The Big Day

Acts 2:1–4 KJV 1900

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Act out using different objects that we use in everyday life. (Microwave, money computer, hairbrush, backpack). ask the students to guest what object am I using.

These helpful objects would be no good to us if they were invisible. That is not the case with the Holy Spirit. He is both invisible and extremely helpful. In today’s lesson we’ll see how He came to dwell in believers and help carry out Christ’s mission on earth.

Introduction

The day of Pentecost was an annual grain harvest feast in which Jews presented portions of their wheat harvest to God. It celebrated God’s faithfulness in bringing the harvest season to completion. Many Jewish people traveled to Jerusalem for the special Feast, and it was during this time and with this audience that the Holy Spirit made a dramatic appearance.

The Holy Spirit Came

The Holy Spirit came with the sound of rushing wind, tongues like fire that rested about the believers, and the gift of speaking in tongues. In the Old Testament, wind, fire, and tongue-speaking are associated with God’s presence (1 kings 19:11; Exodus 19:18; Joel 2). The believers assembled in Jerusalem got the message loud and clear that God was present in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

The gift of tongues in Acts was the ability to speak in a previously known unlearned language. The foreign visitors marveled as they heard people from Jerusalem area speaking in their own languages. They wondered out loud what the sing meant. Others were confused by the signs of God’s presence, while others mocked and claimed that the disciples were drunk and babbling.

Acts 2:12–13 KJV 1900

And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.

Before this time, the Holy Spirit had indwelt people, but only certain people and only temporarily. At Pentecost, those who believed in Jesus as Savior were all indwelt with the Holy Spirit. This indwelling is a unique mark of the Church. The Holy Spirit still dwells in believers today at the moment of their salvation decision. There is no waiting for the Holy Spirit.

The dramatic display of rushing wind, flames, and tongue speaking helped believers in the early church see and feel the evidence of the coming of the Holy Spirit. The signs also affirmed that the gospel was for Gentiles as well as Jews. We don’t expect these same signs of the Holy Spirit today because we can read these truths in the completed Word of God, the Bible.

Peter Preached

Acts 2:14–18 KJV 1900

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

Peter appealed to the book of Joel as proof that the recent miraculous events had indeed come from God. Joel prophesied about the last days, which started with the coming of Christ. Joel prophesied there would be a pouring out God’s Spirit on all flesh

Joel 2:28 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass afterward, That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions:

The Words “all flesh” indicate that the Spirit will come on anyone who trusts in Christ for salvation.

The rest of Peter’s quote of Joel’s prophecy deals with Christ’s future judgment on sin.

Joel 2:30–31 KJV 1900

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, Blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, Before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

Peter’s point is that if Joel’s prophecy about the present coming of the Spirit had just been fulfilled, then Joel’s prophecy about God’s future judgement on sin will also be fulfilled. But until that day of judgement, God provides salvation to whoever calls on the name of the Lord.

Joel 2:32 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, As the Lord hath said, And in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Acts 2:21 KJV 1900

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Those listening to Peter should have taken note of their spiritual condition considering God’s impending judgment on sin.

There is a link between the way the Holy spirit came on the believers and the way God’s judgement will be poured out. He came on them as a fire, and by such saved the believers from the eternal fire of hell. And if those today do not trust in Christ they too will face that eternal fire.

see image on PowerPoint.

Peter continued his sermon, emphasizing that the crucifixion of Christ, though carried out by some in Peter’s audience, was God’s plan all along. Those who crucified Christ were guilty but not hopeless. Death didn’t defeat the Messiah.

Acts 2:22–24 KJV 1900

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

To demonstrate that death couldn’t defeated the Messiah, Peter quoted again from Scripture.

Psalm 16:8–11 KJV 1900

I have set the Lord always before me: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; Neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

David’s prophecy about Jesus’ resurrection and exaltation to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:25-28).

Christ will sit on David’s throne when He returns to set up His millennial Kingdom. Until then, the evidence that Jesus is indeed risen and in Heaven is His outpouring of the Spirit.

Acts 2:23 KJV 1900

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Peter also quoted Psalm 110:1, another Davidic prophecy about the exaltation of Christ. That prophecy again looked to the last days when God will cause Christ’s enemies to be His footstool, a picture of complete victory over all that opposes Christ and a warning to those who reject Christ.

In his sermon, Peter masterfully tied Israel’s ancient prophets to both the coming of the Spirit and Christ’s still-future judgement of sinners and final victory over His enemies. Those who looked honestly at the prophecies and the events unfolding before their eyes had conclude that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

Acts 2:36 KJV 1900

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

People Believed

Acts 2:37 KJV 1900

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

The Holy Spirit used Peter’s sermon to convict the crowd of their sin. Peter promptly told the crowd what to do to be saved, and more than three thousand of them trusted Christ as their saviour.

It is the Holy Spirit that convicts and continues to work in our lives today. We as believers can learn two things from Peter’s message. One is that it is God’s Word that should be preached not our words. And two that we need to be guided by and let the guide us as we speak to others about Christ.

At the conclusion of this account, we read Luke’ first progress report. He reported that the Church was growing daily as the Lord added new believers to the congregation.

With Jesus is Heaven, His followers had a big job to do: tell the whole the world about Him. The book of Acts records the activities of Peter, the apostles, and other believers, but these accounts are not really about them. The are about the Holy Spirit working powerfully in and through them to build Christ’s Church. Believers today share the same Holy Spirit and the mission as the believers then. Are we will to allow the Spirit to work powerfully in and through us too?