“The Church”

Scripture: Acts 2:1-41

Today is Pentecost, the day that is celebrated as the birth of the Church. For Israel, Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks, or First Fruits, was an annual celebration of the first harvest. It was one of their three most important holidays, along with Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 16:16-17, Numbers 28:26-31), and all Jews, regardless of where they lived, would try their very best to come to Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice of blessing at Temple.

Jews from many nations, those families who had not returned to the Promised Land from exile, would come to Jerusalem to join in this important celebration. So it is fitting that we, too, celebrate this time as Christianity’s day of fruitfulness. It would be the beginning of an intentional and phenomenal spread of faith in Jesus Christ through the faithful witnessing and missional outreach by the early apostles and their converts.

At first, it would be Jews who would come to the Lord, but in a very short time, Gentiles also would be welcomed into fellowship and faith in Christ. But before we begin to consider how and where this growth in faith occurred, let’s see how it became such a powerful movement from the very beginning at Pentecost.

Read Acts 2:1-4

Jesus had told the disciples at the Last Supper that a gift from the Father would be sent very soon (John 14:15-17, 14:25-27) and he told them again, just before his ascension to heaven, when He said “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.” (Acts 1:7-9)

So the faithful, only numbering about 120 at that time (Acts 1:15), were waiting faithfully for that day to come, and when it arrived, they were gathered together, possibly discussing all that had happened during the preceding few weeks and worshiping their now Risen and Living Lord, when the Spirit bursts into their lives. It is quite different from what Elijah had experienced on the mountain. (1 Kings 19:9-13) Then, God came to the prophet in a whisper - not in a powerful way, but gently, and in a very quiet way that you had to be ready to hear.

But on Pentecost, the Spirit came upon the faithful in power, in authority, and in such an obvious way that it could not be missed. For Elijah, he had to be open, prepared, and silent before the Lord’s message and call could be placed upon his life. For the faithful on Pentecost, they, too, had to be prepared to receive the message of God, but in a slightly different way – it would be through faith in the Son of God, in Jesus their Redeemer and Savior.

Read Acts 2:5-13

The Spirit’s arrival made such a commotion that even people outside in the streets – and probably up to many streets away – knew that something incredible was taking place, and many thousands would come to discover for themselves what this might be about.

Put yourself in their place – you hear sounds unlike anything you have ever heard before, and you have to decide if it is something you should flee from, or something you just have to investigate. Now if you are honest, you would admit that you want to check it out!
When you pass an accident on the highway, do you keep looking ahead, or do you crane your neck to see just how bad the wreck and the injuries may be? If you pass a house or business with fire trucks out front, do you move on quickly to get out of their way, or do you slow down and try to see what is burning?

The truth is that human nature wants to experience the unknown, whether it will be to their benefit or not. On Pentecost, thousands would come to see what the sound of such a violent and rushing wind was all about, and why these uneducated men were so versed in the languages that they shouldn’t be able to speak!
Some would be amazed and touched by these strange but amazing happenings, but others would resist believing, and apparently wouldn’t be able to understand. If these few doubters had been able to hear what was being said, they wouldn’t have attributed this unexplained event to alcohol! But apparently, there were some who were refusing to accept the message that was being offered. Remember that Jesus, in John 14, said that the world wouldn’t be able to see the Spirit or even know him – that faith and openness to Jesus and all that he stands for is the key to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Some today even suggest that the Spirit’s gift was bestowed upon the people as a gift of hearing, and not specifically on the disciples as a gift of speaking. Regardless of where the Gift was bestowed, it was felt by all who were prepared to receive the word of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Faith is a powerful gift, isn’t it! Jesus said that a tiny bit of faith – that which is comparable to the size of a mustard see – could do great and unbelievable things. He said that faith in him would enable his teaching to be confirmed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. He said that faith in him would accomplish things that would be as great, and even greater, than the things he had done, and that it would bring rewards that exceed all explanation and reason to everyone who believes and obeys.

And so it did on Pentecost

Read Acts 2:14-21

We read that Peter raised his voice! Up until to this time, they all had, apparently, been speaking in a normal volume – and even at that thousands could hear what was going on, even at great distances. But to get the people’s attention, he speaks louder to address the issue of what was being heard, or rather what was not being heard. He quotes the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:28-32), along with the call to be saved by faith.

He is explaining to this great gathering as to why this is happening. Joel had been prophesying to Messiah’s coming and all that this will mean to the nation. After describing the many blessings and gifts that Messiah would bring to them, he offers the words that Peter had just lifted up. Even 800 years before this day, give or take a few years, God was preparing the nation for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and all that he would mean to them. Young and old, men and women, anyone of faith would be blessed beyond measure – not by the routine and common, mind you, but by the exceptional and mind blowing gifts of God’s Righteous and Precious Spirit.

And then Peter makes the connection, for all who would believe, between the anticipated coming of Messiah, and the life, and death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Read Acts 2:22-41

Jesus, who you crucified, is your Messiah!
Jesus, who every one of us has denied and blasphemed, is our God and our Savior!
Jesus, who offers salvation to all who will repent of their sin, all who will turn away from their un-Godly ways, and all who will receive the Lord’s baptism in faith, this Jesus, this God, is a God of love and forgiveness, unlike the Jewish concept of warrior Messiah who brings glory to Israel alone through the destruction of their enemies.
Jesus is the God of not only Israel, but of all the earth, and no one will be denied, except those who refuse to believe and receive. Our enemies will be turned, not destroyed; our enemies can also be saved, not condemned; even the sceptics on that day of Pentecost, the ones who ridiculed and tried to explain away the works of the Spirit, still had a chance to know the blessing of their Almighty God – IF they would only hear.

And so must every single one of us. This is the day of the Church – the day of our own, personal gift of “first fruit”, the day when simply by faith and trust in our living Lord Jesus, we can have our sinful lives cleansed, and our personal sentence of condemnation overturned, and transformed into one of glorious salvation.

During our last hymn today, if you have never made your heartfelt plea to God for his help in offering your repentance, and receiving his forgiveness, and to receive his salvation by faith in Jesus, this is the day. May his Spirit fill you, and speak to you, and renew you, and blow through you like a mighty renewing wind this day, and all days – and all by faith.