Day of Pentecost

I wonder how many of us grew celebrating the day of Pentecost in the church.

I know I didn’t.

When I finally learned what Pentecost was I basically saw it as just another interesting story in the scriptures.

But the truth is, Pentecost is as significant a moment as there is, short of the resurrection.

We can’t understand who we are as the church and where we are in the story of redemption without Pentecost

Let’s read about it.

Acts 2:1–21 (NIV84)

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Remember the context here.

The book of Acts is a continuation of the gospel of Luke.

Jesus has died and risen.

In Chapter 1 of Acts he told the disciples they would be his witnesses to the ends of the earth but that they should wait for the Spirit until they did anything.

Then Jesus ascended to heaven and we get the disciples here … waiting.

Two major symbols cue the entrance of the Spirit: wind and fire.

I won’t do a whole biblical survey but these are used throughout to indicate God’s active presence in Spirit

You can go back to Genesis 1:2

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The word for Spirit used is the same word used for wind.

Something new is happening here again in Acts.

The Spirit of God is blowing again.

Tongues of fire rest on them.

This is one of those moments I want more descriptors but we don’t get it.

No idea what this looked like but we get the effect.

The Spirit then FILLS them and they all, in a sense, become prophets.

They all begin conveying God’s truth in a variety of languages.

This is obviously a crazy scene that draws a crowd.

But as I asserted earlier, this is more than just another miraculous event.

It is a particular fulfillment of prophecy that signals the final stage of God’s redemptive plan has been initiated.

Of course Jesus said it would happen.

But Peter quotes the prophet Joel to show that it’s been promised for a long time.

Joel 2:28–32 (NIV84) - 28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

This is part of prophecy about what God will do in the “last days” when he restores his people.

We’re used to the significance of prophecies surrounding Jesus.

And at Christmas we think about how excited the people must have been to learn that the prophecies were coming true.

How it signaled that their hope was not in vain and that God was at work.

In the same way, the pouring out of the Spirit signals that God is doing what he promised to do.

The messiah has come.

The Spirit has been poured out.

It’s happening.

God is present in the world and at work.

Sin and death have been overcome, and the restoration of all things is now underway.

But as followers of Jesus, we aren’t passive bystanders in all of this.

We are key contributors.

God is making all things new

and he formed a community to both carry the message and embody the message.

but he didn’t just give some instructions for how the community is supposed to do this

he gave his very presence and power

Just as God once dwelt alongside his people in the temple

At Pentecost we see the Spirit poured out to dwell INSIDE his people

The community is now the Temple where God dwells

And the Spirits presence in the community is what empowers it to carry the message and embody the message

Through the Spirit a diverse community is formed in a world of divisions.

Through the Spirit a community of sacrificial love is formed in a world of competition.

Through the Spirit a community of peace is formed in a world of violence.

Through the Spirit a community is transformed to become kingdom people.

and the world sees that there is real power there and the message bears fruit.

The restoration of all things is underway. God has formed a community to be part of it. And he now dwells IN that community, displaying his love and power.

And if you want a definition of what it means to be the church, it’s that.

It’s to be the community in which the Spirit of God dwells to display his love and power as he works in the world.

Church isn’t just a religious club.

Church isn’t just a place for our kids to learn morals.

Church isn’t just a place for some motivational uplift.

Church isn’t a place.

Church is a people.

A people in which God himself dwells and moves.

A people participating in God’s restoration of all things.

We need to elevate our sense of calling as the church.

It’s an awesome thing.

And Pentecost is the kickoff.

As David Fitch puts it

God’s plan is to become present to the world in and through a people, and then invite the world to join with him. How does this happen? In the simplest of terms, a group of people gather and become present to God. In our life together, we recognize God in the presence of Jesus Christ through disciplines in which he has promised, “I am in your midst.” By knowing God’s presence in Christ in this way, we are then able to recognize his presence in the world. We participate in his work in the world, and his presence becomes visible. The world then sees God’s presence among us and through us and joins in with God.