Listen to Glisten: Pentecost

Introduction...

End of Passage: “What does this mean?”

“What it means is, well, a lot!”

It’s like asking, “What’s the Matrix?” It’s a long story!

We’re going to attempt to answer that question.

About to enter the Matrix… Old Testament obsolete

History:

Genesis 1:28:

Fill the Earth and Subdue it...

Multiply and mathematics

Make babies and buildings!

Have children and make trains!

Have kids, make culture

Flip pages: Roller coaster ride for humanity

World-wide rebellion

World-wide baptism

Genesis 9:1: To Noah and the Family: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it”

Repeated v.7

Now multiply and do mathematics

Make babies and buildings, etc.

speaking of buildings...

Genesis 11: Tower of Babel

v.1-2: “Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.”

2 major problems! Do you see it?

ONE language

ONE location

To do what? To storm heaven and take over God’s throne!

SO, rather than scatter and make culture and language, they gather on one large plain, the Plain of Shinar and tried to create some time of spiritual rocket ship to escape earth and invade heaven.

So what does God do?

He pushes them back down the Tower.

He gives them culture by giving them language and that forced them to fill the earth.

Fundamental Problem with Humanity:

Rebellious

Replace God

You don’t come up to me! I come down to you...

Genesis 12: Call of Abraham

I’m going to use you and your descendents to redeem every body!

Fast forward...

God does come down and saves Israel from

50 days after the Passover!!

Exodus 19:16-18: On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

You don’t come to me, I come to you!

He does so!

LAW is given

Pentecost: Anniversary of the Giving of the Law

50 Days after Passover:

Originally the season that marked the beginning of grain harvesting season.

John Stott teaches: Intertestamental period development: Anniversary of giving of the law at Mount Sinai: 50 days after Exodus

Every year, Jews from around the world would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost together

So up to this point this morning, I haven’t even touched on the verses of our main text...

But this back ground is super important to understand the back story...

BRILLIANCE OF LOST: BACK STORY OF EACH CHARACTER

The back story to Pentecost helps us see the full picture of what’s really going on here...

Acts 2:1-13 is like a prism, where the light shines one way but then leaves in a rain bow of colours!

Pentecost the Prism

FLIPPED Babel

How is it a flip of Babel?

Obedience

v. 1: They were all together in one place...

Building vs. Waiting

God came down

v.4: They were all filled with the Holy Spirit

Language

Gives language to unite the world

v.9-11: Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians

Purpose: To scatter the Gospel!

To ensure God’s mission will get accomplished

FULFILLED EXODUS

v. 2-3: Wind and Fire

Conjures up Wind and Fire from the Exodus

Think newscasters braving a hurricane

v.4: Holy Spirit vs. Law

God doesn’t give a longer list of things to do, but gives a PERSON!

What does this mean?

God Mobilizes HIS Family FOR the WORLD

Babel: God Confused the world

Exodus: God mobilizes his people from the World

This is an entirely JEWISH experience!

Can’t underestimate the Jewishness of this event

NOT to reinforce Jewishness, but to fulfill it!

Where a NEW group emerges called the Church!

Pentecost: God mobilizes his Family FOR the World

Group absorb the mission of Israel

God's Family is mobilized WITH the languages of the WORLD FOR God’s Family.

When the Holy Spirit comes in, you belong that Family of God...

The the Pieces are now in place:

The Messiah had come.

He conquered sin and death

He ascended and rules in heaven

And now he is made present to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit’s arrival turned the final chapter of redemptive history for Israel and now a new people are mobilized with God’s Word...

Once the Holy Spirit descended, the church was off to the races and has been ever since...

Mobilize his people:

To make disciples...