Acts 2 Jesus Poured Out What You Now See and Hear

Dearly loved people of God,

Have you heard about that basketball team from Toronto? The Raptors have 3 opportunities to become NBA champions.

It’s a neat story. Even as I’ve watched portions of the last 4 games, I realize that I don’t like basketball. But I’m watching anyhow. It’s an intriguing story. I remember when the franchise began. There’s a sense of excitement in the newscasts. Maybe it’s the Fear of Missing Out, but lots of people are watching, even those who aren’t basketball fans.

The church is not always vibrant and spilling out of houses with the babble of many languages as Jesus’ disciples tell the stories of Jesus’ death and resurrection to newcomers and guests. God the Holy Spirit is always with believers, but not always conspicuous with the sound of a violent wind and tongues of flame. Not the way the HS showed up that morning of Pentecost.

Someone claimed that the small country church is the biggest argument demonstrating the power and significance of Jesus’ resurrection. That 2000 yrs later, a group of people in South-West Oxford is gathering to worship Jesus as the crucified, risen, and exalted King over all creation. That we’re gathered here, not just out of custom and superstition, but because we have experienced the power, the grace, and the compassion of God Most High.

Yet these games don’t make much difference. Won’t change our lives. Won’t make most people taller, stronger, or richer. It’s an experience; a shared experience. You’ll all be able to say, “I remember when the Raptors . . . well, when they did whatever they’re gonna do this week.”

I’m not trying to be a wet blanket, but next year there will be another team, another NBA championship, another story. Very shortly the 2019 championship will be history.

Yet some history is significant. Last week, on June 6, there were tributes and events celebrating the 75th anniversary of D-day. It was the beginning of the end of WWII. Huge sacrifice to gain the beaches and defeat the oppression by Nazis.

Is that more significant than an NBA championship? Did you do anything to mark the anniversary? What do you think: has D-Day affected your life? your freedom? the choices your grandparents and parents made?

The NBA Championship and D-day gained headlines. Many people talked about these as significant historical events. Meanwhile, I was thinking of an historical event: Pentecost.

Fifty days after Easter, Christians remember and celebrate how God the HS came upon the church in power. It was a historical 1st. Never had the HS come so powerfully on so many! Huge crowds saw the tongues of fire. Thousands witnessed the sound of rushing wind. They heard a group of Galileans speak – and the crowds from all over the world understood what they were saying in their own languages.

But we could ask the same question about this event as the other 2: Do the events of Pentecost have an effect on you? Has the coming of God the HS changed the choices your ancestors made? Has the HS guided choices you have made?

If God the HS has come upon the church in power, what have you seen and heard?

I’m not just talking about visions and miracles. Although they are important. In recent sermons we’ve looked at visions and miracles as recorded in Acts. We see God the HS transform lives and attitudes as the gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed in the power of God the HS.

In a sermon series, we’re about to embark on a journey around Asia Minor, reading their messages from Christ and seeing how God’s Word and Spirit calls the 1st and 2nd generations of believers to respond. How these small churches, dwarfed by the power of the Roman Empire are lifted up by the corrective vision of Jesus Christ exalted to the right hand of God as Saviour, Redeemer, and Lord.

We relive the significant events of Jesus’ life and ministry, because this is our story. The gospel is transforming our perspective of history and our understanding of our place in the world. The church calendar was designed to shape the way we view time and history:

Advent – each December is a time of anticipation, waiting for Jesus’ 1st and 2nd coming. Expectation

Christmas – celebrating the miracle of God the Son entering his own creation.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

(NIV)

See, we all need a Redeemer. Human disobedience has created a mess in the world. Not just Adam & Eve leading all their descendants into rebellion, but each of us as individuals falling short of God’s expectations. Judge your own success: do you meet your own goals for being kind and generous, forgiving and truthful? I don’t hit my own targets. Theological term: sin. Consequences: death and damnation. Gospel tells story of forgiveness; redemption through Jesus.

Lent – is the annual reminder of the cost of our salvation.

Good Friday – especially, but leading up to it too, we reflect on what Peter described to the crowds at Pentecost. He explains how Jesus fulfilled God’s word through the OT prophet Joel:

And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Acts 2:21–23 NIV

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

(NIV)

Peter was talking to a crowd who knew of these events. Many of them had lived the events when they were in Jerusalem for the Passover. Now they’re back in Jerusalem. The sights and sounds of God the HS are confirming the rumours they heard about what happened after Jesus’ crucifixion.

Easter – celebration of Jesus’ resurrection!

Peter continues to describe what happened that weekend:

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

Acts 2:24 NIV

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

(NIV)

Acts 2:32 NIV

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.

Acts 2

God has raised this Jesus to life,

Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just a historical fact. His resurrection changes everything. Physically rising from the grave proves Jesus identity as Messiah and Lord. It proves that sin and death have been defeated. By rising, Jesus has made know to us the paths of life!

and we are all witnesses of it.

(NIV)

Jesus’ resurrection isn’t just a historical fact. His resurrection changes everything. Physically rising from the grave proves Jesus identity as Messiah and Lord. It proves that sin and death have been defeated. By rising, Jesus has made know to us the paths of life!

If you trust Jesus to rescue you, sin and death no longer have power on you. Jesus’ resurrection opens the way for your guilt to be removed and for you to enjoy life with God; life for God. Jesus’ resurrection makes all the difference in the world!

Ascension – 40 days later, we celebrate Jesus’ ascension. Our text speaks of Jesus “exalted to the right hand of God.” It’s a position of power, authority, honour. Not since Adam & Eve has a human been honoured and accepted into God’s presence this way. Jesus is not just mayor for the day or some sort of vice-president of heaven. Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. When you read the book of Revelation, you gain an appreciation for the way the angels in heaven, the saints in glory, and all creation honours and worships Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Peter said:

Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.

Acts 2:36 NIV

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

(NIV)

We celebrate Jesus’ ascension because it affirms everything Jesus taught. Because he is Lord and Messiah, we trust his promise that, by faith, we will reign with Jesus. His death on the cross has made it possible for ordinary people like you and me to enter God’s glory, to feel comfortable and welcomed into his presence, for all our guilt and shame has been taken away.

Already now, as we care for children, plant our gardens and fields, as we run businesses and households, as we wash dishes or pick up toys, we’re ruling under Christ, as we’ve been created and redeemed to do.

Pentecost – it’s the day that Jesus has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has pour out what you now see and hear.

This is the day when Jesus’ disciples gained a double-portion of Jesus’ spirit. If you followed the daily readings, you were reminded this week of the days in the OT when Elijah’s ministry was over. His servant Elisha begged for a double-portion of his spirit. His request was granted. When the fiery horses and chariot came to bring Elijah to glory, Elijah’s mantle fell. When Elisha picked up the mantle, it was symbolic of picking up Elijah’s spirit and his role and prophet – God’s messenger to the kings and people. In the power of the Spirit, Elisha brought God’s word, brought healing, and instructed great and small to trust in the Lord.

That’s the significance of our celebration of Pentecost. We celebrate the historical event. We marvel at all we can see of the HS’s intervention in our world through history.

There are big events of renewal. The days of the reformation loom large. But most of God the HS’s work is on a small scale: one person changed, transformed, renewed at a time. There are days when it snowballs. There are times and places where the HS’s work in many individuals happens at the same time – in some ways it’s even contagious. People see and hear what the HS is doing for others and eagerly ask God to do the same for them too.

I guess that’s why I ask the question: what have you seen and heard of God the HS. Do you have stories?