Pentecost literally means fiftieth. It was the fiftieth day after Passover. It was one of the three mandatory Jewish feasts for those who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem. It was one of the most heavily attended by those Jews who lived far away, because it was the time of year when weather was most favorable for travel. Pentecost was a celebration of the beginning of barley harvest. It was also a celebration to remember when the Law was given to Moses. Today is Pentecost. As the Jews gathered for Pentecost, some 2000 years ago, a small group of 120 disciples of Jesus gathered in an upper room obeying Jesus’ instruction to wait for the power to be a witness. You see, they had been cowering, fearful traitors up until this point. It almost looked as if the three years Jesus invested in them was wasted. But Jesus told them to wait for the Promise of the Father. 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. Where had Jesus spoken about that? We find those words in John 26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” And also it says 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The promise goes back much further, all the way to Ezekiel and even Jeremiah says 33"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Ezekiel prophesied about this day with these words, “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” Here was this little band of followers of Jesus waiting in that upper room for the power to testify with the presence of the Holy Spirit. 8But 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." Let’s read the account of what happened on Pentecost 2000 years ago. 1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Did you picture that in your mind? This little band of frightened followers is praying for God to do what Jesus had promised and fill them with the power to witness. They knew the Spirit had come upon the prophets. The Spirit had been with them, but Jesus said He was going to come and live in them! 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Suddenly it sounds like a hurricane, and a ball of fire appears. In the Old Testament the Lord dwelt with His people in the Holy of holies over the Mercy Seat in the form of a ball of light. This was the manifest presence of God. God cannot be confined to one area, but this was something for them to grasp the reality of His presence. Now the ball of light comes into the room where they are praying. It had been centuries since Israel had seen it, for their rebellion against God caused it to depart and you can read that in Ezekiel. Now it is back; the presence of God is back. That alone was cause for great joy, but something that was almost beyond the wildest expectations of man was taking place. The ball of light was separating into little flames of fire, and settling over each person. The prophecies were happening right before their eyes. Jesus had come to live in them, just as He had promised. This day was a celebration of the gift of the Law. The Law drastically changed their idea of how to relate to one another. But now, another greater and more drastic change was happening on the very day they were celebrating the gift of the Law. The power to live the Spirit of the Law was being given to man. That would drastically alter the way they lived, not just in concept, but also in actual practice. They were so filled with joy and wonder that the gathering crowd thought they were drunk. They began to speak of Jesus to the crowd that had come from great distances to the feast of Pentecost. They were amazed to hear their own languages spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Then Peter stood up and explained that this was the fulfillment of the prophecies, and quoted the prophet Joel. 17‘in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. The Promise of the Father through the prophets was taking place. The Spirit of God no longer just came upon people, but because the sacrifice of Jesus had made, those who would receive Him and by faith be right with God would now find the Spirit living in them. Peter went on to tell them that King David had predicted the resurrection of Christ 1000 years earlier. He told them that they were witnesses that God had indeed raised Jesus in fulfillment of that prophecy. Because we are all born rebels against God, defiantly going are own way, we could say this was true of all of us. It is not likely that that crowd was the same one that shouted, “Crucify Him!” fifty days earlier. But Jesus did die for their sins and ours. Their reaction was the only that one man should have. 37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter tells us what we should do when we realize we have been living a life as if we were the Creator and not the creation. He tells us what to do when we realize that God sent His only Son to save us, to die for our
rebellion against God, to take the justice that should have been dealt out to us. 38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." Let’s examine what Peter said, or better yet, what the Holy Spirit said through Peter. Repent! That means to have a revolution in the way you think. You once thought you were boss. Pleasure and personal gain were all that mattered. “Take what you can before someone else does” was your motto. A revolution in your thinking is to think like Jesus taught us on the Sermon on the Mount. Recognize you are in desperate spiritual need. You need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, not worldly pleasures or even physical needs. You are blessed when people badmouth you because you are faithful to Jesus. Most of all, it doesn’t matter if you do what looks good to men, but whether or not your heart belongs to Jesus. Does He know you? Are you seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness? That is a revolution in the way man thinks. Before it was all about you. Now you realize it is all about Jesus. That is repentance. You have been master of your life, now you realize you need to invite Jesus to be your Master. Next Peter declares that you will receive the Holy Spirit. The amazing power of the presence of God in your life is yours when you repent and are baptized. The promise God made through the prophets, the promise that Jesus made, will be yours! The Spirit of God will come and make His home in you. 23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Peter said the promise is to you!
You don’t have to be good enough. You don’t have to beg and plead for a second blessing. God wants to give the Spirit to those who ask Him. You may be filled again. 31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. You may not have a sensation of feeling, you may make more space for Him at a later time and be fuller than you are now, but the promise is to all who repent and are baptized. I’m afraid there are many who have acknowledged the fact that Jesus died for them and have prayed for the gift of salvation but have not had a change of mind. They have not crossed that crucial bridge of repentance. Imagine this. Your child is rebellious and disobedient. Because of that, you are not going to take them into your arms and love on them and give them gifts and privileges. You want to hear them acknowledge that they are wrong and need to change. If they ask for their toy and a snack and your loving favor and have had no change of heart, they are being presumptuous about your love. They are presuming they are so special they can get away with anything and expect you to overlook it all, letting them continue to rebel and disobey. There must be a change for relationship to be restored. There has to be a turning around in the way they are thinking. That baptism said, “I’m burying my old way, and rising up to a new life.” Then, only then, is the promise yours. That very day of Pentecost, 3000 were baptized and received the promise! The verses that follow tell us what life is to look like when we are in a group of people who have repented and were baptized and received the promise of the Spirit. 42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. They devoted themselves to several things. The first was learning about the life and teachings of Jesus, called the apostles’ teaching. As I taught before, if we don’t have enough love to remember Jesus’ instruction, we don’t love Him much. Take time to be in God’s word! It is essential for spiritual growth to take time in God’s word. They devoted themselves to fellowship. You can study on your own, but when you share your life with your brothers and sisters in Christ, it becomes much more practical. We need to share our lives. We were designed to work together. They devoted themselves to communion, which is remembering what Jesus did for them. And they devoted themselves to prayer. Are you spending time alone with the Lord to share your heart with Him? Do you communicate with Him as you go through your day as we learned in the last two weeks? He wants to hear your heart and direct your life if you will let Him. Devote yourselves to prayer. Remember that I am praying for you. I trust you are praying for me.
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