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.
- These Believers were obedient, they were unified and they were an expectant people. Notice:
C. THEIR ANTICIPATION
The followers of Christ were anticipating a great move of God. They could not have known exactly what would happen when the Spirit arrived, but they believed the promise that the Holy Spirit would come upon them. The arrival of the Holy Spirit was the fulfilment of Bible prophecy. Many years earlier the prophet Joel spoken of the promise of the Spirit, that promise was partially fulfilled at Pentecost.
John the Baptist had spoken about the promise of the Spirt. He said in Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.)
- Jesus spoke of the promise of the Spirit before His death and then again just before He ascended to Heaven.
John 14:16 I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
John 16:7 nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Acts 1:5 …John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
The arrival of the Spirit that had been predicted by the prophets and promised by Jesus was now a reality. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the Believers who were gathered in Jerusalem.
“Pentecost” refers to “the Feast of Weeks” that is spoken of in Ex. 34:22-24“…you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the LORD God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year.” This festival is also called “the Feast of Harvest” and it is spoken of in - Leviticus 23:16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.
The Feast of Weeks (or Harvest) was the second of the three annual harvest festivals observed by the Jews. The other two festivals were Passover & the Feast of Tabernacles. Pentecost means “fiftieth” it was celebrated 50 days after Passover. The people of Israel would travel to Jerusalem to observe these three annual feasts. During the festival of Pentecost God’s people brought Him the first gatherings of their harvest. This was an act of thanksgiving and expectation. The idea was that by being faithful to bring God the first-fruits of their harvest, He would respond by giving the rest of the harvest as His blessing. This is a great picture of what God did in His church on the Day of Pentecost, for it was on this day that the first-fruits were offered that the Holy Spirit arrived. This is fitting because there was a great harvest of souls gathered into the church on the Day of Pentecost; these new converts were the “first-fruits” of a full harvest that was to come. The three thousand souls who came to faith in Christ were only the beginning of a great multitude that would come to know Christ and be joined together through the work of the Holy Spirit. It is exciting to know that we are part of this harvest and the Lord is still increasing that number of souls today.
- As God’s people were gathered together, praying in one accord, something amazing happened. Notice:
2. THE SOUND THAT THE BELIEVERS HEARD WHEN THE SPIRT ARRIVED
v2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
In John 3:8, Jesus compared the work of the Holy Spirit to the wind; He said: “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Here in Acts 2:2, Luke says that this work of the Holy Spirit was like a “rushing mighty wind”; this was no gentle morning breeze, the Spirit descended with great power! One of the consequences of this mighty rushing wind was that it garnered the attention of the multitude gathered in Jerusalem; as a result they came to where the followers of Christ were assembled to see what was happening. There is no way that they could have predicted what would follow.
When the Holy Spirit arrived “divided tongues of fire” sat upon each of the believers. These “tongues of fire” represent the holy presence of God. God used this appearance of divided tongues to illustrate the reality that He had sent His Holy Spirit upon each believer. In other words, this was an outwardly visible manifestation of the inward work that God had performed in the lives of His people. The promise that Jesus had made to His followers before His ascension has now been fulfilled, the Holy Spirit filled every believer. The Believers were filled with the Spirit, spoke in different languages and astonished the Jews who were witnesses of this miraculous event.
Those of us who have been saved have been baptized with the same Holy Spirit that we read about in these verses. We have received this great gift that was spoken of by the prophets and promised by Jesus. We have been baptized in the Spirit and we are to be filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit. The verses and chapters that follow show us what God can do with people who are in the Spirit. The early Church experienced great growth and success; we have the opportunity to experience the same things today. As Christians, we have been saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit; like the members of the early church we have been given the responsibility of being witnesses of Christ in this world.
Have you experienced what those believers experienced? Have you been “baptized in the Spirit?” Again I remind you that the Bible says that if you do not have the Sprit, you do not belong to God! (Romans 8:9 “…Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”) If you do not belong to Christ, this very chapter shows you how that you can be saved. Some of the Jews who were in Jerusalem heard Peter’s message and were convicted of their sins. They asked him “what shall we do? Peter replied “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” I encourage you to do what 3,000 people did on the day of Pentecost; repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, follow through with believer’s baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. A great multitude was transformed when the Holy Spirit arrived, and you can be transformed today!
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