Pentecost

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Introduction

We are continuing the book of Acts and today we are looking at the start of Acts chapter 2

Specifically the day of Pentecost

Does anyone know what Pentecost is?

The day that the Spirit came and filled the early believers

So let’s get reading!

Acts 2:1–21 CSB

1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” 12 They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.” 14 Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “Fellow Jews and all you residents of Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it’s only nine in the morning. 16 On the contrary, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 And it will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all people; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. 18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy. 19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Today I want to talk about the Holy Spirit

What we just read is the inciting event for the rest of Acts

The first domino

And the significance of Pentecost cannot be understated

God sends his very own Spirit to dwell and live in his followers

The Old Testament talks about the day that this would happen—and It did—around 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem

And throughout the history of the Church we see people that God has partnered with—people that were filled with the Spirit of God to share the good news of Jesus across the world

We see God at work in the world—through his people—by the power of his Spirit

And we all continue this story into our own lives

The life of a Christian is one that is Spirit filled—Spirit led—and Spirit Empowered

Guys—as Christians—God himself lives in us

Not just our pastors or the religious elite

The same Holy Spirit that was with the early church is the same spirit in each of us

There is no JV Holy Spirit

No junior Holy Spirit that you eventually graduate from to get the full Holy Spirit

Even the 6th graders in this room—have access to the same Holy Spirit as the seniors—as me—as Jerry

The Church is marked by people—that not just believe the right things—but people’s whose lives are marked by the Holy Spirit

Today I want to talk about 3 aspects of the Holy Spirit that we see in the verses we just read:

Outline:

A Spirit for a Purpose (Reverse Babel)

A Spirit of Unity

A Spirit of Boldness

A Spirit for a Purpose

Throughout Acts we see that God is on a mission

The Cross and Resurrection was just the start of it

And now the message of what Jesus has done must go forth into all of the world

And it isn’t just a mission to tell someone news—like a game of telephone

It is an invitation into the way of living like Jesus

And an invitation into the family of God (the church)

And the Spirit is given to the early church in order to accomplish this mission

The first thing we read, when the Spirit comes down, is interesting

Acts 2:4–8 CSB

4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language?

Everyone starts to speak in languages that they don’t normally speak—or even know!

How many of you have traveled to a country where they don’t speak English?

expound

And they aren’t just speaking having normal conversations—they are “declaring the magnificent acts of God”

They are worshiping

And the people are astounded

When we read our Bibles—especially the NT—We have to always have our eyes open to the rest of the Bible

Does this story remind us of anything in the Bible?

Not it exactly—but when was the last time people all shared a common language in the Bible

It’s in Genesis 11… The Tower of Babel

And there—Humanity was using a shared language to build themselves up—to build a tower that would reach the heavens—in defiance of who God is

Genesis 11:5–6 CSB

5 Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building. 6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.

And I think… Pentecost is a reversal of Babel

God is giving his people the ability to speak the same language so that “nothing they plan to do will be impossible”

But this time, not to rebel against God—but to build something new

The Church—The New Temple—The Body of Believers from every tribe, tongue, and nation

God gave his Spirit for a purpose—there is a building—a mission that we are all tasked with

His Spirit isn’t just for us personally—I think often when we think of a spirit-filled life, the focus is on us

But a truly spirit filled life is on mission

So

Where has God called you to be his light?

Your family, your sports team, your friend groups?

But also I want each of you to know… that God has a unique, and individual purpose for your life

You might not even see it yet… (I had no idea when I was your age)

But I want you to know… God has a plan for your life

It isn’t aimless or purposeless

He wants to work with you—He wants to help you do amazing things with him and for him

And often the enemy (Satan) lies to us and tries to tell us that our life is meaningless, nothing matters, no one cares—and that simply isn’t true

Ex. My time in Jr High...

So the Spirit filled life is one of purpose

Secondly, it is:

A Spirit of Unity

The Spirit draws us together

God’s Spirit didn’t come down on people for them to immediately leave by themselves on some top-secret mission

There are no lone wolves in the Christian faith

The Spirit brings people together to work and accomplish things we could never do alone

There is complete equality among believers because of the cross

God loves each of us uniquely and equally

And this is because of the Gospel

The father loves us with the very same love he has for the son

We have been brought into the loving relationship of the trinity

And because we’ve all been brought into that great love—we are called to have that same level of love for one another

The analogy that is used a bunch in the NT is that we are the body of Christ

We are a part of the same body—but we have different roles

1 Corinthians 12:20–21 CSB

20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”

No matter how impressive another Christian may seem—they can’t do it all

We each have our own unique strengths and weaknesses

And only working together are our strengths celebrated and weaknesses covered

So we see the Spirit brings both a purpose and mission, a common unity among believers, and finally:

A Spirit of Boldness

We’ll see this throughout Acts, but the Spirit fills us to be bold with our faith

Here we see Peter stand up and preach to a watching crowd

And we don’t know quite how large this crowd was but we do know that after his sermon—over 3,000 people were baptized and added to the church

From 120 (1:15) to over 3,000 (2:41)

And we have this same Spirit of Boldness

And it isn’t just to preach to large groups

But this Spirit of boldness empowers us to face any and every circumstance with a deep trust that God is at work

And that nothing that God sets his mind to is impossible

3 Aspects of Boldness

Bold in Sharing Our Faith

Romans 1:16 CSB

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

How many of you have been put in a situation where you were afraid to talk about Jesus?

The Spirit give us boldness

And this boldness isn’t being cocky or prideful

And it isn’t ‘in your face’ like we might see in culture

It is a quiet confidence and boldness

God is the one at work

God is the one drawing all people to himself

I get to play a role

I get to plant a seed or water it

The outcome isn’t up to me

And when we take the burden of saving people off of our shoulders and trust God

There’s a boldness that comes—God will be at work

And even if we fluster and fumble—God will still work through us

Ex. Steven in College—Admitting I didn’t know (Maybe dreams)

2. Boldness in Facing Suffering

One of the biggest temptations we face when we go through suffering is to allow ourselves to be defeated

To resign ourselves—I don’t even care any more—God must not even care about me...

But the Spirit gives us boldness to look at our sufferings face-to-face and see that God is at work through them

The Spirit reminds us what Paul says in Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 CSB

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

And as we’ll read in Acts—The Early Church will suffer—They will be persecuted and killed

But despite all of the opposition and suffering—They have a boldness to continue on in Jesus’s strength

They have a confidence that nothing (no amount of suffering) can separate them from the love of God

They begin to see their own suffering as sharing in the sufferings of Christ

3. Boldness in Coming to the Lord

There is a temptation in each of us to try and earn God’s favor

‘God I’ve been pretty good to you, so can you answer my prayers’

OR ‘I can’t really come to God because he’s angry or upset… I gotta get my life together before I come to him’

But the Spirit give us boldness to come to the Father

Hebrews 4:16 CSB

16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness [confidence], so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

In Romans the Spirit is also called the Spirit of Adoption

We are the children of God—The children of the King

Where other people might be afraid of approaching the king

We have free access at any time—because he is our loving Father

Who can come to the king at the middle of the night?

So we have a boldness in coming to the Lord

I these three ways (and more) we have boldness—or another word is confidence

The Spirit keeps us confident in who God is and what he has promised to do

Conclusion

So as we wrap up—looking at the day the Spirit came down

We know—we have the same Holy Spirit living in us

And it is a Spirit:

With a purpose and mission

of Unity and community

of Boldness and confidence

And with this we have everything we need

We have purpose—that each of us long for

We have unity with others in community—that each of us long for

We have confidence in our God—that each of us needs

So as we wrap up—I want to take some time to invite the Spirit into our lives

And specifically if any of these three areas are places where God is calling you to step into

Maybe you’re here today and life seems purposeless—why even bother?

God gives our lives purpose—and he has great plans for your life that you can’t even fathom

Maybe you’re here today and you feel desperately alone—like no one gets or understands you

The Spirit brings us together with one another—and is inviting you into something larger than just yourself and your plans for your life

The Spirit offers you an invitation into the new and loving family of God

Where all are welcome—and everyone doesn’t belong

We are only here by the grace of God

Maybe you’re here and you are too afraid, ashamed, or prideful to come to God

God is inviting you into his loving arms

Not based on anything you can do

Not holding our wrongs against us

Not with a contract and stipulations

But because he loves you

And he demonstrated his love for us on the cross

By sending his own son to die for you

So if you are hesitant to come to God—I want to encourage your to step forward with boldness

Knowing we are children of God—and he will never leave or forsake us

Let’s Pray