Acts 1:4-9; 2:1-12 The Gift God Promised
Jesus died and rose again on Easter Sunday. He spent 40 days on earth with His disciples. Acts 1 recorded His last words to His followers. And He was taken up before their very eyes - that was His ascension. Jesus specifically asked them to "wait for a gift my Father promised" (1:5) and this gift is the Holy Spirit.
Ten days later - the day of Pentecost, they received the gift. Today is Pentecost day - 50th day after Easter. We remember the gift - the Holy Spirit - that God poured out upon the Church. This is important because Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Jesus asked His followers to wait for this day to come before they even do anything.
Pentecost was a once-in-history event, and we can learn at least TWO things from this event.
(1) THE CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED BY GOD
It was an act of God. Not an institution of man.
Simon Peter did not called a meeting of the apostles & said to them, "Now, we are here today to talk about whether or not we ought to start a Church." They did not discuss it. Nor were they prepared for it. No one would actually dare to proposed it, especially in Jerusalem. Where the religious leaders were out to destroy those who preach about Jesus.
So what really happened that day? The Word said, "Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from..." (2:2). Where? "From heaven." It was an act of God. He started the Church! God brought the Church into being, and it is His Church.
And we saw that right after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the first person to speak out - the first spokesman of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - was Simon Peter (2:14ff.).
Jesus knew that this would happened. He was once asking His disciples (Matt 16:15-18):
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."
At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came as He had never come before. In the past, He came upon individuals, inspiring prophets and priests. Now He was given to all who place their trust in Jesus, allowing us all to share God’s message to the world - that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (2:21)
The signs were not new - the Wind and the Fire and the Tongues - they had all been associated with God’s Spirit in the Scriptures, but here the Spirit manifested Himself in greater intensity, with greater power, and greater scope - He comes upon the whole community of believers. There was a sense of overflowing fullness. He now dwells in every believer.
This was God’s gift to the Church. WHY? Jesus said it - 1:8 "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses..."
Bro & Sis, it is very obvious here - we cannot grow the church without Him. It is not an institution created by man. Man did not establish this organisation called the church. God did. In fact, it is more an organism rather than an organisation. It grows because it has life - the new life in Christ, born-again life. Today, we are all called the church because our lives have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 3:5-6 "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."
What can we learn here - we need to rely upon the Holy Spirit in all our ministries. We must seek Him in everything we do. Simply put, we must PRAY. Every ministries and work we do must be undergird by prayer. Because it is simply how we organises things, or plan things. It is not just about good management, not about strategy, how to reach out - although these are important but it is not simply that. It is NOT the wisdom of man...
Paul says in 1 Cor 2:1-4
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God... I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power...
Jesus spoke to His disciples - His farewell speech before the last supper - John 16:5-14 [READ]
"The Church is God’s beacon of TRUTH - we need to Holy Spirit to guide us on this...
"This message we are telling the world will CONVICT them - sin, righteousness, judgement...and that conviction comes from the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost reminds us that it is futile for us to work and work, if deep down in our hearts we have no sense of reliance upon Him. We must constantly commit all our ministries to God in prayer.
The Church may never be the most popular institution in the world, because the Church goes counter to popular culture. God wants the Church to stand for the truth, to be faithful in preaching the message of the Gospel, because the Church belongs to God. It is His Church, not ours.
(2) THE CHURCH’S PURPOSE IS CLEAR - TO COMMUNICATE GOD’S LOVE TO THE WORLD
We are to communicate God’s love to a lost & dying world.
The thrust of Pentecost is communication.
¡¤ On Pentecost day, the thing that stands out most - is that God gave the gift of tongues. In an instance, they were able to speak languages they did not know. Look at the list in 2:9-10. Someone recorded down the languages - at least 16 different locations.
There were many people from the regions in Jerusalem that day, because it was also the Feast of Harvest or Weeks or Firstfruits (cf. Exo 23:16; 34:22). The purpose of this feast was to commemorate the completion of the grain harvest - they gathered in Jerusalem to give thanks to God for the harvest.
And what were these disciples talking about - in at least 16 languages?
Acts 2:11 "...we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
We know now why God blessed them with such a miracle and particularly miraculous tongues? TO DECLARE THE WONDERS OF GOD.
Looking at the context, obviously a language barrier existed. Yet God wanted all man to be able to hear His message in his own language.
¡¤ Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes on you... you will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem and then throughout the world, to the ends of the earth (1:8).
And today, many Christian groups are doing the same... learning tribal languages, translating the Bible, training missionaries so that they can return to their own people and share the Gospel... so that all nations will be able to receive God’s message.
We must do whatever we can do, but the purpose has never changed. The moment you become a Christian, the moment I become a Christian, God commissions us to share this simple message with our little section of the world.
JOHN 3:16 BANNER
There was a man named Roland Stuart. His story appeared in Peoples Magazine a few years ago. He was a drunk, an alcoholic. He met Jesus, accepted Him as his Saviour, became a Christian, and God delivered him of his alcoholism. One day, the idea struck him that if he could just get into major sporting events and put the Word of God before the people, it would be seen by hundreds of thousands, and maybe even millions of people on TV.
Together with his wife and a friend William James, they use their money to buy tickets to major sporting events to hang out a banner saying, "JOHN 3:16" so that it would be captured by the crown and the cameras. Today, they are living a very simple life, driving an old beat-up van, telling the story of the Gospel wherever they go.
Many who watched sporting events - a Super Bowl or Monday night football game - have seen the giant sign saying "John 3:16". And we do not know how many have turned to it and read, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son."
That’s one way Roland Stuart wanted the world to know.
We may not want to do it his way. But the point is, here is a man who heard God¡¯s command to tell the world. When you and I are saved by the blood of Jesus and become His children, then our heavenly Father expects us to do the best we can to tell the world about His Son.
Conclusion - PENTECOST reminds us that
¡¤ the Church was established by God, and we needed the power of the Holy Spirit in all our ministries. Zech 4:6 ’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,?says the LORD Almighty. The world then was changed because of Pentecost, and it ought to be the same today. God is going to make His imprints upon the world through the church.
¡¤ the purpose of the Church is to communicate His story - "to tell the old, old story, of Jesus and His love." [Hymn 334 I Love to Tell the Story]
This morning, if you¡¯re lonely or tired, not knowing the meaning and purpose of life, you need to know that Story of Jesus - He came to look for you. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. All who place their trust in Him will be saved. We’ll have eternal life. The Bible says (Acts 2:21): "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
You can pray and invite Jesus into your life, by acknowledging your need of Him and accept Him as your Saviour. He loves you, and He is waiting for you.
