Scripture: Acts 2:1-4; Mark 1:9-11; Mark 15:33-38
Title: Heaven Invades Earth – Pentecost
INTRO:
Grace and peace this morning!
All three of our scripture passages have one major thing in common; they all speak of an invasion. Each one of them speaks of a time when Heaven invaded Earth and everything was forever transformed.
While these three passages are not the only ones that speak of a time when Heaven invaded Earth they are three of the more important ones. Each one centers on the life of Jesus and the Promise Coming of the Holy Spirit. With today being the celebration of Shavuot or Pentecost, I thought it would be helpful for us to look at what it means to have Heaven Invade Earth.
In particular asking ourselves some very important questions this morning:
1. Did you know Heaven Has Invaded Earth?
2. Has Heaven Invaded Your Earth?
3. Is Heaven’s Invasion Still Happening In and Around You?
I. Did you know Heaven has Invaded Earth?
One of the great Old Testament stories that we find in the book of Genesis is found in Genesis chapter 28. It is a story that involves Abraham’s grandson Jacob. Jacob has already tricked his older brother Esau out of his birthright and has stolen his blessing. Now, Jacob is running for his life and has decided to spend the night in Bethel before setting off towards Paddan-aram where he will stay with his Uncle Laban for safe keeping.
That night Jacob experienced this amazing dream of how Heaven invades Earth. In his dream Jacob sees this staircase that connects the Earth to Heaven with angels going up and down the ladder. There is an open Heaven and an open Earth. Nothing is stopping them from touching each other and interacting with each other.
In other words God was showing Jacob that Heaven and Earth are closely connected. And because they are connected, God’s angels are able to go from the earth up to heaven and from heaven down to the earth.
All of this was a foreshadowing of the life and ministry of Jesus. In John 1:51, Jesus picked this up in talking to Nathanael. He tells Nathanael that he along with others would in fact see Heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man.
And if you read the Gospels accounts surrounding Jesus’ birth, His baptism and His time of testing in the wilderness then what Jesus told Nathanael was already happening. From the very beginning to the time Jesus ascended back into Heaven we see that Jesus’ life was filled with angelic visitations.
But it isn’t just angelic visitations that are the focus of Heaven invading Earth. We know that Angels are messengers getting our attention to share with us a revelation and the Good News of Salvation or are ministering spirits that bring encourage, courage and strength.
We have hints of these type of angelic invasions in the lives of Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Daniel.
We have revelations of God Himself coming down in the stories of the Ten Commandments and Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19), the Glory of God falling on Solomon’s Temple ( 2 Chronicles 7) and Isaiah’s vision (Isaiah 6).
But nothing comes close to what we read about in Acts 2:1-4.
Now, when you read this passage along with the rest of the chapter the focus has usually been on the tongues of fire and the speaking in all the different languages. Those two things cannot be taken lightly. They are in themselves amazing to say the least.
But the fact remains that from what we can gather the tongues of fire were not seen by the 3,000. And while the speaking in different languages did cause a bit of bewilderment the fact was all of this took place in Jerusalem during the Festival of Pentecost. Jerusalem was an international city; especially during the Festival of Passover.
To hear Greek, Parthian, Egyptian and the rest of the languages spoken would have been normal. After all, the town was full of Greeks, Parthians, Egyptians and the like.
It would be like today going to an average Wal-Mart Store in Clarksville, Tn and listening to people speak around you; especially the Wal-mart Store located near Ft. Campbell. You would be able to hear Japanese, Mandarin, English, Italian, Korean, Spanish and even Arabic. Clarksville is a multi-language city as was Jerusalem during the times of the Festivals.
What got people’s attention was the fact that the disciples; especially those from Galilee were speaking in all those languages. But that in itself is not what brought the crowds together.
What brought them together was we read about in verses 2 and 6. It all had to do with a loud noise that came from Heaven. It had to do with Heaven invading Earth. The word that Luke uses is the word phero which means rushing, breaking forth. It was a loud noise. It was a violent noise. It demanded everyone’s attention.
Not just the 120 disciples in the Upper Room but people all over the city. When they heard the noise they came rushing towards the Temple. Something was happening. They could hear it. They could feel the rush of the wind.
It was God speaking. It was Heaven invading the Earth. It was the coming of the person of the Holy Spirit. Without question, it was the most dramatic invasion of Heaven to Earth that had ever happened. It was in fact, it was Earth’s most defining moment. This is what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had promised since the time of the Garden of Eden.
The Holy Spirit’s Arrival hit Jerusalem like a shock wave. It hit all the people around the city like a shock wave. Not since the time when Adam and Eve were in the Garden had Heaven invaded Earth in such a manner. The Coming of the Holy Spirit meant once and for all the prince of the Air (the Devil) was no longer in control. The Coming of the Holy Spirit was loud, it was rushing and it was earth shaking.
It all happened around nine o’clock in the morning on the first day of the week. Men were going to work or already working. Women were doing the same. But then that sound. And suddenly, men laid down whatever they were doing and rushed towards the Temple. Women laid down whatever they were doing and rushed towards the Temple. Something had happened that had never happened before. It was a sound that not only filled their hearts but drew them towards the Temple.
All of this leads us to asking our second question
II. Has Heaven (the Holy Spirit) Invaded Your Earth (Your Heart, Mind and Soul)?
Heaven had certainly invaded the city of Jerusalem and quite a number of the people of Jerusalem.
In fact Heaven (the Holy Spirit) invaded it so strongly that we see an amazing thing taking place. We read about it verses 37-41
Acts 2:37-41 New Living Translation (NLT)
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.
Now, take this all in for a moment or two. Just 50+ days before there was another crowd gathered in Jerusalem. That time it was for the celebration of the Passover. Only on that occasion the people that gathered there (many of whom were the same ones gather together now for Pentecost) had risen up to deny Jesus as Messiah. They had applauded those who struck Jesus and tortured Him. They had cried out for His blood. They had mocked him as He stumbled His way towards Calvary. They had seen His torture and His death as a just and righteous cause. They had convinced themselves that they were doing the will of God in getting rid of a false Messiah.
And now some 50+ days later Heaven opens up and roars. The Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit clears the air. He clears their hearts and their minds. They begin to understand. They experience firsthand God’s Spirit moving all around them.
They listened. They listened as Peter told them about Jesus. They listened as he shared that just 50 days prior they had been part of torturing and murdering the Son of God, the Messiah and Savior of the World.
No one accused Peter of blasphemy. No one threw a stone at Peter. No one arrested Peter or any of the 120. They couldn’t. Like the priests of Solomon’s day that couldn’t move when the Shekinah glory of the LORD fell on the Temple. The people could only listen and take in the words that the Holy Spirit was speaking through the Apostle Peter.
The Apostle Peter was a changed man. Once a coward does not mean that you are always a coward. Once a betrayer does not mean that you are always a betrayer. Once an enemy of God does not mean that you are always an enemy of God.
The rushing wind that broke the heavens had brought the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit had rushed into the lives of Peter and the 120. They had spent the last 10 days doing everything they could to come into unity with themselves, with one another and with the LORD.
And they were transformed. Heaven not only hit this physical earth, it hit their own individual earth; their people dirt so to speak.
Back in Genesis chapter two we read:
“Then the LORD GOD formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” (verse 7)
God put Himself in Adam – physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
The Fall had changed all of that. Man no longer had the spiritual breath of God. Yes, he had physical life but not real life – not life that was free from the power and penalty of sin. Not life that brought true freedom, joy, peace, love and power.
What those 120 disciples experienced and later the 3,000 experienced was what happens when their earth (their people dirt) allowed Heaven (the Holy Spirit) to invade, connect and reside. It is what happens when their hearts, their minds and their souls allowed the Holy Spirit to come in and purify, cleanse, transform, regenerate, redeem and sanctify.
This is what Jesus died for. Jesus died, rose again and ascended into Heaven so that people could repent and be cleansed of all their sins and then be infilled with the very Presence of God in their lives. Jesus died so that we could host Heaven inside of us through the Power and Presence of God’s Holy Spirit.
This makes all the difference in a person’s life. It is what Jesus talked to Nicodemus about in John chapter three – being born from above, being Reborn, being baptized by and in the Holy Spirit.
It is what God wants for all of us. He wants our dirt, our earth to be invaded by Heaven. He wants our dirt, our personal earth to host the Holy Spirit. He wants us to be forever transformed, forever changed.
This is what Jesus means when He says these words in
Revelation 3:20-21 New Living Translation (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. 21 Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.
All of this leads us to our final question
III. Is Heaven’s Invasion Still Happening In and Around You?
The coming of the Holy Spirit changed everything. The Holy Spirit changed History. The coming of the Holy Spirit changed the Heavens and the Earth.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit revealed to all of us that we live in an Open Heaven. Satan no longer controls our world. He no longer rules our world. His power has been broken.
Heaven is open. The Holy Spirit is alive and active on this earth. The Holy Spirit is on the move, cleaning and transforming lives, families, cities and nations.
However, we can stop God’s Holy Spirit.
The Bible tells us we can do that by grieving (Ephesians 4:30) and/or quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19) the Holy Spirit.
This is exactly what happened in the lives of King Saul and Demas. The Bible tells us in 1 Samuel chapter 11 that the Holy Spirit fell on King Saul and that he was a changed man. He was so filled with the Holy Spirit that he began prophesying.
However, as we later read in 1 Samuel, King Saul began to reject the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He began to quench and grieve the Holy Spirit’s presence and anointing in his life. And in doing so the Bible tells us that towards the end of his life he was without the anointing and the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. He had so quenched and grieved the Holy Spirit that he had caused the Holy Spirit to leave him.
We see the same happening to a disciple named Demas in the New Testament. When his name is first mentioned it is while he is working alongside the Apostle Paul (Philemon verse 24). Demas is called a co-worker with Paul. Demas is preaching, teaching, sharing the message of Jesus and planting churches with the Apostle Paul.
The second time he is mentioned we see some cracks forming (Colossians 4:14). His name is just mentioned. We get the idea that he is still working but not with the passion he once had.
But something happened. He stopped the flow of God’s Holy Spirit in his life. By the time the Apostle Paul writes his letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:9-10) he has to share the news that Demas has left because he has allowed the love of the world to come back into his life. He has chosen to go back to following the world rather than be filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
Both of the men (King Saul and Demas) stand as warnings to us and that is what we are to learn from them. We are never to grieve or quench the Holy Spirit in our lives. For by doing so we are in effect asking the Holy Spirit to leave us.
Instead, we are to be more like Timothy, Titus, Silas, Dorcas, Lydia and all those people that we find the Apostle Paul mentioning in Romans chapter 16 – people who looked up to the LORD and opened up their hearts and lives and ask God to invade them to come into them and they became hosts of God’s Holy Spirit.
And when they did that the Bible tells us amazing things happened in them and through them. People were saved. Children came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and LORD. People’s lives were transformed. Congregations were on fire. Families and even cities were changed.
This morning as we come to a close I want to invite you to the Table - to share the elements of our Lord. We come with open hearts, minds and open hands. We do so asking the LORD to refresh us and renew us. We do so agreeing with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
+Holy Spirit you have invaded our world
+Holy Spirit you have invaded my life – you have cleansed me and today I seek to host you in my life – my heart, my mind and my spirit.
+Holy Spirit – I want you to invade my world, my workplace, my family and my life.
+Holy Spirit – I give myself over to you completely, fully and wholly.
The Lord’s Supper/Prayer/Blessing
