Pentecost Sunday

Sermon

Introduction

The last number of weeks we have building towards Pentecost Sunday. In preparation we have been diving into who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does. We have seen how he is equal part of the Trinity and he is our Counselor, teaching, leading, comforting and equipping us individually and corporately for the things that God has called us to.

It has all been building to this service. Pentecost Sunday. We are going to be unpacking lots of things that are going on in the story, but more importantly what does it mean for us today? Can we still have a Pentecost experience, or not?

With all that, we are going to set the stage for the story of the first Pentecost. If you are following along in your Bible, we will be in Acts chapter 2, which most will have the subsection, “Pentecost.” To give the back story, I will begin in Acts chapter 1 and let Luke set the stage.

Acts 1:1–8 CSB

I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

d. Jesus has risen from the dead and spent 40 days with the disciples, teaching and convincing others that it is really him.

e. You can tell that some of the disciples still don’t get it. Some of them are still holding on the misconception that Jesus is going to redeem the physical nation of Israel. They still want the here and now fixed and have completely missed the big picture that Jesus has spent the last three years trying to communicate.

f. But I want to re-iterate the significance of what Jesus says in verse 8, and I will say it a couple times this morning, just to make sure it sticks.

g. The Holy Spirit is going to come upon the disciples, but it is not without purpose or cause. It is not with the intention of checking the box on the spiritual checklist. You will receive the power of the Holy Spirit, AND you will be my disciples in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

h. This is a conversation I have had many times, and it is only recently that I have actually connected these dots. So often we desire prophecy or speaking in tongues or any number of other gifts of the spirit, because they are spoken about in Scripture and thus we should pursue them. But God’s intention for these gifts and this power is to equip us for the purpose of making disciples of all nations. If you have been pursuing the spiritual gifts for a while and wondered why you have come up empty, this is a good time to ask why you are pursuing them. What is the purpose, and more importantly, whose life will be changed if you receive this gift? Jesus clearly makes the correlation between receiving power and being witnesses. The two are inseparable.

i. The big point here is also to revisit the idea that has come up all series long. Jesus is going away, but he is going to send another one to us, a Counselor of equal importance and power for our lives.

Which brings us to Acts chapter 2:

Acts 2:1–4 CSB

When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

1. The Holy Spirit Comes

Acts 1 tells us that the disciples are all gathered together in prayer. In fact, there 120 people gathered together, continually united in prayer.

Pentecost arrives, they are all gathered together, and suddenly the Holy Spirit comes into the house where they are gathered. Big house by the way, 120 people gathered under one roof. No social distancing happening here.

The Spirit comes and he comes in a very tangible and powerful way.

a. He Comes as Wind

His arrival was heard, and the sound filled the whole house. There was something audible happening

This is significant because in the same way that the Spirit filled the whole house with the sound of this violent wind, He is going to fill each of the disciples with this same power. One commentator likened it to hurricane level power would fill each of the believers

b. He Comes as Fire

John the Baptist said that he baptized with water, but Jesus would baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire

The picture that Luke paints is that of a wildfire that quickly spread through the house to all the believers.

It is with a fiery conviction that Jesus’ disciples would flee from sin and be purified by the Holy Spirit

Fire is also the imagery used to symbolize what will happen to sin, the wildfire that consumes all sin.

c. He Produces a Response

The wind signified the coming of the Holy Spirit. The fire signified the entering of the Spirit into each of the disciples. The speaking in tongues was the outward response, which led to mission, which we are going to see shortly in the story.

The speaking of tongues was the visible evidence that something was done by an invisible Spirit.

The filling, or as we call it the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, was so overwhelming that the disciples could not be silent in this moment. They were overflowing with a gift they had never experienced before.

If you’re new to church, I probably used a lot of lingo that is new to you. I know I’m brushing over it a little today, but I will be unpacking this a lot of other topics over the next number of weeks. Be sure to tune in and get more details about what we are talking about.

Acts 2:5–13 CSB

Now there were Jews staying in Jerusalem, devout people from every nation under heaven. When this sound occurred, a crowd came together and was confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us can hear them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; those who live in Mesopotamia, in Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the magnificent acts of God in our own tongues.” They were all astounded and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

2. The History of Pentecost

Pentecost was not some random word that we just happen to pull out of the hat and decide it was a good one to mark this day. There are a few historical factors playing into this day that we need to be made aware of

Pentecost means fiftieth, as in the fiftieth part or the fiftieth in order

Here it actually signifies fifty days after Passover, or as we call it, Easter.

This is significant because Jesus wondered the earth of 40 days after he rose from the dead, which means when he told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, because it would only be a few days, he meant it. 10 days is not that bad of a wait.

Pentecost is also significant on the Jewish calendar.

This day was also referred to the feast of weeks. It was a harvest festival, celebrating the first fruits of the wheat crop.

In the Old Testament, God asked for the first fruits of the harvest. The people of Israel were to bring the first crop, and the best crop, as a sacrifice to God. It was an act of faith that this was only the beginning of the good things to come.

Coincidence that Jerusalem was celebrating the first fruits of the harvest, and the same day the first time the Holy Spirit was poured out and a ‘harvest’ of new disciples came into the church?

Pentecost also signified the giving of the law.

It is tradition that 50 days after the first Passover, the people of Israel reached Sinai, which is the mountain that God gave the 10 commandments on, initiating the covenant between God and his people.

On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers, signifying the beginning of the new covenant between God and his people… another coincidence?

On that day, there was a blowing of the trumpet, which could draw comparison to a violent rushing wind. There was thunder and lightning, which could also draw comparison to a violent wind and fire. The giving of the law also required a response from the people, much like the baptism of the Holy Spirit did...

In case you are new, I don’t believe in coincidences, only God ordained moments in time that could only be orchestrated by an all knowing, all powerful God.

Oh and one other fun fact about Pentecost. Though Passover is a hugely important event in the Jewish calendar with everything it signifies, the festival of the harvest was generally better attended because the weather made for better traveling conditions. But that had to be a coincidence, that God would pour out his Spirit in the most awesome way he could on a festival when the crowds would have been the largest, right? There’s no way to plan for that, is there?

3. The Miracle of Speaking in Tongues

There are 15 different people groups all listed in verse 9-10, and all of them heard the magnificent acts of God declared in their own language. So what does that tell us about what is happening?

Either the disciples were speaking all those different languages fluently, and the miracle really was in their ability to speak a language they had never spoken before. No one is going to deny the absolute miraculous nature of that.

The disciples were speaking a heavenly language, and the miracle was really in the hearing. God opened the ears of each of the people groups to hear the gospel in their language. This again is no less miraculous, and totally within God’s ability. As a Pentecostal, this would be the understanding of the story I would lean towards.

Could it be a combination of both miraculous in speaking and hearing? Sure. However you decide to interpret this story, the major consistency must remain: God did something miraculous here that had never been done before, and it stirred the hearts of many people. This is the point; the purpose was not just to make the disciples feel good that they received the Holy Spirit. It was an empowering to preach the gospel to people who may not have understood their message if it had not been delivered in this way. The end goal is disciple making; always has been, always will be.

4. There will ALWAYS be Opposition.

Acts 2:13 CSB

But some sneered and said, “They’re drunk on new wine.”

The Greek here is literally, ‘sweet wine’, which had a reputation for being easy to drink and thus, easy to get drunk on.

But the opposition here is one of two things:

The people were hearing the languages, and because they did not understand or interpret, it came across as drunken gibberish.

The message of the Gospel is a stumbling block for Jews, and the message they were proclaiming would have been hard to accept, thus was disregarded as drunken rambling.

Either way, even in the midst of a powerful display of God’s power and the miraculous nature of the gospel being declared in so many languages simultaneously, there were still people who stood opposed and tried to slander the disciples in what they were doing.

Jesus said that if they opposed him, they are going to oppose us to.

Being an advocate for Christ is not always going to be easy, even with the Holy Spirit boost. It doesn’t mean we stop doing it and it doesn’t mean what we’re doing is wrong. It just serves as a reminder that we are facing two opponents in our disciple making calling. One in the form of our Spiritual enemy, the other in the form of man’s sin nature which wants what is opposite of the Holy Spirit.

Time to Respond

So what do we do with this?

It is my honest belief, and the belief of the leadership of this church, that God is not done accomplishing the miraculous in the hearts and minds of people today. We can still see God’s power at work in his people, and it through the dwelling and equipping of the Holy Spirit through which that happens.

In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul said that it was his desire that our faith would not be founded on persuasive words but on the power of God. I realize that the logical arguments and explanations have their place in our faith, but there is no denying the importance of experience the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

So to close, I am going to pray for each of you. Before I do, I would invite you to prepare your hearts for whatever the Holy Spirit wants to say or do. Think of someone whose life could be forever changed, or how your witness would be enhanced with the God’s power.

Let’s pray.