Sunday Sermon - 05.04.08      Acts 2  “When the Spirit Comes”

 

 The host of a popular TV Show once conducted a "man-on-the-street" type interview in which he asked some young people questions about the Bible.

 "Can you name one of the 10 Commandments?" he asked two college-age women. One replied, "Freedom of speech?"  He said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let him who is without sin..." Her response was, "have a good time?"  He  then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?"  He confidently answered, "Pinocchio." 

 

 We laugh, but I wonder how many of those who sit in church services this morning, if they could answer the questions correctly,  how many understand the significance of the bible's teaching in our modern world and how it applies to them.

 

Sadly I see a lot of professing Christians whose behavior is no different than those who don't know God. I see them making the same poor choices again and again and messing up their lives and the lives of those around them, sometimes to a point beyond repair.   We're going to go to the word of God today to learn one of the keys to authentic Christian living .  

 

It's found in Acts 2. 

1—When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  2—Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  3—They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  4—All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

     5—Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  6—When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.  7—Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?  8—Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?  9—Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10—Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11—(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

 

     12—Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”  14—Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

 

Every one of us has a SPIRIT.  This is what makes us different from animals. Our spirit is formed within  & connects us with the spiritual world, then returns to the Creator at death to await judgment.     

Before conversion the spirit of man is cut off from God.  When a person turns from his sins and trusts in Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells his spirit;  without Jesus, a human spirit can become the habitation of demonic forces.  The Bible is very clear that spiritual forces of evil are all around us, invisible to the eye;  and even a Christian can be influenced & kept in bondage by this evil in the spirit realm.  So you see why it is so important that we become acquainted with the Holy Spirit.

 

1.    the Holy Spirit came when God decided:  Acts 2:1—When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  The word “Suddenly” means at the moment God chose.

 

 èThey WAITED & they were together (in agreement, believing their Savior would do what He had promised)  

When was the last time you waited upon God to fulfill His word?   Most, if not all, of the great REVIVALS in history began with a handful of people praying and waiting upon God!  Never underestimate the power of being of one mind and waiting upon the Lord. 

 

     2.  The Spirit of God came like a WIND:    “a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  His presence “filled the whole house!”     

 

è A WIND can symbolize POWER—We know about TORNADOS!  This word also means “breath,” or Spirit, and Genesis tells us the world was created by the breath of God—He SPOKE!    Adam received the breath of God that had been blowing over the waters, and he became a living soul. Now, at Pentecost, the wind of God is blowing once again, RE-creating old people into new ones!

 

     3.  The Spirit of God came like FIRE.   “They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”   

 

 FIRE is reminiscent of the “Hot coals” spoken of in Isaiah’s vision of God in His Heavenly Temple---and represents PURITY or CLEANSING…such as Gold refined in the fire.

      We read in Titus 3:5-6, “He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by the cleansing of the new birth and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out so richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

 

     4.  The Spirit of God came with ENABLING.   “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

 

     This enabling POWER was for a very specific  PURPOSE—for the spread of the GOOD NEWS of Eternal Life through Jesus Christ in WHATEVER LANGUAGE people may speak.  The POINT is that God will provide whatever we need to share our Hope in Christ.   Do you believe this?   I challenge you to put God to the test---say, “Lord Jesus, I want to obey your command to share the Gospel with my neighbors (or ___________).  Please lead me and show me how!”

 

     5.  The Spirit of God came to show GOD’S GLORY.    “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.  Each one heard them speaking in his own language.  — “we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 

 

It's important to note that "tongues" were known languages, given so that the Gospel could go out to people from all the known world.  God's spiritual gifts are always very practical, not just for "show," but to edify people in faith & faithfulness.

 

                                                                                                

    6.  The Spirit of God came to BRING SALVATION---(3,000 people were saved that day!)    There will ALWAYS be two RESPONSES  when God’s people begin to LIVE OUT what God has done.

 

 èThe FIRST is that some will say, “What does this mean?”  That is, they will be sincerely wanting to know if what they see is the REAL THING.  Is this truly a GOD THING, or is it a FARCE?  Is it all talk and no walk?  Can I really see God in this person?  In this Church? 

 

èThe SECOND response will be like those who made fun of those Christians.  “They must be drunk,” or some might say  “they must be crazy to believe that!” or “How can they be that happy and be normal?”   “How can they possibly believe somebody rose from the dead?”   

 

These are the people who will have no place in their heart for considering that God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.

 

Now I might add that some of the people in the second group might happen to be Church members, who have religion but deny its power.  And some of those in the FIRST group might be what society  calls “HOPELESS”  but who find TRUE hope in surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

 

In closing, I want to show you HOW ALL OF THIS FITS INTO GOD’S PLAN in HISTORY

 

When did the HOLY SPIRIT Come?  “Pentecost “  --one of the 7 feasts God commanded Israel to observe.    Let’s do a quick review of how the OT and NT come together in CHrist.

 PASSOVER was to remember the blood of the lamb which was shed to spare the Israelites from destruction of the first born on the eve of their liberation from EGYPT.  Jesus died on Passover as “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”                                                                                           

 

The day after PASSOVER was the feast of UNLEAVENED BREAD.  Leaven represents sin, and Jesus death brought forgiveness from sin within.   But as followers of Christ we are called to SEPARATE ourselves from sin in practical daily living, setting ourselves apart from the ways of the world in order to give ourselves completely to Jesus as Lord.   This is called SANCTIFICATION.

 

The next day they brought their FIRST FRUITS, showing that Christ was the “first fruit” from the dead— when He rose on the 3^rd day.  It also pictures the believer’s promise of a future resurrection when Christ comes the second time. 

 

Now it is the feast of PENTECOST---50 days after Passover, which marked the completion of the WHEAT HARVEST.  During this feast, God’s people were to present a WAVE OFFERING to the Lord---two loaves of bread baked with leaven.  This offering was an expression of the HEBREW’S DEPENDENCE on God for the harvest and for their daily bread.   So this was a thanksgiving offering.

 

The Lord Jesus fulfilled this Feast of Pentecost as He –from His exalted position at the right hand of the throne of God,  He sent the Holy Spirit upon those 120 disciples in Jerusalem.

 

Jesus spoke of Himself as the fulfillment of this feast in John 12:23-24:  “…the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of WHEAT falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

 

As the FIRST GRAIN of wheat, Jesus died, rose, ascended, was glorified, and sent the Holy Spirit.  Now, through the Holy Spirit entering into the lives of people who trust in Jesus, they began that very day, and we continue today, to see a “HARVEST” of people coming to know & trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

Not only are we involved in God’s harvest, but in the New Testament we are also called the body of Christ.  And what did Jesus use to represent His body?  Bread!  When we partake of the One who is the “Bread of Life,” we become ALIVE with His very presence through the Holy Spirit.  One final point--Paul also wrote that as the body of Christ, we are “ONE LOAF.”   He said, in I Corinthians 10:17, that “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” 

 

What assurance do you have that the Holy Spirit dwells within your spirit?  Do you desire to live in daily fellowship with the Holy Spirit?   The choice is yours:  go to God right now in full surrender, place your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.   If you already have this assurance, return to the Lord, confessing whatever sin is still undealt with, and then pursue Him through prayer & the Scriptures daily.  Then Watch what God will do!