SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). The Day of Pentecost (vs 1a)
(2). The Believers Together (vs 1b)
(3). The Coming of the Spirit (vs 2-4)
(4). The Reaction of the Crowd (vs 5-13)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
One stormy night an elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room:
• The clerk said they were full;
• And they would probably find so were all the hotels in town.
• “But I can’t send a fine couple like you out in the rain,
• would you be willing to sleep in my room?”
• The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted.
• The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said,
• “You’re the kind of man who should be managing the best hotel in the United States.
• Someday I’ll build you one.”
• The clerk smiled politely.
• And the couple left and that seemed to be that…
• A few years later the clerk received a letter containing and an aeroplane ticket;
• The letter invited him to visit New York.
• When the clerk arrived, his host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street,
• Where stood a magnificent new building.
• “That,” explained the man,
• “Is the hotel I have built for you to manage.”
• The man was William Waldorf Astor,
• And the hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria.
• TRANSITION: William Waldorf Astor was a man who kept his promise;
• This chapter is the fulfilment of a promise.
• On the eve of his crucifixion Jesus reassured his troubled disciples with a promise;
• He promised that ‘another helper’ (‘Spirit of truth’) would come.
• Up to this point the disciples had only seen the Holy Spirit externally.
• But soon they would experience him internally.
• As Jesus told them; He “will be in you”.
• Forty days after the cross and resurrection of Jesus from the dead;
• He has appeared to the disciples several times,
• At the end of forty day period just before he ascended back into heaven;
• Jesus repeated his promise, giving a few more details.
• In Acts chapter 1 verses 5 & 8a:
“For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit...’
8...But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
• Jesus made a promise to his disciples;
• And in Acts chapter 2 verses 1-13 – he kept it!
Note:
• Although Jesus told them what would happen;
• He did not tell them how;
• Nor did he tell them exactly when.
• So despite the warning they were all taken by surprise!
(1). The Day of Pentecost (vs 1a)
“When the day of Pentecost came…”
• There were three great Jewish festivals on the Jewish calendar;
• Every male Jew living within twenty miles of Jerusalem;
• Was legally bound to come and attend these great occasions.
• They were Passover:
• Which celebrated the Jews freedom from slavery in Egypt.
• There was Pentecost:
• Which is the feast we will look at in a moment.
• There was Tabernacles: Which commemorates the forty-year period;
• During which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters.
Pentecost is the festival mentioned in verse 1:
• Our English word “Pentecost” is a transliteration of the Greek word ‘pentekostos’,
• Which means “fifty.”
• But Christians did not invent the phrase “fiftieth day.” Or “Pentecost”;
• Rather, they borrowed it from Greek-speaking Jews;
• Who used the phrase to refer to a particular Jewish holiday.
• This name comes from an expression in the book of Leviticus chapter 23 verse 16:
• Which instructs people to count seven weeks or “fifty days”
• From the end of one Jewish holiday called ‘Passover’;
• To the beginning of the next holiday called ‘Pentecost’
• i.e. A bit like us counting the days between Christmas Day & New Year’s day (only 6)
Note:
• Jews refer to this holiday we call ‘Pentecost’ as the ‘Festival of Weeks’,
• Or, more simply, ‘Weeks’ (‘Shavuot’ in Hebrew).
• It is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan;
• (for us Gentiles that is around late May or early June).
Now this feast or festival has two meanings; one agricultural and the other historical.
• FIRST: Agricultural:
• Shavuot was originally a harvest festival (Exodus chapter 23 verse 16).
• It was a celebration of the grain harvest.
• When seven weeks, worth of harvest had been gathered in.
• SECOND: Historical:
• Towards the end of the inter-testamental period (the Old & New Testaments):
• It began to be observed as another anniversary:
• A day to commemorate the giving of the ‘Torah’ or the Law on Mt. Sinai.
• Because this was reckoned to have taken place fifty days after the Exodus.
• i.e. The word ‘Torah’ (which means "Instruction" or "Teaching")
• i.e. It is sometimes called the ‘Pentateuch’ (which means “five books”)
• The first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy & Leviticus.)
Ill:
• Please notice that the holiday is called by Jews the time of the ‘giving’ of the Torah,
• Rather than the time of the ‘receiving’ of the Torah.
• Jewish Rabbis are keen to point out:
• That we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah,
• i.e. we receive it every day, each time we read it or hear it.
• But the Law was given to us by God at this time.
• And so it is always the ‘giving’, not the ‘receiving’, that makes this holiday significant.
• While there’s no official mention of ‘Shavuot’ in the Bible,
• The story of the giving of the Torah begins in Exodus 19 and continues from there:
Notice: Both of these meanings would not be lost on the first Christians:
• FIRST:
• It was on this special day (‘Pentecost’ or ‘Festival of Weeks’):
• That God chose to birth to the Church.
• Remember that Jews had come from all over the world for this special occasion;
• They had come to celebrate the harvest of the firstfruits.
• And it is not coincidental that God chose this day to birth the Church;
• And to bring in a worldwide spiritual harvest.
• i.e. Harvest of 3,000 people on this day alone (vs 41)
• SECOND:
• The old covenant had been characterised by the giving of the Law;
• The new covenant would be characterised by the giving of the Spirit.
• This new era is ushered in on the anniversary of the old as thy meet together.
Ill:
• A number of Old Testament prophets put the Law and the Spirit together:
• Ezekiel chapter 36 verse 26-27:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”.
• God gives his Holy Spirit;
• To write his Law upon our hearts and empower us to keep it!
(2). The believers together (vs 1b):
• N.I.V.: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place”.
• G.N.B.: “…the believers were gathered together in one place.”
• K.J.B.: “…they were all with one accord in one place.”
• Verse 2 adds that this was in a house in which they were seated.
• It is assumed that this house was the Upper Room mentioned in chapter one;
• And that the "all" would have included the 120 believers;
• That had gathered together when Matthias was chosen as the replacement for Judas.
• Acts chapter 1 verse 14 tells us they were of “one mind”;
• And now we are told they are “all together in one place”.
• For this great spiritual harvest to begin;
• Jesus’ followers needed a unity of spirit.
• For where there is unity, ‘there God commands the blessing!’
• (Psalm 133)
Quote: American author & humourist Mark Twain used to say:
• “He put a dog and a cat in a cage together as an experiment,
• Just to see if they could get along. They did,
• So he put in a bird, pig and goat.
• They, too, got along fine after a few adjustments.
• Then he put in a Baptist, Pentecostal, and Catholic;
• Soon there was not a living thing left”.
• Sadly Bible history and church history bear record to Mark Twain’s observation;
• That so often Christians do not get along with each other!
Ill:
• Being much concerned about the rise of denominations in the church,
• John Wesley tells of a dream he had.
• In the dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell.
• There he asked, “Are there any Presbyterians here?” “Yes!”, came the answer.
• Then he asked, “Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?”
• The answer was “Yes!” each time.
• Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven.
• There he asked the same question, and the answer was “No! No?”
• To this, Wesley asked, “Who then is inside?”
• The answer came back, “There are only Christians here.”
Note:
• In this house there was only believers:
• Later on in this book (chapter 11 at Antioch) they would first be called Christians;
• But for now they are Jewish believers who have faith in Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
Quote:
• Coming together is a beginning:
• Keeping together is progress:
• Working together is success in the Christian assembly for:
• As One Flock, we are gathered together—John 10. 16
• As One Family, we dwell together—Ps. 133. 1
• As One Body, we are joined together—Eph. 4. 16
• As One Temple, we are framed together—Eph. 2. 21
• As One Household, we are built together—¬Eph. 2. 19, 20
• As One Kingdom, we are to strive together—Phil. 1.27
• As One Hierarchy, we are raised up together¬—Eph. 2. 6.
(3). The Coming of the Spirit (vs 2-4)
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them”.
We read about the Holy Spirit on many occasions before this occasion:
• i.e. in the very first chapter of the Bible (Genesis chapter 1 verse 1-2):
• The Holy Spirit was active in creation.
• i.e. we read about him in Old Testament history;
• (Judges chapter 6 verse 34 & 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 13):
• i.e. we read about him in the life of Jesus;
• (Luke chapter 1 verse 30-37 & chapter 4 verse 1&14):
But from now on after Pentecost there would be two major changes:
• First: The Holy Spirit would dwell in people and not just come on people.
• Second: The Holy Spirit’s presence would be permanent, not temporary.
• Jesus taught about this in John chapter 14 to chapter 16.
Notice:
• The three astonishing signs that accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit;
• The threefold evidence showing to us that the Holy Spirit had come:
• AUDIBLE EVIDENCE (VS 2B):
• A noise came ‘like the blowing of a violent wind’.
• Notice it wasn’t the wind but it sounded like it.
• ill: Wonder if it sounded like a Boeing 747 at take-off!
• VISIBLE EVIDENCE (VS 3):
• There appeared to be ‘tongues of fire…resting on them’.
• To their amazement;
• Fire-like manifestations resembling tongues of fire settled on each person.
• And soon their own tongues would be set on fire by the Spirit with the message of Jesus!
• ORAL EVIDENCE (VS 4):
• They began to speak in ‘other languages’ previously unknown to them.
• Whereas the noise and fire were both external manifestations;
• Imagine their surprise when they began conversing in other languages.
• Dialects they had never learnt or not even known to them!
• I just love verses 8-11:
“Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs – we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’
• In these verses we have fifteen different geographical locations mentioned;
• And people from those places heard and understood in their own language;
• As Peter and the others ‘declared the wonders of God!’
(4). The Reaction of the Crowd (vs 5-13)
• As the Spirit’s rumblings spilled out of the upper room onto the street below;
• Thousands of people crowded around to find out what was going on.
• The 120 followers of Christ emerged, speaking a variety of languages:
• And Dr Luke the writer of this book,
• Describes for us the reaction and responses of the crowd to these events.
(A). CONFUSION (VS 5-6):
“Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken”
Ill:
• A university student was seen with a large “K” on his T-shirt.
• When someone asked him what the “K” stood for, he said, “Confused.”
• “But,” the questioner replied, “you don’t spell “confused“ with a “K.”
• The student answered, “You don’t know how confused I am.”
The celebration of Shavuot or Pentecost had gathered Jews from every country & culture;
• Never before had they heard their language spoken so well outside their own countries;
• And their first response was bewilderment.
(B). AMAZEMENT (VS 7):
“Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?”
• The crowds confusion soon turned to astonishment;
• When they realised WHO was speaking their languages – Galileans!
• You can imagine their jaws dropping and them shaking their heads;
• As they saw Galileans who normally roughed up their language;
• The experts tell us that Galileans had a reputation for being uncultured;
• And they also had the habit of swallowing syllables when speaking;
• So they were looked down upon by the people of Jerusalem as being provincial.
• So you can imagine their jaws dropping and them shaking their heads;
• As they saw Galileans who normally roughed up their language;
• Suddenly speak the language of the world better than their own mother tongue.
(c). Curiosity (vs 8-12)
“Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? - (15 groups named and mentioned) - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!’ Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’”
• Curiosity soon overtook the crowds amazement;
• As they began searching, looking for the meaning behind this extraordinary event.
• The crowd knew something miraculous was taking place:
• They heard the variety of different foreign languages;
• They saw the confidence of the believers;
• Who had changed from ‘frightened mice’ hiding away in an upper room;
• Into ‘roaring lions’ boldly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus in the public arena!
(d). Denial (vs 13)
“Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’”
• While many would go on to understand what was happening;
• And see beyond the signs and believe in Jesus (vs 41)
• Others denied the miracle and scoffed at those speaking in other languages;
• Saying; “They’re drunk!”
• Well, that was the best they could offer!
• As if drinking alcohol could help one speak,
• With perfect inflection a previously unlearned language!
• It was a poor excuse that helped these dissenters explain what was happening:
• But it just demonstrated that they were unwilling;
• To recognise the power of God at work in the lives of others.
• Peter is emphatic with his answer:
• But you will have to wait until next week’s sermon to hear his reply!
• Or of course read/study the rest of the chapter!
In conclusion:
Quote: John Stott:
“Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be inconceivable, even impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding without the Spirit of truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character apart from his fruit, and no effective witness without his power. As a body without breath is a corpse, so the Church without the Spirit is dead”
(1). THERE WAS ONLY ONE HISTORICAL BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
• I believe that all Christians receive the Spirit upon their conversion.
• When you became a Christian i.e. Asked Jesus into your life as Saviour & Lord.
• Weather you realised it or not, he came in in the person of the Holy Spirit.
• And in this sense all Christians have been baptized in the Holy Spirit.
• This means that they are saved;
• And that they have all they need at that time to be able to live godly and holy lives.
Ill:
• When the apostle Paul wrote to the Church at Corinth he put it this way:
• 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13:
"For by one Spirit we were (note the past tense) all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit."
• So every Christian has the Holy Spirit!
• And because the Holy Spirit is a person (the third member of the Godhead);
• You can’t get part of him – you get all or nothing!
Ill:
• A doctor who becomes a Christian, gets no-more than a tramp who gets converted.
• An adult gets no-more than a child who gets converted.
• You get exactly the same amount of the Holy Spirit as....
• Billy Graham, Stuart Townend or any Christian you can think of!
• It is never a question of how much of the spirit do you have,
• But how much has he got of you.
Quote: D.L. Moody:
“I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.”
(2). EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT.
• At Pentecost, we read the historic event of the coming of the Holy Spirit;
• How the Christians were filled with the Spirit;
• And experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit;
• But after that event they experienced many further fillings of the Holy Spirit;
• (i.e. Acts 4:8, 4:31, 9:17, 13:9) but no more baptisms.
• The command of the New Testament is not be baptised by the Holy Spirit;
• That happens automatically at conversion.
• The command is be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18).
• Please note that this phrase is not commanding empty Christians;
• To acquire something they don't already have.
• Each believer possesses the entire Holy Spirit from the time we repent and believe.
• A literal translation of the verb (in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18):
• Would read something like "be being kept filled."
• The idea is one of keeping yourself constantly filled,
• Means that we allow him to occupy and control every area of our lives.
Ill:
• A friend of mine when teaching this Bible college students;
• Uses this illustration.
• He brings two glasses of water and two packets of Alka-Seltzer to class.
• He then drops a packet of Alka-Seltzer, with the wrapper on, into one glass.
• Then he plops an unsealed packet into the second glass, & you can watch it fill with fizz.
• He then says to the students,
• "Both glasses have the Alka-Seltzer, just as all Christians have the Holy Spirit.
• But notice how you can have the Holy Spirit and not his filling."
• Our goal is to live in such a way:
• As to unwrap the packaging around the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within us.
