SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). The Day of Pentecost (vs 1a)
(2). The Coming of the Spirit (vs 2-4)
(3). The Reaction of the Crowd (vs 5-13)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Happy Birthday is probably the best-known song,
• In the English-speaking world,
• It was written in 1893 by two sisters,
• Mildred & Patty Hill.
• Mildred came up with the tune,
• Patty added the words.
• They were nursery (kinder garden) teachers,
• In Kentucky, USA.
• And the song was published in the songbook,
• ‘Song Stories for the Kindergarten.’
• Originally the words were:
• “Good morning to you, good morning to you,
• Good morning, dear children, good morning to you”.
• But later the words were changed to, “Happy birthday to you!”
• And the rest as they say is history.
• The song is copyrighted,
• To New York accountant J.F. Sengstack,
• Who receives about £2 million a year in royalties.
• TRANSITION:
• Today is the birthday of the Church.
• 2,000 years ago, the Church was born.
• Church in the New Testament always refers to people, to believers, never buildings!
• Buildings came later but Church is always people.
Ill:
• Question: Anyone know who this picture is?
• Answer: William Tyndale.
• He produced the first English Bible from original languages.
• John Wycliffe produced the first English Bible,
• But he translated from Latin into English.
• Tyndale went further back.
• In his New Testament (first published in English in 1526),
• And his complete translation of the Bible by 1534.
Ill:
• One thing that upset the religious authorities of his day,
• Was how he translated certain words.
• i.e. He used the English word, ‘repentance’ instead of ‘penance’.
• And instead of the word, ‘Church’,
• He celebrity chose the word, ‘congregation.’’
• “On this rock that I will build my congregation.”
• TRANSITION:
• Church in the New Testament always refers to people,
• To believers, and never to buildings!
• Buildings came later but Church is always people.
• And it started in this chapter with 3,000 coming to faith.
But people are weak,
• i.e. we often use the expression, “I’m only human.”
• i.e. Or ‘The body is willing but the flesh is weak”
• God knew that left to our own devices we would all fail.
• Therefore, his Church would fail.
• But if each Christian can be powered by God’s Holy Spirit,
• Then they can succeed,
• They can be strong, and they can live victorious lives.
• So, God sent the Holy Spirit to his Church, his people.
• To change them from the inside out!
• To bring lasting transformation.
• Remember there is a clue in the name, ‘HOLY Spirit,’
• God wants us to be holy, pure, set apart from the world.
• Different morals, different values, different behaviour!
Quote: Tim Downs
“Watches, cars and Christians can all look chromed and shiny.
But watches don't tick, cars don't go, and Christians don't make a difference without insides.
For a Christian, that's the Holy Spirit”.
• So, for these failed disciples to be turned around,
• For these weak disciples to be made strong and courageous,
• They must wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Note:
• Jesus has taught & spoken about the Holy Spirit before.
• In the gospel of John (John chapters 14-16),
• We have recorded three chapters teaching about the H.S.
• And the the Holy Spirit’s role in the life of the believer.
• Now remember that up to this point,
• The disciples had only seen the Holy Spirit externally.
• But at Pentecost they would experience him internally.
• e.g., Jesus told them; “He will be in you”.
The second chapter in the book of Acts:
• Is the fulfilment of the promise Jesus made.
• When he promised that ‘another helper’ (‘The Spirit of truth’),
• Would come to them.
• In Acts chapter 1 verses 5 & 8a,
• Jesus again repeats his promise regarding this ‘helper,’
• The Holy Spirit,
• And here in Acts chapter 2 verses 1-13,
• On what will be the very first Pentecost Sunday,
• He kept his promise!
Now don’t forget that this is not merely a history lesson,
• Because every Christian,
• Is still living in the good of those events today!
• Whenever a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ,
• At the moment of their conversion,
• God enters their life via the Holy Spirit,
• Who seals them and marks them out.
• e.g., Ephesians chapter 1 verse 13.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,”
• At our conversion every believer (no-one got missed out),
• Every believer is not only sealed with the Holy Spirit,
• But also added into the one body, the Church of Jesus Christ.
• e.g., 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13.
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
• In our passage this morning we have the birth of the Church.
• The events in this chapter describe how the Church was born.
• We are right back at the beginning of the Christian movement.
(1). The Day of Pentecost (vs 1a)
“When the day of Pentecost came…”
Ill:
• Some dates are very well known:
• No-one ever forgets December 25th - Christmas day.
• Or November 5th - Bonfire Night.
• And of course, February 14th – Valentine’s Day.
• Some days ought to be well known but sadly are not:
• April 23rd - St. George’s Day.
• (we English must keep the flag flying high if even if St George was Spanish!)
• July 16th - My Birthday!
• (No presents just cash please!)
• TRANSITION:
• Pentecost was a date fixed in the Jewish diary.
Ill:
• On the Jewish calendar.
• There were three great red-letter days.
• Three Jewish festivals that were important.
• If you were male & Jewish,
• And you lived within twenty miles of Jerusalem.
• You were legally bound to attend these three great occasions.
• There was Passover:
• Which celebrated,
• The Jewish people’s freedom from slavery in Egypt.
• There was Pentecost:
• Which is the feast we will look at in a moment.
• There was Tabernacles or Booths:
• Which commemorates the forty-year period.
• During which the children of Israel,
• Wandered around in the desert,
• And lived in temporary shelters.
Our festival is Pentecost (vs 1):
• “Pentecost,” is a Greek word meaning ‘fifty’.
• It comes from the book of Leviticus chapter 23 verse 16:
• Which instructs people to count seven weeks or “fifty days.”
• Between festivals,
• So, “Pentecost” = 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.
• (in case you are wondering = 6)
Note:
• Jews also have another name for this festival.
• They also call it the, ‘Festival of Weeks,’
• Or, more simply, ‘Weeks’ (‘Shavuot’ in Hebrew).
Now this feast or festival has two meanings - one agricultural and the other historical.
FIRST: AGRICULTURAL:
Ill:
• At a nursing home a group of residents were discussing their ailments.
• One man said:
• "My arms are so weak I can hardly life this cup of coffee,"
• An old lady added:
• "Yes, I know,
• My cataracts are so bad I can't even see my coffee,"
• Then a third person said:
• "I can't turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck,"
• Then an elderly man spoke up:
• "My blood pressure pills make me dizzy,
• but I guess that's the price we pay for getting old,"
• They all nodded enthusiastically, and then someone added:
• "Well, it sure beats the alternative."
• Then one woman cheerfully said,
• "Well, it's not that bad, thank goodness we can all still drive!"
• TRANSITION: It is good to be thankful!
• And for most Christians,
• We tend to have a Harvest Service for that purpose.
• For the Jews, 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 intertestamental period,
• (i.e. between 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.
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 this out:
• Jewish people (and we could also add Christians),
• Are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, Bible.
• i.e., Whenever we read it or hear it.
• We are receiving a message, instruction from God.
• Question: What are you receiving this morning?
• The sermon is never just filling in the programme.
• It is more than an item among other items.
• It is a time God speaks through his word!
• So be encouraged when you read or study the Bible,
• It is a time when we are receiving from God.
So, the Law was given to the Jews by God.
• 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 is mentioned,
• It begins in Exodus 19 and continues from there:
Note:
• Both of these two meanings,
• Would not be lost on the first Christians:
• FIRST:
• AGRICULTURAL: celebration of the grain harvest.
• Remember that Jews,
• Had come from all over the world for this special occasion,
• They had come to celebrate the harvest of the first fruits.
• And on this day God started his Church,
• With a worldwide spiritual harvest.
• i.e., Harvest of 3,000 people on this day alone (vs 41).
• SECOND:
• HISTORICAL: the giving of the ‘Torah.’
• When the Torah, the Law was given.
• We are told in Exodus chapter 32 verse 28,
• 3,000 people died because of their idolatry.
• They made sacrifices to the golden calf,
• Fast forward to the day of Pentecost,
• And we see the contrast between the law and the Spirit.
• Whereas 3000 died at the giving of the law,
• We now see 3000 saved with the giving of the Spirit.
• Pentecost was the exact same day!
• So, the new era is ushered in on the anniversary of the old,
• As the two are fused together.
• God gives his Holy Spirit.
• To write his Law upon our hearts and empower us to keep it!
Quote: 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 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”.
• Although this passage is often called,
• ‘The coming of the Holy Spirit,’
• This is not of course the Holy Spirits first appearance!
• We have read about him,
• On many occasions in the Old Testament.
• 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.
• “But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet.”
• 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 13.
• “The Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward.”
• i.e., we read about him in the life of Jesus.
• (Luke chapter 1 verse 30-37
““The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
• Luke chapter 4 verse 1&14.
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”
“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,”
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.
Ill:
• Story of Samson, he was a weak skinny guy,
• That is why the opposition was baffled, t
• They could not figure out his strength.
• Judges chapter 14 verses 5-6,
• “the Spirit came upon Samson powerfully.”
• Second: The Holy Spirit’s presence would be permanent,
• And not temporary.
• e.g., David’s prayer in Psalm 51 verse 11,
• “Take not thy Holy Spirit from me”.
• David had seen King Saul lose his anointing for disobedience,
• And he was terrified it might happen to him as well.
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”.
Notice:
• There are three astonishing signs,
• That accompanied the coming of the Holy Spirit.
• The threefold evidence,
• Showing to us that the Holy Spirit had come:
• FIRST: 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: I imagine it sounded like a Boeing 737 at take-off!
• SECOND: VISIBLE EVIDENCE (VS 3):
• There appeared to be ‘tongues of fire…resting on them’.
• To their amazement. fire-like manifestations,
• That resembled 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!
• THIRD: SPOKEN EVIDENCE (VS 4):
• They began to speak in ‘other languages.’
• Previously unknown to them.
• Whereas the noise and fire were both external manifestations.
• This was an internal manifestation.
• Can you imagine their surprise,
• When they began talking 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 fifteen places,
• All heard and understood the message in their own language,
• As Peter and the others ‘declared the wonders of God!’
Notice:
• That the ‘speaking in tongues.
• Was not for the “spiritual elation.”
• Of those doing the speaking,
• Rather it was for the benefit of those who were hearing!
• In fact, three times we read this,
• And this is certainly Luke’s emphasis,
• That these unreached people were being reached,
• Because the gospel message,
• Was being presented in their own language.
• I love the fact that although the languages differed,
• The message remained the same:
• One gospel for all people groups!
Ill:
• In 1917, William Cameron Townsend.
• Was passing out Spanish Bibles,
• And speaking about God in a Guatemalan village.
• A Cakchiquel (Kaq-chi-kel) Indian,
• (they had their own dialect) came up to him and said,
“If your God is so smart, why doesn’t he speak Cakchiquel (Kaq-chi-kel)?”
• That was a life-defining moment for William Townsend.
• He decided to do something about it,
• And he started a linguistics school (known today as SIL),
• Training people to do Bible translation.
• The work continued to grow, and in 1942,
• Cameron officially founded Wycliffe Bible Translators.
• Today, according to their website (June 2025):
• Last year more than one new translation was launched every week.
• They are serving over 580 million people,
• Who speak over 320 languages in over 60 countries.
• TRANSITION: No such problem on the day of Pentecost,
• But a big problem for the Church ever since!
• 1 in 5 people are still waiting for the Bible in their language.
(3). 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.
• 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:
• The famous modern artist Pablo Picasso,
• Was once robbed in his French home.
• He told the police,
• He would be happy to paint them a picture of the robbers.
• And on the strength of that picture,
• The French police later reported,
“We are looking for a thief who resembles a mother superior, a government minister, a washing machine, and the Eiffel Tower.”
• TRANSITION:
• Confusion is what many people experienced at Pentecost.
• The Jewish audience,
• Was made up of people from many countries & cultures.
• They had never before heard their language spoken so well,
• Outside their own countries,
• And their first response was confusion,
• Bewilderment, and puzzlement.
(B). AMAZEMENT (VS 7):
“Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?”
• The crowd’s confusion soon turned into astonishment.
• When they realised WHO was speaking their languages,
• It was not the educated priests of the temple,
• But a group of Galileans!
• You can imagine their jaws dropping,
• And them shaking their heads,
• As they saw Galileans fluently speaking.
Ill:
• The experts tell us that Galileans,
• Had a reputation for being uncultured,
• They had the habit of swallowing syllables when speaking,
• They were seen by southerners to be unpolished,
• Unsophisticated northerners.
• Yest it was these Galileans,
• Who spoke 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 crowd’s amazement.
• As they began searching,
• Looking for the meaning behind this extraordinary event.
Ill:
• It may be that one disciple spoke,
• And they all heard him in their own language.
• Or it may be one disciple spoke in Italian,
• And those who spoke Italian gathered to him,
• Another in Egyptian,
• And those who spoke Egyptian gathered to him, and so on.
• TRANSITION: Either way,
• The crowd knew something miraculous was taking place.
• They heard preaching,
• In a variety of different foreign languages,
• Their languages!
• They were wise enough to realise this was a sign,
• Next, they needed to discover why,
• This miraculous sign was given.
(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!
Ill:
• When I get to preach abroad, I always use an interpreter,
• I have never once thought about drinking a bottle of whisky!
• Maybe I should try it next time!
• TRANSITION: 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 read the rest of the chapter,
• To discover what he says.
In conclusion:
(1). EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT!
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”.
• 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.
• Christians might disagree,
• Over what some call a ‘second blessing,’
• Or the term, ‘Baptism’ of the Holy Spirit.
• But all Christians agree,
• That we need to be ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit.
• It is a command.
• 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 baptised by the Holy Spirit.
• That happens automatically at conversion.
• The command is be filled with the Holy Spirit,
• (i.e., 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:
• John R. W. Stott writes in one of his books,
• Regarding Archbishop William Temple.
• (‘The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling’)
• “It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear,
• And telling me to write a play like that.
• Shakespeare could do it; I can’t.
• And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus,
• And telling me to live a life like that.
• Jesus could do it; I can’t.
• But if the genius of Shakespeare could come and live in me,
• Then I could write plays like his.
• And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live in me, then I could live a life like his.”
MP3 Audio Sermon:
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Video Sermon
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