Today is Pentecost Sunday. The name Pentecost comes from the Greek word which means fiftieth. For Christians Pentecost is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter which is also fifty days after Easter, hence the name Pentecost Sunday. Since its date depends on the date of Easter, Pentecost is a moveable feast, that is, the date is not fixed. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish Feast of Weeks. Pentecost is often described as the day the church was born.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:1-4
The Presence of the Lord Power for evangelism Victory of the Harvest A pattern for doing God’s workScripture
Acts 2:1-21 NIV When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” 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. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “ ‘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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Introduction
Tomorrow is Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day. It is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. From 1868 to 1970, it was always observed on May 30. In 1971, Congress standardized the holiday as "Memorial Day" and changed its observance to the last Monday in May. Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial beginning of summer in the United States.
Today is Pentecost Sunday. The name Pentecost comes from the Greek word which means fiftieth. For Christians Pentecost is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter which is also fifty days after Easter, hence the name Pentecost Sunday. Since its date depends on the date of Easter, Pentecost is a moveable feast, that is, the date is not fixed. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish Feast of Weeks. Pentecost is often described as the day the church was born.
Text:
Acts 2:1-4 NIV When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Our scripture and our text this morning comes from Acts 2 which records what happened on Pentecost. It was an awesome historic event that changed the church forever. It was the day the Holy Spirit came into the life of the church. It happened just as definitely as Jesus’ birth and resurrection, and the believers were never the same as a result of it. The church really became the church at Pentecost.
We don’t need Pentecost again as such, just as we don’t need Jesus’ birth, death, or resurrection to occur again. But we constantly need the person of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, in control of our lives and the church.
Acts 2 is a fascinating chapter of Scripture. It has much to teach us as a church if we are to really know the Holy Spirit of Pentecost. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is something special.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there are four results.
The Presence of the Lord
Power for evangelism
Victory of the harvest
A pattern for doing God’s work
I. First Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the presence of the Lord.
On Pentecost there was a sudden and strange awareness of supernatural happenings. A sound from heaven like a mighty, rushing wind filled the house where the Christ followers were waiting, and tongues of fire came to rest on each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages they had not previously learned. The crowd that heard them speaking was amazed. A very special moment in God’s eternal plan was taking place—the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was entering a new temple. He was entering the believers.
Exodus 40:34-35 NIV Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
The tabernacle in the wilderness was just an empty tent until the glory of the Lord filled it.
1 Kings 8:10-11 NIV When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
The temple of Solomon was an empty building until the glory of the Lord filled it.
Today, the Lord has filled a new temple, not one of skins and tapestries which was what the tabernacle was built of or of stones and ornaments, like the temple built by Solomon, but. He has filled His new temple, the church and Christ is the foundation,
1 Corinthians 3:11 NIV For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Christ is the foundation and born-again believers are the living stones.
1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit began to indwell all believers just as the glory of God had filled the tabernacle and the temple with his awesome presence! He indwells the church because he dwells in each believer in a personal, intimate way.
John 14:15-17 NIV “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Ephesians 2:21-22 NIV In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the manifestation of his power and the awarenessof his holiness in relation to sin. This is what the mighty wind and tongues of fire represent. It is personal to those who sense that something wonderful is happening, and at the same time it is perplexing to many who do not know the Lord.
Acts 2:12-13 NIV Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
II. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is power for evangelism.
The day of Pentecost reveals that the Holy Spirit uses and blesses two primary methods of evangelism.
A. The first method is personal witnessing.
Acts 1:8 NIV says But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 2:4 NIV All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Then Acts 2:11 NIV says……we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
The early believers did not receive the fullness of the Spirit to give them a spiritual uplift, but rather to make them powerful witnesses and equip them for service.
Not all of us have the gift of evangelism, I don't have it, but every Christian is a witness! You need the Holy Spirit before you are able to witness personally.
Acts 4:31 NIV After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
After being filled they were able to witness boldly
B. The first method of evangelism is personal witnessing the second method of evangelism revealed on Pentecost is powerful preaching.
Acts 2:14 NIV 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.
The scripture says that Peter stood up and raised his voice. He preached powerfully with the Spirit in control.
When you witness with the Spirit in control it
1. Leads people to repentance
Acts 2:37 NIV When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
2. When you witness with the Spirit in control, Your witness is anointed
Acts 2:4 NIV All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
3. When you witness with the Spirit in control, you are bold and your witness honors Christ.
Acts 2:22-24 NIV “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
The Holy Spirit still honors these two methods of evangelism today, personal and powerful witnessing.
III. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is victory of the harvest.
Here’s what I’m talking about.
Luke 10:1-2 NIV After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Pentecost was called the Feast of Harvest and celebrated the summer harvest. It was on that day as recorded in the book of Acts that the Holy Spirit harvested three thousand souls.
Acts 2:40-41 NIV With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The number three thousand, itself was significant because that was how many were killed on the day that Moses brought the law down from Mount Sinai and found the people worshiping the golden calf.
Exodus 32:22-28 NIV “Do not be angry, my Lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him. Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’ ” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
Here's the point. The letter of the Law kills; the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:6 CEV He makes us worthy to be the servants of his new agreement that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from a written Law. After all, the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
This is the age of the Spirit. God is still harvesting souls. We are still under the order of Pentecost. Through Billy Graham’s ministry 3.2 million came to Christ. There are large evangelistic events throughout the world today where thousands are saved. Just because we don’t see it in the United States or Europe doesn't mean it isn't happening.
According to the World Christian Encyclopedia most of the net growth in the numbers of Christians is in Africa, Latin America and Asia. For example in 1900, there were only 8.7 million adherents of Christianity in Africa; now there are 390 million, and it is expected that by 2025 there will be 600 million Christians in Africa. Over the past four decades Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere in the world. Even in India, where we have a ministry partner The Philadelphia Ministries, where over 90% of the people are Hindu there are nearly 30 million Christians. So you see the harvest of the Holy Spirit is happening throughout the world.
IV. And finally where the Spirit of the Lord is there is a pattern for doing God’s work.
We can use the first century church as our model for a church that does things God’s way
First There was the atmosphere of the first century church. The new believers had a fear, a reverence of the Lord, an awareness that God was at work.
Acts 2:43 NIV Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
B. The church was involved in certain very important activities
1. There was teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper and there were meals together (we are going to fellowship and eat together today), and there was prayer.
Let’s read
Acts 2:42 NIV They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
C. There was the atmosphere of the first century church in which they had a reverenance for God, then they precipitated in certain criticle activities then there were the attitudes of those in the first century church.
There were attitudes of generosity, oneness of spirit, gladness, praise and favor.
Acts 2:44-47 NIV All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
D. The end result of this atmosphere of reverence, critical activities and their attitude toward each other was additions to the body of Christ, the church.
Acts 2:46-47 NIV Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The Lord continually builds his church, and as the church grows, believers join together in a spirit of enthusiasm and excitement.
Conclusion
One thing for us to keep in mind It is not the size of the church that counts, but the working of the Spirit.
Let’s pray,
Lord, touch us with the freshness of your Holy Spirit. Work in us and through us for your glory! In Jesus name Amen
