Acts 2:1-47

Introduction

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Have you ever said, “It’s a God thing.”? Everything is possible only through the sovereign orchestration of God. Yet, we also recognize that God often does miraculously intervene in our lives. I have shared this before. When I was in high school, Holly’s church was going to Belize on a mission trip. The whole summer I was supposed to save up money or raise funds to go on this trip. I think it was the week that I had to pay for trip or back out and I didn’t have the money. That week, my last check from my job, Salsaritas, was something like 17 cents more than I needed to pay for the trip.

Need

In our lives, it is easy to shrug something off as coincidence or luck. Yet, we are so slow to recognize God’s good hand in our day to day lives. Saints, this morning, we need to see that this thing called the “church” is not just something that happened. Its not just the product of socioeconomic trends. Now, even the local congregation of Colgate is the product of God’s sovereign grace.

Referent

Acts 2

Organization

Divine Experience (vs. 1-13)

Divine Fulfillment (vs. 14-36)

Divine Blessing (vs. 37-47)

Sermon in a sentence:

The church is a divine reality.

A Divine Experience (vs. 1-13)

Jesus promised that the apostles would receive the Holy Spirit that was promised from the Father.

There are so many OT allusions and references here that demonstrate its not just some exotic feeling they created.

Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) - Harvest Feast and pilgrimage to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice. This was also celebrated as a commemoration of Moses receiving the Law at Mt Sinai.

v. 2 - Rushing wind: God speaking to Job from the whirlwind, Elijah taken up, Ezekiel’s opening vision begins with a whirlwind that represents God’s presence.

v. 2 -filled the entire house - Isaiah 6, the train of God’s robe filled the temple.

v. 3- tongues of fire - Numbers 11, Moses desires that everyone would prophesy, God descended upon Mt Sinai in smoke/fire/lightening and also at the burning bush.

Some doubted the genuineness of the experience. (v. 13)

They neglect the events as merely drunken men. The use of alcohol and drugs to experience these kinds of spiritual events are prohibited in Scripture.

Saints, there are ways to have some kind of other worldly experience. But that doesn’t mean it is good. Just because you are experiencing something or talking to someone doesn’t mean that it is good.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit and physical manifestation along with that at Pentecost are not normal. God doesn’t repeat Pentecost on every other Tuesday. It is ok that God does not given you this same exact experience. However, we must also be careful to remember that the church is not merely the creation of human invention. Take this very moment and remind yourself that God has placed into one of his local congregations for a reason.

A Divine Fulfillment (vs. 14-36)

Peter once again stands up (as a prophet of old in this case) to intepret events in light of Scripture.

Peter emphasizes 3 texts in his sermon. Joel 2, Psalm 16, and Psalm 110 .

(v. 23) God uses the agency of man in accordance with his sovereign rule to bring about all his decrees.

Pentecost, a harvest feast celebrated with leaven (Lev 23:17), will bring about the firstfruits of the New Covenant with a trajectory to the nations.

The student is not above his master. The very Son of God suffered and died. How much more should we expect to have trials and tribulations in this life? But, we can also remind ourselves that God is intending all these things for his glory and our good.

A Divine Blessing (vs. 37-47)

(v. 37) Hearing and listening to good news of Jesus requires actions.

(v. 40) God reverses the events of the OT

Exodus 32:28 and the judgement of the Levites.

Genesis 11 - Babel

The church is radically unique to anything else.

Christianity will be different to every other kind of thinking. And it will make everyone uneasy if it is real Christianity.

Application

Turn to Christ for salvation! Repent and believe.

A divine reality requires a divine lifestyle.

Teaching

Fellowship

Breaking bread (the Lord’s Supper)

Prayer