Pentecost Acts 2:1-21
Children of God, to whom the Father has sent the Spirit of His Son, by whom we cry, "Abba, Father",
Happy Birthday! If today is not your birthday, you're probably wondering why I greeted you that way. Actually, today we are celebrating a birthday. Today is Pentecost, and for many, many years it has been nicknamed the "birthday of the New Testament Church." When we hear what happened that day we can see why. On that single day, 3,000 people became Christians, believers in Jesus Christ. Nothing like that has ever happened since. From there the good news of forgiveness and eternal life in Jesus spread throughout the world and since that time the Holy Spirit has brought hundreds of millions of people to faith in Christ as their Savior one at a time. So you and I can trace our faith in Jesus back to that momentous day. Today is a reminder of our spiritual rebirth as children of God.
And for that we say, “Thank you, Holy Spirit!” Thank you for my gift of faith in Jesus! Thank you for using me to give that gift to others.
- Thank you for my gift of faith in Jesus
“When the day of Pentecost came.”The word “Pentecost” literally means “50th”. Pentecost was a grain harvest festival for the Jews, roughly like our Thanksgiving Day.It was celebrated about 7 weeks after Passover. For this reason it was also called the “Feast of Weeks”. Faithful Jews all over the world made it a point to observe it, either by coming to Jerusalem or going to their local synagogue.
This was a Pentecost never to be forgotten! A group of about 120 believers in Jesus“were all gathered together in one place,” probably in the Temple courts, where Luke tells us “they stayed continually in the Temple, praising God”. It was Sunday, the Lord’s Day, their day of worship.The Apostles remembered Jesus’ promise: “I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” They didn’t know when that would happen, but they believed Jesus’ promise: “I will not leave you as orphans. I will ask the Father, and he will send you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth.”
Suddenly it happened. “A loud sound like a blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”Then “they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.”The wind and fire were signs of the Holy Spirit coming upon them, and “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” This was history in the making, the fulfillment of a prophecy that the Holy Spirit had given through the prophet Joel hundreds of years earlier: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.” It happened just as John the Baptist prophesied about Jesus:“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
One thing’s for sure: the Holy Spirit got their attention. Unfortunately, ever since that time various groups of Christians have tried to duplicate the events of that first Pentecost as if this is how the Holy Spirit is always supposed to work. In the early 20th century a movement began in California that became known as the Pentecostals, who claimed that speaking in tongues is a gift God gives to every true Christian. But the Holy Spirit’s purpose wasn’t to have us focus on the spectacular signs. He was drawing attention to the spectacularmessage about Jesus and proving that it was his very own message. And that is how God continues to send His Holy Spirit to his Church today. It doesn’t always look dazzling, but the flow of forgiveness God sends into hearts through the Holy Spirit is truly miraculous. So like the early Christians, we also wait where he promises to come – right here in his Word and Sacraments. And we expect him to bless us when he comes.
We also need the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to assure us that we belong to God’s family. As we listen to his Word,“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God,”Paul reminds us in Romans. Jesus told us to pray for and expect the Holy Spirit when he said, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will my heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Jesus told us how he sends the Holy Spirit to us when he said, “The words that I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”
Pentecost tells us how deeply God is concerned for our souls’ salvation and shows us how much he wants to save us.The miracles that the Holy Spirit used thencame to an end when his Church was firmly established and the last of Jesus’ chosen apostles died. But the Holy Spirit still gives gifts that are just as important to build his Church, gifts like teaching, encouraging, helping those in need, and leading God’s people with His Word. All of us have one or more of those gifts, so we say “thank you, Holy Spirit!” for using us to share your forgiveness and eternal life with others!
- Thank you for using me to give that gift to others
Can you imagine what it was like to have 120 suddenly speaking in languages they'd never learned before? "When [the God-fearing Jews in Jerusalem heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in their own language." God’s Word was breaking the language barrier that had existed since the time of the Tower of Babel. "We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" they exclaimed. "What does this mean?"
Peter told them what it meant. In love God sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for the sins of all people. In love he wants all people to come to the knowledge of that truth, so that "all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."For that to happen, he promised to pour out his Spirit on all people. He wants his gospel to be proclaimed to “all nations.” And it would happen just as God wanted. Before the apostle John died 60 years later, God gave him a vision of heaven that looked way into the futurein which he saw "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb."This wonderful commotion on the day of Pentecost was the Lord's "green light" for his Church to "be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."
The Holy Spirit still draws attention to the gospel by using miracles –not something spectacular – but through the miracle of his inspired Word and the miracle of faith he’s created in our hearts. It is nothing short of a miracle of his grace that you and I believe in Jesus as our Savior. Through the miracle of faith the Holy Spirit changes our attitude toward God and toward others by filling us with His love. He changes our lives so that we strive to be like Jesus. He produces in us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. Such evidence of His presence in our hearts is often amazes peopleenough to have them ask, "What does this mean?"and opens the door for us to explain the reason for the hope that we have.
A few days ago I got an email survey that asked one question: Do you think the Christian church is dying – yes or no. How would you answer? I’m sure lots of people asked that question a year or two after Pentecost, when Stephen was stoned and a great persecution broke out in the Jerusalem congregation. People wondered about it during the widespread persecutions in the Roman Empire, during the Middle Ages, during the Age of Enlightenment and, in our day, the age of Relativism. In fact, that question could be asked in any age because Satan will not sit still while God advances his kingdom. Yet the Christian Church is still here. Why? Not because the church has become innovative and came up with all kinds of gimmicks and programs to make it survive and grow. It thrives because Jesus promised that “the gates of hell will not overcome” the message of the gospel and he proved it by pouring out his Spirit so that his salvation can reach all people. God will have his church on earth, and he does it by pouring out his Holy Spirit through the gospel. It's the only way he works saving faith in the hearts of people.
But it does no one any good if we don't share it. The gospel that brought us to faith in Jesus must be given away. That’s why we train and support missionaries in far-away countries so they give the gospel to others. That’s why we train and support pastors and teachers.We want them to learn it well so they can teach us and our children so the Holy Spirit may equip every one of us to be give the gospel to our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors.
Can you think of any more exciting possibility than being used by the Holy Spirit to bring another person to faith in Jesus, to rescue him or her from hell, to share with them peace that the world cannot give? What a privilege it is to carry the power of God for salvation on our very lips!
Today we can make a list of the things to thank the Holy Spirit for: the Bible, our faith, our church, but the celebration of Pentecost isn’t over. We are living in the last days. The next major event in the world’s history will be its end, when Jesus returns to judge all people. Pray that the Holy Spirit keeps coming to you and to me that we may always believe in Jesus as our Savior, and pray that he makes such a commotion in our lives that he comes to many others, too! Amen!