1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,320 This morning will be in Acts chapter 2 this morning, and I 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:06,240 would encourage you to turn there to Acts chapter 2. 3 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,560 We have a number of verses that we will be reading. 4 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,840 If you're using one of our Bibles there in front of you, it 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:16,800 is found on page 909. Now, this is the first message 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,520 in in a short series that we're doing. 7 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,600 This two-part series, Spirit Transformed Lives. 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:26,640 We'll have it today. We'll skip a week. 9 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:32,080 Next week, we will not be in the series as next week is Father's 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,040 Day. So I will bring a message 11 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:39,400 related to men next week. Women do please still show up. 12 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,880 Hopefully it'll still be a good service for you, for you as 13 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,560 well. But I'll be speaking and 14 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,120 addressing primarily men and next week and then the week 15 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,480 after that on the 22nd, we'll finish up this short series. 16 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:58,080 Now, today's a special day. Many of you probably are not 17 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,360 aware of that, but some of you probably are aware that's today 18 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:04,280 is what we call Pentecost Sunday. 19 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:09,040 Pentecost Sunday is a day set aside to remember the life 20 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:15,560 changing events that happened on Pentecost Sunday in Scripture. 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,560 So here, as we begin our message, we're going to look at 22 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,720 a promised future. There was a future that had been 23 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:29,440 promised to those in the Old Testament as well as to those 24 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,320 who were followers of Jesus. Some seven weeks before this 25 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,960 moment, Jesus had been crucified and and risen from the grave, 26 00:01:39,320 --> 00:01:42,960 and Acts tells us that he spent much of the 40 days following 27 00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:47,160 his resurrection speaking about and telling people about the 28 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,200 Kingdom of God. Of course, we've just spent a 29 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:53,440 couple weeks talking about life in the Kingdom of God, life 30 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:55,920 living under God's rule and reign. 31 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:01,000 So this is what Jesus was doing and he told his disciples, he, 32 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,920 he said, he told his disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,160 but to wait for the Holy Spirit, which he said they would receive 34 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,800 not many days from now. Their response to Jesus was to 35 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:19,480 ask questions about the Kingdom. Jesus are are you now going to 36 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:24,880 restore the Kingdom to Israel? You have to imagine that the 37 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:27,120 disciples were fired up. They were excited. 38 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,320 They're ready to storm the world to tell everyone about the 39 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:37,400 Messiah that had come, perhaps even to take on Rome. 40 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,080 The grave couldn't hold their leader down. 41 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,200 Surely Rome would be no match for him. 42 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,560 They were ready to take over the world and to set up the earthly 43 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:52,800 Kingdom. Jesus response to them was that, 44 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,600 well, this information is on a need to know basis and and you 45 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:02,200 don't really need to know what my father has planned and and my 46 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:08,560 father, he has all authority and he'll do as he desires and in 47 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:12,880 his timing, Jesus says, here's what you do need to know though 48 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:14,520 here's here's the important thing. 49 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:20,560 Acts 18 Acts 18 says you will receive power when the Holy 50 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:23,840 Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in 51 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:29,040 Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the 52 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,200 earth. Then after Jesus said these 53 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,280 things, he ascended from the Mount of Olives straight up into 54 00:03:37,280 --> 00:03:41,320 heaven. Then immediately a couple men in 55 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,680 white robes appeared to them, asked why they were staring into 56 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,320 heaven. Like, like you just saw Jesus go 57 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:53,160 into heaven, You know, like I think you would be, it would be 58 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,240 understood why you would be staring into heaven, right? 59 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,960 But they're asking, it's probably more like, hey, OK, now 60 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:02,640 do what you're supposed to do. So why are you staring into 61 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,520 heaven? And they informed and then 62 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:08,760 informed them that Jesus would be coming back in the same way 63 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,400 that he went. So the disciples, they 64 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,280 immediately after they stopped staring into heaven, they 65 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,760 immediately returned back into the city. 66 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:22,440 As they arrived back to Jerusalem, they started to piece 67 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:28,000 things together. OK, Judas is dead now. 68 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,600 So we're out one guy and and we need to replace him with someone 69 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:35,440 else. So they cast lots, which is kind 70 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:40,360 of like a, a Holy Spirit's controlled version of throwing 71 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,040 dice. They throw the dice, they cast 72 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:45,360 the lots, and it lands on Mattias. 73 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:50,160 And it's important to say that this is the last time in 74 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:56,240 Scripture that we see lots cast. You know, before this moment, 75 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:01,280 the Holy Spirit moved through this casting of lots. 76 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:03,880 But everything changes on this day. 77 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,360 So it's the last time this happens. 78 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,480 About a week later, people start pouring into Jerusalem from all 79 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,760 over the world. They were there to celebrate 80 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:22,880 Shavuot, which is Pentecost. Shavuot was was a feast. 81 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,600 It was also known as the Feast of Weeks. 82 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,400 Now this was one of three main festivals each year that 83 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:34,520 required able bodied Jewish men to travel to Jerusalem to offer 84 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:39,000 sacrifices and offerings on behalf of their families. 85 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:44,280 The purpose of this feast was to celebrate both the the early 86 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:47,920 spring harvest, the the first fruits that they had brought in, 87 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,720 as well as to remember the giving of the Torah to Moses on 88 00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:58,800 Mount Sinai. The day of Pentecost itself was 89 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:03,640 special to the Jews as it was a tradition that they'd known 90 00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:06,960 about for 1400 years. They've been practicing this 91 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,640 thing, well, say for, you know, some time in exile, but they've 92 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:14,320 been practicing this thing they knew about Pentecost. 93 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,520 So Pentecost is a Greek word meaning 50th. 94 00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:24,480 So it literally refers to the 50th day after Passover. 95 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:30,560 Passover of course coincides with with our Easter season, 96 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:34,840 Jesus resurrection. Jews who had been dispersed all 97 00:06:34,840 --> 00:06:39,880 throughout the Middle East, Asia and Europe had all come to 98 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,080 Jerusalem. They were all gathered together 99 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,960 in this place on the day of Pentecost. 100 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:55,600 So here we are 50 days after Jesus death, some 10 days after 101 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,800 Jesus ascension into heaven. So if you're able, would you 102 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:04,440 stand as we read from Acts chapter 2? 103 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:16,400 Acts 2 verses one through 13. When the day of Pentecost 104 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:20,800 arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there 105 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,040 came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it 106 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,200 filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided 107 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,200 tongues as the fire appeared to them and rested on each one of 108 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:31,920 them. And they were all filled with 109 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,600 the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as the 110 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,200 Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in 111 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:43,320 Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven, and 112 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,640 at this sound the multitude came together, and they were 113 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:49,120 bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own 114 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,520 language. And they were amazed and 115 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,680 astonished, saying, Are not all these who are speaking 116 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,840 Galileans? And how is it that we hear each 117 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,880 of us in his own native language? 118 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,040 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of 119 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,280 Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontius and Asia, 120 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,240 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to 121 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:16,320 Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 122 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:21,040 Cretans and Arabians. We hear them telling in our own 123 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:26,160 tongues the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and 124 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,960 perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? 125 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:34,880 The others mocking said, They are filled with new wine. 126 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:43,880 You may be seated. So this moment is the is the 127 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,560 fulfillment of the promise that Jesus had made to them. 128 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:53,320 This is the promise fulfilled. When Jesus said they would 129 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:57,760 receive the spirit not many days from now, he meant it. 130 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,920 He said you'll receive the Spirit not many days from now. 131 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,960 And so here, just a few days later, they've received the 132 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,000 spirits. Jesus had told them he would 133 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,640 send the Spirit through the Father and it would bear witness 134 00:09:11,640 --> 00:09:14,320 about Jesus and would lead them into truth. 135 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,800 And this may have helped them understand a little bit about 136 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,760 the Spirit, but something tells me they really weren't prepared 137 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,600 to to receive what was about to happen. 138 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,920 Would they perform miracles? Would they be turned into mighty 139 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,840 warriors like David or or Samson? 140 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,920 How do you prepare for this moment when the Holy Spirit is 141 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:40,240 going to come upon you? The Holy Spirit had fallen on 142 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:46,040 them as tongues of fire, so now they were indwelt by the Holy 143 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:49,400 Spirit. I suspect that some of you, 144 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,560 maybe most of you are like I was and are baffled by the the fire 145 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:57,280 sitting above each of these followers of Christ. 146 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,720 Well, you see what's happening here is this is a type of 147 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,880 hyperlink, if you will. When you're online, you're 148 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:10,800 reading an article or an e-mail and the text pops up often in 149 00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:13,960 blue or some other way to make it stand out. 150 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:19,680 That is a sign that, hey, you can click this link and it'll 151 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,040 take you somewhere else. This has been written about 152 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,320 somewhere else, so you can go to that. 153 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,560 Well, this moment is a sort of hyperlink. 154 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:35,360 It's something, hey, this is happening now, but hey, this 155 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:39,200 thing, things like this have happened before. 156 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,120 So the fire appears above each person. 157 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:47,000 And as it does, it should draw your attention to stuff that 158 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,200 you've already read in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old 159 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:55,160 Testament. This fire is God's presence. 160 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:03,600 It's God's presence now. It's unfortunate, but for many 161 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,560 Christians, many Christians today have a nearly exclusive 162 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:12,200 focus on the New Testament because we're now, quote UN 163 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:16,240 quote, living under grace. And this is true that we are 164 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,040 living under grace. But this perspective can lead to 165 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,840 a bit of biblical illiteracy. Throw in some psalms and some 166 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,160 proverbs into your daily devotions and you call it good 167 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,840 rights. That's how so many Christians 168 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:34,920 today live. Meanwhile, they're ignorant of 169 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,600 what the first nearly 3/4 of the Bible has in it. 170 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:45,640 Allow me to explain some things to you, or actually to remind 171 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,880 you of some things that you probably already know, but 172 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:51,400 perhaps help you see some connections between them. 173 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,320 There were various instances in the Old Testament where fire 174 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,960 played a major role. When God called Moses, he, he 175 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:05,200 came to Moses in a fiery Bush and the Bush isn't consumed and 176 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:11,680 and God tells Moses that has as he's in God's presence, he tells 177 00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:16,680 Moses to remove his shoes because he's in God's presence. 178 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:21,000 Then on Mount Sinai, when God made the covenant with Israel 179 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:27,240 and he and He gave them the law, there was a firestorm over the 180 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,600 mountain, a symbol again of God's presence. 181 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:36,520 When the Tabernacle was completed, God's glory came down 182 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:41,920 in a pill of pillar of fire, and it rested there and filled it. 183 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,800 And then at night what would happen? 184 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:49,480 The pillar of fire would rest over the Tabernacle. 185 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:54,120 In Second Chronicles 7, as the temple was being dedicated, fire 186 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:59,000 came down and it consumed the offerings and sacrifices. 187 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:05,200 Again, God's presence was being revealed in this place. 188 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,720 When we remind ourselves of the fiery moments in Scripture, and 189 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,640 there were actually more than even that, then it becomes 190 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,880 apparent that God's personal temple presence had our had 191 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:24,560 arrived on the day of Pentecost. Each follower of Jesus was now a 192 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:29,680 new temple of Jesus. They were mobile temples, if you 193 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:34,400 will, taking God's presence with them wherever they went. 194 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,800 So that's what the fire is that we see. 195 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:43,440 It's a sign of God's presence. Now here in verses 5 through 11, 196 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:51,080 we see God's power demonstrated, God's power demonstrated in this 197 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:56,440 moment. Now, I'd like to think I have a 198 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:01,600 natural penchant for languages. That's not to say that I'm 199 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,000 multilingual, but some things related to language come 200 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,600 somewhat naturally for me. For example, I spent a bit of 201 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,720 time studying Spanish. There were the three years in 202 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,640 high school. There was my first job at Taco 203 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,320 Bell. I actually did learn some 204 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:20,680 Spanish, a good amount of Spanish at Taco Bell. 205 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,960 That is not to say that all the Spanish I learned at Taco Bell 206 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:30,120 was good. Then I took several semesters in 207 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,320 college and numerous mission trips to Mexico. 208 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,920 I even thought I was going to minor in Spanish. 209 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,600 And then I had a friend who was, I don't remember if she was 210 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:48,320 majoring or minoring in Spanish. I think she was minoring in 211 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:50,960 Spanish. And she invited me to attend 212 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:56,400 Spanish Lit class. I went to Spanish Lit class and 213 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:02,000 I immediately heard from the Lord I am not supposed to minor 214 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,680 in Spanish. Spanish Lit is just like English 215 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:11,760 Lit except it's in Spanish. I was not signing up for that, 216 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:17,480 and then in college I had the opportunity to sing in Spanish, 217 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:22,360 French, German, Russian, Latin, a little bit of English, except 218 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:24,320 for the Russian. I could piece together some 219 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:29,880 things because of the Latin base of the Romantic languages. 220 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,600 I can kind of make out some of what it was trying to say. 221 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,320 I found that I just naturally pick up some things that are 222 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,960 related to language, some of its intuition and just kind of 223 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:47,080 putting pieces together, have a natural gift for language. 224 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:54,440 But what I don't have, I don't have the gift of tongues. 225 00:15:56,200 --> 00:16:01,760 These people here on this day of Pentecost, they are speaking a 226 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,720 new to them language. And I should have, should have 227 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:08,240 added that those words to them, they're on your note sheet. 228 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,520 They're speaking a new to them language. 229 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,280 These people here on the day of Pentecost, they hadn't spent 230 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:18,960 time studying a language like like I had done. 231 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:24,400 No, they just showed up and in an instant, suddenly they start 232 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,240 speaking another language they've not studied before. 233 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,840 Now, over the years there has been a a lot of discussion as to 234 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:38,040 what these tongues are. Are these languages or is it 235 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:44,360 some sort of ecstatic speech in an unintelligible language? 236 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,880 There's no doubt Scripture has actual languages in mind here. 237 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:55,600 Looking at verses 7 and 8, and they were amazed and astonished 238 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:58,560 saying, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 239 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,720 And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native 240 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:08,920 language? Seemingly the whole world had 241 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,079 shown up for this moment. Oh my goodness, that doesn't 242 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:13,680 look as good as it did on my computer. 243 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:15,440 You can kind of see the world. Huh? 244 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,319 I thought the map was really way darker than that, but I think 245 00:17:19,319 --> 00:17:23,440 you get the idea. You have Italy, Rome way up 246 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:28,840 there in the left. You have the Middle East and 247 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,640 Asia, more on the right, of course, Africa down there. 248 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:39,720 So this is basically the known world right here. 249 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,480 Literally people from all of the known continents at that time 250 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,280 had come to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit was poured out 251 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:52,840 on these people and suddenly there's no language distinction. 252 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:56,240 Each person, no matter where he's from, is able to understand 253 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:59,920 what's being said. They all had different native 254 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:04,520 tongues, but now with the gift of tongues, the Holy Spirit is 255 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,600 empowering people to speak a different language. 256 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:12,240 They're saying, aren't these Galileans who are speaking? 257 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,400 How is it that I can understand what they're saying? 258 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,960 They're Galileans, they speak Aramaic. 259 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:23,840 I don't speak Aramaic. This was truly the power of God 260 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,200 is each person proclaimed the mighty works of God. 261 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:34,720 Verses 12 and 13 all were amazed and perplexed saying to one 262 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:39,280 another, what does this mean? The others mocking said they are 263 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:43,920 filled with new wine. So here we have the people 264 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:48,520 amazed. The people were amazed. 265 00:18:48,600 --> 00:18:53,960 Everyone was amazed. Whether it was the follower of 266 00:18:53,960 --> 00:19:01,040 Christ or the person who didn't believe in Jesus as the Messiah 267 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:04,040 that was foretold. Everybody found themselves 268 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:07,000 wondering what's what was the purpose of this event? 269 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,040 What did it mean? What's going on? 270 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:12,640 Why this loud sound like like a storm? 271 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,120 Why tongues of fire? Why the speaking in other 272 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:19,760 languages? Why did all these things happen? 273 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:25,880 And were these people drunk? If we look at verses 14 through 274 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:33,600 16, we see there, we see Peter's response. 275 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,120 But Peter, standing with the 11, lifted up his voice and address 276 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:39,680 them. Men of Judea and all who dwell 277 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,240 in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give ear to my words. 278 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,240 For these people are not drunk as you suppose. 279 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:48,560 Since it is only the third hour of the day. 280 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,560 He's saying, hey, it's only 9:00 AM. 281 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:52,920 These people are certainly not drunk. 282 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,320 Then verse 16. But this is what was uttered 283 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:06,520 through the prophet Joel. Peter was about to give them a 284 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,920 history lesson. This moment had been foretold. 285 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,320 Technically they knew this because they were well versed. 286 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:18,560 In the Hebrew Scriptures, to be a Jew was to daily be in the 287 00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:22,880 Hebrew Scriptures and to commit large sections of it to memory. 288 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,120 So here Peter is about to deliver what I believe is the 289 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,040 second most famous sermon in all of Scripture. 290 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:36,000 I would say the first, first most famous sermon in Scripture 291 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,160 is the Sermon on the Mount, I would think. 292 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:40,880 But here's the second most famous sermon in all of 293 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:43,240 Scripture. Peter empowered and now filled 294 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:47,520 by the Holy Spirit, he got up and reminded them that the 295 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,840 prophet Joel. He spoke about this moment, and 296 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:58,000 he proceeded to quote Joel 2. Looking at the screen, Joel 228 297 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,600 through 32 reads. And it shall come to pass 298 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,600 afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. 299 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:07,400 Your sons and your daughters shall prophecy. 300 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,960 Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see 301 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:14,360 visions even on the male and female servants. 302 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:17,960 In those days I will pour out my spirits, and I will show wonders 303 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,600 in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of 304 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,920 smoke. The sun shall be turned to 305 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,480 darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day 306 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,080 of the Lord comes. And this shall come to pass, 307 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:35,160 that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 308 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,680 This is Joel 2. And Peter stands up. 309 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:44,200 And he quotes this nearly verbatim in his sermon. 310 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:48,840 He reminded the people, using a bit of apocalyptic imagery as 311 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,360 well, that this is the moment they've been waiting for. 312 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:56,960 They've been promised the Holy Spirit the the opportunity to be 313 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,960 witnesses to God's supernatural working. 314 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:04,360 This supernatural working, he says, was done through the 315 00:22:04,360 --> 00:22:08,240 person of Jesus, who Peter goes on to say, perform miracles 316 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,440 among them. He was crucified and then raised 317 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,400 up because even death couldn't hold him down. 318 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,080 All this that the people had witnessed served to point them 319 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:25,200 to the Messiah, to Jesus. But this still begs the 320 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:30,240 question, what was the actual purpose of this occasion in the 321 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,960 speaking in tongues? Was the purpose simply to point 322 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:37,880 to Jesus or was there something even bigger going on? 323 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:43,160 Well, the followers of Jesus we're now empowered for a 324 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:48,400 purpose. There was an even greater 325 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:53,720 purpose here. Pointing to Jesus was only the 326 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,480 beginning. Once the Spirit indwelt people, 327 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,760 it would begin to change them and transform them in ways that 328 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,640 they hadn't expected. This was the beginning of what 329 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:12,800 we now call the church age. You see, before this moment, the 330 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,520 church proper didn't exist until here at approximately 30 AD. 331 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,080 And I know if you're doing math, you're like, hold on, shouldn't 332 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:22,680 it be like 33 AD? Yes, I know there's a bunch of 333 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:27,040 things with calendars. So they think Jesus was actually 334 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:33,640 born before 0. So that means with the calendar 335 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,480 things that it was probably around 30 AD when he died. 336 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,760 So this was a radically new thing, a new way for them to 337 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,280 live. In the Old Testament, the Holy 338 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,280 Spirit would descend on someone and would empower them for a 339 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,880 specific moment or purpose or calling. 340 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,480 It could be to lead people, it could be to do something 341 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:59,720 miraculous, to defeat an enemy, or even to play music as in the 342 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:05,040 case of David before King Saul. But the feeling of the Spirit 343 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,400 was something that was temporary. 344 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,400 The Holy Spirit would descend on someone for a purpose, and then 345 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:17,560 when the Spirit was done, the Spirit would remove himself from 346 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:21,320 that person. Thus David prayed in Psalm 51. 347 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:27,680 After he has confessed his sin to God, he prays, Take not your 348 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:36,040 Holy Spirit from me. But now everything has changed. 349 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:40,840 Everything has changed here. People are now in dwelt in a 350 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,800 permanent manner. They are permanently in dwelt by 351 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:48,880 the spirits and they are filled temporarily. 352 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:54,440 I understand that these things can be confusing, so I want to 353 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,760 help bring some clarity to the difference between the 354 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,560 indwelling of the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit. 355 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,480 The indwelling of the Spirit is what happened at Pentecost as 356 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,000 the Spirit came down on them in a permanent manner. 357 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,440 The filling of the Spirit is what happens when we're living 358 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:22,240 life according to the spirits. The indwelling of the Spirit is 359 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:25,520 what happens at the moment of salvation, at the point when we 360 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,520 make a decision to place our trust in Jesus. 361 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,200 You see, there's no subsequent baptism of the Spirit, as some 362 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,520 would call it. We don't place our faith in 363 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:40,160 Jesus and then seek out a special supernatural event or 364 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:42,840 moments where the Spirit comes into us. 365 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,200 No, the Spirit immediately indwells the heart of the 366 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:54,800 believing person. Being filled by the Spirit is is 367 00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:58,520 what happens actually in our day-to-day walk with God. 368 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:04,400 Galatians 525 says if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in 369 00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:08,120 step with the Spirit. This is the filling of the 370 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:11,640 Spirit, our hearts and lives surrendered to His will. 371 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:20,640 Unfortunately, unlike the indwelling of the Spirit, the 372 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:22,760 filling of the Spirit is a temporary thing. 373 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,240 We go back and forth between moments of living in the flesh 374 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,280 and moments of living in or being filled by the Spirit. 375 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:39,440 So the task ahead of us as followers of crisis to make sure 376 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,480 that the moments in the flesh are much more rare and short, 377 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:50,000 and that the moments in the spirits are more persistent and 378 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,800 common. We want to make sure that that 379 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:59,400 we're continually trying to live in the spirits, persisting in 380 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:06,080 the spirit and the moments in the flesh much more rare. 381 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:11,080 God's people all all over the world who had receive the 382 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,880 indwelling Spirit are now called the church. 383 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,960 The church didn't exist prior to this moment, but with the Holy 384 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,560 Spirit's permanent and dwelling presence, each of us now takes 385 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:29,400 His presence everywhere we go. So Pentecost was the dawning of 386 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:34,560 a new era, but there was also another purpose that it served. 387 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:41,120 The gift of tongues on Pentecost ultimately served as a symbol of 388 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:47,200 unity. It was a symbol of unity first 389 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:51,360 of all. Immediately speaking, people 390 00:27:51,360 --> 00:27:55,600 from all sorts of backgrounds had received the same Spirit. 391 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,600 Regardless of whether they were Jews or or converts, they all 392 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:05,120 received the Spirit. Verses 9 through 11 told us 393 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:09,280 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judeans, as well 394 00:28:09,280 --> 00:28:11,920 as people from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, 395 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:17,800 Pamphylia, Egypt, Cyrene, Rome, Crete in Arabia all received the 396 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,560 spirits. You saw the map a few minutes 397 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,720 ago. People from essentially all over 398 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:27,560 the world. Now, I can't overstate how much 399 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,480 some of these different groups of people disliked each other. 400 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,520 It's astounding that all these people, first of all, all these 401 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,960 people are all gathered together in one place. 402 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,520 It really was the work of God in them all coming together in one 403 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,320 place. But but then this moment is 404 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:50,480 going to serve as the blueprint as the church spreads. 405 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:55,600 Something similar to the Day of Pentecost happened three other 406 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:00,760 times in the book of Acts in chapters 810 and 19. 407 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:06,640 Now, why would God do this? Why not just say, OK, hey, this 408 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,200 moment on the day of Pentecost suffices. 409 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:10,560 This is the beginning of the church. 410 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,040 Why would he replicate this moment a few other times and 411 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,160 make sure that it's recorded for us in Scripture? 412 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,160 Well, the Pentecost experience of speaking in tongues was 413 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,240 replicated at each of these moments, and it's served to 414 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,160 authenticate the expansion of the early church. 415 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:38,560 In chapter 8, the Holy Spirit fell on a group of Samaritans, 416 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:43,560 and we're quite familiar with the feud between the Jews and 417 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,480 the Samaritans. In fact, this is enshrined on 418 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,680 our hearts through the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Good 419 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:56,240 Samaritan being the one, the hero of the day, which was 420 00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,360 completely unexpected to save this Jew. 421 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,000 These two groups despised each other. 422 00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:10,600 But chapter 8 told tells us that the Samaritans had hands laid on 423 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,320 them and then they received the Holy Spirit. 424 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,000 Now, the text doesn't explicitly say that they spoke in tongues, 425 00:30:17,320 --> 00:30:21,480 but it's widely believed among theologians that they too spoke 426 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:24,800 in tongues when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. 427 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,480 And this gift served to demonstrate that they, too, 428 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:37,360 Samaritans, were part of this new movement of Jesus followers. 429 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,080 You can imagine these Jews who had received the Holy Spirit. 430 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:46,520 Oh, hey, we're Jews, and we've just taken this next step of 431 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:48,680 placing our faith in the Messiah. 432 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:57,760 So we've received the Spirit, but oh, the Samaritans, we're 433 00:30:57,760 --> 00:31:01,440 not as inclined to believe that they're part of this movement 434 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,120 that we're in. Oh, but hold on. 435 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,600 The supernatural thing that happened to us just happened to 436 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,320 them. It must be the Holy Spirit 437 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:21,680 working in them. There's always been room at the 438 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,200 table for the foreigner. Always. 439 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:29,560 God was always making provision in the law for the foreigner to 440 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:34,320 join them. But now, Now God's Kingdom is 441 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:36,840 going to look drastically different. 442 00:31:37,440 --> 00:31:40,800 The Kingdom had started with the Jews, but that was only the 443 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,640 beginning of God's design, as the light of God spread like 444 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:48,680 wildfire among the Gentiles. Sure, they're different. 445 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,600 Sure, they speak a different language. 446 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,360 They have some different customs. 447 00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:55,720 Maybe they'd like to have some bacon once in a while. 448 00:31:57,760 --> 00:31:59,440 That was a joke. Thank you. 449 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,440 But no. This speaking in tongues, this 450 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,920 this moment when the Holy Spirit comes on to them serves to 451 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:16,640 authenticate that they truly are believers in Jesus Christ and 452 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:22,440 part of the universal Church. So as we close and consider the 453 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:28,640 final aspects of Pentecost purpose, we revisit Jesus last 454 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:33,240 words in the Gospel of Matthew. He'd been resurrected and told 455 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:37,360 his disciples to meet him at a specific mountain up in Galilee. 456 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:42,200 And there he said these famous words that you're well familiar 457 00:32:42,200 --> 00:32:45,960 with. Would you read these two slides 458 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:50,960 out loud with me? All authority in heaven and on 459 00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:55,000 earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make 460 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,240 disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of 461 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:04,360 the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 462 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:09,240 them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am 463 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,600 with you always to the end of the age. 464 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,880 This, of course, is the Great Commission. 465 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,400 Jesus had given his followers this awesome task. 466 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:28,120 Go and tell all the nations about him. 467 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,760 How in the world were these largely uneducated men from 468 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,080 Galilee supposed to accomplish the Great Commission? 469 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:40,840 Would it simply be telling people all that Jesus had told 470 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:45,000 them? No, that's not the full extent 471 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,160 of it. And that brings us back to where 472 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:53,800 we started in Acts 18. You will receive power when the 473 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:58,040 Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses. 474 00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:02,760 Jesus says you'll be my witnesses here in Jerusalem, 475 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:08,840 around Jerusalem and Judea, and then even in Samaria. 476 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:14,440 Yes, they are too. And to the end of the earth. 477 00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:21,639 The first half of Luke's writing the Gospel of Luke closed with 478 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:26,280 Jesus saying, I'm sending the promise of the Father upon you. 479 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:32,080 But stay in the city until you are clothed with power. 480 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,639 Stay there until you're clothed with power from on high. 481 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:40,960 The power Jesus promised at the end of Luke's gospel is the same 482 00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:46,480 power Luke immediately picks up on in his second book, the book 483 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:51,560 of Acts. You will receive power. 484 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,800 Jesus was saying. I'm not leaving you hanging out 485 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:04,040 to dry to try and accomplish this task on your own. 486 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:10,080 No, I'm giving you all the power you'll need to make all corners 487 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:13,240 of the earth hearing about me a reality. 488 00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:21,600 They were imbued with power from on high. 489 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:29,080 We are imbued with that very same power. 490 00:35:30,520 --> 00:35:34,960 The task ahead of us is great, but the power working in us to 491 00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:42,240 make it happen is even greater. That's the importance of 492 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:49,160 Pentecost. This morning as we close out my 493 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:52,960 message, I told you we would be using this prayer on the back of 494 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:58,400 the sermon note sheet. And I understand it may be a 495 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:03,880 little different for for some of you to use a scripted prayer, 496 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,360 but I love to incorporate scripted prayers into my own 497 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:12,720 personal time of devotion. Sometimes someone else is able 498 00:36:12,720 --> 00:36:17,200 to say something in a way that they just say it better than I 499 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,920 than I could. So I'd love to use scripted 500 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:26,880 prayers occasionally. So we're going to pray this all 501 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:33,440 out loud together. So would you pray this with me? 502 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:41,120 Almighty God, I thank you for the presence of the Holy Spirit 503 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,920 in my life. I know that the Spirit is always 504 00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:49,960 present, always working, but the stresses and struggles of life 505 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:52,880 can mean that I don't recognize the Spirit. 506 00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,280 I may even close myself off from the Spirit's work. 507 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:01,640 But still, in Your grace, You promised that the Spirit is 508 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:06,120 given to me, a testimony to the covenant you made with me. 509 00:37:06,720 --> 00:37:11,080 I pray that you renew me in my faith with the power of Your 510 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:14,200 Spirit. Send the power of the Spirit 511 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,760 over me. In faith, I open myself to the 512 00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:23,120 Spirit's work in my life. O Holy Spirit, work through me. 513 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:28,880 Guide me into all truth. Lead me deeper in faith, inspire 514 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:33,120 my prayers and work forcefully through those prayers and 515 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:37,560 stretch me beyond my comforts to the places of ministry and 516 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:42,120 witness. Come Holy Spirit's come, fill me 517 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:47,680 anew, set me a fire, breathe in me and work through me. 518 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:48,800 Amen.