The Impact of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-4
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 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.
Acts 2:42-47
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
THE GREATEST EVENT in human history is undisputed. It is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! It is the keystone of the arch of salvation. Remove it and the whole structure of the plan of salvation crumbles in the dust.
The good news of the gospel is that Christ died for our sins and that He rose again . The resurrection of Christ is the proof that His death atoned for sin. The wages of one single sin is death. One sin brought the curse of death upon all mankind (Rom. 5:12-15). If Jesus had paid for all the sins of mankind except one, He could not have risen, for one sin would have been enough to keep Him in the tomb.
When Jesus arose, it was proof that He had completely met redemption’s price. When He cried, "It is finished!", the work was fully done. God was satisfied and then proved the completeness of the work by raising Christ from the dead.
Because Christ did not remain in the tomb but conquered death by rising again, we can live in the joy of the full salvation provided by a risen, living, coming Redeemer.
That event we celebrate a few weeks ago. Now we come to the SECOND GREATEST EVENT in the history of the Church, namely, Pentecost—the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.
Shortly after rising from the dead, Jesus went up to heaven to rejoin His Father. Then the Holy Spirit came down upon the people of God.
Now the reason that Pentecost is so important to the church is that without His presence and power, the church would have died out long ago. It is He that gives us the anointing to accomplish that which is impossible in the flesh.
There are two kinds of SPECIAL DAYS that the church recognizes: (1) secular days, (2) holy days.
Secular days are those that are a part of our culture, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, etc.
Holy days are those that flow from biblical events, such as Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost.
Perhaps no event has been more misunderstood and maligned than Pentecost. Some folks equate it with “holy rollers.” Others equate it with emotional extremism. Still others view it as a denomination or movement. And then there are many who have no idea at all whit it is all about.
Illus.: “The Boy Who Believes in the Holy Spirit Isn’t Here”
A children’s catechism class was learning the Apostles Creed. Each child had been assigned a sentence to repeat. The first one said, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The second child said, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son…” When he had completed his sentence, there was an embarrassing silence. Finally, one child piped up, “Teacher, the boy who believes in the Holy Spirit isn’t here.”
I believe that every pastor has a responsibility to carefully explain the meaning and significance of Pentecost. We don’t want to miss the power of God in our lives, do we?
The literal meaning of Pentecost is “50 days.” In the Old Testament it was positioned on the Jewish calendar seven weeks after the Passover. It was the Jewish Feast of Harvest and was equivalent to our Thanksgiving Day.
The high point of the celebration was the bringing of two loaves of bread, made from the newly harvested wheat, which symbolized the dedication of the harvest to God.
As the loaves were presented to the priest, so the disciples’ lives were offered completely to God in the Upper Room. Listen to the words of Acts 1:14” “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer.”
They were already believers. This 10-day prayer marathon must have witnessed the emptying of themselves so that they could receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And this same total commitment is a part of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in one’s personal life.
On the Christian calendar, Pentecost occurs 7 weeks after Easter. That’s because the first Pentecost occurred 50 days after the ascension. It was on that day that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the 120 believers in an upper room in Jerusalem as they awaited the baptism. Jesus had promised this event just before He ascended into heaven. He said, “For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.”
Then in verse 8 it is repeated: “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."
The first Christian Pentecost was the fulfillment of prophetic promise. In Acts 2:16-18, 21, Peter left no doubt about it: “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour forth my Spirit upon all flesh…’”
THANK GOD THE COMFORTER HAS COME!
There are two major truths that we must have etched in our thinking:
1. The historic Christian Pentecost was a not-to-be-repeated event. The sights and sounds were non-reproducible, just as were the events surrounding Christ’s birth.
2. A personal Pentecost is the birthright of every born-again believer. The in-filling of the Holy Spirit is for all of us today. We don’t need to travel to the Holy Land to receive this fullness. It can take place anywhere.
PREREQUISITES
1. Seeking: That’s what the disciples were doing. They were tired of doubts, fear, earthly thinking, selfishness, and little faith. They wanted all that God could give them-—power, cleansing.
2. Surrender: Yielding one’s mind, emotions, and will—even ambitions.
Illus.: “Half Frozen Birds”
A young lady was speaking to an evangelist about consecration. She said, “I dare not give myself wholly to the Lord, because He might send me out to China as a missionary.” The evangelist said, ‘If some cold, snowy morning a little bird should come, half-frozen, pecking at your window, seeking shelter, and would let you take it it and feed it, thereby putting itself entirely in your power, what would you do? Would you grip it in your hand and crush it? Or would you give it shelter, warmth, food and car?” A new light came into the girl’s eyes. She said, Oh, I see now. I can trust God.” Two years later she met the same evangelist and reminded him of their conversation. She told him she had completely given herself to God. And then her face lit up with a bright smile. “And guess where He’s sending me?” she asked—“to China!”
PRODUCTS (RESULTS)
1. Purity of Heart: Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” If you want to be inwardly happy, than make sure you have a clear consicience.
2. Power Acts 1:8: “And you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” What kind of power? Power in what?
Prayer—Acts 4:31 says of the early Spirit-filled believers: “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken.” When Spirit-filled folks pray, things begin to shake:
(1) sinners tremble with conviction
(2) saints shake with conviction re: their shallowness
(3) hell’s foundations quiver with fear
Witnessing—John Wesley said, “Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.” It has been said that the early church won 3 million souls in the first 30 years after Pentecost.
Power to Overcome
(1) Satan
(2) Temptation
(3) Failure
(4) Compromise
(5) Sin
(6) Sorrow
(7) Disappointment
No one can be a real victorious person without the Spirit’s help. He is the overcoming force within us. As one little boy put it, “He’s the One who puts the “umph” in triumph.”
Power to Persist. These early Spirit-filled Christians didn’t entertain any thought of giving up. Though scattered, threatened, beaten, and thrown in prison, they laid down their lives.
There are three kinds of Christians:
(1) Row-boat Christians—struggling in their own power; stop to rest for a while, only to find that the current has taken them back where they started.
(2) Sail-boat Christians—let the wind do all the work; enjoy the high moments, But what happens when the doldrums come?
(3) Steam powered Christians—take the water of the Word and combine it with the fire of the Holy Spirit and there is constant power no matter what the conditions!
3. Generosity (vs.45). This is the very nature of God! The Spirit of Christ within us causes us to be just like God. Just think of the generosity of God:
More sky than man can see
More sea than he can sail
More sun than he can bear to watch
More stars than he can scale
More breath than he can breathe
More yield than he can sow
More grace than he can comprehend
More love than he can know…
Ralph W. Seager
Now, The question is, how do we get this kind of purity, power and generosity that these early believers possessed? We get it the same way they got it—by asking for it by faith. By asking God to burn out that which is blocking His power and receiving Him in His fullness.
Illus.: “A Veteran Gets the Light”
Some years ago, a pastor was ministering to a war veteran who was in a wheel chair due to a serious wound received in battle. He inquired about holiness and how he might obtain the fullness of the Spirit. The preacher explained it as best he could, but the ex-soldier just couldn’t seem to understand the idea of consecration. Finally his face lit up with a smile. “Wait a minute,” he said, “I think I’ve got it. When I was in the army it was my business to obey the commands that were given to me without reservation or hesitation. That’s the mark of a good soldier. Is that what Christ wants me to do?” “That’s it!” replied the pastor. “You’ve got it!”
And that’s what God wants for all of His children. When the disciples were born again, they received all of the Spirit. When they yielded themselves fully to God, the Spirit got all of them.
When they were saved, Christ became their co-pilot; when they were filled with the Holy Spirit, Christ became their pilot.
Does the Spirit have all of you? Is Christ your Pilot or co-pilot?
We Can Have as Much of God as We Want
The great Scottish Bible expositor Alexander MacLaren once wrote: ‘We may have as much of God as we will. Christ puts the key of the treasure-chamber into our hand, and bids us take all that we want. If a man is admitted into the bullion vault of a bank and told to help himself, and comes out with one cent, whose fault is it that he is poor?”
