What Was That? Series

Video Illustration: The Bible the Day of Pentecost.

Series: AD

Sermon 3: What was that? Who was that?

Subject: Pentecost: The outpouring of the Holy Spirit

Thesis: Pentecost was the fulfillment of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit on a bunch of ordinary people so that they could change the world.

Scripture Text:

Acts 2:1-4: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Introduction:

Pentecost Sunday comes 50 days after Easter Sunday, hence its name. The Greek word for 50 is Pentecost. The beginning of Pentecost is recorded in Acts 2:1-2. The disciples of Jesus were gathering and praying together on this day when the Holy Spirit filled them and birthed the modern Church age: "Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting." Jesus sent the disciples and us the Holy Spirit and He is still relevant for today.

Quote: Michele Vu From Christian Post explains Pentecost this way: When the Holy Spirit descended some 2,000 years ago, one of Jesus' disciples, Peter, explained the event to a perplexed crowd by invoking Prophet Joel's words: "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out 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. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." While words such as "prophecy" and "visions" may scare some people off or evoke bad memories for others, Skinner explained that this is not about seeing into the future, but rather seeing God as active or visible in the world now that Jesus has gone and the Spirit has arrived. Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/51096/#xG2zgPgqjEjI5oUA.99

The Holy Spirit came on these men and women to show that God is real and that He is engaging the people who follow Him.

Thoughts from George Wood and Ad series:

“Although this week in the A.D. series you will see the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has always been working. From the beginning, Scripture says, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). In the Old Testament, we frequently read about the actions of the Holy Spirit. He would come upon people, such as judges, kings, and prophets.

In the New Testament, the Spirit of God conceived Jesus in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:35), descended upon Him bodily as a dove at His baptism (Luke 3:22), anointed His preaching ministry (Luke 4:16), and gave Him supernatural power to perform signs and wonders (Matthew 12:28).

And then after His resurrection, Jesus promised His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Jesus kept His promise on the Day of Pentecost, when God poured out the Holy Spirit upon the believers gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-4). The impact of the arrival of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that, as you will see in this week’s episode, it galvanized Peter and gave him and the other disciples the courage to preach openly (Acts 2:14)—resulting in a great revival (Acts 2:47) and a great missions movement that took the Gospel from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts 28:14) and, over the centuries, from Rome to us.”

Yes, you and I are linked all the way back to this special day. The reason we a re here to worship was because of this great spirit empowered moment. It birthed the church and set in motion our salvation.

T.S. - The Holy Spirit’s outpouring in our Bible text today helped empower the disciples of Jesus to change the world! Do you think they changed the world? Did these disciples of Jesus by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit change the world? Do you think they did? The answer is a big - Yes! So what does Pentecost mean for us today? It seems like an old fashioned word but it comes with great meaning and life changing history?

I. What should the word Pentecost mean to us?

a. Pentecost is both a historic and contemporary event. Historically, it first occurred on the Day of Pentecost with some 120 persons being baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were believers in Christ before being baptized in the Holy Spirit. Today, Pentecost occurs again and again with believers who are open to receive it. History, thereby, becomes a living reality!