Pentecost – 2-11-22

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Acts 2:1-4 NKJV

RELATIONSHIP:

Do you already have a relationship with a powerful God who cares about your every need because He loves you? Did you know my God can communicate with you and protect you – He has a plan for you to prosper if you just submit to His will and let His plan play out in your life!!! God wants a relationship with you and has already made a plan for your life. He loves you so much He sent His son to this world, to die as a sacrifice for your sins and rise from death with victory over sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with you.
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV
Here is a prayer for you to pray:
Jesus, I believe you are the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to the Father. I believe you are the son of God, you came to Earth and lived. That you died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins, and rose again so that I may be saved from my sins and be able to get to know you. I declare: Jesus, you are Lord!
Therefore, I confess that I am a sinner and I ask that you forgive me of my sins and come into my life. Help me to turn away from my sins and transform me into what you have lovingly created me to be. Help me through a real personal relationship grow and accept your will for my life – that I may live in your blessings. Please walk with me, and talk with me – I accept a relationship with you and with our Father God, through you. In the name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen

BIBLE READING:

Dear Heavenly Father – Please give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who you are, who Jesus is, and who the Holy Spirit is. Open the eyes of our understanding, please, so we may know the hope of our calling and the vast sovereignty and power of the grace of the cross. Please do not let us miss out on what you want and need from us today. Lord, I pray that your word prepares us and not scares us! We forbid the works and influences of fear over your word and our sound mind. And please keep us and bless us and shine your face upon us and pour out grace over us and give us peace! Thank you! – In Jesus name we pray, Amen

Today’s reading is the Book of Acts chapter 2 (embedded below for your convenience in the NKJV). 

Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all ^[a]with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them ^[b]divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

The Crowd’s Response

⁵ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. ⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own ^[c]language in which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and ^[d]Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” ¹² So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

¹³ Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”

Peter’s Sermon

¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵ For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only ^[e]the third hour of the day. ¹⁶ But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’

²² “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— ²³ Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you ^[f]have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having ^[g]loosed the ^[h]pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:

‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face,
For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad;
Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.
²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
²⁸ You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’

²⁹ “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰ Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, ^[i]according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, ³¹ he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. ³² This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. ³³ Therefore being exalted ^[j]to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

³⁴ “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
³⁵ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the ^[k]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

A Vital Church Grows

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this ^[l]perverse generation.” ⁴¹ Then those who ^[m]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. ⁴² And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ ^[n]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. ⁴³ Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, ⁴⁵ and ^[o]sold their possessions and goods, and divided^[p] them among all, as anyone had need.

⁴⁶ So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added ^[q]to the church daily those who were being saved.

Footnotes

1. Acts 2:1 NU together
2. Acts 2:3 Or tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each
3. Acts 2:8 dialect
4. Acts 2:11 Arabians
5. Acts 2:15 9 a.m.
6. Acts 2:23 NU omits have taken
7. Acts 2:24 destroyed or abolished
8. Acts 2:24 Lit. birth pangs
9. Acts 2:30 NU He would seat one on his throne,
10. Acts 2:33 Possibly by
11. Acts 2:38 forgiveness
12. Acts 2:40 crooked
13. Acts 2:41 NU omits gladly
14. Acts 2:42 teaching
15. Acts 2:45 would sell
16. Acts 2:45 distributed
17. Acts 2:47 NU omits to the church

MEMORY VERSE CHALLENGE:

Matthew 5:16– “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

STUDY/DEVOTIONAL

The feast of Pentecost – I grew up in a Pentecostal Church and I somehow missed that the feast of Pentecost was a Jewish holiday and being used as a timeline. The holiday falls during the first fruits harvest of the wheat – so it is a type of harvest thanksgiving and a time of tithing and offering to the Lord. But it also correlates with the law given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

God gave us the Holy Spirit in a new and personal way on the day we celebrate Him giving us the Law – anyone making connections here? The old covenant was not ended – but the Sacrificial Law was finished. So bringing our first fruits with thanksgiving should still be celebrated but the gift of the Holy Spirit replaces the Gift of the Law of Atonement through the blood of Jesus. This is good stuff!

I heard a missionary tell about a revival meeting he attended in a church – I do not remember the country. But the neighbors called the fire department who came rushing into the building since no one was running out and when they got in, with their hoses and gear… they found the people glowing like fire. He said he was standing near the back when it happened and he went over to them and asked and they said – don’t you see everyone is on fire? Then He prayed for them and they too glowed.
The missionary also said that everyone praying together in one accord at the same time sounded like a mighty wind – and it was hard to hear the firemen or speak with them because of the sound. He also said it was the only time he ever experienced what the opening verses of Acts chapter two is trying to describe.

I love to imagine every detail in the Bible and imagine if I was there. What would it look like, smell like, taste like, feel like, and sound like? Wouldn’t it be glorious to know?

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Verses 1-4

Without any surprise, to us, the crowd’s response was a mixed bag. These men having spent days in prayer, and probably overcome with the joy of the Lord because the promised gift of the Holy Spirit came upon them, come stumbling out into the light of the day and into the street and people hear their local languages coming from these men!! That seems very miraculous. I would probably be a bystander who turned to Jesus. 

I have always giggled at verse 13: “Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Ya see I once made my bed in hell and I have been drunk on new wine, old wine, and some hard liquors. I drank too much – possibly and alcoholic, I don’t know. God delivered me and I stopped drinking. But I have the experience – which is: when drinking, I often lost the ability to speak English (my first language) and definitely lost the ability to speak any other languages. I noticed, also, that other slurred their words and were unable to speak. It would seem being drunk would NOT make you speak a foreign language that you have never spoke before. It would seem alcohol has the opposite effect. So this group of mockers, had they never drank? Did they not understand how drinking and language do not cooperate?  

Then Peter – who already had a bad case of foot in mouth and struggled with speeches and rhetoric, gives a bold, powerful, eloquent, and intelligent speech (aka sermon). I don’t want to make you read it again… but at the same point I do! It’s from the book of Joel, so let’s read it:
“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:28-32 NKJV

I love the book of Joel!

So Peter opens with this is fulfilled. Starting now we are in a time of the Spirit being poured out. Let’s look at the structure of Peter’s sermon:
Quote scripture, quote Jesus and testify, more scripture, more scripture and more scripture with explanation then a call to action: repent.
He kind of made two point: one was that now was the time of Joel 2:28-32 and the other was you all need to get on board with this. But they were not strong solid points and you cannot make outline notes from it. This is not a formula they would ever teach for writing a sermon. You will find lessons on how to write sermons like the Sermon on the Mount (Jesus’s sermon in Matthew 5-7) and other great sermons in the Bible. But this is structurally weak and there isn’t much to teach. 
I will say it teaches: Be heavy on the word – people did not come to hear you but they came to hear God through you. Use the Scriptures – the word of God never returns void and always completes what it set out to complete. Use Jesus’s word with your testimony – if your testimony doesn’t quote Jesus you should probably look at your wording and why you left out the savior. Peter said I can attest to you that Jesus came to save – folks, that is our testimony. It is ALL Jesus – and I can attest to it being true because I experienced it.  And quote more scripture – it is a powerful two edges sword – it is anointed. Finally, ALWAYS have a call to action. Repent, Get humble, Spend time in the secret place alone with God.

Peter quoted Psalm 16:8-11 next. (Here it is in NKJV:)
“I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Peter ties it all together and before he gives a call to action the Holy Spirit is working. The word of God cut in and the spirit slid into those cuts. People are afraid when sharing the gospel and witnessing to use scriptures. But you are not powerful – The Word is! People do not want you – They want a real and powerful God.

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Verse 37

“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Verses 38-39

There ya go. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and use scripture. Powerful transformations will happen in your friends and family. Some may manifest demonically in response to such Holy Power – but fear not, be strong and courageous, God is more powerful. Just quote scripture because it is a sword. And the manifesting will be cast out as God commands through you.

And the church grew. You see, people are hungry for a real God and are tired of the lies and craziness. Just like they are fed up and we have truckers striking in Canada – and similar events all over the world. Now the media is spreading a story that ‘pandemics last two and a half to three years so soon we will drop all of this’. Really? It’s not the prayer and shift in the Spirit? Really it’s not the protests and the fact the majority is NOT on board?
Funny thing is this has all made a people who long for real – and our God is real. He is not bankrupt, so He still provides. He is not dead so healings and miracles still happen. He is not make-believe so there is real communion and interaction.

Besides sharing God with others – what shall we do?

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple [church], and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Verses 46-47

How do you grow your church? Um, same thing. How do you find favor with all people? Um, same thing.

So what is the hold up? The one accord? Or inviting the church over to eat – that is a big request. Is it the “Gladness”? It is, isn’t it – we have somehow learned to be somber and stoic. We have forgotten the joy of the Lord is our strength. I was (a few times) overcome by the joy of the Lord and gladness and laughed for a few days straight each time.  Each time I was home alone. God is just so full!
Are we held up by “simplicity”? I know we like to complicate things. Whatever it is that has us mixed up – I pray the Lord work it out and make all things new and simple and joyful.

***

Thank you for reading in 2022 – a Year of Wisdom and Salvation
May the God of peace keep you and bless you. May you stay focused on Christ and covered in grace.
Maranatha ~ Come Lord Jesus!