Pentecost Sunday Message

Sermon

May 31, 2020 Pentecost

The Ongoing Season of Pentecost

Today is Pentecost Sunday. The fiftieth day after the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. You can listen to my YouTube message here https://youtu.be/bIzA1jai2JE  Or you can read the edited text below:

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Pentecost Sunday also commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the 120 other disciples of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Jewish feast of Pentecost, also known in Judaism as the Feast of Weeks or the Harvest Festival. Many theologians consider Pentecost the birthday of the church.

As I studied the texts for today’s message, I saw something in the second chapter of Acts that I don’t remember having ever seen before. And so, I will focus our attention on what the Lord showed me, and I hope it will both encourage you and challenge you in your continuing walk with Christ.

For context, let’s first look at a section of Acts chapter one: Before His ascension back to the Father, Jesus gathered His apostles to Bethany. He promised they would soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit and empowered by Him to testify of Jesus in all four corners of the earth. And after giving them His instruction, “He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”

Now, to verse one of chapter two: “When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language . . . (now dropping to verse 11, the text continues) “we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

Some scholars tell us that Jerusalem at that time was probably no larger than a square mile in area and was home to between 70-80,000 residents. But during the three mandatory Jewish feast days instituted by God through Moses, the city’s population could swell to more than twice as many people.

Those three mandatory feast days on which all Jewish men had to pilgrimage to Jerusalem – those feast days were Passover and Pentecost in the spring, and Booths in the fall. And so that is why, as Luke tells us, there were Jews from all parts of the Roman Empire were in Jerusalem, listening to Peter’s sermon. And of that crowd, 3000 were saved (Acts 2:5-11).

Of that 3,000, surely some were those visiting Jerusalem and who then went back to their homes across the Roman Empire with the message of Jesus. But what does all that which happened in the first century at Pentecost have to do with you and me today? Well, it’s this:

Are you a Christian?  What do I mean by that? Do you follow the Jesus Christ as described for us in Scripture and taught to us by the Church through the millennia? Have you brought to Him your sins – and do you daily bring to Him the sins you commit virtually every waking hour? Do you ask Him to cleanse you of those sins by His atoning blood? Have you followed the Lord in baptism as the apostle Peter urged those devout Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost?

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . . So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:38. 41)  

If you’re a Christian – and this is one of the points of this Pentecost Sunday message – then you ARE filled with the Holy Spirit. How do we know that? The Bible tells us so. Here are only a few of the many passages in the New Testament that testify to that glorious truth that the Holy Spirit lives IN you and abides WITH you at all times:

John 14:16-17, Jesus said to His disciples,  “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;  that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

St. Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

And he wrote to Timothy, “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:14)

God the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS with us because He resides IN us. Wherever we are. We do not need to go to a special place to be with Him. As Jesus said to the woman of Samaria, the time had come that people no longer needed to go to a special place to worship, because God wants people to worship Him anywhere, everywhere, in spirit and truth.

So, Christian – the SAME Holy Spirit who opened the eyes of those 3,000 in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost is the SAME Holy Spirit who has opened YOUR eyes to God’s truth.  And just as He sent those Jews back to their homes with the gospel message, so also He has sent YOU – He has placed YOU -- wherever you are, to be a light of freedom and of hope and of promise of eternal life to those in your own sphere of influence in your neighborhood, among your friends and acquaintances, even in your own home.

It surprises me that some Christians believe only a special class of Christians called ‘clergy’ have the right and the authority to tell others of Jesus’ wonderful love and forgiveness. But that’s not what St. Peter believed. Listen to what else he said on this day of Pentecost as he stood with those proclaiming God’s message of redemption.

Quoting from the ancient prophet Joel, Peter said: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; ¹⁸ even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:1-18, English Standard Version)

No wonder Peter, in his first epistle wrote these words to the laity in the churches: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

Please listen. According to God’s word it is the PRIVILEGE of all Born-Again men and women – rich or poor, male or female, young or old – God has granted each of us the honor AND the commandment to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us all out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

I’m thinking now of the woman at the well of Samaria. When she realized who it was speaking with her, she ran to her village and told everyone she met: Come see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done. This is not the Christ, is it? (John 4)  Soon the whole town went out to meet Jesus and after listening to Him for a few days said to the woman: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.” (verse 42)

And what about the demoniac in Luke 8? When Jesus cast the demons from the man and into the herd of pigs, the healed man begged Jesus to permit him to follow Him. But what did the Lord answer? “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39)

Doesn’t that sound like what the Holy Spirit did with those who came to faith after listening to Peter and the others? They were given the privilege and the MANDATE to go back to their homes and spread abroad the great news that forgiveness and eternal life are available to all who will believe Christ.

The woman at the well and the demoniac were not specially trained in theology. They had no degrees or pedigrees. I doubt they even knew Hosea from Hezekiah or Ruth from Abigail. But they both had THIS in common: They had met Jesus. He had changed their lives. And they would not shut up and sit down.

Which brings us to this important question of the day – what will you permit the Holy Spirit to do with your life today and every day through the rest of your life?

Listen! YOU know the cure for cancer – the cancer of sin that is eating its way through the lives of people you meet every day. You know the cure for heart disease – the sin-sickened heart that kills the soul as surely as a disease physical heart will kill the body. You know the cure for blindness – blind to truth. You know the cure for deafness – deaf to God’s promise of forgiveness and eternal life.

Oh! May the Holy Spirit enliven us that we not shut up and sit down – but that we proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light!

How can we be emissaries of light and hope to our communities? That’s easier than some might think. When the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our bodies, He give EACH of us ‘gifts’ for the building up of the kingdom of God.

How do we know that?  Again, the Bible tells us so. For example, here is St. Paul to the Christians at Rome: “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So, if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.” (Romans 12:6-8, NLT)

Along with what might be called the flamboyant gifts of proclaiming God’s truths through preaching and teaching, Paul also talked about the quieter gifts of encouragement, of hospitality, of being merciful and kind to others. And those are only a very few of the gifts God the Holy Spirit gives each Christian. There are lists throughout the New Testament of the treasures He has given us to build up the kingdom of God.

Today we celebrate the events of Acts chapter two. But do not overlook this truth: We are STILL in the ongoing season of Pentecost, right up to this present moment. Oh! How awesome is the privilege God has given each Christian man and woman to tell others of the Savior.

Each of us has that privilege. No exceptions. Oh, God help us to never sit down and shut up when we have such a glorious message!