Assuming About Pentecost
Acts 2:1-13
1. A Baptist preacher and his wife decided they needed a dog. Ever mindful of their congregation, they knew the dog must also be Baptist. They visited an expensive kennel and explained their needs to the manager, who assured them he had just the dog for them.
When the dog was produced, the manager began giving it commands. "Fetch the Bible," he commanded. The dog bounced to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the manager. The manager then said, "Find Psalms 23". The dog, showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed thru the Bible, found the correct passage, and pointed to it with his paw.
Duly impressed, the preacher and his wife purchased the dog. That evening a group of parishioners came to visit. The preacher and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses. The visitors were amazed.
Finally, one man asked "Can the dog do normal dog tricks too?"
"Let's see" said the preacher. Pointing his finger at the dog, he commanded, "Heel!"
The dog immediately jumped up on a chair, placed one paw on the preacher's forehead and began to howl. The preacher turned to his wife in complete shock and disbelief. "We've been swindled! That manager sold us a Pentecostal dog!"
2. For almost 1900 years, Christians understood the Book of Acts as descriptive, the history of the church in the middle first century.
Hebrews 2:3-4 refers to certain spiritual gifts that were given to the first generation of believers as signs of their integrity: “… how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” [not a pattern or obligation]
3. In roughly 1900, a group of people in the U.S. decided the church had been missing the boat for over 1800 years. As a result, many religious groups formed, all claiming to restore the Gospel or bring in elements that were left out: Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Science, 7th Day Adventists, Church of Christ, and Pentecostals. Some of these movements were more orthodox than others.
Pentecostalism, in particular, asserted that the Book of Acts was to be understood as prescriptive, not descriptive. It did not understand Acts as primarily an account what happened in the early church and a transition book from God’s dealings with Israel to God’s dealings with a predominantly gentile church, but, rather, what was normal for the church all the time.
4. This divide in interpretation is the difference between Pentecostal denominations (Pentecostals and Assemblies of God being the best known) and everyone else. In contrast, Charismatics tend to be more moderate, taking a middle path, and transcending denominations. There are many graduations in this matter, & many sincere believers. And don’t get me wrong: there are many, many top-notch Christians in groups like the Assemblies of God or among Charismatic believers. I do believe, however, they are wrong on some points, their prescriptive view of the Book of Acts being at the crux of our differences.
5. Today's text deals with the Day of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks. A proper understanding of this event will help us sort out, to some degree, some of these issues. We should see that Acts is predominantly descriptive, not typically prescriptive.
6. In Judaism, the main feasts are described in Leviticus 23; the Spring Feasts were bundled together with an 8 day period: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Pentecost was 50 days after Passover. The Fall Feasts (high holy days) are Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles, are all within a 15 day period.
7. From our vantage points, looking at the feasts prophetically, the first three feasts have been fulfilled when Christ died and rose again; we live in the age of the 4th feast, and the final three are prophetic of the End Times.
Passover, Christ died for our sins (He died on Passover). Unleavened Bread (begins with Passover), He died to make us holy. First fruits, He rose from the dead during the feast of Unleavened bread, which overlaps with First fruits (that was Easter, firstfruits is always the Sunday after Passover). The next feast, Trumpet (Rosh Hoshana) prophesies the rapture, the Day of Atonement Israel’s repentance at the end of the Tribulation, and Tabernacles the Millennium.
8. But Pentecost is no minor festival. Its implications are enormous and relevant to every true believer.
Main Idea: Pentecost is the inauguration of a new era: the era of the Spirit, the era of the harvest, the era of awaiting the trumpet.
I. The Era of the Spirit Came with POMP (1-4).
• Let me point out some misunderstandings & questionable assumptions.
• No consistent pattern in Acts for being filled with the Spirit; descriptive
• No mention of believer praying FOR the Spirit to come, just praying
A. The significance of the date: PENTECOST (1)
1. What it was: a JEWISH holiday
2. The Day God gave the 10 COMMANDMENTS
The Day:The evidence in Scripture seems to indicate that God gave the Law to Moses on the Day of Pentecost, as the Jews believe. Many first century Jews believed that God made the Rainbow Covenant with Noah on this day as well: "covenant initiation day."
God spoke in a loud, trumpet like voice that scared the people; the mountain shook and a giant fire descended in Exodus, chapters 19:16ff…
The Tongues of Fire
Philo: "Then from the midst of the fire that streamed from heaven there sounded forth to their utter amazement a voice, for the flame became articulate speech in the language familiar to the audience" (Decal. 46) [ Ben Witherington, The Acts of the Apostles].
The Languages
We are not sure whether another Jewish belief goes back to the first century or not, but it very well may. It is the belief that when God gave the Law to Moses, God also spoke it in the 70 languages of the nations.
B. The PHENOMENON (2-4)
1. Like Loud WIND
2. Like Individual Tongues of FIRE
3. The INVISIBLE filling of the Spirit
4. Speaking in UNLEARNED Foreign Languages
o Evidence that God was moving in a new and great way…
C. The APPLICATIONS
Although Firstfruits celebrated the beginning of the harvest of early crops, Pentecost represented the beginning of the main harvest season.
The fields are ripe to harvest; today's great harvest fields include: South America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, especially Iran. That's why missions matter. Like a mutual fund, a good church should be diversified in what it does for the Kingdom of God.
Initially, tongues were a sign; as time progresses, tongues are a spiritual gift given only to some, like the gift of teaching or encouragement. Evidence of filling is fruit.
• When we went out to visit Hannah, my cell phone kept draining; recharge
• Ephesians 5:18 reads, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
• Sometimes I do not find spiritual things attractive; I find myself leaving God out of my life and focusing on good things to the neglect of my walk with God.
• Do you have that struggle too? I would imagine you do.
• That’s why we need to gather, to be here for one another, to help us constantly return to Biblical priorities.
II. The Crowd REACTS.
A. These people were Jewish PILGRIMS visiting for the holiday (5).
"every nation under heaven" is limited by the context to mean, "every nation under heaven in which Jews lived…"
B. ATTRACTED by the noise (6)
God never repeats Pentecost again. The big noise doesn't happen again, and there is never another instance when tongues of fire appear above the heads of disciples. 3,000 people are not converted at one time in Acts again.
We need to remember that these converts were well grounded in the Old Testament and had heard much discussion about Jesus before. They have been thoroughly primed, from a human viewpoint. The Spirit had prepared them from the divine viewpoint. Trying to recapture the event -- in light of the centuries of preparation -- is a misplaced pursuit.
It is human nature to seek to institutionalize and repeat what is a one-time experience. As kids, we ask, “Why can’t it be Christmas every day?”
It is not that these believers were necessarily any godlier than some groups of believers today. For example, Paul only had one Timothy: “For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. [Philippians 2:21-22]
Instead, Pentecost was a grand initiation day of the Kingdom of God on earth.
C. BEWILDERED and PERPLEXED (6b-12)
D. Others accused them of being TIPSY (13)
• I find it amazing that one group is marveling at a great miracle while another writes off the entire experience as drunkenness…
• You find what you are looking for; your agenda determines how you interpret what you see…
E. APPLICATIONS
1. Although some “miracles” do not stand the test of time, it is important to know that God has always worked miracles and still does, usually in answer to prayer – according to His purpose and agenda, not ours.
2. Pentecost was not about a show, but about God empowering ALL believers.
3. The Baptism by the Holy Spirit is the common lot of all believers: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
4. The filling of the Spirit is to be a regular, ongoing experience, demonstrated in our lives by the fruit of the Spirit and connected directly to God’s Word.
5. The ministry is not just about pastors, missionaries, or evangelists. We are not all called to be pastors, missionaries, or evangelists, but we are all called to be a witness. The Holy Spirit wants to empower each one of us.
6. When we have no more to give or we are on the verge of despair, we need to remember how Jesus described the Spirit’s work:
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
