Pentecost: Then & Now
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference: Acts 2:1-12
Context
Context
Here we are! For the last seven weeks, we have been tracking Jesus’s journey from the moment of His resurrection up to this moment right here… Pentecost!
As we have journeyed with Jesus, we have seen that everything He has done during this time was for the purpose of casting out all doubt that the disciples may have had concerning Him. He needed them to believe fully that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that He was alive, resurrected from the dead as He said He would be.
He appeared to them on a few different occasions in person, showing them His hands, His feet, and His side. He ate food with them. He performed miracles with them. He appeared into rooms without opening the door.
He was showing them that He was indeed alive in the flesh, but that He was also glorified in a way that made Him more. He was allowing them to see what true perfection looked like. True glory.
But then last week, we see that Jesus gives His disciples their final instructions, which was to wait here in Jerusalem until they were filled with power from on high, and then He ascended to His rightful place, to sit at the right hand of the Father in glory.
It would be the last time that any of them saw Jesus face to face in the flesh. But it would not be the last time that they witnessed the presence of God. Matter of fact, whether we can believe this or not, the presence of God was about to be witnessed by these men like never before. The presence of God was about to fill them in a way that they didn’t even know was possible, in a way that went beyond being in the presence of Jesus.
They were about to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the Comforter that Jesus spoke of. This is the One to whom Jesus said would empower them to do even greater things than He did. This was the One to whom Jesus said, “He will guide you into all truth”. On several occasions, Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “The Helper”. Jesus even said:
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you…”
So here is question that we must answer today: “
Right here in Acts 2, He finally comes. The Holy Spirit shows up and shows out, so to speak. Let’s take a look:
1 When the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”
Let’s Pray!
Content
Content
The Meaning
The Meaning
Why Pentecost...
1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
What was it about this day that was so special? What was it about this day that God chose to pour out His Holy Spirit upon believers?
Penta means five, so Pentecost takes place 50 days from Passover. Pentecost was known in the Old Testament as “The Feast of Weeks”. It was a time of thanks that honored the Lord for new grain. Today, we would call it a Harvest Festival.
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord.
Obviously things back then were much different than today. They didn’t have stores to where they could go get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted, so each year when the crops came in, it was a tremendous blessing. It was their source of food. So God sat this day aside and said, “On this day, you will give thanks for the firstfruits of the crops.
Pentecost is also a time to where we celebrate the firstfruits. It was on Pentecost that God poured out His Spirit upon believers. They are the firstfruits so to speak of this new ministry of the Holy Spirit. They are the first to receive the “Promise of the Father”.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Outside of Jesus, these disciples were the first to receive this baptism of the Holy Spirit. From this moment forward, many more would experience the same, but they were indeed the first. So Pentecost is a time that we should be thankful for those first ones whom He provided. It was those first Spirit-filled disciples that took the Gospel to all of the known world. It was those first disciples that boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ to all they came in contact with. It was those first disciples that turned the world upside down through the filling of the Holy Spirit. It was those first disciples who gave their lives for the cause of Christ. So yes, we should be thankful for the firstfruits that God provided. They set a wonderful example for all of us of what it looks like to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God and then use that Spirit-filled life for the glory of His name.
It was a celebration of the Covenant
Exodus 19.1
Joel 2.28-29
Acts 2.17-18
John 14.17
John 7.39
The Manifestation
The Manifestation
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit manifests Himself in three different ways.
Audibly (vs. 2)
“A sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house...”
Why audibly?
The simplest answer, is so that all of those around would hear the commotion and come to see what was going on.
Verse 6, literally says:
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
We have to remember that the Feast of Weeks, or what we now know as Pentecost, was a commanded feast. Many people from over the Mediterranean area had travelled to Jerusalem to worship God during this time. That is why there are so many people from different places there. This was not incidental, it was by design. God was pouring out His Holy Spirit upon believers, He was initiating the New Covenant, and all of these people needed to see this.
Think about this. There is no tornado, no storm brewing, nor gale force winds toppling over tents in the street, but yet there is a loud sound of wind, loud enough for people all around outside of the house, to hear it. Imagine if you were standing out here in the parking lot after service, and all of a sudden you hear this mighty roar of a wind. It sounds like a tornado, or like a wind that is powerful enough to cause some real damage. But… you see nothing. You don’t feel the air. You look at the trees, but they are not swaying any more than normal. You look around closely, but you don’t see anything within eyesight that looks to be moving, swirling, or flying off into the air. What do you do? You listen. You continue to listen to this wind noise and then you try to figure out where it is coming from. You start to move in the direction of it and you realize that it is coming from inside a house. So you stand there and wait to see what is going on…right?
Visibly (vs. 3)
He “appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.”
As the house is filled with this mighty, roaring sound of wind, the Holy Spirit reveals Himself visibly as well. He appears as “divided tongues, as of fire”.
The disciples knew that this was coming. Jesus had told them that they would soon be baptized by the Holy Spirit, but they had no idea what to expect. So as they sat there in the upper room, they hear the sound of the Spirit, but then they see it. It looks like tongues of fire floating in the air, and it says that “one sat upon each of them.”
I don’t know about you, but I would venture to say that after this experience, you could not have persuaded these disciples, under any circumstance, that this did not happen. They all saw it. They all experienced the same thing. They knew that something amazing was about to happen.
Powerfully (vs. 4)
“… began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
As these “divided tongues...sat upon each of them” they were given the ability to speak other tongues. This does not mean that they spoke a special language, it was a known language. As they spoke, vs. 6 tells us that the crowd, which was full of people who spoke different languages, all “heard them speak in his own language.” This was truly a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, and it was through this amazing event that the power of God became evident to all of those who were present.
So the Holy Spirit manifested Himself in three different ways: audibly, visibly, and powerfully.
But what about today? Should we as believers today expect to experience the same thing when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit?
No. I don’t think we should expect these things to happen.
We know that the audible manifestation that took place was for the purpose of drawing the crowds in. We see that right here in the text… clearly. I believe that was unique to this individual moment.
I believe that the visible manifestation that took place was for the disciples. It was something that they would never forget, and it signified unto them the special moment that was taking place. The text says nothing of the crowd seeing these divided tongues upon them, only that the disciples saw it. I think it was special and unique to this moment as well.
What about the manifestation of power? Should all Christians who are baptized with the Holy Spirit experience this moment to where they speak in tongues? I don’t think so. Again, I think this was unique to their situation.
They are surrounded by many people from different nations, all who spoke different languages, and this manifestation of the Spirit was to reveal the truths of God to all of them.
Furthermore, we see examples scattered throughout Acts to where people are filled with the Holy Spirit but yet it does not mention them speaking in tongues. There are examples scattered throughout Acts to where others did speak in tongues, but not all of them did. I think God used this special gifting as necessary to bring about His own divine will in each case.
So no, I do not think that any of these things should be expected when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit today. It would be amazing if they did, and I would even go as far as to say that it would be welcomed… right!!! Who wouldn’t want to experience these things. But to say that these things are expected would cast doubt upon tons of people who have indeed been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, but has not experienced these things.
BUT… that is not to say that we should expect to experience nothing.
Let’s look again at the purpose of this baptism:
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus tells them that the thing they should expect, after being baptized by the Holy Spirit, was the power to be witnesses for Him.
Jesus said, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,” and this power will enable you to be witnesses for Me wherever you go.
Have you ever wondered about the correlation of Acts 2 and Matthew 3?
Here in Acts 2, we see the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit lighting upon each of the disciples in the form of tongues of fire. In Matthew 3, we see the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit lighting upon Jesus in the form of a dove.
In both cases, we see that the direct result was that they began their public ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. According to what we know, Jesus did not preach a single message, call a single disciple, or perform a single miracle until after the Holy Spirit came upon Him. The disciples were unique in that they had spent three years with Jesus watching Him do all the ministering, but once the Holy Spirit came upon them, their own ministries took off. They all scattered and went different directions, but they all had one purpose, be a witness for Jesus Christ.
The Ministry
The Ministry
This is where we have to bring this home. What does all of this mean to us? Why are these things that happened two thousand years ago so important to us? What does it mean to us today?
Well, I would like to think in my heart that every single one of you who have been saved by the grace of God would like to be an effective witness for Christ. Can we say Amen to that?
That’s why it matters. If we are going to effectively witness for Christ, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
We have to understand that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit are two separate and distinct things.
When someone is saved, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at that moment.
13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Furthermore, the Spirit is not given in measure but is received fully at salvation:
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
So we receive the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation, and we receive Him fully. It is at this moment that the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within each of us:
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
So we are immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation, but please hear me out on this. This is not the same thing as being filled with the Holy Spirit. Throughout the New Testament, we are commanded to be full of the Holy Spirit, not just once, but constantly:
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
The way that verse reads literally is that we are to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. It is something that we should strive to keep, but it is also something that we must repeatedly do.
Many of the same disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 were filled again in Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Paul was originally filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 9.17 but then received this filling again in Acts 13.
17 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
49 And the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.
51 But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
***Maybe share some of my own experience with being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Listen, I think a lot of people have been saved by the grace of God. They have believed fully in Jesus Christ. They have surrendered to His will in their lives. They have the Holy Spirit in them and He convicts them of sin. They do their very best to stay faithful to the will of God.
But I think a lot of those same people, have rarely… if ever, experienced this filling of the Holy Spirit.
I think part of the reason why is that they simply don’t know that they need to be filled with the Spirit, or that it is even a thing.
I think we have also come up with this idea somewhere along the way that only those in ministry need that kind of thing. The Pastors need it. The Deacons need it. Maybe some of the other leadership positions need it. But that isn’t for the average Joe.
No, No. According to the Scriptures we have looked at today, every person was designed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Every person is commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And every person is available to be filled with the Holy Spirit, if they truly want it.
So here is the question I leave with you today: Do you want to be filled with the Spirit of God? Do you want to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be a more effective witness for God? Do you want to see souls saved and lives changed as a result of what God can and will do through you, as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit?
Commitment
Commitment
