PENTECOST TODAY ? # 1

 

Today, in our church calendar, we remember  Pentecost- the day when the Holy Spirit came. He is the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4 ; Jn 14:16,26)  and  of the  Son (Jn 16:7) to the church.  Jesus says : “ It is to your advantage that I  go away , for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” 

A few introductory remarks:  

The Holy Spirit is called  “ruach” in the  Hebrew OT, and “pneuma hagios” in the Greek Septuagint and  NT. This  literally  translates as  “breath”  (e.g.  Genesis  2:7 ) or “ holy wind” Jesus, in Jn 3:1-8 likens the Spirit to the wind.  With this in mind we must not be tempted to think of  the Holy Spirit as  an impersonal force   or influence. Many  in history  have been tempted  to think of the Holy Spirit as an ‘it’ (a thing / influence), rather than  a “He” - a Person(ality). The Lord Jesus spoke about Him  and when He comes  in John 14 & 16 [1]  in terms of a real person, who  stands apart  from God the Father and God the Son,  yet sharing the very attributes of   God.  For this reason  the church in history has often referred to  Him as   the third member( or person)  of the  Godhead or  the Trinity . 

Like the Lord Jesus Christ  (the promised Messiah), the Holy Spirit  does not  simply  appear  in the NT. They are  both  known and spoken of  in the OT. It is true however  that  they are both  revealed in a fuller measure  in the NT.  In fact,   the  doctrine of the Trinity  has  become only obvious  in the light of Christ’s  and the Spirit’s coming.  Because   of this  we can also  know the  Father  better.  The Lord Jesus Christ  has come to ‘exegete’ and show  us  the Father (Jn 1:18 ; 14:9)  and the  Holy Spirit  (John 14- 16).

The Holy Spirit  as the wind or breath, the Life Giver,  is  the eternal  Holy Spirit (Hebr 9:14). This is one of God’s attributes.  The Holy Spirit has also  been  there at the beginning  of  creation…. “and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:2).  He  orders and completes  and executes what has been planned in the mind of God the Father. In the NT the Holy Spirit  applies  the redemption wrought by Christ  to our fallen  natures . He helps us  see the horrible nature of our sin (through conviction)   and at the same time He helps us  to understand  the glorious work  of Christ   on the cross  (through comforting).  So we see that  the  Father  has planned our  redemption ; Jesus the Son  is our redemption ,  and the  Holy Spirit  applies  that redemption  by helping helps dead sinners to see , believe and receive  that redemption .  

There is yet  another work that the Holy Spirit is engaged in.  Both in the OT and the NT  He  empowers people.  However, there is a crucial difference in His work  in the NT.  In the OT  the Holy Spirit  came upon people,  empowering  them for various tasks for which they needed help. [2]   In  the NT, the Holy Spirit  would   be  perpetually with[3] and in  the life of every  true believer (see Jn 14:16 & 17 !). Ever since  Pentecost, the Holy Spirit  resides  permanently  among, in and with God’s people.  In this He continually empowers  believers  in the work of  witnessing to Christ’s  work on the cross (Acts 1:8), and He helps   them  to  produce fruit in  keeping with repentance (Gal. 5:22,23). He  also helps  them  in prayer and intercedes for  them. (Rom  8:26-27)

All this by way of a broad introduction  to the person and work of the Holy Spirit, whom  we are now  privileged to have  in us and with us. His presence  makes the living church a unique     institution upon the face of the earth. No other  body  of people  is so favoured and indwelt by  God as the true church  is. No other organization has as much real power and authority  and the presence of God as the true church has.  I say “true church”, because not every  church is a true church.  Many so called churches no longer walk  in fellowship with the  Spirit. Many have grieved the Holy Spirit.  They have been abandoned  by Him, as  He had  abandoned the   temple of Israel in the  days of Ezekiel  (Ezekiel 10).  Let us frequently  learn to examine ourselves  and pray like David : “Cast me (us)  not  from your presence , and take not your Holy Spirit from me (us) .”

Frequently Asked Questions

And  now we  shall  look at some peculiar   questions  relating to  the coming of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. It is worth our while to take some time to answer  these,  since the church in the 20^th century has suffered  severely  from  a lack  of  mature reflection upon the  nature of Pentecost  - the coming of the Holy Spirit . We will deal  with four questions frequently  asked concerning   Pentecost :  [4]

 

1.      Were the  disciples of Christ genuine believers before Pentecost?  What difference did Pentecost make?

2.    How is the day of Pentecost  (Acts 2)  related to  subsequent outpourings of the Spirit in  Samaria (Acts 8:4-25) , in Caesarea  (Acts 10:1ff) , and  Ephesus (Acts 19: 1-7) ? A related  question  to this  is: do these passages about  the outpouring of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost  point  us to a second experience of the Holy Spirit?

3.      What is the  relationship between  Pentecost and  the baptism of which Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 12:13?

4.      Is Pentecost  a repeatable event ? Should we expect  tongues and fire  to descend  on  modern congregations ?

Since these  questions  cannot be  dealt with in the course of the time that we have available this morning, I will  only answer the first question  and deal with the next three questions in our evening service.

1.      Were the  disciples of Christ genuine believers before Pentecost ?  What difference did Pentecost make ?

The question is sometimes asked whether   the disciples of  Jesus  were true  believers  before Pentecost.  If the Holy Spirit is needed  to help us to see our sin and our  need for Christ, then it is sometimes argued   that they may have become true  believers only  at  Pentecost, for that is when  the Spirit was given!  To say that is to portray one’s ignorance concerning the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT. The Holy Spirit  of the OT is the same Spirit  of the NT. He  is mentioned  88 times in the OT, although the actual  term   “Holy Spirit” is only mentioned 3 times in the OT  (e.g. Ps 51:11) . Other  terms used  are  e.g.  “the Spirit of God”  (Gen 1:2).  23 OT books refer to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit  certainly was known  before Pentecost. He is frequently mentioned in the gospels which all refer to events before Pentecost [5]. Jesus  taught about the Holy Spirit  in John Chapters  14 and 16.   The Holy Spirit was certainly known and active in the OT  and in the days of Christ on earth.  

There can be no doubt that the disciples  (minus  Judas the traitor)   were genuine believers  before Pentecost. In  John 13  Jesus  makes it explicitly clear that all  of the disciples were cleansed (Jn. 13:10) and united to Christ (Jn. 15:1-11)  - all  except  Judas  (cf.  Jn. 13:10,11,18,21 ; Jn.  17:12). How then were  OT  believers  justified, since  neither Christ, the Messiah (who  provides atonement)  nor the Holy Spirit  (who convicts us of our sin  and opens our eyes to receive Christ) had yet been given?

The answer  is deeply profound , but  not difficult: All God’s  people  were ultimately chosen (predestined)  in eternity past  (see Eph 1:3-14 ; Romans 9 ;  1 Thess 1:4,5). All God’s chosen  people  were seen as being in Christ , before  the work  of the cross  actually  happened  in  the course of time.  How  was Abraham, for instance,  redeemed  from  his sin  and accounted righteous before God, even though He had not yet heard  of or seen  Christ? The answer is that  it was the Holy Spirit in   him that stirred  his  faith, and made him believe  in God’s future provision of grace.  He looked forward, in faith. to the fulfillment of God’s promises ?  And how  are you redeemed? In the same way . The Holy Spirit stirs up faith in you and you look backward to the cross of Christ and by faith in Him you are saved . The cross  is found at the center  of history. The OT believer looks forward to the cross,  by faith,  to the fulfillment of God’s promises   and the  NT  believer looks backwards to the cross, by faith , helped by the Holy Spirit ( who shows you the Scriptures) , and so  you are   redeemed , justified  and  adopted   into God’s family!  Christ’s death is the ground for  every believer’s justification- whether they  live before the cross or after the cross . From the perspective of the Pre – Pentecost  disciples  of   Jesus, they were saved because Jesus was going to lay down His life for them (minus Judas)

But  what  was  the difference between  their pre Pentecost and  post Pentecost experience? Was there any advantage  gained for them by  their Pentecostal experience?  Is there  an improvement of  the  knowledge of God  from the OT to the NT ? Absolutely !   

B.B. Warfield  writes in his book  : “The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity” :

The Old Testament may be likened to a chamber richly furnished but dimly lighted; the introduction of light brings into it nothing which was not in it before; but it brings out into clearer view much of what is in it but was only dimly or even not at all perceived before. The mystery of the Trinity is not revealed in the Old Testament; but the mystery of the Trinity underlies the Old Testament revelation, and here and there almost comes into view. Thus the Old Testament revelation of God is not corrected by the fuller revelation which follows it, but only perfected, extended and enlarged.

At Pentecost  a phenomenal  leap took place.  The disciples  gained a confidence, knowledge, power and a  equipping   for the  task of making  the ancient plan of God, the gospel,   (embodied in His Son, the Lord Jesus) effectively   known to the entire  world. Because of Pentecost they  and we were enabled  to  effectively carry out the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) to the nations.   You and I have not only become  recipients  of that gospel, but we  been also empowered to  share that Gospel  today.  Thank God for Pentecost !

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[1] See  especially John  16:12-15

[2]  E.g.  Bezalel & Oholiab (Ex 31:1ff);  Judges  3:10 ( Ehud) ; 6:34 ( Gideon);  14:6,19; 15:14  ( Samson); 1 Samuel 10:10; 11:6  (Saul) ;  Ezekiel 2:2; 3:12,14 etc ( Ezekiel)

[3] One of his names  is the ‘ paraclete’  lit. one who comes alongside , hence ‘ with’

[4]  Taken from Sinclair Ferguson : The Holy Spirit : Ch 4-  Pentecost Today?  P. 79

[5]   Luke speaks about the Holy Spirit in  the gospel  a number  of  times, particularly in the life of John the Baptist and Jesus.  Jesus teaches His disciples also to  expect the Holy Spirit to help them prior to Pentecost  (see for example  Lk 11:13; 12:12  ; and again in John 14 & 16)

What to do between Ascension and Pentecost?

 

TEXT :  Acts  1:12-2:1

TITLE:   What to do between Ascension and Pentecost?

Date :  20/05/2012

Chronologically,  we are  now between  the Ascension of  the Lord Jesus Christ  and Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit – the promise of the Father -  Acts 1:4). This ‘in between period‘ corresponds  to  Acts  1:12-26. This is the text we shall  consider today.

Next week D.V. on Pentecost Sunday I would like to consider with you  the message and meaning of Pentecost (Acts  2). We  would like  to follow   this up  by  spending  3 days in  prayer (Monday 28^th May- Wednesday 30^th May), seeking  the LORD  for   personal and national  revival  and  renewal.  By then we  will also be  half way through the year. We shall  need   God’s  help  to be all that He wants us to be in these challenging  days. God has called  us to be  primarily His holy worshipping  people,  His body on earth  and  His  witnesses to the ends of the earth. We need His help  to be that and to do that  by prayer. Prayer is the language of dependence upon God. Prayer give us perspective for life. Being too busy to pray robs us of such  perspective.   Therefore prepare your hearts now  for  focused prayer.

Acts  1:12-26  : Survey

What  was  the most important activity  of the disciples   between   the Ascension of Christ and Pentecost as they were told to wait for the promise of the Father? According to Luke, ( author  of the Gospel and of Acts) they  were continually in the temple  blessing God  (Lk 24:53) and  here in the book of Acts  they  were devoting[1] themselves also to prayer,  together with  the women and Mary , the mother of Jesus, and His brothers (v.14), while they were waiting for the promise of the Father.  They worshipped  God in the temple and they  had prayer meetings in their home. John Stott says: “It was  a healthy combination: continuous praise in the temple, and continuous  prayer in the home.”[2] 

One of the things they  dealt with was  the matter of  Judas’ desertion and tragic death  and  destiny. The apostle Peter  speaking  from v. 15 onwards, giving perspective to all this,  also sees  from  the Scripture   in Psalm  109:8  that another one must take the place of Judas. “Let another take his office (ESV)  / his place of leadership (NIV)“. This is important  since the testimony  of the resurrection of Jesus  Christ (v.22)  must be  authenticated in the face of many skeptics and challenges. The  criteria set for the election  of a new apostle are  simple. He must have  accompanied the disciples during all the time that the Lord Jesus  went in  and out among them-  and specifically,   from the days of the baptism of John until the day when He was taken up from us  - one of these men must become with us a witness to His resurrection”. Two men were selected Joseph (Barsabbas i.e. Son of Sabbas) also known as Justus  and Matthias.  After   committing this matter  to prayer,  lots were  cast and the lot fell to Matthias, and so he became the 12^th member on the apostolic team.  This then was one of the important things they prayed  for in their  prayer meetings. They prayed for a completion  of their leadership team.  I will come back to this  in conclusion  because our church has presently great need in this  very same area.

Worship, prayer, witness! These things  are  the   key activities  of the church , and whatever we fail  to do, we must not  fail in  these  areas. In the context of our text  in Acts , I want to zoom in on one of these core  activities – prayer. Verse 14 says that, with one  accord, they were devoting  themselves  to prayer. 

Verse 14  :  Notes on Prayer  

1.  They were  there with one accord . They were of one mind. There was unity.  They had a common  goal and purpose. Nothing was dividing them now. We were created for unity . It is sin that separates us . It is our desires that drive us apart. A united, praying  church is a powerful church. She has the ear of God. She portrays  heaven on earth. Psalm 133 testifies to this. No wonder that Satan  continuously works to divide us. He fears  the united, praying church more than anything else upon the face of  the earth. 

2.   They were  continually  devoted to the work of prayer.  Prayer was a major  work in this congregation.  In one sense we can say that the Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost as the sovereign  promise   of God and on the other hand  we can say that the Holy Spirit came  because   He was  prayed for. When God intends to do a work in our midst, He first  gets His people praying. We see this here. A season of devoted  prayer precedes the coming of the Holy Spirit. Never underestimate  the importance of  the prayer meeting in the life of the church, and be very concerned when the prayer meeting of the church is  attended by the minority  and not the majority!  If  a large percentage of the body is absent  from public prayer, this generally points to divided priorities,  divided hearts  and therefore a lack of  spiritual  unity  and purpose. You are probably asking : do  these people in the Bible  never work? Answer : They do , but they are not firstly known by what they do. They are firstly known as worshippers of the living God!  Unfortunately our Protestant work ethic  so easily substitutes  work for worship , when in reality our work should be driven by our worship. Let me therefore encourage you to consider the prayer meetings of your church in that light.

Now, it is not that we have to ask for a new Pentecost. It is not  that  the  Holy Spirit  needs to come again  from heaven. Pentecost is  a unique, unrepeatable   historic  occasion. He has come, and He has not been withdrawn. Jesus has promised that He would continue  to  be with us   as our Comforter, Counselor  and Convicter of sin.  However, consider this, that in the New Testament  period God  wants us  to seek the help of the outpoured Holy Spirit by asking !

         a.God commands His people  to  pray  without ceasing. 

    In the OT corporate  temple prayer  was  a daily  occurrence (see Acts  2:42; Acts  3:1). The early church  was  continuously devoted to prayer, and although the church at this time had not yet received the Holy Spirit, they were  waiting, until He had been given. We  today  have the Holy Spirit, but  we need to continually  ask  Him to be involved in all that we do, remembering  that without God’s help we really can do nothing  of everlasting value (see Jn 15). So, the life of  the Christian and of the Christian church should be driven by continual prayer. 

          b. God commands  the church  to  ask for  the Holy Spirit. 

    He promises to give Him in response to  our asking: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” The gift  of the Holy Spirit is always associated with conversion  (Jn 3:1-8 ; 1 Pet 1:12) and empowerment for effective ministry  (Lk 4:1; 1 Cor 12 ; Hebr 2:4)   and joy (Lk 10:21 ; 1Thess 1:6).  And so, although the Spirit has been given ,  every new NT generation needs to continually   seek God  in prayer and ask  for  the help and power of the Holy Spirit   in terms  of everything that we do.  James points out   that  a worldly church  “does not have , because it does not ask, and  when it does ask,it does not receive because it asks wrongly to spend it on  its passions.” (James 4:2,3). There can be no doubt that we must ask . It is an exercise of our faith! It is a logical extension  of our faith!  In this  act of faith  we must believe and not doubt  (James 1:5-8). God is  for us when we pray in the Holy Spirit.  John  14:12-14,  Jesus tells  His disciples: [12] “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. [13] Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.( see also 15:16 ; 16:23-24). 

       c.God commands the church to pray in the Spirit in all occasion (Eph 6:18; Jude v.20). This does not mean  ‘speaking in  tongues’   so much as  praying in and by and under  the power of the Holy Spirit  i.e. effectively  and with confidence  (1 Jn 5:14,15).

       d.We are  warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Lk 12:10; Eph 4:30), for if we do so, He may be withdrawn, and  our prayers  rendered ineffective. It is ultimately the Holy Spirit that intercedes for us  and makes our prayers intelligible before the throne of God (Rom 8:26,27). If  we are not helped by Him in prayer,  God will be silent, something which the Psalmist dreaded (Psalm  28:1; 35:22; 83:1)

So , with all  this in mind , what  was this church praying for  between the Ascension and Pentecost ?

We cannot say  with  certainty, but  the following three aspects   for which they prayed  may be deduced from   Acts 1 and 2. 

1  (i)      They were  praying for the promise of the Father: the descension of the Holy Spirit  in accordance with the promise of Jesus in John 14 :15-31  and  16: 4-15. This would soon happen in Acts  2.   For us this would mean that  we should pray  that the  promised Holy  Spirit  would  be pleased  visit our city and country . Although the Spirit  of   God has always been at work in the world and in Namibia ( Missionary biography proves this) , we are currently   in a precarious  moment in our history :  the church at large is backslidden, and  it shows in our national morality and the lukewarmness of the  Christian church. Worship is often  man-made, prayer meetings are empty and  our witness  is feeble. The fear of God  is  absent. Thoughtlessness rules  as man made philosophies  and ways of thinking about politics, education, gender, sexuality  etc.  prevail. We need   a new reformation in our society  in regard to these things.

  

     (ii)  They  were praying for power  to be  effective witnesses  to the whole world  (Acts 1:8). This would have included  prayers for personal courage  in the face  of fearful challenges. The   commitment of the Namibian  Church   to   the  great commission  of Christ (Matt 28 :18-20), when  compared, for instance  with the South Korean Church)  is by and large  non existent. We lack power and conviction to this end.  We have been  receiving help  for far too long. We  need to pray that the Holy Spirit would stir many into   mission and evangelistic labour.

    (iii) They were praying  for  leadership. The  church  throughout the ages  has  always  depended on godly and God-given leadership. It is God ‘s means of  leading His church on earth. Where shall  we  get  the pastoral leadership,  the evangelists and the missionary force  from?  Jesus  said: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly  to the  Lord of the harvest   to send out labourers into His harvest.” (Luke  10:2). The disciples in the upper room were therefore acting in accordance with this instruction from the Lord, and  He was not slow in providing them with a replacement called Matthias.  We too are calling you  to pray  for leadership  on various fronts in our church –  for elder’s  and  deacons ,  and labourers  in the harvest field. But you must help us in this regard , brothers and sisters ( 2 Cor 1:10,11).

What to do between Ascension and Pentecost?  The early church was  praying  for God’s kingdom to come; for God’s glory to advance; for His Name to be known  in all the earth; the church was praying for leadership. Let’s join them in this.  Amen !

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[1]  The present participle denotes an ongoing action. The NIV therefore translates “ They all joined together constantly in prayer”

[2] John Stott : Acts , p 52

PENTECOST 2011

TEXT :  Acts 2: 1- 41 

DATE PREACHED  : The Lord's Day , 12th June 2011

Over the last few years  I have  become   increasingly  aware of the significance  of  momentous  events and interventions of God in history , particularly  the   birth , baptism,  the death , the crucifixion , the resurrection , the ascension  of Christ   and  the   coming  of the Holy Spirit  at Pentecost – 50  days after  the Resurrection of Christ .   Now these great events at the may be  compressed  into  a period of  about  35 years.   I  now   have an increased appreciation   for the Christian calendar and the holy days   which are associated with it .  When you think  about this  , these  are  “spiritual earthquake events” . They are spiritual Tsunami’s  which have changed our world forever !  

Isn’t it strange  then  that   the average  evangelical church member   in our country  has  little  appreciation  for these events ? Our teachers  and preachers  have failed to   help our people  to appreciate and  remember  these  important memorials  of the  acts of God in history  .  They  are now associated with ’long weekends’  and  with time to get away.  We speak about Christmas and Easter holidays .

We in Namibia  are  one of the few privileged nations in the world  to still have Ascension day  as a memorial day  , and so we as a church have   had a  time of worship on that day . Now today , 10 days  later,   we remember the next significant event  on the church calendar : Pentecost  - the  coming of the  Holy Spirit !

You will remember that  after His  resurrection  the Lord Jesus had instructed the disciples  not to  leave  Jerusalem   but to wait for the promise of the Father … the Holy Spirit !  What  precisely was the promise ?  “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come 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) . Let us be reminded that the next major event will be the Decension   (or 2^nd coming)  of our Lord Jesus Christ .  The angels  who were present at Christ’s ascension  told the disciples , “ This Jesus , who was taken  up from you into heaven , will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven .”   ( Acts 1:11)

And now in Acts  2 :1 we  read  , “ When the day of Pentecost  arrived[1]…”  . It was that day  of which  Jesus,   and the prophets before Him  e.g. Joel  2:28-32  and   John the Baptist - Lk 3:16  had spoken .  John the Baptist's prophesied  that Christ would  baptize  His disciples with the Spirit and with Fire . Fire is a  symbol of   both cleansing and judgment .That day ( which we remember today)   had now  finally and fully arrived .

I think that  it is important that we  speak about the significance of this event . Unfortunately,  ‘Pentecost’  had become a source of major confusion and  division for Christians in the 20th  century .  A major grouping  of Christians in this world , the ‘Pentecostals’  have taken their  name from this major event. The name  ‘Pentecost’   is taken  from the Greek word for "50",  because this feast occurred fifty days after  the  Passover.  Let us consider  the  historical  event a little closer . Pentecost, in Jewish  circles   was known  as  the Feast of the Firstfruits,  ( or Feast of weeks ) , marking the completion of the barley harvest  . 

It was therefore  a fitting time for the Holy Spirit to come at  this time  to gather  in the  first fruits  from the nations gathered presently  in Jerusalem  for this  feast .  It would be the start  of a missionary movement  which would bring  in a   great world wide harvest  of believers  and  thus  a people  for God’s own glory   !

The Manifestation  :   

The disciples  who have been commanded by Christ to wait   until the Father  had given  them the promise of the Holy Spirit ,  were  together in  prayerful unity. (Acts 2:1). Suddenly  He is there !  There is  sound ( a rushing wind)  and  sight  ( divided tongues of fire) .   The words for wind and spirit are the same in the Greek  language – Pneuma   . The wind is the Spirit . He is the third person  of the Trinity . His appearance  is like the wind – universal and invisible , but  undeniably present and  powerful . 

The Effect :

(i) Those on whom the  tongues of fire rested  “ were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak  in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance “  ( 2:3,4)  .  "Filled with the Spirit" is the same  as being  “baptized with the Spirit”  ( cf. 1:5)  . The  tongues are clear  and discernible  human languages .   The miracle is that they are able  to speak another  language   without having previously learned it .

(ii) The sound  of the  mighty rushing wind and speaking  of  these many languages attracts a crowd  in Jerusalem .  Jews from every nation  were  gathered here providentially for  the Feast .  A list of  various people groups  is given  in vv 9-11  . The list contains nations east and west, north and south of Judea and is clearly meant to indicate the people from all the known world were there, hearing the message in their own vernacular languages. As they  are  hearing this   they are  at  first bewildered   and then  astonished that each person is able to  hear  the declaration of God's mighty works  in his or her native language .

(iii)  "What does this mean?"    is the  logical question  to this  .  Some  simply assume  that  these  people  are  drunk !   Obviously  there were many people in the crowd who knew none of the languages spoken; it would have sounded like gibberish to them. 

The Explanation :

In vv 14- 21   Peter  explains to  the crowd  that what they were  seeing here  was actually  the fulfillment of prophecy.  In support  he   cites  Joel  2:28-32 .  This is a prophecy of the eventual vindication of the people of God in the world and Peter clearly sees Pentecost as  the  next decisive step toward that  final  great day of the Lord  (v.20)

So far for the  text . Now what  does all this have to say too us ?  What is the message – what is  the significance of Pentecost  for  us  today ?

1. Pentecost  is another confirmation  that God  has acted and is acting   in this world .  God is  always at work . God , yet again, takes the initiative  in this world . Yet again …  In the beginning God  !  Why do we need to hear this ?  Because our  major tendency   is to look  at a God centered event  like this  and  turn it into a man centered event . Think about it . What have  all these   debates in recent  years   about Pentecost  and tongues and  baptism in the Spirit produced , if not a horrible division  in the church of God ?  In our current exposition of 1 Corinthians  and as we are  now getting  to Chapters 12 – 14 ,  we shall see  that  the  work and the gifts  of the Holy Spirit in the Corinthian church  have  been turned  into  man manipulated fiasco  ! The gifts from the Spirit   became abused   for self centered ends   rather  than  used for the glory of God .

Pentecost , like everything else  begins with the act of God  and is sustained by the acts of God .  Therefore  our  faith does not so much concern what we are to do,  as to  recognize and see  what God has already done for us in the world.  Let us then  learn  to focus  on what God is  doing first , before we throw ourselves into endless  man centered activity that does nothing  but to clutter our lives and leave us exhausted  !

2.  Pentecost  is a  powerful  reminder  that  God has acted in this world is  by sending His Son into this world to redeem a people for Himself .   The person  of Jesus  Christ is the main point of Peter's Pentecost sermon. ( see v. 22ff)  .The  climactic  event  is  Christ's exaltation (vv. 33-36).  It is this  story about Jesus and His saving work  that   needed  to be told (Acts 1:8)   .  It was for this reason that the disciples needed  power for witnessing .  So Pentecost  is the  amplified  testimony  of the Holy Spirit working in and  through  people , testifying to  the Lord Jesus  Christ . The  power  of  Peter’s  preaching (3,000 converted by that single message (v. 41) showed that the Holy Spirit  was here to accelerate the work of God in the world  now  .   Pentecost is not primarily about the Holy Spirit . It is  about  Jesus! (John 16:13,14) . That is, after all, what we would expect, for Jesus said that the Spirit would speak not about himself but about the Lord  Jesus Christ.

3.Pentecost  is the inauguration of the church's gospel witness to the  whole world. The effect of the Spirit's coming would be that they would be His witnesses to the end of the earth.  This happened  when  the people   from the nations  present in Jerusalem  at the Feast/ Pentecost  heard the gospel in their own language and were converted  and in turn took this gospel out into the world .

4. Pentecost has   led to the formation  of the church ( the ekklesia ) in the world . Those that are converted  through the gospel witness  join the  church .  The   true church  is the  assembly of   God’s  saved people  from  among the Jews and the gentiles .  ( Eph 3:1-11)   The church , indwelt by the Spirit of God  is God’ s plan , God’s missionary movement  to  bring this gospel  about Jesus  to  the nations . He  inspires and drives the church to do the work  in the world .

It is all God’s  wonderful work ! Which is why I want   to  spend   my last  words   on  getting  a false idea  out of us  concerning Pentecost .

5.  Pentecost is not a franchise – not a monopoly of the Holy Spirit .  Many  have spent endless  time  trying to get  hold  of  the Spirit’s power  and to monopolize Him, like  Simon Magus  - Acts  8:19 . We have somehow been led to believe  that  living  in the days of the outpoured Spirit   brings  for us  an  intensification of spiritual experience, some deepening of spiritual insight, some heightening of spiritual power.

The Pentecostals  have   for this reason  taught  a second work of the Holy Spirit – or a so called ‘ baptism in  the Spirit ‘   of which the evidence is  speaking in tongues . This, they claim , propels a Christian  into a new realm of spiritual experience . But we have  been  around long enough now  to see and say that Pentecostals  have  not  been able to convince  the rest of us  that  they are  indeed moving on a higher spiritual plane .  Though they do undoubtedly have godly men and women among them , they do not have a monopoly  on the Holy Spirit .

It is because  this kind of thinking  that  we  also have thought wrongly about the  spirituality  of the OT saints . We somehow think that we are better  than they . Yes , we do have more revelation  than the OT saints , since Jesus  has come to open our understanding  about many things  , but no – we do not necessarily  possess  more spiritual power .

The  plain observation  is  that the  church in the NT is not  better than the assembly of the OT saints. It has the same sins, faces the same danger of apostasy and of grieving the Holy Spirit; it is not obvious that Christian history shows an  improved spiritual standard  to  the days of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, or Jeremiah.  We note  that  Peter will struggle with cowardice after Pentecost as before; Ananias and Sapphira will deceive and  false doctrine will trouble the church in Corinth , Galatia  and  throughout  history  !  

I am afraid  that many   explanations  and theories of superior sanctification  and  accelerated holiness  as a result of  a second experience  of the Holy Spirit   have confused Christians  and have drawn us away  from  focusing on God’s work in the world .

So, what was Pentecost?

It is , what Peter  said in  his sermon . It was the promised  fulfillment  of the word of God  which He had spoken in the beginning to Abraham : “ You will be a father of many nations” ( Gen 12:1-3).  But it could not  have happened without the Lamb of God .  Pentecost  was  a great sign miracle authenticating the birth , death , resurrection  and  exaltation of Jesus Christ. People were freed to speak  about the mighty acts of God . 

It was  an equipping and empowering of the  church for its work of bearing witness to  the Lord  Jesus Christ in the world . (Acts 1:8) .  This  was  a work  that had never been done before .  Before  Pentecost the church was largely confined to the Jews .  Today, because of Pentecost the church spans the world.    This work continues .  The Holy Spirit  wants you and I  to  do the work of  proclaiming the mighty acts  of God in this world . You will never have to worry about   spiritual power . If you are born again , you  do God’s work  which is  to proclaim the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  you may be assured  that you  have  all  God’s  authority  and power with you to do this work. You speak . He does the rest . Sometimes 3000 converts in a day , sometimes one a year !  The angels rejoice when a single sinner  comes home  ! Amen

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[1] sumplerousthai,   lit ‘ to fill completely  ‘ [NIV came;  KJV ‘ fully come’ ]; see also Lk 9:51)