The 7 P’s of Pentecost

scripture/introduction

Acts 2:1–4 NIV

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

and then later, Peter is preaching to the masses gathered in Jerusalem at the time for the Pentecost feast:

Acts 2:14–21 NIV

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Pray.

Holy Spirit from beginning to end of scripture gives us a helpful framework.

Holy Spirit from beginning to end

In many ways the Spirit is the way that the bible talks about God’s personal presence in the world. Ruach. Breath of God, energy of God. Terms fall a part because language is limited but they altogether tell a picture. The presence and work of the spirit is in scripture from the very beginning.

Genesis 1:1–2 NIV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Power of God almost personified there in the beginning. Brought a good world to be. And then it does not stop there. Throughout scripture, the Holy Spirit comes on certain people.

First Joseph, the Spirit gives him the ability to interpret a dream for Pharoah....this great pagan ruler and Pharoah who does not believe in Yahweh says:

Genesis 41:38 NIV

38 So Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?”

Later the Spirit comes to a man named Bezalel that has been tasked with designing the tabernacle. He has been given wisdom and skill to take raw materials and artistically bring them into something beautiful:

Exodus 31:1–3 NIV

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—

The Spirit comes on Judges to empower them for difficult tasks.

The Spirit empowers Saul until the Spirit leaves him as Saul goes a different route.

The Spirit comes on a group of people in the OT called the prophets. The Spirit empowers them to see things in the world the way God sees it:

Here is the problem as the prophets see it:

1. The ruach has made a good world

2. humans have given into evil and unleashed chaos

Hosea says that we have with in us a spirit of prostitution. Something within us, a motivation, a pull away from what is good, right, obedient. We have a divided heart.

3. Prophets said the spirit will come but this time to transform the human heart so that people will love God and others.

Ezekiel 36:26–28 NIV

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

And the people yearn for this. The Hebrew people saw a different spirit in some. They wanted to have this different spirit of God within them. You see this yearning.

So how is this going to be different? How can we become like Jospeh, Bezalel, Gideon the Judge, like the prophets?!

Is. 32:14-15 says, the day is coming when the watchtower will be abandoned when the Spirit is poured out.

How?!?!?!

4. Centuries pass and Jesus comes....Spirit comes on Jesus...empowering him to heal the new creation....creating life where the once was death

Israel’s religious leaders kill him. but even here....

5. Spirit raises Jesus from death, disciples say so. beginning of new creation.

Romans 8:11 NIV

11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

But it is not done.

6. Significantly, Jesus breathes on the disciples, “receive the Holy Spirit

7. Not long after, Pentecost so that they could become part of the new creation and live by the energy of God’s Spirit

8. Today the spirit is still hovering in dark places

This is why Peter quotes Joel....what the prophets desperately wanted… what we wanted. it has happened. And all generations will know this!

This is the framework.....

The 7 P’s: Craig Keener

The Promise:

Acts 1:4–8 NIV

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

There is a promise here for the disciples that they will be empowered. They will be given the power to speak for God, to be witnesses for Christ. But they must not leave before they have this power. The promise of the Spirit is true for you and me. For those that are unsure about this whole faith thing, or just getting started on the journey…the promise of the Holy Spirit, the power of God is true. And for the brother and sister in Christ….the promise of the Spirit is still a present thing!

The preparation:

Read 1:14. And 2:1

Acts 1:14 NIV

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Acts 2:1 NIV

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

They are praying together, spending time together, dreaming together. How wonderful is this: we see that prior to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit these folks are expecting, hoping, praying. Church, I want to challenge us to dream together, to pray together, expecting an outpouring of the Holy Spirit!

Proofs of Pentecost:

We see proof of Pentecost in the description of the rushing wind and the tongues of fire. Then we see the disciples filled with the Spirit come out speaking in tongues, speaking in everyone’s language. This happens in two other places in Luke’s account. I think that is so interesting. Why would the author highlight this speaking in other languages through the church power to go out to the nations! Jesus is saying, “I am giving you the spirit to cross all barriers to reach all nations and to speak for me!” Whew, that’s powerful! Pentecost teaches us that there is no barrier to the Gospel that the Spirit cannot overcome. Now, if the Holy Spirit can overcome language barriers, it definitely will overcome socio-economic differences, it overcomes gender, racial, political, barriers. The Holy Spirit even allows this cowboy fan to love all you Texans fans!

Peoples of Pentecost:

Acts 2:5 NIV

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.

This is huge for understanding the impact of Pentecost! The event that takes place that day would spring into action a vast and explosive movement. Think about this church, we have all professions from doctors to lawyers to teachers and engineers, stay at home moms. We have families in every neighborhood in the area and beyond. This church has about 2000 members, and we probably see somewhere between 800-1500 people semi regularly.

What do you think would happen if the people here in this church would experience a Pentecost moment? If the Holy Spirit would light us up to send us out. The Holy Spirit empowers us to change the world.

Prophecy of Pentecost:

Acts 2:17–21 NIV

“ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Peter here is quoting Joel chapter 2. He is reaching back to prophecy of the end times, the day of resurrection, the day when Jesus will return. Here is what’s powerful about this. Peter is saying parts of this have taken place now. We live in the already and not yet. So the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the inbreaking of the kingdom of heaven!

Preaching of Pentecost:

This brings us to the end of the prophecy. The last line that Peter quotes from Joel is “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!” The Peter preaches his sermon based on this line. This is standard Hebrew “Midrashic” teaching. By this sermon he is answering: What is the name of the Lord on whom they are to call?

Scan the sermon, read 2:37-

Acts 2:37 NIV

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Preach it out.

Power of Pentecost:

Fruit of the Spirit, long range impact. 2000

years!

41,47 Adding to their numbers

Being together as God’s people is a witness

Then in 44, 45 God’s people love each other so much, so deeply

that they were prepared to sacrifice all possessions.

Church do you love God more than your stuff?

Do you love people more than your stuff?

That is the mark of the Spirit. We see in the Acts church that the outpouring of the spirit cut people to the heart, led them to repentance in the name of Jesus Christ. Those that repent and call upon the name of the Lord, Jesus then they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The spirit filled heart is repentant and selfsacrificing… it is focused wholly on God and wholly on others!