Pentecost: The Arrival Of The Holy Spirit (Part 1) Series

PENTECOST: The Arrival Of The Holy Spirit

Part 1

Acts 2:1-4

In his second Epistle, the Apostle Peter wrote that God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature”. God has given His children many wonderful promises; one of the greatest is the promise that His Holy Spirit will indwell believers. Many wonderful benefits come to those who possess the Spirit of God. If you are saved then you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. If you do not have the Holy Spirit within you, then you are not saved. This fact is recorded in Romans 8:9 where Paul says “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the process by which God takes a believer and places Him in the Body of Christ, the Church. When one experiences this “baptism” his life will never be the same. There is an amazing transformation that comes when the Holy Spirit moves into one’s life.

- In Acts Chapter 2 we are given the details surrounding the arrival of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This chapter not only chronicles the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit, it also tells us about the birth of Christ’s Church. We are a part of that Church and it is important for us to know how the Church began. I would like to examine this passage and preach on the subject of “Pentecost: The Arrival Of The Holy Spirit”. Beginning in verses 1-4 we will see that:

I. THE ARRIVAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TRANSFORMED THE BELIEVERS

The main characters in the first few verses of Chapter 2 were Believers. These were the faithful few who had trusted in Christ and believed that He was the Messiah. Many of these Believers were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ and all of them had faith in Jesus. In the previous chapter these 120 believers were gathered in one accord, praying and waiting for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Among this assembly were the 12 Apostles, the women who followed Jesus, Mary (His mother), the half-brothers of Jesus and others. Before we examine the content of verses 1-4, I would like to begin by considering:

1. THE PROMISE THAT THE BELIEVERS RECEIVED BEFORE THE SPIRIT ARRIVED

In Acts 1 we are told that the Disciples were assembled with Jesus and He “commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me, for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:4-5)

Christ’s followers had been given a promise that they would be “baptized with the Holy Spirit”. They were not given an exact timeframe, but they were instructed to wait in Jerusalem until the promise was received. The following verses show us:

A. THEIR OBEDIENCE

After Jesus promised them that they would be baptized by the Holy Spirit, the Believers left the Mount of Olives and returned to the upper room where they were staying. When they were assembled they carried out the first business meeting of the Church and selected Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot. For ten days they waited and prayed together. We not only see the obedience of the Believers, we also see:

B. THEIR UNITY

v1b When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

These 120 faithful followers of Christ were gathered together in “one accord”. Among those 120 Believers, there were many different people from many different locations and backgrounds. There were certainly many differences among these people but they were gathered together in unity and harmony. This was possible because their sole focus was the Lord Jesus Christ.

The church today is comprised of people from very different backgrounds. We are not all of the same race, gender or nationality. Some are rich, some are poor, some are young and some are old. There are many things about us that are different, but we are able to assemble together “in one accord” because we share the common bond of Jesus Christ. Unity was an important part of the success of the early church and it is vital to the success of the church today. We are so blessed to have a spirit of unity within this local assembly. Like the Psalmist, we can testify that it truly is “good and pleasant when brethren dwell together in unity!”

Satan loves to sow seeds of discord among God’s people; when he succeeds in destroying the unity of a church it hinders and sometimes halts the progress of that specific church. The members of the early church show us the importance of dwelling together in unity; because they were in one accord, they were prepared to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. If we hope to see God move in and among our assembly, we must ensure that we too are dwelling in unity.