Today is Pentecost Sunday. We want to read about the birth of the church in Acts 2:1-8.
We celebrate the birth of Jesus, and everyone knows it is Christmas. We remember His resurrection, and most people recognise that Easter is a special day to the Christians. But when we talk about Pentecost – the event we read about in Acts 2 – the coming of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus promised – few people realises it. Most felt that this day isn’t that important.
But the Scriptures tell us otherwise. Jesus asked the disciples to wait for this day. See John 16:7-8 “7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment…”
The Holy Spirit has a specific task, and the world needs Him. Without Him, no one would know they are lost, and in need of a Saviour. No one would understand the Gospel, and know that there is a way out. The Bible says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Cor 4:4.
1. Lives can only be changed with the help of the Holy Spirit
If we want to see a change in your life, or a change in someone lives, human efforts won’t do. No matter how sincere or diligent we may be. The problem is not with education. It has to do with our heart. We are all sinners, in need of God’s help. Only the Holy Spirit can convict man of his guilt and his need of Jesus.
And so we pray for our relatives and friends, that they will be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit when they have the chance to hear the Gospel. He is in our world today, doing what He has come to do – to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:8). That is why we are told in the Bible not to “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph 4:30) or “put out the Spirit’s fire” [quench not the Holy Spirit] (1 Thess 5:19), because He is speaking today.
We see this change in the lives of the group of followers in Acts 2. Some were fishermen; we have among them former prostitutes, ex-religious leaders, and tax collectors. And God formed them into a united group, we called the church. Before Pentecost, they were afraid and weak. They lacked faith, and did not fully understand God’s plan.
But now that the Holy Spirit is with them, they become courageous leaders, passionate preachers of the Gospel. They were united as never before, even though they were all very different.
And so we see that after the ascension of Jesus, the disciples obeyed the Lord’s instruction and waited. They waited for ten days, and finally the Scriptures tells us the Holy Spirit came upon them on the day of Pentecost – “fiftieth”, the 50th day after the Passover.
This group, we called church, was born at Pentecost. So in a way, we’e all part of it. This day was also significant in the OT. The people of Israel celebrate a feast called the Feast of Pentecost (feast of weeks). It is a celebration for the harvest – the harvest of grain. But now, for the church, Pentecost signifies the harvest of souls.
But we are not alone on this task. The Lord did not expect His disciples to do it alone. Acts 1:4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”
Acts 1:8 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."
And when it happens in Acts 2:2 - the Bible says “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house…” Where? From heaven. The power comes from heaven.
2. To witness effectively, we need the power of the Holy Spirit
WINDING THE WATCH
A lady went to a shop to have her watch fixed. The man disappeared to the back and soon returned with it running perfectly.
Surprised, she asked how he could fix it so soon. He told her it only needed a new battery.
“Battery? Nobody said anything about a battery. I’ve been winding it every day for the past 2 years!"
She thought it was her efforts that kept the watch running. Sometimes, we think that way too. We felt it was our efforts that kept things running.
We need to pray constantly, for the Holy Spirit to fill us and use us.
The reason for the need of this power is very clear. Jesus says, “And you will be my witnesses…” The purpose of the church is to communicate God’s love to a lost and dying world.
The theme of Pentecost is communication. God gave them the gifts of tongues so that they are able to speak the native languages of the surrounding regions. The purpose is to communicate the wonders of God in the native tongues; in understandable languages (2:11).
God’s intention here is clear – the message of the Gospel must be preached to all peoples, the ends of the earth. We need to communicate it. Unless people hear the Gospel, they are not able to respond. Therefore the Gospel needs to be communicated to every tribe and tongues in this world, in their own languages.
If you look at the long list of nations in 2:9-11, you’ll see that a language barrier exists. God wants them – every one of them – to hear the message in his own language. The focus here is not the tongues, but evangelism. The world needs to hear the message of God’s love.
What does this tells us? If we can understand the heart of God here, then we need to tell others about Jesus. Unless someone goes to them, they would not be able to hear the Gospel. We must do whatever we can do. The purpose has not changed.
The moment we come to know Christ, God commissions us to share this message with our world. Your world may be just the circle of friends you know, the people you work with. The Lord did not expect His disciples to go to the ends of the world right at the start – they are to share the Gospel in Jerusalem first, and then Judea and Samaria.
Start where we are. But we’ve got to start. That’s why Jesus asked us to go. The people will not come to church. We have to go to them. First, we need to be convinced that only the Holy Spirit can change lives; and secondly, we need to have His power and strength to do the task. His power is available to us today. God did not ask His people to do His work without giving them the power to do it. This is why the disciples were asked to wait in Jerusalem until power from on high descended upon them.
Paul says in 1 Cor 2:4-5 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”
This reminds us of the need to pray if we want to see the lost reached for Christ. We may have shared and no one listens to us. In most cases, we would probably find people rejecting what they hear. But we must continue and not give up.
RUNNING OUT OF OIL
One New Year’s Day, in the Tournament of Roses parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quit. It was out of gas. The whole parade was held up until someone could get a can of gas.
The amusing thing was this float represented the Standard Oil Company. With its vast oil resources, its truck was out of gas.
Often, Christians neglect their spiritual maintenance, and though they are "clothed with power" (Luke 24:49), they find themselves out of gas.
In the OT, within the Tabernacle, the fire on the altar must be kept burning – it cannot be allowed to go out (Lev 6:12-13). Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat on it, because the fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously. It must not go out.
Today, as the NT puts it, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19) – the light of Christ must shine. It should never be allowed to go out! The Bible says 1 Thess 5:19 “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”
Are we going to make a difference in this world in these last days? Yes, we are. Let’s put our hearts and minds together, and let’s reach the lost for Christ.
Dear friends, the Lord wants us as Christians to share the Gospel, because every man needs to know. Jesus is the Son of God who came and died for you. He died to take your place, so that you can be saved and be forgiven of your sin against God. He loves you and wants you to come back, but you need to accept Jesus as your Saviour. You can do that by a simple prayer – asking Jesus to forgive you and inviting Him into your life. And you’ll be blessed.
