Kingdom Farming

Kingdom Farming Acts 2:1-4, 37-42 The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus is so strong that nobody would question it except for two things: It is a very unusual event, and second, If you believe it happened, you have to change the way you live. That's a challenging statement because if you really believe Jesus rose again, that belief requires a change of life. Peter's life was turned upside-down after he saw the resurrected Christ. Once an impulsive fisherman-disciple who denied even knowing Christ after His arrest, became a bold witness for Him. But how did he arrive at being that bold witness for Christ? Let's take a moment and familiarize ourselves with what Pentecost even is. There were several festivals, celebrations, or observances that took place before Pentecost. There was Passover, there was Unleavened Bread, and there was the Feast of Firstfruits. The Feast of Firstfruits was the celebration of the beginning of the barley harvest. Here's the way you figured out the date of Pentecost. According to the Old Testament, you would go to the day of the celebration of Firstfruits, and beginning with that day, you would count 50 days. The fiftieth day would be the Day of Pentecost. So Firstfruits is the beginning of the barley harvest, and Pentecost is the celebration of the start of the wheat harvest. Not only did Pentecost celebrate the wheat harvest, but it also celebrated the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. Since it was always 50 days after Firstfruits, and since 50 days equals seven weeks, it always came a "week of weeks" later. Therefore, they either called it the Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost, which in Greek means "50" (Lev. 23:15-22). And since this was such an important event, Jewish people from all over would travel to Jerusalem, or just stay there after Passover, to be apart of this grand celebration. So, Pentecost, which we remember today, has its roots in an agricultural setting, and in the giving of God's Law, the Ten Commandments. And now, the Lord chose the Day of Pentecost to celebrate a new harvest. 50 days from Passover, the Holy Spirit came on a small group of believers and moved through Jerusalem, bringing in a different kind of crop. These firstfruits were men, women, and children, added to the church (Acts 2:38-46). Pentecost's historical farming connection reminds us that a world of lost souls is ready for harvest (John 4:35). As believers in Christ, we are God's fruit, but we are commanded to be His farmers as well. So, are we helping to bring in the new harvest today? Do we have a bold faith? And how does Pentecost relate to our faith walk today? To find these answers, we'll look at Acts 2. Now what we're doing is bookending Acts 2 by reading a few of the first verses and a few of the last verses. We're doing this because we don't have the time in one setting to explore all of this chapter. But I encourage you to please read all of Acts 2 today. The first verse of Acts 2 describes our setting by saying, "All the disciples were together in one place." Then verses 2-4 say, "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." What an incredible moment! But I know what you're probably thinking, why tongues? Tongues symbolize speech and the communication of the Gospel. The disciples spoke in tongues, or foreign languages, to everybody in attendance. They communicated the Gospel, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to the languages of the world, just like how earlier Jesus said they would. Remember, only 10 days earlier, right before Christ's ascension, He told His disciples, which includes us, "To go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." That's Matthew 28:19-20, also known as the Great Commission, and it's Jesus' command for all His disciples to proclaim the Gospel, baptize new believers, and teach them about the faith. But before they could proclaim the Gospel, the disciples had to wait. Wait for what? They had to wait for what we read in verse 4, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit "enabled them" to proclaim the Gospel. The same Holy Spirit that fills us today with power, and fire, and tongues to share the Gospel with others. So Let There Be Red! Red is the color of the Spirit that rested on them. The word the NIV uses for "Filled" in other translations also means "Rested." That's important to remember because, in a world that seems to never give us a break, those who place faith in Christ are filled with the Holy Spirit, who not only empowers us, but gives us rest. The Holy Spirit "Rests" upon all believers. Red is also the color of flame. Fire symbolizes God's purifying presence, which burns away the undesirable elements in our lives and sets our hearts aflame to ignite the lives of others by sharing the Gospel with them. We share the Gospel with words and actions. Did you know that a recent study revealed that on average, 7-9 people are continually watching you to see how you act and react to situations. Without even knowing it, 7-9 people are being influenced by you. So show them Christ in you, and don't forget to use words. Just imagine if all of us would share Christ with those 7-9 people, and just how packed our churches would become! On Mount Sinai, God confirmed the Old Testament Law with fire (Ex. 19:16-18). At Pentecost, God is confirming the Holy Spirit's ministry by sending fire. At Mount Sinai, fire only came down in one place. At Pentecost, fire came down on all the believers, symbolizing that God's presence is now available to all who place faith in Jesus Christ. Now, you may be saying to yourself, "That's all fine and dandy, but I've never had a dramatic experience like the disciples did. If I had, I would be bolder in my faith." I get that. But did you realize there are 2-ways to see power? 1st, power can come all at once, as it did for the disciples. Like dropping a lit match into a container of gas, a sudden explosion of unmistakable power erupts. But the 2nd way is to harness that power. Gasoline explodes, but when gas is placed in the fuel tank of your car, and directed to the engine through fuel lines, that same power is harnessed. Instead of one big explosion, millions of tiny explosions occur, allowing you to travel great distances before needing to refuel. The Holy Spirit is the vehicle your power is harnessed thru, and every time you read the Bible, you're refueling your spiritual gas tank. You don't have to have the gift of evangelism or be a professional speaker to share the Gospel. You're apart of God's kingdom, filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing you to go out and bring in a harvest. Your boldness is found in Christ, and your message is lifechanging. You have a message about God as old as creation itself. You have a message about Jesus Christ that can't be sealed in a tomb. You have a message about the Holy Spirit and how He empowers your life. Share the Gospel with others. Share how Christ changed your life. Share your testimony. And when you do this through the Holy Spirit's guidance, what will happen is what happened in verse 37. Acts 2:37 says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" When you share your faith, lead that person to ask the question, "What shall I do." We do this because without any conviction of sin, there is no true repentance. In Acts 2, when Peter preached the first Gospel message, he started in the natural world, led his listeners into recounting their own sinfulness, and once convicted, Peter told them about the Good News of Jesus. "What shall I do?" is the sign of a ripe harvest. And the answer is found in verse 38. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." There's the Gospel! And there's the promise of the Holy Spirit. We've said before that to repent is a turning from sin to Christ through confession. And although baptism doesn't save you, it's your public expression of faith identifying your life with Christ and His church. When Peter preached this message on that day of Pentecost, verse 41 says 3,000 were saved! And this message of salvation was not just for Peter's audience. This promise of salvation is "For you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will Call," as verse 39 says. God is abundant in grace and offers salvation to all who will come through Christ. So when the Bible says in verse 39, "for all whom the Lord our God will call," the Bible's saying that because God is omniscient or "all-knowing," He already knows who will respond to Christ. But how God chooses to reach those people is though our kingdom service by sharing our faith to produce a harvest. What an honor it is to continue Christ's ministry and be apart of God's Kingdom work! There's no bigger thrill than leading someone to Christ! Salvation, the Holy Spirit, it's an amazing gift! And one we should want to tell others about. It's a life-changing, life-giving message. It results in new life, boldness, the Holy Spirit living within you, guidance, strength, peace, joy, and rest. But we don't stop there. Being in Christ, being a disciple, means we're apart of the Body of Christ, the church. As the church, we need to remember what verse 42 instructs us to do. "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." There's no such thing as a solo Christian. God created us for fellowship, and church is where we mature in our faith by hearing God's Word. We equip and encourage one another. We partake of communion and remember what Christ accomplished for our forgiveness. And we pray, together and alone. The church is not a building. Believers are the church, and we "do church" when we keep doing what verse 42 instructs us to do. We equip and encourage each other. We grow bolder in our faith and share the Gospel with others. We confess our sin and need for Jesus Christ. A seminary student was writing a term paper about confession of sin. At one point, he intended to type, "When we confess our sins, He takes away our guilt." But when he came to the word guilt, he hit the letter q by mistake. This made his sentence read, "When we confess our sins, He takes away our quilt." And he turned in his paper without noticing the error. When he got his essay back, the student smiled as he read the marginal note from the professor: "Never fear, you'll never freeze, because God gave us a Comforter." Jesus said the Comforter would come and live with us forever (Jn. 14:16). Since the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has been carrying on His ministry in the lives of believers. He guides us into truth and brings glory to Christ (Jn. 16:13-15). He assures us that we are God's children (Rom. 8:16). He helps us pray (Rom. 8:26-27). He gives us hope (Rom. 15:13). He teaches us spiritual truths (1 Cor. 2:13). He equips us to serve other believers (1 Cor. 12:4-7). He makes us Christlike (2 Cor. 3:18). And He strengthens us (Eph. 3:16). We can face this day or any day with boldness and confidence because of the Comforter's ministry in our lives. On that day of Pentecost, everyone woke up getting ready to do what they've always done and celebrate the same way they always did. But suddenly it all changed! The Law brought the conviction of sin, and the Gospel the cure for our sinful condition. So, do something dramatic, something memorable, something that might-let's be honest-upset some of those who gather as not being "proper" for church. We have tamed worship, tamed Pentecost, trying to be proper, reserved, or do things because that's the way they've always been done. There is a time and place for proper, for calm and reserved, and for tradition. But Pentecost is not that time or place. Have Christ's resurrection change the way you live. Go out boldly in the power of the Comforter, and share Christ with others. AMEN 2