• The greatest day in our church, was after we all had worked and sacrificed for a long time to build it, and had it completed, and were finally able to dedicate it to the Lord, and begin worshipping in it."
• Others might say the greatest day in our church, was when we made the last payment.
But if you asked some of the church members of the New Testament church what is the greatest day of their church was, I am sure most of them, if not all of them, would say, it was the day of Pentecost, when God filled His people with His Spirit.
God so filled the church with His Holy Spirit, that as Peter preached that day three-thousand got saved. I did not say three hundred, it says three thousand were added to the church that day.
You can find the oldest preacher alive today, and ask him if he had ever heard anything that can surpass what took place on Pentecost, and he will tell you he has never heard anything that could surpass what happened at Pentecost, or even come close to it.
The Lord had told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had been endued with His power. They obeyed His command, and now He rewarded them for their faithfulness.
Let’s look at Acts chapter two. We see-
I. THE MIRACULOUS
In Acts 2:1-4, we read, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
This was some church service. The Bible tells us of several miraculous things that took place. Look at verses 2-3, we see:
• (Verse 2) “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
• (Verse 3) “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”
No one has ever witnessed, and been able to document, anything that has surpassed what took place on the day of Pentecost.
According to Acts 1:15, there were about 120 disciples who had gone to the upper room, to obey the command of God for them to tarry in Jerusalem, until they were ENDUED WITH POWER.
Up until that time, the only "baptism" they knew of was the water baptism of John, but the promise was made that they would be baptized in the Holy Ghost.
In verses 1-5 we have this promise being fulfilled.
Let me show you why I say this was one of the greatest days of the New Testament church. It was a day of miracles:
A. THE MIRACLE THAT THEY WERE ALL AT ONE PLACE AND IN ONE ACCORD.
This was a great miracle in itself; to have one hundred and twenty Christians, together in one place, and all in "one accord.”
You can go to any Bible church in this nation, and you will find God doing some great things. But while you may find God doing some great things in their midst, you will still find professing Christians at the beaches, or in the mountains, or complaining because they do not like the way things are going.
However, this great church that God filled with His Spirit, had one hundred twenty people, all IN ONE PLACE, AND IN ONE ACCORD.
Every church prays for such a miracle to take place.
But we see another miracle, the-
B. MIRACLE OF "...A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND.”
Notice, scripture does not say that it was "a rushing mighty wind." The scripture says "...as a mighty rushing wind.
The wind is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
Illus: We have seen hurricanes blow with such force, that we became fearful.
The wind is POWERFUL. This is why God used the wind as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
Notice the parallel characteristics:
• The wind cannot be seen, nor can the Holy Spirit.
• The wind is everywhere, so is the Holy Spirit.
• Mankind can not control the wind, nor does he control the Holy Spirit.
The Jews had celebrated the feast of Pentecost fifteen hundred times before, but this time, as they celebrated, it was different. Scripture tells us at the time of this celebration, "…the day of Pentecost was fully come…”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THE DAY OF PENTECOST HAD COME?
• Before this, it was the celebration of the birth of a nation. Look at Exodus 19:5-6.
• But now this was the birth of God's church (See Acts 2:41-47).
• Shortly after the Old Testament Pentecost, as the new nation was being born, they saw the slaying of some three thousand souls (Exodus 32:28).
• Shortly after the New Testament Pentecost, as the new church was being formed, they saw the saving of three thousand souls.
Notice, The "fullness of time" had come. God caused a miraculous "…sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind…”
This was miraculous, but we see another miracle in the-
C. MIRACLE OF -"CLOVEN TONGUES LIKE AS OF FIRE."
John the Baptist preached that Christ would baptize His saints, "with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."
Notice, it does not say they were baptized yet in verse 3; it says “…there appeared…cloven tongues like as fire…”
At this point we have two things:
• Notice also, we have the SOUND,
• And then we have the SIGHT.
There was the sound like a mighty rushing wind, and the sight of cloven tongues like as of fire.
The fire is another symbol:
• It starts small and spreads rapidly.
• Fire illuminates.
• Fire purges.
•Then again, fire can be smothered down to a smolder and put out.
If a church does not want the fire of God in its midst, all it has to do is smother It, and soon the Holy Spirit will be history as far as that church is concerned.
The early church sought for the Holy Spirit, and He "sat upon" each one of the members.
Today many Christians claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but very few give the evidence of being Spirit controlled.
Jesus was Spirit controlled. Look at Luke 4:1, “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”
We need to look at two things here. The Bible says:
• "...Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost...”
• “And Jesus…was led by the Spirit…”
To be Spirit filled means to be controlled by the Spirit.
Many today, want to redefine what it means to be Spirit filled. If a Christian is full of the Spirit, they are SPIRIT CONTROLLED. And if they are not Spirit controlled, they are not filled.
This was a tremendous miracle - The Miracle of -"Cloven tongues like as of fire."
D. MIRACLE OF TONGUES "....they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.''
Notice the word "all" in this verse. If there were one hundred twenty people there, then we can assume “all" means one hundred twenty were filled with the Holy Spirit. It is God's will for every member of the body of Christ to be filled with the Spirit.
It is a miracle, that once God filled them, the Bible says they, “All spoke in tongues”.
Tongues here is language. The lost people around them heard them speak in their own languages.
Look at Acts 2:5-11, we read, “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.”
When a person states they are a Pentecostal, the Holy Spirit should be able to speak through them in languages so people can hear and understand the gospel.
If they cannot speak in a language that can be distinguished, they do not have the Pentecostal experience.
Illus: The Lord told Peter, in Matthew 16:18, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "
The first obstacle the church came against was the language barrier, but God miraculously made it possible for them to preach in the languages of all the lost people present, so they could understand. As a result, three thousand souls were saved that day!
We looked at THE MIRACULOUS, but let us also look at-
II. THE MARVELOUS
Look at Acts 2:6-13. We read, “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.”
In 1 Cor. 14:21-22, we read, “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”
Isaiah and Paul speak of "this people."
God had sent prophet after prophet to warn His people of their sins, but in most cases it was to no avail.
Isaiah says (paraphrase), "God will one day even speak through His servants for a time with stammering tongues and still they won't believe and receive Him."
In the book of Revelation, it tells of how it will be when God begins to pour out His wrath upon lost mankind. One of the things He is going to do, is send a worldwide earthquake .
You would think, after God did this, surely man would repent of his sins. But the Bible tells us that instead of calling upon God, they will cry out for the rocks to fall upon them. We all have met people like that.
They let you know, unless God intervenes, there is no way they ever would turn to the Lord.
Did you know that there are millions that God cannot reach. There is nothing more He can do.
On Calvary He did everything He could to reach lost mankind, still they reject Him. They cling to, and worship, their false gods instead of the true and living God.
God filled New Testament saints with His Spirit, and supernaturally spoke through them, still there were many around that day, who heard this prophecy being fulfilled, and still walked away, lost.
Now notice, in verse 21, why God gave the "other tongues” to the church - " Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not..."
Whereas this miraculous sign may not have convinced the majority, it did convince three thousand, and they got saved.
Look at verses 6-7, we read, “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?”
When God worked this tremendous miracle, men MARVELED over His speaking through these Galilaeans, and they knew that God was in them for sure.
While some MARVELED, other MOCKED. Let’s look at-
III. THE MOCKERY
Look at Acts 2:13-21. We read, “Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
The devil will always make sure his crowd is mocking the things of God.
They actually mocked these disciples, and stated they were drunk on alcoholic beverages.
But Peter was quick to reply that they were drunk on the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps the reason these Spirit-filled Christians were accused of being drunk on new wine, was because of the similarities:
• Both affect a man's behavior
• Both affect a man's speech
• Both affect a man's walk
• Both make a man courageous
• Both make a man's life noticeable
This church was truly Spirit-filled. What kind of sermons does a Spirit-filled preacher preach?
Let’s look at-
IV. THE MESSAGE
In Acts 2:22-43, we read, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”
Notice Peter's message exalted the Savior! Any Christian who goes to church week after week, and hears only the Holy Spirit being praised, and receiving all the attention, should be very concerned.
The Holy Spirit, the third part of the trinity, did not come to exalt Himself; He came to exalt the Savior.
Many television preachers pass up multitudes of opportunities to lift Christ up, that souls might be saved, while sinners pass on to a Christ-less eternity.
Peter, in this sermon, exalted the Savior who came and died for the sins of mankind.
But let’s look at one more thing before we close.
V. THE MISSION
Look at Acts 2:44-47. We read, “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Notice, verse 42 says, "And they continued stedfastly..”
1. Spreading the Gospel
2. Teaching the doctrine of Christ
3. Sacrificing
4. Praising God
5. Praying
Illus: The story is told, that years ago there was a runaway train in the Rocky mountains. The air brakes had given way. Ahead was a river, and the railroad trestle was not built to withstand the impact of a runaway train. The fireman jumped off one side, and the conductor jumped off the other side. The train hit the bridge, and the train plunged into the river with all of its passengers. Later, all of the crew was found, except the engineer. There were rumors that he also jumped, and was hiding in the woods because of shame. But his old gray-haired mother said, "No. my son was faithful, he never would have jumped. When you lift the wreck you will find him there.”
They did, and he was at his post, just as his mother said he would be.
Conclusion:
Because God's people remained faithful, verse 47 states that God continued to bless the church. “...And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
I. THE MIRACLE
II. THE MARVEL
III. THE MOCKERY
IV. THE MESSAGE
V. THE MISSION
