Sermon 03 - Acts 2 - Life from Heaven for Life on Earth - 06-13-04
INTRODUCTION:
1. ((illus)) I remember hearing the famous country preacher, Vance Havner, say one time that some Christians live on the right side of Calvary, but on the wrong side of Pentecost.
a. He went on to explain that there were Christians he knew that were certainly believing people, on their way to heaven.
b. But that some of these people have no idea that God has given them the Holy Spirit to empower them to live their Christian life.
c. ((illus)) It’s a little bit like what the Associated Press reported happening in Glasgow, Ky. some time back that Leslie Puckett, after struggling to start his car, lifted the hood and discovered that someone had stolen the motor."
i) There are many people “trusting Jesus” but haven’t the foggiest clue about what a spiritual, Spirit filled life is about.
ii) Little wonder that the church struggles to be a good witness and to fulfill the Great Commission.
2. The early church had none of the things that we think are so essential for success today—buildings, money, political influence, social status—and yet
a. The early church won multitudes to Christ and saw many churches established throughout the pagan Roman world.
b. Why? Because the church had the power of the Holy Spirit energizing its ministry.
c. They were a people who “were ignited by the Spirit of God.”
i) And it wasn’t something that was scary - out of control.
ii) ((illus)) You can take a tanker truck filled with gasoline and drop a match down it’s opening at the top and watch the horrific explosion or,
iii) you can pour that gasoline into the gas tanks of various cars who are designed to explode the gas in a controlled way and do a lot of good.
3. THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT IS AVAILABLE TO US TODAY to enable us to live our Christian lives as we should and to make us healthy Christians with an effective witness for Christ.
a. John 14:17 - for He dwells with you and will be in you.
b. John 16:14 (NIV) He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
c. I think that the better we understand His working at Pentecost, the better we will be able to relate to Him and experience His power in our daily lives.
Acts 2:1-13 (page 922)
1 On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place.
2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting.
3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.
4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 Godly Jews from many nations were living in Jerusalem at that time.
6 When they heard this sound, they came running to see what it was all about, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7 They were beside themselves with wonder. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,
8 and yet we hear them speaking the languages of the lands where we were born!
9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya toward Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism),
11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.
4. I’m tempted to go into great detail here.
a. There has been so much controversy and fighting in the church over these matters.
b. But let’s just understand and be together on the basics.
c. We can debate the details, but if we are together on these basics, God will be free to move more effectively among us and through us.
d. First, we have to know the basics.
i) Then believe them
ii) Then apply them
e. ((illus)) We don’t want to be like the church in California who invited one if it’s denominational leaders to come and speak . He arrived for the service and was at first delighted to find a stirring red and orange banner on the wall which read: "Come Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!"
i) The words were printed under a picture of a burning fire.
ii) But then the speaker’s eyes dropped to another sign directly underneath the banner which read: "Fire extinguisher."
iii) So much for that parish's commitment to spiritual renewal.
5. We want to be able “with one accord” (:1 - “together”) to invited God the Holy Spirit to come and work in our lives and through our lives to the glory of Christ.
6. Acts 2 helps us understand the present ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church by recording FOUR EXPERIENCES IN THE LIFE OF THESE EARLY BELIEVERS.
LIFE IN HEAVEN FOR LIFE ON EARTH
Acts 2
1. THE BELIEVERS WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT :1
a. :1 On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place.
b. Pentecost means “fiftieth” because this feast was held fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits (Lev. 23:15–22).
i) The calendar of Jewish feasts in Leviticus 23 was a sacred calendar for the OT believers and provided an outline of the work of Jesus Christ.
ii) Passover pictures His death as the Lamb of God (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7),
¨ and the Feast of Firstfruits pictures His resurrection from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20–23).
¨ Fifty days after Firstfruits is the Feast of Pentecost, which pictures THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH.
¨ In terms of today’s calendar, Sunday, May 30th was Pentecost Sunday.
iii) We talk about this church being 52 years old, but in another sense, this church is over 2,000 years old.
iv) ((illus)) If we wanted to, every Pentecost Sunday, we could sing “Happy Birthday” to the church.
c. ((illus)) On the Feast of Firstfruits, the priest waved a sheaf of grain (the first of the harvest) before the Lord; but on Pentecost, he presented two loaves of bread. Why?
i) Because at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit baptized the believers and united them into one body.
ii) The Jewish believers received this baptism at Pentecost, and the Gentile believers in the home of Cornelius (Acts 10). This explains the presence of two loaves of bread (see 1 Cor. 10:17).
iii) 1 Corinthians 10:17 (NIV) Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
d. The fact that there was leaven (yeast) in the loaves indicates the presence of sin in the church on earth. The church will not be perfect until it gets to heaven.
e. Jesus predicted this beginning of the church:
i) Matthew 16:18 - …and on this rock I will build My church
ii) While each of us would want to fullness of God’s blessing upon us we must not conclude that this ten-day prayer meeting brought about the miracles of Pentecost,
iii) or that we today may pray as they did and experience “another Pentecost.”
¨ Like our Lord’s death at Calvary, Pentecost was a once-for-all event that will not be repeated.
¨ The church may experience new fillings of the Spirit, and certainly patient prayer is an essential element to spiritual power,
¨ but we would not ask for another Pentecost any more than we would ask for another Calvary.
THE BELIEVERS WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT :1
2. THE CHURCH WORSHIPPING THE LORD :2-23
i) As we study the events of Pentecost, it is important that we separate the accidentals from the essentials.
a. The Spirit Came - :2-4
ii) 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
iii) The Holy Spirit had been active prior to Pentecost and had worked in Creation (Gen. 1:1–2),
¨ in Old Testament history (Jud. 6:34; 1 Sam. 16:13),
¨ and in the life and ministry of Jesus (Luke 1:30–37; 4:1, 14; Acts 10:38).
iv) However, now there would be two changes:
¨ the Spirit would dwell in people and not just come on them,
(a) John 14:17 - for He dwells with you and will be in you.
(b) and His presence would be permanent, not temporary (John 14:16).
(i) John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.
v) The Spirit could not have come sooner, for it was essential that Jesus die, be raised from the dead, and return to heaven before the Spirit could be given (John 7:37–39; 16:7ff).
vi) ((illus)) Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived at this time, tells us that oftentimes the city of Jerusalem (which normally had a population of 150,000) would be swollen in numbers during this feast time to well over a million.
¨ The city was packed and the suburbs were filled, and out on the hillsides were many camps of pilgrims.
vii) How do you get all these people together?
¨ :6,2 – tell us it was the sound of the mighty rushing wind (NLT says mighty windstorm).
(a) Today we use sirens
(b) The word for Spirit is from the root word for breath, air – pneuma
(c) John 3:5 – Jesus used the “wind” to describe the Holy Spirit.
¨ :3 – tongues of fire
(a) fire – burning bush – symbol of God’s presence.
(b) OT – fire – purifies
(c) A passion for God’s presence
(i) Put air and fire together and you have a blaze!
(ii) This can be very arresting.
(iii) May catch us without notice.
(iv) ((illus)) An evangelist by the name of D.L. Moody thought he had a passion for reaching the lost until he overheard two old ladies talking when one of the said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man who is wholly yielded to him.” Moody immediately cried out, “O God, make me that man.” As he was walking down a street in New York city thinking about that statement he had to go to a friend’s house and ask for a room where he was on his knees for an hour simply overwhelmed with God’s love.
¨ :11 – believers praising God in various languages.
(a) And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
(b) As James tell us (3:5-6) out tongues can be set on fire either by heaven or by hell!
The Spirit Came - :2-4
b. The Spirit Baptized
i) It is assumed in Acts 2 (not mentioned)
ii) Acts 1:5 (NLT) John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
iii) Two possibilities
¨ Literal – to be submerged
¨ Figurative – to be identified with
iv) Here figurative – 1 Cor. 12:13
v) To identify with the head of the body.
vi) At salvation
vii) This took place in these believers at the moment the wind came
c. The Spirit filled - :4
i) And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
ii) The filling has to do with power for witness, service and godly living.
iii) We are not commanded to be baptized with God’s Spirit but we are commanded to be filled.
¨ The baptism means that I belong to His body
¨ The filling means that my body belongs to Him.
iv) This happens again and again.
¨ ((illus)) Lady asked Billy Sunday:
"Why do you keep having revivals when they doesn't last?"
He asked her, "Why do you keep taking baths?"
The Spirit Came - :2-4
The Spirit Baptized
The Spirit filled - :4
d. The Spirit Spoke - :5-13
i) Note that the believers were more praising God than preaching the Gospel. - :11
¨ And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”
ii) The tongues were in known languages – understood
iii) Reaction:
¨ :12 - They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
(a) two words – amazed = to push out of their senses, i.e. to blow one’s mind
(b) perplexed – hit hard, stunned
¨ 7 They were beside themselves with wonder. “How can this be?” they exclaimed.
¨ They sought answers
(a) One group began to inquire
(b) :13 – another mocked – they’re drunk
THE BELIEVERS WAITING FOR THE SPIRIT :1
THE CHURCH WORSHIPPING THE LORD :2-23
3. THE CHURCH WITNESSING TO THE LORD - :14-41
a. He explained what happened: the Spirit had come - :14-21
b. He explained how it happened: Jesus was alive :22-35
c. He explained why it happened: to save sinners :36-41
i) :21 - Joel 2 – whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
ii) I was told in seminary that there were 3 rules to preaching:
¨ Stand up
¨ Speak up
¨ Shut up
iii) Before Peter did the last, he was interrupted and 3,000 people trusted Christ.
4. THE CHURCH TALKING IN THE SPIRIT -:42-47
CONCLUSION:
1. ((illus)) I sat listening to the eulogies given at the funeral of our former President Ronald Regan on Friday. I was arrested by the strong “behind the scenes” testimonials of the kind, servant-like character of this man.
2. Even the journalists from the liberal press had to admit that everyone knew during his presidency of his firm moral convictions.
a. I was at times envious of the degree to which he was reported to hold this qualities.
b. Then, in the sunset burial service in California, later in the day, Michael, Regan’s adopted son, told the “secret” to his dad’s character.
c. On a 1988 flight involving the President and his son, Ronald Regan told him of his personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
i) Aha!
ii) And then I remembered the stories of his reading the Bible with his mom in his growing up years at home.
iii) Somewhere in it all, this man became a recipient of the Holy Spirit and God was then able to begin shaping a character
3. How do you and I handle life in a healthy way?
i) How can we be prepared to measure up to the demands in life?
a. FACE OUR INADEQUACY
i) In a time and day when there is a notion in our contemporary culture that recognizing our inability or insufficiency is somehow contrary to the principles of success
¨ And that self-confidence and high-powered, aggressive personalities seem to be what takes the day.
¨ The truth is, most of us simply do not live there.
¨ ((illus)) One New Year's Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas. The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.
ii) A sense of our own inadequacy is a gift.
b. ENCOUNTER SUFFICIENCY
i) To come on our knees, as the early believers did for those 10 days prior to God’s outpouring is where we need to start.
ii) ((illus)) Like the caterpillar which spins its cocoon and waits there while an inner work of transformation takes place, so the disciples were waiting as God did His unseen work in their hearts to prepare them for that day.
¨ Then as the caterpillar emerges, something wonderful has happened.
¨ He is no longer a caterpillar, but a beautiful butterfly. His life has been changed. He has been transformed.
c. LIVE DYNAMICALLY
i) The old Peter of denial is turned into a witness for Christ.
¨ Acts 4:13 (NLT) The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.
¨ Phil 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ.
ii) ((illus)) Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, "Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson's astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.