May 15, 2016

All Scripture from NIV unless otherwise documented.

Introduction:

“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 them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own 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 men 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 heaven 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.’” Acts 2: 1 – 21

Today is Pentecost Sunday. You may have noticed that the vestments have been changed to red and that there is a special offering envelope in your bulletin today, with one of the squares on it marked Pentecost. The special offering that is collected on Pentecost by the church goes to new church development in the Disciples of Christ denomination because the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts was the “official” beginning of the church.

In Judaism Pentecost had a different meaning. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek pentekostos meaning fifty. Like the word baptize, the word Pentecost is a transliteration from the Greek. Greek speaking Jews used this word in conjunction with one of the Old Testament Feasts, the Feast of Weeks, (Shavuot in Hebrew). Leviticus 23: 16 instructed the people to count out seven weeks or fifty days from the end of Passover to celebrate the harvest festival. (Exodus 23: 16) It was later associated with the giving of the law to Moses on Mt Sinai. (info from http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markdroberts/series/what-is-pentecost-why-does-it-matter/)

In the church, Pentecost comes 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

In Acts 1: 3 we read that Jesus appeared to the apostles over a period of forty days and then He ascended to heaven. (Acts 1: 9) In verse 4, Jesus told the apostles to stay in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit from God, and in verse 8 He told them that when the Holy Spirit came upon them, they would receive power to be His witnesses beginning in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 2 picks up the narrative 10 days later on the day of Pentecost.

The Apostles and other disciples were obedient to the instructions of Jesus. They stayed in Jerusalem and on the day of Pentecost they were all together in one place. Some have speculated that they were in the same upper room that they had been for the last supper but that is doubtful because the text seems to indicate that there were at least 120 disciples gathered together on that day. (Acts 1: 15) The text says they were all together in one place and a sound “like” the blowing of a violent wind came and filled the whole house where they were sitting. I don’t know whose house they were in, or if they were gathered in a courtyard that was part of the house complex, but that isn’t important. The important thing about this passage is that at this initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the other disciples that were present, three things took place that are noted by the author.

First was the sound like the blowing of a violent wind from heaven. There is no indication that there was a literal wind blowing through the household as there is no mention that anyone or anything was blown away or blown over, etc. But there was a definite sound that took place. Second there was “what seemed to be” tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. (120) First there was an audible manifestation of the Holy Spirit by the sound of a violent wind and then there was a visible manifestation of the Spirit in the form of fire. Fire has often been representative of the presence of God. The burning bush and the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the desert are two examples in the Bible. The reason that we light candles on the communion table each week is to represent a visible presence of God with us as we worship.

The third representation of the Holy Spirit we see on Pentecost was the speaking in tongues. I want you to notice something about this particular manifestation of tongues. All of the disciples present were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. In verses 5 – 11 we find that the Jews who were in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost were from all over. As the disciples spoke in tongues, the Jews heard them speak in their own languages. The disciples were primarily from Galilee, and spoke Greek and Aramaic, but the people present were from various regions and they were hearing them speak in their own language. The word translated tongues here is dialektos, the Greek word from which we get the word dialect. One definition of this word says that it is “a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.” You need to understand that this particular instance of tongues is not the same as described in First Corinthians which is generally understood as ecstatic utterances that are not in a known language.

Another noteworthy thing about this experience on the day of Pentecost is that the first two signs were done in private, in the house where the disciples were gathered, and the third sign evidently carried over to someplace outside and it attracted a large crowd of those who were in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavout. God used this sign of tongues to bring a large crowd of people together, and then Peter stood up with the other eleven disciples and addressed the crowd, probably in Aramaic or Greek. Peter began by explaining that the phenomenon they had just witnessed was prophesied by the prophet Joel. Notice the last line of Joel’s prophecy, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Peter then went on to share with them the message of the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. In verse 37 it says “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’”

When they heard the message of the Gospel, they were convicted by the Holy Spirit and responded to Peter’s message. Peter’s answer to them is the same as we preach today: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”

Verse 41 says that “Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

Conclusion: A little over 2,000 years have gone by and the Holy Spirit is still active in the lives of believers. We don’t all receive the Spirit with the sound of a violent wind or tongues of fire on our heads, and not everyone speaks in a different tongue. But if you read the New Testament through, you will notice that not everyone who received Christ as Lord and Savior had that same experience either. The only other mention that the manifestation of these gifts, (or at least the gift of tongues) may have been repeated was at the house of Cornelius, where the first Gentiles believed and Peter seems to indicate that this was a sign from God to him as a Jew that Gentiles too were to be a part of God’s kingdom. (Acts 10: 46 – 48)

Whatever your experience has been, trust that God has accepted you into His kingdom and that you have the Holy Spirit in you to help you to live for Jesus each and every day of your life, and that the Holy Spirit will help you to be a witness for Jesus to those who do not believe.