Acts 2:1-13 – What is Pentecost? What happened on the day of Pentecost? Should Christians speak in tongues? Is the baptism of the Spirit separate from conversion? How can the Church grow? How can I receive the Holy Spirit? These and other questions in this weeks sermon from Scot’s Kirk, Newcastle….
Also available as audio only on the ASK podcast here –
Last weeks here – Act with Acts 4 – The Apostolic Church
And here are some of the notes….
There isn’t a country in the world where the Gospel has not been preached. Where Christ has not been proclaimed. How was that possible? A small group of people in a small country – could they even have imagined that? Think of the issues we face here – hwo can it be done…..? When we think only in human terms we either have false hope, or we despair. That is true of so many things in our lives. But the difference is what we look at today. This is what makes Christianity real – and moves it out of the realm of religious fantasy into real reality.
What are the great moments in history? Pentecost – great moments in history creation, the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, the second coming – and Pentecost.
What Does Pentecost Mean?
This is the ongoing work of Christ – It’s what he had promised. ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. (John 15:26-27)Note what the Spirit does – he testifies about Christ. He is the ultimate witness.
Pentecost equips the apostles and the church for the work Christ has called them to….the great harvest of humanity – the fishers of humanity. Pentecost means 50th. It was 50 days after the Passover feast. It was known as the feast of harvest (Exodus 23:16) or the feast of weeks (Exodus 34:22) 22 ‘Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel” This was at the beginning of June…
Its historical and its harvest. The harvest aspect is important. It usually came after the harvest came in. This is significant for this Pentecost. It is the anticipation of a greater harvest. How appropriate that 3,000 came in on that first day!
Bringing in the harvest. Have you ever worked on a farm? You plough, you sow, you remove rocks and weeds, you watch and pray…the corn begins to grow, it matures and then one day you harvest – and you are standing in a barn with tonnes of corn….
Our vision is so limited. How do we preserve the corn we have? No – it needs to fall into the ground and die…and then produce fruit some 30 times, some 60, some 100.Do we see the fields white for harvest?
Pentecost is the beginning of the era of the Spirit – They had been waiting, praying, teaching and now are in one place – probably one of the temple rooms…
Stott calls it the first revivial – the deep conviction of sin, sense of awe, widespread conversions….
Read of the great revivals – Jonathan Edwards in the US. The Welsh revival. The Hugenouts in France. The Korean Pentecost. The Lewis revival – in Australia the new century began with the largest evangelistic campaigns in Australia’s history. R. A. Torrey arrived in Melbourne (April 1902) following successful evangelistic tours in Japan and China. Attendances totalled a quarter of a million each week when the population of the whole of Victoria was only one million. Meanwhile, in 1902/3 a tent mission crusade throughout 200 country towns of NSW reported 25,000 inquirers.Stuart Piggin – Today’s aborigines, who number about 150,000 in Australia, are experiencing revival, with some of their own movements emerging. There has been a change in the tone of communities touched by revival: less drunkenness, petrol sniffing, and fighting; greater conscientiousness in work; an increased boldness in speaking out against social injustices. At the Anglican Roper River Mission (Ngukurr) which had been reduced to a social disaster area by the granting of a liquor licence, the revival, which began in 1979, came as a form of social salvation. Sister Edna Brooker exclaimed: ‘New life has come to Ngukurr. Half the population say they have turned to Christ and the transformation from alcohol, petrol sniffing and immorality is very wonderful’ (Boyd 1986).
At Warburton in Western Australia 500 came to the Lord and were baptized. At Wiluna crime dropped to zero and the local publican had to put on free beer to entice people back into his pub.
What happened at Pentecost?
blowing of a violent wind. Spirt, wind and breath is the same word in Hebrew – Ruach and peneuma for Greek.
Think of Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.
Ezekiel 37: Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.” ’ 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
The breath of God – something new – something fresh – something blowing away the cobwebs….
John 3: Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, “You must be born again.” 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit
Another way to think of this is that it cannot be controlled. Mysterious and uncontrollable.
Tongues of Fire – 3 – Fire was a symbol of the presence of God. A pillar of fire led the church through the wilderness. Think of the burning bush with Moses. These were special but now this is for everyone. Luke 3: 16 John answered them all, ‘I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Fire -fire of judgement – which Jesus took.Rev 21:8 – the eternal fire of Hell.
Sinclair Ferguson “Part of the symbolism of the tongues of fire which the disciples saw on the day of Pentecost may well lie in the hint that this is a baptism of gracious rather than of destructive power because of the judgement which Christ had vicariously borne in his passion”.
This is the presence of God’s glory.
Tongues – Miracle of hearing or a miracle of speaking?
They were real languages – v.11. Not like 1 Corinthinas 12-14
The reversing of the Tower of Babel – Genesis 10 lists the nations….which are broken up – here there is unity. This is making disciples of all nations.
Perhaps the ability to speak in other tongues was another qualification for being an apostle?
This is evangelism ..The heart of Christ is for mission. Look at the list…Parthians, Medes, Elamites Mesoptamia were all Jews East of Judea. Spoke Aramaic. The earliest dispersion of Jews. – Cappadocia etc – was Turkey- large Jewish communities. Egypt and Libya – again the Jewish diaspora. Philo thought there were one million Jews in Egypt. Especially in Alexandria. Rome – only Europeans. Africa – Cretans and Arabians.
Revelation 7 – 9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
Question – How to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Acts 1:4 – All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. Believe in Jesus – all believers are baptized in the Spirit. Is this baptism of the Spirit? Yes – see 1:5. But this is the birthday of the Church – from that time on all believers are baptized in the Spirit. Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
The coming of the Spirit restores what is broken – it is recreated. If you want to be filled with the Spirit you come to Christ.
Look at the reactions – amazement, awe, the power of God – but also fear and mockery. Drunk. There was confusion…incomprehension…….Peter takes the opportunity to go on and explain….when did we last have to explain what was happening – in a positive sense?!
They are filled with new wine….compare with Ephesians 5 ….Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Lets take these three things – do we not need the power of God, the glory of God and the desire and ability to share the good news? Wind, fire, divinely inspired utterance. If we are going to be filled, we need to recognize we are empty. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Note the triune aspect – the Father plans, the Son dies, the Spirit comes.
Charles Wesley – O Thou who camest from above, the pure celestial fire to impart. Kindle a flame of sacred love on the mean altar of my heart! Jesus,, confirm my heart’s desire To work, and speak , and think for Thee. Still let me guard the holy fire, And still stir up They gift in me.