshipping. Waiting for the Phenomenal Power of Pentecost. The minute, the moment, the movement.

But they were together, and God showed up!

I. The Sound Was Unusual

Two things:

A. They Heard it Suddenly

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind..”

· Something resembling a rushing hurricane.

· God first got their ears to pay attention.

They heard it suddenly!

· This sound was not of earth, but of heaven, and it was symbolic.

· It announced the presence of the Holy Spirit.

· And suddenly- “af no”, unaware unexpectedly. The word suddenly if used three times in Acts.

· “A sound as a rushing, mighty wind.” “A sound like the blowing of a violent wind.”

· The wind is another of those divinely chosen biblical symbols of the Spirit of God. God uses wind.

· Genesis 8, God made a wind to pass over the earth.

· Genesis 41, God used an east wind.

· Exodus 10, God uses a strong west wind.

· 1 Kings 3, Lord said, Ye shall not see wind.

· Psalm 135, God bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

· Job 30, “Thou liftest me up to the wind; thou causest me to ride upon it.”

· Ezekiel 37, Prophecy unto the wind.

· Jonah 1, God use a great wind to arrest Jonah.

· The wind Jesus talks about with Nicodemus, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh.”

The Awesome Sound, They Heard it Suddenly!

· The blowing of the wind breath life in them.

Not only they heard it suddenly..

B. They Experience it Sitting

“And it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

· It was something they heard, experienced while sitting, not only when, but also where? The sound filled the entire house!

· Where they were siting.. Location!

· Many want manifestation without location.

· There was a totality of unity.

· Nothing so hinders the coming of the Spirit in power, as does division among God’s people.

· They were all together in one place!

· We must be in the Location where we meet God and in union with other believers.

“And it filled all the house where they were sitting.”

· It was localized upon the house, where they were sitting.

· Charles Finney: “When the presence of God is in the church, the church will draw the world in, if the presence of God is not in the church, the world will draw the church out.”

· The church has buildings but little boldness.

· The church has numbers but little nerve.

· The church has comfort but little courage.

· The church has status but little spirit.

· The church has prestige but little power.

· The Phenomenal Power of Pentecost is they didn’t listen to outside wind. It filled the house where they were sitting.

· Not only the, The Sound Was Unusual

II. The Sight Was Visual

Verse 3, “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”

Three things about fire:

A. It spreads

· Fire begins with a small flame but it spreads. It can devour a forest or consume a city.

· A fireman wants to contain fire!

· It spreads!

Verse 3, “And it sat upon each of them..”

· The word is singular, not plural.

· Spread through their ranks.

· Joel said, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.”

Not only does fire spread..

B. It burns

“And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire.”

· The cloven tongues are parting asunder. The idea is that a single tongue appeared and then began to split and divide itself, resting upon of the disciples.

The awesome sight, it spreads, it burns..

But, fire..

C. It Illuminates

· For countless centuries fire was man’s only source of light. It enabled him to work and walk.

· It illuminates in the upper room. The disciples saw the Awesome Sight (Visual).

· They saw a visual manifestation what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.

· They all had one experience from one source, but each individual had a personal experience.

· The fire of God is a symbol of divine presence.

Not only spreads, burns, illuminates..

· Abraham saw a burning lamp.

· Moses beheld a burning bush.

· Solomon had build a temple and the fire of God descended.

· They see God, and their lives are prepared: they feel his fires, and are not consumed.

· “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire: and it sat upon each of them.”

· Not only the,

· The Sound Was Unusual

· The Sight Was Visual

III. The Spirit Was Vital

Verse 4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”

· Two things: that which was “spiritual” and “evidential”

· On the day of Pentecost all those present were filled with the spirit.

· Filling is different. It is conditional.

· The spirit filled them. They were completely filled! Full!

· Before, they were cold, dead, and empty. Something was missing. But they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.

· When you are full, there is no room for anything. They were completely occupied by the heavenly power.

· You Will Receive Power"Ye Shall Receive Power""Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit comes upon you..." (Acts 1:8)The late Stephen Olford told the story of a man in South Africa who bought a new Rolls Royce. When a neighbor asked about the horse power of the engine, he could not answer him. The owner’s manual had no information bout it. So, he sent a telegram to the dealer in London: NEW ROLLS. HOW MANY HORSE POWER? He didn’t have to wait long before receiving a response: ADEQUATE, SIR, ADEQUATE. The power one receives when he receives the Holy Spirit is adequate. Always adequate. For any situation. Adequate. Sadly, most Christians have very little appreciation for the power the believer has when he in indwelt by the Holy Spirit

· There is a difference between a empty man and a full man.

· The first thing we want as a church is to be filled with the Holy Ghost.

· Out of a full church the world shall receive salvation, but never out of an empty one.

· Not only the,

· The Sound Was Unusual

· The Sight Was Visual

· The Spirit Was Vital

IV. The Speech Was Vocal

A. It was connecting

Verse 5, “And they were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.”

B. It was clear

Verse 6, “Now when this was noised abroad, their multitude came together, and were confounded because every man heard them speak in his own language.”

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon 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 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.