Pentecost: Before and After
We celebrate
• the birth of Jesus ……. celebrate Christmas .
• His resurrection, & most of the world recognizes Easter .
But today is Pentecost, & hardly anyone realizes it.
NOW, WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT ABOUT PENTECOST?
• this day is important, ….. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church,
• God has given us ….. Opportunity of being a part of it.
PENTECOST IS THE DAY THE CHURCH RECEIVED POWER
The day that……..
• The believers were empowered
• The Holy Spirit ……. exploded on the scene
• All were filled with the Holy Spirit
o The body of Christ was changed forever
• The turning point in Church history
Read with me….
Act 2:1-4 [NLT] On the day of Pentecost, seven weeks after Jesus' resurrection, the believers were meeting together in one place. (2) Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them, and it filled the house where they were meeting. (3) Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. (4) And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
Pentecost is ASSOCIATED WITH Power
Power can be used in at least two ways:
• it can be unleashed, or
• it can be harnessed.
Example:
• 50 litres of fuel
• The energy can be released explosively by dropping a match into the can.
• It explodes (big impact) and all the fuel is consumed…
o Some churches are like this
Church = People
o It is all about the Sunday experience
o Can’t wait to get to Church on Sunday!!!! God is there!!!
o Going to have this WOW experience….. that’s where it stops!!
o The rest of the week is dull…… nothing happens
On the other hand….
• Same 50 litres can be channelled through the engine of a motor vehicle in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 500 kilometres.
o It lasts much longer……
o It has ……”STAYING POWER”
o God is looking for a church that has sustainability
o iow….. a church that is constantly on fire
o People who are prepared to live Christ
Daily…… not just once a week!!!
• Explosions are spectacular… but controlled burns have a lasting effect, staying power
The Holy Spirit works both ways.
At Pentecost, He exploded on the scene; (as we’ve just read)
• “echos” -Of uncertain affinity; a loud or confused noise
Versus 5 –16 say….
• People from all cultures and languages
o Came running to hear and see what was going on
o All were amazed….
• Others mocked (similar to what the church is going through today)
• Peter steps forward….
o Says this was predicted years before (prophet Joel 2:28)
What was predicted about the church??
Act 2:17-21 [NLT] ‘In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. (18) In those days I will pour out my Spirit upon all my servants, men and women alike, and they will prophesy. (19) And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below- blood and fire and clouds of smoke. (20) The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn blood red, before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. (21) And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
The prediction was……
• The Holy Spirit will empower the church!!!
o His presence was like “tongues of fire”
o Thousands were affected and changed by one burst of God’s power.
o A mighty explosion – 3000 saved!!!
• But He also works continuously through the church
o God loves worship…
o fellowship, and service,
o Christians are empowered with staying power.
Consider this…
• How many of you have seen Weight Loss Ads in newspapers or magazines, .
• we see the Before picture, and then …… weeks or sometimes years later,
o We see the After Picture.
• the catch is …..
o the After picture is supposed to look a lot better than the before picture,
o …..the result is supposed to be better!!!
We focus…..
• On our weight…… and looks
o Important to us!!!
o We all want to be healthy
o …..even good looking …..or …. Younger looking …..(nothing wrong with that)
This morning……
• …. shift your focus from your physical self to your spiritual self for a few minutes.
Today….
• As we Celebrate Pentecost Sunday ……..with millions of Christians around the world,
o ….in a sense ….. the birthday of the Church.
o It is the after picture!!! That is important!!!
• The Day of Pentecost was the day that Jesus promised his disciples ….. He would send them a comforter…
• Someone to empower them to do great and might things for the kingdom of God.
• Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem, and so they did.
• They waited for 120 days and then God’s promise was fulfilled,
This day….. This event ….was the turning point in….
• the lives of the disciples,
• and for the church.
Now… Can you pick out a time or event in your life…where you can point,
• “That was a real turning point in my life.”
o You hear sport coaches use that terminology all the time.
When that happened…..
it was the turning point in the game!!!
• Maybe it was it was the day
o you first child was born. Life never was the same was it?
o you finally got the courage to ask Mrs Right out on a date.
o ….. you graduated from college or university!!
Can you think of such a day????
But……Turning points can be negative things also
o The day …..
o ….you had that car accident.
o … you found out a loved one had died.
o … the Doctor gave you the bad news.
We’ve all had turning points in our lives…..
o it’s almost a way of marking our way through this life.
This morning…
o God wants you to have a Turning Point in your Spiritual Life
o empower you to be more than you ever could dream of being on your own.
o He wants you to have a Spirit Led Life!
Consider: Ministry Moment
SOME COMMENTS REGARDING A SPIRIT LED LIFE!!
I believe that……
1. Word of God teaches us that unless we are living a life LED AND EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit we will not be able to live life to the fullest.
o We cannot experience the greatest things in life without it.
2. Word of God also teaches us that we will not reach our God given potential without being FILLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Saul of Tarsus,
one of the most feared men in the entire known world. Who was he feared by? Christians. Saul was on a mission, it was a crusade, and he thought it was a crusade for God.
There has been a lot of people who throughout history have done some horrible things thinking they were doing for God, when in reality they were fighting against him.
That is where we find Saul.
He has just got permission, not that he needed it, but you will notice Saul was a man who lived by a code.
Saul was on his way to Damascus to seek and persecute anyone who claimed to be a Christian, a follower of Christ.
Saul was one of the ones who had Steven stoned to death because he was a Christian.
There had been many others, and that’s why the Christians were afraid for their lives as He was on his way.
Fact is…. Sometimes in life….
• when we think we have all the plans just right,
• we’ve made all the right moves,
• we’ve taken every possible detail into account,
• Only to realise……
o God has other plans.
Saul had….
• everything planned,
• he was on a mission, a crusade,
• he was giving all he had to his job,
• and he was doing it with great passion.
Saul ran into one of these turning points that we have been talking about.
• You could say it was a God moment.
Look at Saul’s encounter with the Lord……. Read with me!!
Act 9:3-9 [NLT] As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him! (4) He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" (5) "Who are you, sir?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! (6) Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you are to do." (7) The men with Saul stood speechless with surprise, for they heard the sound of someone's voice, but they saw no one! (8) As Saul picked himself up off the ground, he found that he was blind. (9) So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days. And all that time he went without food and water.
Saul was knocked off his high horse…
• Encounter with the living God…
• He came face to face with the God he was persecuting….
• He was humbled in an instant (blinded)
• Now he didn’t have it all figured out
• In essence: He was just a blind man who needed God!!
I’ve come to realize that, ,.
• I’m just …..
o a blind man
• helpless without God in my life
• without Him:
o leading me,
o helping me,
o guiding my paths,
o my thoughts and my dreams
The Holy Spirit came to empower the church…
Question is: WHAT ROLE DOES THE HOLY SPIRIT PLAY IN YOUR LIFE? ….iow
When you make big decision, do you pray?
• Do you ask for God to help you ..
• Do you listen for the leading of the Spirit?
• ,,,,,
In my spiritual journey,
• the times when I feel the farthest from God,
• …are the times when I neglect, or quench the Holy Spirit.
• Not allowed the Holy Spirit to work ….in and through me!!
How do we do that?
1. Lack of prayer;
a. God’s Word tells us to always be in an attitude of prayer, in other words, we can always be ready to communicate with the Holy Spirit -- that’s what prayer is, -- talking to God.
Eph 6:18 NLT Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.
2. … Don’t study God’s Word.
a. It’s the Holy Spirit who teaches what the Word means, it’s the Spirit that uses the Word to convict, to encourage, to discipline, to instruct us. The Word of God is a vital tool of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Jos 1:8 MSG And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed.
3. Another way … is plain disobedience.
a. When we know God would have us do something, the Holy Spirit checks us, but yet we choose to do the opposite, that grieves the Holy Spirit, and it is also a sin.
Heb 4:11 NLT Let us do our best to enter that place of rest. For anyone who disobeys God, as the people of Israel did, will fall.
