Sermon Tone Analysis

Today is Whitsun which is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon meaning ‘understanding’ to celebrate the disciples being filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

We also know it as Pentecost Sunday which is Greek for 50, being 50 days after Jesus resurrection.

Pentecost is the name given to the event that was read to you today, it is in the Jewish language Shavout for the Festival of First Fruits.

Very apt for this day is known as the birthday of the Church.

We could do with a day like this again today.

It would be great to have 120 believers here but 3000 is what we are really after.

They were together of one accord praying and fellowshipping and worshipping.

Is this the secret to such growth?

Is this the secret to revival?

Well no doubt it had its part to play but the growth had nothing to do with the 120 but with the promise of God.

God promised He was going to send His Holy Spirit to inhabit His people to be with them and in them.

All this was because 10 days before Jesus ascended to the Father 40 days after rising from the dead.

In that time He said many things and appeared with many infallible proofs.

Sometimes we could wish for such proofs today.

But Jesus said that He had to leave so that they and His people could be endowed with the gift of His Spirit.

And so it was.

His Spirit came and suddenly the timid and fearful crowd of people who had followed Jesus were emboldened to declare loudly the praises of God and His works.

Not only were they declaring all these things they were doing it in languages which were not their own to people whose native language was not Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek.

People understood what was being said in their own tongue.

Truly the way of Jesus had just become international.

Of course there are always the naysayers.

The people who did not understand or just did not want to listen or for some it may have sounded like confusion and the word of this criticism came to the ears of Peter.

This is the same Peter who had denied Jesus and had been reinstated by Jesus as one who was to feed the sheep.

He took the mandate and stood up to deal with what was happening and to give understanding to the people present at this event.

And they were willing to hear.

Originally the festival which was an obligation for Jews to keep in Scripture and celebrates the day when the Torah, the law, was given from Mount Sinai through Moses including the Ten Commandments and where Israel became a Nation covenanted and committed to serving God and God saying ‘you are My people’.

Because the men were mandated to be in Jerusalem it would have been full of pilgrims making the trip bringing their first fruits to the Temple and citing the first ten verses of Deuteronomy 26 which retells the story of Israel’s creation and deliverance.

It is reckoned that there were upwards of 2 million people in Jerusalem at the time.

Here were the disciples waiting for the promise that had been given them 10 days before by Jesus.

His command was clear:

Calvary is the place we come to for our pardon and Pentecost is where we go for power and God in us.

Bethlehem is God with us.

Calvary is God for us.

Pentecost is God in us.

The importance of each of us having a Pentecost is highlighted by

D.L. Moody who said, "You might as well try to hear without ears or breathe without lungs as try to live a Christian life without the Spirit of God in your heart."

We in the Church strive very much in this Christian life to be what we ought to be.

Many programmes are started and many fail.

Many programmes are started and simply go on without any fruit or with much effort.

Many things we do but all is in vain if it is not done in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is highlighted by our Saviour Himself:

We can try all we like to reach people with the Gospel.

We can try all we like to be holy.

But there is one thing that is needful and that is our relationship with Jesus.

When we come to Him He gives us His Spirit to enable us to live the life that He has created us for.

A life in all its fullness.

And if this is not the life we are now experiencing then we need to come back and seek His face, seek to be filled with His Spirit.

How we are needful of being refilled daily with Him!

For we can do nothing without Him.

Nothing?

Yes, truly nothing.

Our somethings are nothings without God’s power.

We have substituted many things in the place of the Holy Spirit somehow thinking we can do it all on our own.

But we need the real thing.

His real power at work in our lives and those whom we seek to reach.

We need to return the basics.

Peter in his sermon, after explaining that what was happening was a fulfilment of prophecy, went on to one of the most crucial parts of the sermon.

He was saying that what had happened to them, the 120 in the house, was available for all.

The gift is already given to those who are His people.

I suppose that is the first question: Are we one of His people?

This is not a natural happening.

It is a deliberate choice.

And there are some requirements: To repent and be baptised.

Soon I will start membership and baptismal classes for those who are not yet in membership or have not been baptised but it will also be for those who have been for a refresher on our responsibilities as members of Christ and His body.

I will let you know as soon as this is set.

Jesus died to take away our sin and He achieved this – the Immortal died.

The penalty of sin is death.

But even so because Jesus is both Man and God death could not hold Him and on the third day He rose from the dead.

If we have not decided to follow Jesus then today is the day of salvation.

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

He commands people everywhere to repent for there is a day coming when He will judge every man, woman and child who has ever lived, is living and will live including you and me.

And the question that will be asked above all will be: What have you done with Jesus?

Not receiving Him is rejecting Him.

Rejecting Him means a judgement more terrifying than anything that could affect us in this life.

Peter said ‘save yourselves from this perverse and corrupt generation’.

God’s great love sent Jesus to pay the price in our stead.

His love is available to all.

We spurn His love at our peril.

There is no safer place than to be under the shadow of God’s wings which is the place given to all who have come to Jesus for shelter.

And He has the right to demand we do this as our Maker.

Now the gift of the Holy Spirit is available to all who receive Jesus.

But even as Christians we can lack the power to live as we ought to live.

And the first step to gaining a true filling is repentance.

Are we really following Jesus?

This is addressed to us as His people.

If so then the Holy Spirit is not promised to a select few Christians but to all.

His promise is for the claiming.

Until we have received the power of the Holy Spirit there is no point in trying to get out there to preach the Gospel…yes, we may well get some fruit…but true fruitfulness comes when we are filled afresh by His Holy Spirit who will also embolden us to make known the message of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is our helper.

Without Him we can do nothing.

A story is told of a certain guide who lived in the Arabian Desert who never lost his way.

He carried with him a homing pigeon with a very fine cord attached to one of its legs.

When in doubt as to which path to take he threw the bird into the air.

The pigeon quickly strained at the cord to fly in the direction of home, and thus led the guide accurately to his goal.

Because of this unique practice he was known as "The dove man."

The Holy Spirit is portrayed in Scripture as a dove.

He leads us on our way down the narrow path, directing us to life in all its abundance.

We have to allow Him to have His way in us, to be refilled with Him.

How? Just ask.

Ask God to refill you.