Wrong Set Right — Acts 2:1-13

Introduction

When we bought our house, we had a leak in the master bathroom that was pouring water into our basement. Our house is pretty old, and I realized that it was just the gasket around the faucet that had deteriorated with age. So, I went to Lowe’s and bought a new faucet and went to install it. No big deal. So, I took the old one off. Put the new one in. Siliconed around it. And, there was no leak. Viola!

But, I’m a perfectionist and realized that I had installed part of it backwards, and it drove me nuts. So, I took everything apart, and put it back together again. And, there was a drip. So, I did it a second time. And then, a third time. Eventually, I realized that if you slung the faucet at just the right amount of force, it wouldn’t drip, and the perfectionist in me was long dead at that point. For five years we lived with that dripping faucet. A few months ago, we had a pretty big leak, and I asked them to fix that dripping faucet while they were there. BTW, I didn’t realize plumbers had the same hourly rate as neurosurgeons! When he was finished, he brought me in to show me the fixed faucet, and said, “Whoever installed this way overtightened it.” To which I responded, “I could tell that guy had no idea what he was doing!”

If you’re like me, most of the things you aim to fix are just made worse. And, that’s okay for water faucets and kids’ toys, but when it comes to broken relationships or a broken body or a broken church or a broken culture, the stakes become much higher.

God’s Word

All of us realize that our world needs fixing, but, if we’re honest, it really seems beyond fixing. No matter who promises what or who invents what or who does what, every fix seems to create a new set of problems. But, Jesus came because God is determined to set things right, and what we’ll see this morning is that when He ascended to his throne in heaven, Jesus sent to us the Holy Spirit to begin the process of setting all things right until his return. How the Spirit Sets Things Right: (Headline)

The Temple is “relocated.”

Acts 2:1–4 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 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. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

There was never supposed to be a Temple. You realize that, don’t you? The Temple served as the locus of Israel’s hope. It was the evidence of God’s love because He wasn’t hard to find like the other gods. He lived right there with his people. No one had to wonder. And, that meant that his care, provision, and protection were always present. Whenever a threat loomed or a worry crept in, God’s people could look toward the Temple Mount and know that their God was there to defend them.

But, as good as it was, as life-giving as it was, it was still a picture of separation between God and man. There was a heavy curtain between the Holy of Holies where God’s presence was manifest and the rest of Temple where the priests were. God’s holy presence was unbearable and lethal to man’s sinful nature. In fact, on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest was to enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people, they would tie a rope around his foot in the event that he entered unclean and was struck dead so that they could drag him out without dying themselves.

But, Eden teaches us that this isn’t God’s vision or our design. He intends to walk with his people through the Garden, and we’re designed to dwell in his presence continually. Anything less brings disruption to our souls. We aren’t designed for separation from our Lifesource. And so, the Temple was always a stopgap measure, a temporary plan where God would, by his grace, continue to show that His presence was necessary and available until He, by his grace, restored the Eden vision through the Kingdom of Christ.

We are the “Temple.”

So, the picture at Pentecost after Jesus’ ascension is unmistakeable. The “mighty rushing wind” and the appearance of “fire” take us back to Sinai where God appeared to his people as He gave them the Law. They are the visible presence of God himself — the same presence that dwelled in the Tabernacle, guided them through the wilderness, and filled the Holy of Holies. And, the point is one that has been long predicted but is still hardly imaginable. The Temple has been relocated. On Mount Calvary Jesus tore through the veil that separated God from his people, and now the Temple has relocated from Mount Zion — to you. No longer will God dwell merely among his people. He will dwell within him. Like when the Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove at his Baptism, the Spirit here comes to rest “as of tongues of fire” on his apostles. We are the Temple now.

The separation has been overcome. Jesus has washed you of every uncleanness that made God’s presence dangerous. He has credited you with his own righteousness. He has filled you with his own Spirit. The separation from God has been obliterated. Your fellowship with God is unbreakable. The vision of Eden is being restored permanently.

We’re headed to “Eden.”

Every ache that you feel, every stress that you have, every problem known and unknown that you face is a longing for Eden. We aren’t even able to fully understand how far from paradise we are and the disruption that it’s brought to our souls. How many nights sleep have you lost over infertility or worrying that the Serpent might deceive your kids unto death? How many days have you dreaded going into work or struggled to find your work productive enough to have what you need? How often do you struggle with discontentment — discontentment with your house, your wife/husband, your city, your country, your ministry? How much pain does the thought of death bring to you — the death of your parents or your spouse or your kids or YOU? Most of these worries are pinging around in the background of our minds and form the context for our lives — even when we’re not conscious of them — so that the best we can hope for is low-grade, functional anxiety. And, every one of them are explicitly described in the Genesis 3 curse when man is cast out of Eden and loses his intimacy with God.

We’re longing for Eden, and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life — if you will be filled with him and listen to him — is the radical relocation of the Temple so that your fellowship with God has been restored that you might be sustained right now (while you raise Christian children, while we aim to live our faith work, aim to be content with what we have, while we endure the loss of our dreams) until it is all set right soon. The Spirit’s presence in your life is the proof that God is bringing you back to Eden.

The Tower is “reversed.”

Acts 2:5–11 “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.””

This past November, the Arrowhead Union High School board in Wisconsin met again with the hope of passing a bill in the state banning biological males from playing in high school girls’ sports. A similar bill failed in January 2024 or another was vetoed by their governor. In Wisconsin, trans-athletes are allowed by law to play the sport of whatever gender they identify as, and it’s led to a number of injuries by young women playing including a severe head injury when a biological male spiked a volleyball into the face of the young lady he was playing against.

Madness is “prevailing.”

And, it’s all madness, isn’t it? The very need to place word “biological” before “male” and “female” indicate the confusion and chaos that surrounds our age. There’s no end to the cultural references we could use. We could mention our inability to label public restrooms or use pronouns. We could mention polyamory or pansexuals. We could talk about the suspicion — even hate — that exists among various races and nations. Madness is appears to be prevailing.

And, it was never supposed to be this way. This is in view at Pentecost, too. The confusion and chaos that began in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve are exiled from the Garden reaches fever pitch in Genesis 11. At Babel, the people disobeyed the Genesis 1:28 mandate to multiply and spread over the face of the earth. Instead, they decided to build a great city with a great tower so that they could get to heaven by their own ingenuity and make a name for themselves. So, God judged their arrogance by dispersing them over the earth and changing their languages that they would not be able to communicate. Chaos, confusion, and division became normative aspects of the human experience — aspects that are so familiar to us that we believe their normal — even human.

So, think of the great reversal we see at Pentecost. Verses 9-11 outline for us the Table of Nations that are found in Genesis 10. It covers Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Jews dispersed into those nations and assimilated into those cultures had made the pilgrimage for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. Every year, they make that journey, and yet they weren’t able to communicate with one another or speak with one another. There was confusion as they tried to buy their bread and chaos would’ve covered the city. Until the Spirit came. The Spirit descends and suddenly everyone is hearing about the wonders of God in their own language. The Tower is being reversed.

The Kingdom will “prevail.”

You see, the Kingdom of Christ is, in every way, the opposite of the chaos and confusion that came through the Tower. The Kingdom exalts the humble, not the haughty. It rewards the faithful, not the flashy. The values of the Kingdom are the expressions of true righteousness and are as steady and consistent as the very character of God. And, it’s this Kingdom that the Spirit has come to apply to your heart and lives, and it’s this Kingdom that the Spirit has come to spread through you. The Spirit is making is clearing that even when madness seems to be prevailing, the Kingdom will prevail.

The Spirit’s presence means there’s an expiration date on the the days of chaos and confusion, and the Spirit’s presence means that you can begin to see through the chaos and confusion yourselves. If you find yourself being swept away by today’s confusion, can I ask you: are you filled with Spirit? How do you know? Do you love what Jesus believes? Are his values your values? Is his wisdom your pursuit? Is his mind your mind? The Spirit has come that you could begin enjoying the Kingdom before the Kingdom has fully come, and the Spirit has come that you could share this good news about clarity and truth with a world so confused around you. My goodness, our world needs a Spirit-filled church that offers them Spirit-filled parents and neighbors and coaches and friends. Are you Spirit-filled?

The True are “revived.”

Acts 2:2–4 “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. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Acts 2:6–7 “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?”

When I say “True,” I’m referring to what is known as the remnant. There’s always been a difference between ethnic Israel and true Israel. It’s the difference between being born to the right family and being born again of the Spirit himself. Many have been born in Abraham’s line that didn’t love Abraham’s God or live for him. Just like many people in our community have been born to godly parents and attended good churches but don’t love their parent’s or church’s God. But, even in the most unfaithful generation, there’s always a remnant. God’s true elect who love him and live for him, and who He is returning to receive into his Kingdom.

And, Pentecost reminds us how we know the difference. The imagery of the “mighty rushing wind” that animates those it touches reminds of Ezekiel 37 and the Valley of Dry bones, doesn’t it? Ezekiel prophesies to the four winds of the earth, and the breath of life is breathed into skeletons so that they become God’s unconquerable army. “Wind/Breath/Spirit” are all the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. So, the picture isn’t subtle here. God is raising up his remnant. He’s filling them with his breath. He’s giving them his power. They’re going to be an unconquerable army who will seek out his remnant to the ends of the earth.

God’s people are meant to have a power that is peculiar to the world. It bewilders them, confuses them, and amazes them. But, for too long that hadn’t been the case. Because of their sin and because of their apathy, they had become an easily conquered nation. And, the Spirit has come to set it right. And, the Spirit has come to show that God’s Kingdom will be raised up, not only from Israel, but from the across the globe.

Who in the world “are” they?

What I love is the question of the crowd at the end of verse 7. They know they’re hearing what they ought not be able to hear because these people are speaking languages they ought not know how to speak. They’re bewildered and astonished. They ask: “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?” You know what they’re saying, don’t you? Who in the world are they? These are uneducated hicks with thick accents. How are they doing this? Galileans weren’t known for being cultured, and their accents made the guttural sounds of other languages very difficult for them. This would be like hearing a man from Rabbittown speak perfect french or walking into Marie’s BBQ and being served caviar. It’s the opposite of what you expect.

Like dead bones dancing, the Spirit has come to make God’s people able to do what they can’t do apart from him. He has come to make sinners holy and the unfaithful faithful. And, He’s come to make ordinary people into the unconquerable army and unassailable Kingdom of God.

Pentecost teaches us that the Spirit gives to us what we need — every spiritual resource required — in order for us to perfectly live out God’s call on our lives. Verse 4 says that “the Spirit GAVE them utterance.” He gave them the resources that weren’t natural to them in order to accomplish the work intended for them. The New Testament expands our understanding of this resourcing. He provides the strength and ability to withstand every temptation. He gives us the wisdom to navigate every circumstance we face. He gives us the strength and courage to face every challenge we meet. He gives us the gifts to build his church and to advance his Kingdom in the way He means for us to do it.

(Show quote on screen) The question is never: Will we have what we need? If it’s God’s will, we WILL have it. Rather the question is: Are filled with the Spirit? A.W. Tozer once wrote: “If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.” There’s no greater threat to the church than our ability to seemingly “succeed” apart from the Spirit. We design programs and services and systems that produce predictable outcomes, and if we do it apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, all we really do is build our own version of the Tower of Babel. We can have really impressive churches and buildings without any actual power.

How in the world “did” they?

And, it goes far beyond our church. There’s no greater threat to the Christian life or the Christian family than our ability to seemingly have “success” apart from living filled with the Spirit. We can have nice homes and be well-liked and raise well-rounded children apart from the Spirit of God. Atheists do it every day. What must make us distinct is the Spirit’s power and the Spirit’s holiness and the Spirit’s wisdom and the Spirit’s values. The world ought to be bewildered by the way that we raise our kids and approach our jobs and live our lives and build our churches — because they are built in a way that we aren’t capable, only God. We never seem to slow down to ask: Why in the world would we settle of the ‘success’ of atheists when we’re offered the satisfaction of the Spirit?

The crowd was astonished, not by how impressive the apostles were, but by how plain and ordinary they were. That they: “How in the world did they do that?” We work hard to impress with our looks, personality, and charisma, and if those things don’t seem to measure up, we typically withdraw from believing we have anything to offer our church our community. But, don’t you see, that’s the opportunity! That’s the space in which the Spirit works. He works so that the onlooking world asks: “How in the world does that guy lead a growing church or thriving family or successful business?”

Throughout the Big Story, I’ve often talked about a theological reality referred to as the “Already but not yet.” It describes how we have already been saved and assured the Kingdom, but we haven’t yet experienced the fullness of that salvation or the consummation of the Kingdom. But, what I want you to see to see about Pentecost is that God has sent to you his very own Spirit so that you can ALREADY begin experiencing a bit of the NOT YET, so that you can already have some experiences that the people of the world can’t understand. The Spirit is setting things right, and He’s starting with you.