Celebration Of Pentecost

Celebration of Pentecost

Acts chapter 2, John 10

Greeting-

Good morning everyone, it is good that you have come to worship.

I pray that you have an open heart and a willingness to let the Lord work in your life.

As all the churches prepare to reopen, each one uniquely facing their own challenges I am praying that we see a mighty move of His Spirit that brings a spark of revival to all and brings His presence into our hearts and allows him to do a good works!

Prayer-

Introduction-

I recently heard from a family that attended our church and moved three hours away a few years ago, because of the virus and churches having to quickly adapt their services, we went and put our sermons on social media and our church webpage. This allowed them to again connect with our church, but then they shared the service with a neighbor who cannot get out of the house because of physical limitations and now she is able to participate. I want to welcome those that are new to Rosedale and we are glad you are here and we look forward to the time that you will be able to worship with us.

Again Good morning -This morning is Pentecost Sunday-

Most Churches will be celebrating in some way, but most believers in those churches do not fully understand what Pentecost means.

There are a lot of churches in our area and around the world.

Some places have a church on every corner and most people pass them repeatedly throughout the week and do not enter them on Sunday.

The church is supposed to be the light in the city and make an impact to those people we come into contact with.

If we are suppose to be talking to people about the things of God, make an impact on their life for Christ, to get involved in their lives… How are we doing?

When you think Christmas, you think of the coming of baby Jesus.

When you think of the cross, you think of Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection.

But how many are interested or know the fact that Jesus went back to glory so that the Holy Spirit of God might come birth and empower His church.

Acts 1:8-

Jesus promises to give us power-“You will receive power”

We are promised power for the purpose of being his witness to this world.

That promise is to every believer.

On the day of Pentecost and every day after, the church of God should desire the presence of God in our life and willing to allow Him to empower us to do what we are called to do.

This morning scripture challenges all of us to allow the Lord to fill us with His Holy Spirit and for each of us that profess Christ to be a voice of the Good News in Christ.

Some believe that the Spirit of God only touches certain people…leaders, evangelist, people with a divine call on their lives, but that is not what scripture says.

God has touched what the world would call a nobody and made them somebody for the kingdom of God

The Old Testament as well as in the New Testament, we are told that the Spirit of God desire is to dwell (live within) in our lives.

There are certain things you can do in yourself because of talents, but there are certain things that God desires through you that will only be done if you allow the Holy Spirit to be working in and through your life.

Some of us read of God’s people in the bible doing great things and we believe that was “them” and this is “me”!

Before we read the text in Acts, I want us to look at what God word says about the working of the Spirit of God.

Genesis 1:1 you cannot start any earlier than the first verse of the Bible to see the Spirit of God working-

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, now the earth was formless (void) and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

At the time of the great flood- Genesis 6-7 God provided an ark of safety for Noah and his family to enter- the Spirit of God hovered over the ark so they would be safe.

6:18- “But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark.”

7:5- “Noah did as the Lord commanded.”

8:1- “God remembered Noah”

Then God Almighty says that mankind needs a redeemer- The ark was a picture of the coming Jesus as Savior.

Prophesied in the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14- “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son…”