May 11, 2008
Pentecost (Red)
All scriptures marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Ac 2:1-13). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Let Us Pray
While I was in Kuwait, I watched several times in the DFAC the coverage of the Pope’s arrival to the US. This was Pope Benedict’s first visit to the States. There was much said about this visit. And there were several Catholic Masses celebrated in stadiums in Washington and New York.
America rolled out the red carpet for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Our country has had similar welcoming celebrations, maybe not always this large, for other world figures that arrive on our shores.
Have you ever been to a ceremony where a high ranking public figure was welcomed? Maybe it was a Four Star General making a visit. Maybe it was a Governor of your State. I was once at the Southern Baptist Convention when the President came to speak.
It is always amazing to me to see the activities surrounding the arrival of important figures to an area or to visit a group of people.
We open our Bible this morning to the second chapter of Acts. This is the story of Pentecost. This passage describes the arrival of the Holy Spirit into the World.
Jesus had promised that he would be sending a comforter which is the Holy Ghost, and, quoting from John 14:26;
“whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (Jn 14:26, ESV)
And here at Pentecost is where the promise is made complete.
Look with me at Acts 2:1-13.
2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” (Ac 2:1-13, ESV).
As we look at this passage today, we see how the Holy Spirit came down to the people of God and how the Holy Spirit moved through the community.
This is a great passage to look at on our first Sunday of the deployment—because this is exactly what we need to be seeing on this FOB, in this service, and in our units, throughout this year.
We need to see the Holy Spirit descend on us here and move through our community.
I pray that this morning, we will all walk away with a greater understanding of what the Holy Spirit can mean in a community and how to meet the challenges that lay before us.
The very first observation that I take away from this passage is that upon the introduction of the Holy Spirit
1. The people came together.
At the beginning of the story, in verse two, we find the disciples twelve disciples gathered together and we are not told particularly where exactly they were. Then we see, in verse 5 that there are
“devout men from every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:5, ESV)
All over the world, there are worshipers of the Most Holy God dwelling in Jerusalem.
Then the Spirit moves.
Verse 6:
6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. (Acts 2:6, ESV)
Each of these devout people, gather together at the sound of the Holy Spirit rushing in.
Isn’t it amazing to how people will flock to see someone of impprtance?
Last week was the running of the Kentucky Derby. I lived in Louisville for several years and the Derby is a crazy time for the city, especially the night before. The night before is when all of the celebrity parties happen. Throughout the day, people flock to these party locations looking for the best spot to see the celebrities on their annual pilgrimage to the Derby. I was always amazed by the crowds that would come out to see them.
Here, the devout people that are in Jerusalem here the sound of the Holy Spirit rushing in. They flock to see it—and they find other believers gathered together to praise God and to tell of His greatness.
We need to be a people that gather together, to praise God. We also need to be a people that gather together to seek the Lord’s face.
Jesus said;
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
(Mt 18:20, ESV)
When two or more are gathered in Jesus name it is something exciting--something of power and of hope. We need to be a people that come together to seek the face of God.
The Bible, in Hebrews 10:25, says not to neglect to meet together with other believers. This is a principle that we need to exercise here on the FOB. If you want to be apart of something big, if you want to be apart of something very powerful, if you want to see the Spirit move through this Brigade during this year—do not neglect the opportunities for worship.
There are different types of worship services available to conform to accommodate your needs as a believer—but do not neglect gathering together with other believers.
The second observation from this passage about the Holy Spirit is that the people are
2. Telling the mighty works of God (v11)
11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:11-12, ESV)
Here the people were proclaiming the great works of God. Here there was rejoicing and excitement. They had all gathered together and they found that there were others proclaiming the wonderful works of God.
Many times people get focused on idea of the people speaking in tongues. And this is important, because what we see happening is the people of God being able to communicate the gospel to all people regardless of what language they speak. But, this is minor compared to what was being said.
Today, we speak through many different means; we have NIPR, SIPR, VOIP, Satellite, Breeze, VTC, and occasionally we actually may walk across the hall and talk. While we can spend all of is time marveling at the methods that we have of communication—the most important element is what is being said. And the same is true here.
It is notable that the people were speaking in other tongue—but what was being said is much more important they were telling of the mighty works of God! That God had sent His own Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty of sin. That Jesus rose from that grave for our justification, defeating Satan in is plan to doom humanity in an eternal spiral of sin. The Holy Spirit came to be a counselor and comforter to us; to help us through this life and to speak the message of hope to the world. These are the mighty works of God—this message is the focus of our attention and worthy to be spread throughout the world.
As we seek to be filled with the Spirit in our own lives, give credit were credit is due. God is doing wonderful things in our lives. We may not even see the miracles that are happening right before our eyes. We need not be shy about praising God for these miracles.
Examine your life, God brought you here for a purpose—I’m sure of it. Praise God for it. You may be unhappy here. You may have been stop lossed or had other reasons to avoid the deployment. But, you are here and it is no accident. We need to be a people that look at the circumstances and see God’s hand at work.
The third observation, I find in this passage is
3. Mocking and Disbelief (v13)
13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”
(Acts 2:13, ESV)
There are always those who mock and discourage the movement of the Holy Spirit. You may be doing it now, after I asked you to look at the circumstances and see God’s hand at work.
We are a critical people. Sometimes this is not a bad thing. We need to constantly check and recheck our beliefs and allow ourselves to be refined.
I heard of an employee of accounting firm proposed a motto for her firm, it read:
“In God We Trust. All Others We Audit.”
(Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations.Garland TX: Bible Communications.)
This is who we are, so why should we be surprised when others mock us? We need to expect others to mock and disbelieve. This shouldn’t come to surprise you in any way.
Our strategy needs to be that we are ready to have an answer.
1 Peter 3:15 says:
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, (1 Pe 3:15, ESV).
When we are ready to give an answer, we know the answer to the questions. We have already been the auditor. We have already asked the questions and found the answers. Does this mean that you have to have it all figured out? No—we will never have it all figured out, that is why we call it faith—something we must simply believe that it is true. But we can give an answer to the hope that is within us. And that hope is Christ.
So don’t be discouraged by those who mock and disbelieve. We should expect that there will be mockers and unbelievers. They, by the way, are not the enemy. As a community of believers, we need to be people who proclaim the great things that God is doing. In that, we will face opposition. Some will think that we are drunk or crazy. Our job is to stay the course and cling to the hope that we have in Christ.
This teaches us as well that there will be challenges in life. Simply the fact that we have the Holy Spirit does not guarantee smooth sailing. There will be challenges.
We should expect them. That doesn’t make our faith less true. The Holy Spirit had just rushed through this group of people—the people were speaking in other languages, but there were still those who mocked. Their mocking didn’t make this event less significant, nor less true. We will face challenges, but that doesn’t make the fact that the Holy Spirit holds us in hands less true. We need to expect the challenges and the mockers and the unbelief and cling to the faith that we hold so dear.
On that Pentecost day, the devout were filled with the Holy Spirit. He came down from heaven to dwell in their lives.
We have seen this morning that His arrival was met with believers coming together, the proclamation of the great works of God, and the resistance of the mockers.
What difference is the arrival of the Holy Spirit going to make in your life?
Are you going to look for the opportunity to gather with others?
Are you going to proclaim the great works of God in your life?
Are you going to face the challenges with the faith and hope that you can have an answer for?
Or are you going to let today pass like every other Sunday?
The Bile teaches that the Holy Spirit is active in our world today.
He creates and gives life, reproves, comforts, helps our infirmities, teaches, guides, and sanctifies. (Adapted from Torrey, R. (1995, c1897). The new topical text book.)
He dwells in the lives of the believers of Jesus Christ.
And He can be active in your life as well.
In verse 38, we see how to receive the Holy Spirit in our lives. Verse 38 reads--
38 And Peter said to them, “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. (Ac 2:38, ESV)
To receive the Holy Spirit, we must receive Christ. We do that be first understanding that we are all sinners. Sin is anything you think, say, or do that makes God unhappy—and we all do this.
Next, we must understand that there is a penalty for this sin, and that is death. Because of our sin, we deserve death and hell. However, Christ died on a cross to pay this penalty. He died in our place. That is how your sins are forgiven and wiped away—simply but accepting the payment as your own. And you can do that this morning right where you are sitting. Simply trust in Christ to be the provider of forgiveness of your sin.
And as Peter said:
…“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. (Ac 2:38, ESV)
Let us pray.
