Sermon Tone Analysis

In the gospel of John, Jesus made this promise to His disciples:

John 14:15–17 (ESV)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.

He spoke of this of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit, Jesus said, would be our Helper.

One who comes alongside us in our service to God.

In Acts 2, we see that this Helper has come.

What does this help involve?

That is the subject of our text this morning and the point of the sermon this morning.

Where are we going this morning?

Let’s get a little preview.

In sending the Helper, God fulfills His promises

In sending the Helper, God reveals His power

In sending the Helper, God accomplishes His purpose.

First, in sending the helper, God fulfills His promises.

#1: In sending the Helper, God fulfills His promises

In sending the Helper, God fulfills His promises.

So, two questions: 1) where do we see God fulfilling His promises in our passage?

And 2) what does that tell us about God’s character?

A. Where do we see God fulfilling His promises in our text?

It’s found in the first verse.

Verse 1 tells us “when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.”

The three annual feasts:

Feast of Tabernacles

Passover

Pentecost = celebration of the harvest

Pentecost was one of the three Jewish feasts that were celebrated annually in Jerusalem, the other two being Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Scores of Jews would come to Jerusalem from all over Palestine and beyond, to celebrate these feasts.

Scores of Jews from all over Palestine were already in fact in Jerusalem for this feast when the Holy Spirit comes upon the church here in Acts 2. Pentecost was always celebrated 50 days after the Passover, and it was a celebration of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

He had provided for them again by giving them a fruitful harvest.

Now they come together before the Lord to thank Him for His goodness and to prove His faithfulness by giving a portion back to Him.

But now the early church stands at the edge of another harvest, an even greater harvest.

God is about to fulfill His ancient promises to send His Spirit upon His people - His promises to bless the nations through the offspring of Abraham and create for Himself a people from every tribe, tongue, and language.

And the way the Lord would accomplish this was not through a marketing campaign or a social media strategy or a press release.

He would do it, instead, by word of mouth and the testimony of changed lives.

But none of that would happen unless God Himself empowers us.

And so God sends His Spirit, the Spirit of His Son, upon His people.

He places a part of Himself, so to speak, within us, so that all we do we do in the power of God.

God had fulfilled His ancient promises by sending the Spirit.

Okay, that’s great, but what promises were actually fulfilled?

There’s alot, but let me just show you one from the OT and two from the NT.

Joel 2:28-29

But this promise is also found in the NT, too.

Listen to what John the Baptist said to the crowds just as Jesus was beginning His ministry:

Luke 3:16

And then listen to what Jesus says to His disciples just a few weeks before what’s taking place in Acts 2. John 14:16

So when Luke opens up Acts 2:1 by telling us that the day of Pentecost has come, he means something other than just to tell us that the actual day of Pentecost has arrived.

He’s also saying that the time for the fulfillment of God’s ancient promises has now come.

The word that’s used there in verse 1 for “came”, when the day of Pentecost came, it really doesn’t mean “came”.

It means “fulfilled”.

It doesn’t just refer to the passing of the days.

It doesn’t just mean, “On a Saturday, on the day of Pentecost”, it means when the divinely appointed time for the fulfilling of the ancient promises of God.

In sending the Helper, God fulfills His promises.

B. What does that tell us about God?

He is faithful!

All of us know someone who promised us something and then went back on their promise.

Some of you know we’re in the process of buying a house.

The closer we get to it, the more excited we get, but also the more paperwork there is.

Filling out forms and signing them has become a part-time job for my sweet wife.

Now the forms we’re signing are contracts.

You know how a contract works: both parties agree to certain actions beneficial to the other party.

Contracts also stipulate what will happen if one or both parties make a mistake.

We’re under contract with the sellers to buy 603 E. Church St. in Cherryville.

But if our loan underwriting for some reason doesn’t go through, we’re no longer under contract and the sellers can put the house back on the market.

Why do we use contracts?

They’re not bad.

We need them.

Why do we need them?

We need contracts to bind us to certain actions.

We need contracts to keep us accountable to the other party.

Why do we need that?

Because people are unfaithful.

In general, human beings are not trustworthy.

Sure, some are more so than others.

But no human being is completely faithful, completely trustworthy, completely reliable - no one always makes good on every promise ever made.

Heb.

13:5

No one, that is, except for God.

God is wonderfully different from us! “I will never desert you,” the Lord says, “nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb.

13:5 NASB).

That’s not contract language.

That’s covenant language.

What’s a covenant?

This is a covenant:

“I, Dustin, take thee, Shannon, to be my wedded wife, to hand to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.”

Marriage is not a contractual relationship.

It’s a covenant relationship.

It doesn’t say, “I will stay with you for better or for worse…as long as you do this or that.”

No, it’s for better or for worse - period.

It’s for richer or for poorer - period.

It’s in sickness and in health - period.

Not once does the other person’s behavior even enter the picture.

That’s the kind of relationship God desires with us.

It’s the kind of relationship you already have with God right now if you’ve trusted in Christ.

Don’t you long for that?

You never have to worry about where you stand with Him!

You never have to worry if He’s changed His mind about you.

You are never “too much” for Him.

Why?

Because our relationship with God is a covenant; it’s based not on our inconsistent behavior, but on God’s perfectly consistent character.