What Pentecost means for us.
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Introduction
Introduction
Big Idea- The Holy Spirit enables the Church to reach the nations.
Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven. He has left a group of twelve apostles and 120 believers in total with the task of taking the Gospel to the nations.
Christ died for the world and He has left this group of less than 200 people to tell them. There is non plan b.
How would this people possible?
In our text this morning we see that it was possible because they were not left to do it in their own strength.
The book of Acts covers roughly 30 years of Church history. It explains how the began and grew so rapidly.
Our reading starts with the beginning of the Church as we know it today.
fulfils the promise of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ keeps His promises. God’s promises in him are yes and amen.
- You will receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you - We see this fulfilled v.1-4- The Holy Spirit is sent. Believers were born of the Spirit.
And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.- We see this fulfilled v.5-13- The Holy Spirit sends. Believers were enabled by the Spirit to witness.
The same responsibility of the church then, is still upon the Church today.
Be witnesses to Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. This means; tell your boss about Christ, share the Gospel with your next door neighbour, and reach the unreached in our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How is it possible?
We learn why it is certainly possible in our passage.
We see the Holy Spirit was sent and we see the Holy Spirit sends.
Firstly, we see the Holy Spirit was sent.
I. The Holy Spirit was sent v.1-4
I. The Holy Spirit was sent v.1-4
Believers were born of the Spirit
Believers were born of the Spirit
In this first section v.1-4 we see the sending of the Holy Spirit. There are two facts about the sending of the Holy Spirit that stand out. First He came at the appointed time. Second He came to every believer.
a)The Holy Spirit came at the appointed time
The Holy Spirit came at the appointed time.
Look with me at V.1 “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
As we have seen already the Holy Spirit was promised to the Church many times by Christ. In , , , . Also in the first chapter of Acts.
says “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Again in “ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The disciples were told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. When the day of Pentecost had arrived He came. This was the fulfilment of the promise.
Why did God choose the day of Pentecost?
Pentecost was one of the three major Jewish festivals and it was celebrated fifty days after the passover, the word pentecost is greek for fifty. It was also known as the feast of weeks or the feast of harvest. It was an agricultural celebration, it was a time of giving thanks to God for the harvest. It celebrated the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.
It was a very popular festival and Jewish people would travel from all over the known world to be at Jerusalem for this feast, we see this from the long list of nations represented in v.9-11. It was predicted that up to 200,000 people could travel to Jerusalem for this feast.
Knowing these facts about Pentecost it becomes obvious that God in His perfect wisdom chose to Send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost so that all these different people from different nations could witness his work in the church and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit came at the appointed time.
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One application here is that we can trust God’s timing to be perfect.
We can patiently wait for God to do His work in His own time and trust that He knows best. The Church was waiting for the sending of the Holy Spirit and He came at the perfect time.
The Holy Spirit came at the appointed time.
The next fact we see is that the Holy Spirit came to every believer
b) The Holy Spirit came to every believer
In this account of what happened at Pentecost there were things that took place that were unrepeatable, these are the outward experiences that happened. They were on off events that marked the initial sending of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church as we know it.
There were also other things that took place that are repeatable and still happen today, these are the inward experiences that took place.
As we look at the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost it is important to keep this in mind.
Unrepeatable
First then we will look at what happened that day that were unrepeatable, they were on off events.
These are the outward experiences and there were three.
The first one we see in verse 2 “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”
As the 120 believers were gathered in an upper room there came a sound like a tornado that swept through the house.
Its worth noticing that it wasn’t actual wind but it was a sound like wind. This sound of a mighty rushing wind represented the Holy Spirit.
Again and again through out the Bible the Spirit of God was likened to the wind. In fact in Hebrew and Greek the word for wind and spirit are the same word.
In the prophet is told to prophesy to the wind to enter the dry bones and God likens this to His Spirit that he will give to his people.
In the Lord Jesus likens the Holy Spirit to the wind.
Again through out the Scripture a mighty rushing wind is often symbolic of the powerful presence of God. We see this with the prophet Elijah on mount Horeb in .
The noise of a mighty rushing wind was a one off event that took place to mark this momentous event that took place in the history of the Church.
The Second one off event that took place is found in the next verse.
Look with me at verse 3 “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”
Here Luke records that the Spirit not only came with a noise of a mighty rushing wind but He also came as fire.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Fire through out the Bible is again symbolic of the presence of God.
In God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and again in when the LORD descended upon Mt. Sinai he did so in fire.
Again it must be noted that it wasn’t actual fire but Luke is using symbolic language he says as of fire.
The Spirit of God came as tongues of fire and rested upon each one of the believers.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The third one off even that took place is found in verse 4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The Final unrepeatable event that took place on the day of Pentecost was that all the believers the moment they received the Holy Spirit began to speak in other languages that they had not learned.
This was an unrepeatable event that took place.
Some churches teach that when every person is Baptized with the Holy Spirit they speak in tongues, but that is not true. Paul ruled that out in , . What is recorded here was a one off event.
The reason this happened on this occasion becomes clear as you read through the passage, it was so that the Gospel message could be communicated effectively to people from other nations who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast.
These three events were unrepeatable and are not signs that we should expect to see today when people receive the Holy Spirit.
2) Repetable
So what took place that was repeatable and must take place today?
The repeatable event was that every single believer received the Holy Spirit.
That took place then and it takes place today.
Verse 3-4 says “And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit...”
The Holy Spirit was not given to a select few but instead every single believer in the upper room. Every Christian received the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Receiving the Holy Spirit is known through out the Bible as being baptized with the Holy Spirit and this always takes place at conversion.
says “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
When a person repents and believes in Jesus Christ they are baptized with the Holy Spirit, they are born again.
The Spirit of God comes and dwells in side of them, he takes up permanent residency.
This is what took place then on the day of Pentecost and this is what takes place today.
In fact, if this does not take place in a persons life the Bible says they are not a Christian.
Paul says in “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”
Jesus said in “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
This was a change from the OT, in the old covenant not everyone who believed received the Holy Spirit, but only those who were equipped for a particular task. Like one of the prophets.
What Pentecost means is that God in His grace now gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who believes.
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The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The question that must be asked this morning is has this happened in your life? Are you born again by the Spirit of God?
Have you received the Holy Spirit?
If the answer is yes, then praise God.
What this truth teaches us is that there are no second class Christians, every believer receives the Holy Spirit.
He is not only given to an elite group of Christians but rather all who believe in Christ are born of the Spirit.
We also know that because we have the Holy Spirit, we can do things that otherwise we could not do in our own strength.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies us and makes us more like Christ. The Holy Spirit changes the believer and makes them less and less sinful and more and more holy day by day.
The Holy Spirit also gives us the strength and ability to share the Gospel with those around us, which is what we see in the second part of the passage.
But if the answer is no then you need to be.
You must be born again.
However, you cannot make yourself born again. That is a work of God. Jesus in says the the miracle of the New Birth is like the wind, the wind blows where it wants and so is the work of the Spirit. Being born again is a sovereign work of God.
The Bible says you need to be born again but it does not say make yourself born again. But what the Bible does say is repent, turn from your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every person must have a personal Pentecost, you must be born again.
Jesus said unless your born again you cannot see the kingdom of God.
So the Holy Spirit came to every believer. The wind, the fire and the tongues were unrepeatable, one off events but every believer receiving the Holy Spirit that is repeatable and it is the sign of being a Christian.
In verses 1-4 we have seen the first part of Jesus promise in fulfilled; “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...” The Holy Spirit was sent. He came at the appointed time and to every believer.
It is He who enables and equips the Church to fulfill its task of taking the Gospel to the nations.
In verses 5-13 we see the second part of Jesus’ promise being fulfilled. Jesus said “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
It is the Holy Spirit who enables and equips the Church to fulfil its task of taking the Gospel to the nations.
In V.5-13 we see; The Holy Spirit sends.
II. The Holy Spirit sends
II. The Holy Spirit sends
Believers were enabled by the Spirit.
Believers were enabled by the Spirit.
In this second part of the passage we see that the Holy Spirit equips and sends the believers out with the good news of Christ.
In this section we see two facts about the witness of the Church on Pentecost.
First we see that the Church was enabled by the Holy Spirit to witness.
Second we see a mixed reaction to the witness of the Church.
a) The Spirits enabeling
Firstly then we see the Spirits enableing.
In Verse 5-11 Luke records for his readers what took place after the Spirit came upon the believers.
In verse 5 Luke recalls the multitudes of people who had come to Jerusalem for the festival.
“Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.”
Then he explains what happened when the people heard the Christians speaking in their own languages. Verse 6 says “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”
The crowds of people had gathered together to see this amazing sight. They were amazed because each one heard the disciples speaking in their own native language.
Then verse 7 explains the reason for their astonishment. “And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?”
They were amazed because these Christians for the most part were Galileans and yet they were speaking fluently in foreign languages they had obviously never learned.
Its important for us to know the historical background behind this.
The Galileans were seen as people who were uncultured and uneducated. They were known for speaking with a strange accent and they struggled to pronounce certain words correctly.
Yet here were a group of Galileans speaking the native languages of all the nations represented there.
V.9-11 gives a long list moving roughly from east to west. “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”
Here on the day of Pentecost there were all these diverse nations represented and yet the believers, simple, uneducated, uncultured Galileans were speaking in their native dialects.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
What were they saying?
The end of verse 11 says “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God”
They were magnifying God but telling of his wonderful acts in creation and through out history.
How was this possible? Of course the answer is the Holy Spirit enabled them.
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The obvious application here is if the Holy Spirit can cause these Galileans to witness fluently in languages they had never learned. Surely He can enable every Christian in this room to be effective witnesses to the people around us.
Here all excuses about not being able to evangelise fall away.
Here every fear of not being smart enough finds its end.
If God can use these Galileans in this way, then He can use us to.
Here you have the second part of the promise of Christ fulfilled.
He said “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”
One of the reasons God sent the Holy Spirit was to enable Christians to take the Gospel to the nations.
That’s what Jesus says in and that is what is happening here.
This event on the day of Pentecost was a pattern of conduct for the Church. The Church started at it was meant to go on; sharing the good news of the Gospel with every people group under heaven.
We must ask;
How are we getting on?
There are 7078 unreached people groups, that’s a total of 3.15 billion people who have little or no access to the Gospel; that’s 41.4% of the worlds population who will probably die never even hearing the name of Jesus Christ let alone what he did for them upon the cross.
The task of taking the Gospel to the lost is still upon us today as it was upon the 120 believers gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.
The good news is that just as they were enabled to be effective witnesses by the Holy Spirit, we too have the Holy Spirit and God can use us the same way he used them.
The believers were enabled by the Holy Spirit.
We as Christians are called to
Finally we see the response to the Churches witness.
b)Reaction to the Churches witness
When this miraculous event took place on Pentecost there were two types of reactions.
One was positive and the other was negative.
Positive
In verses 5-13, Luke tells us five times that the people were amazed and perplexed.
Many of the people saw what was happening and were in wonder about what it all meant.
This miraculous event prepared them for the sermon preach by Peter, that follows in the rest of and at the end of this chapter 3000 souls were added to the Church, 3000 people put their faith in Christ.
The Holy Spirits work resulted in people being saved.
2. Negative
But not everyone responded in a way that was positive.
At the end of verse 13 we read “But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”.”
There was a group of people who mocked the witness of the Church.
They claimed that they were drunk.
They made fun of what was taking place. Even in the midst of such a great work of the Holy Spirit there was still a group of people who rejected the truth in scorn.
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This is exactly what we can expect to see today.
But the fact that this happened to the believers on Pentecost should be encouraging for us.
We know that the fault does not lie with us when people mock and scoff at our witness.
If they rejected the witness of the Apostles on the day of Pentecost who were miraculously speaking in languages they had never learned, some people will reject the truth no matter how we present the Gospel to them.
But what is also encouraging is that although some did mock, at the end of it there were 3000 people who were saved.
When we share the Gospel with our next door neighbour they might mock, or they might come under conviction of sin and turn to Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We started looking at this passage this morning with the task of the Church to witness to the lost in the world in our minds and the question how is it possible?
In our passage about the day of Pentecost we have learned how it was possible for the early church and how it is possible for us today.
Because of Pentecost we can fulfil the great commission, go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.
What are the encouraging truths that we learn from Pentecost?
Every believer receives the Holy Spirit. There are no second class Christians. Everyone who believes in Christ as their Lord and Saviour has been born again.
The Holy Spirit enables believers to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. God can enable Galileans to preach fluently in languages they have never learned and he can enable people like us to effectively share the Gospel with the Lost people in our world whether Locally or abroad.
There will be mixed reactions to the churches witness but people will be saved by the grace of God, and God will be glorified.
To sum up in a sentence Pentecost means that God has given every believer all that they need to share the Gospel with people who need to hear it. Jesus kept his promise in .
The question that I want us to leave with this morning is
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.