“The Gift of Pentecost”

The Appomattox Court House Presbyterian Church Pulpit
Rev. Cameron S. Smith
The Lord's Day, June 4, 2006
Genesis 11:1-9
Acts 2:1-21

"At Pentecost the whole of God's redemptive purpose for the world was for a moment set off in bold relief."

PREPARING FOR THE WORD

Isaiah used the metaphor of water to describe the reality of this promise for the coming age: God says, "For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants" (Isaiah 44:3). Jesus claims to have fulfilled this when he says, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.' [Jesus] spoke [here] of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:37-39). And then, using yet another metaphor for the coming Spirit, Jesus says this in John 14: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever….I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:16, 18). Finally, near the end of his upper room discourse, Jesus adds this important detail, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you." (John 16:7).

     Today is Pentecost Sunday. What is Pentecost? What's the significance of this day? And, more to the point, why is Pentecost important for the Christian Church that would lead me to title this sermon, "The Gift of Pentecost"?
     Perhaps we should start with a little background. Pentecost is the Greek word meaning simply, "fiftieth." For Israel, Pentecost was the festival celebrating the harvest of the wheat crop. It was celebrated exactly fifty days, or seven weeks (seven sevens) after Passover, and it was a time to give thanks to God for His peace and abundant provision. The Psalmist captures the idea behind this festival when he declares that God "makes peace in your borders; [and] he fills you with the finest of the wheat." (Ps 147:14). Moses, in Deuteronomy 16, instructs the people to remember their Egyptian bondage on this day and to renew their commitment to keeping the Law. Even more noteworthy is the Jewish tradition that the Law was given to Moses atop Mount Sinai on Pentecost -- the fiftieth day of Israel's journey into the wilderness (cf. Ex. 19:1). I want you to keep these Old Testament distinctives of this day in mind as we move now to Acts 2. Take the time now at the outset to read read Acts 2:1-21.
     I spoke last week on the "last word" from Jesus. It was a challenging word. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). You heard it again in the benediction: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19). The Gospel of Mark, which I did not quote last week, weighs in with the same word as well: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." (Mark 16:15).
     In light of this Great Commission, one writer has remarked insightfully, that all "Christians are to regard themselves as called to the full-time task of making Jesus Christ known, loved, and served throughout the world." Seems scary. Don't you need training for this? What about experience? God's giving us the Nike speech: "Just Do It!" Seems to me like a naked exhortation: A bare command with nothing to make it happen; or, for those of you familiar with government-speak, an un-funded mandate!
     It reminds me of an experience I had when I was just a year out of college; I was looking for a job. I found a good one in the paper: "Management, Make over 2 Grand a week! No experience required" It had to be true, there it was right there in print; and we know that whatever we read in the paper is true. $100,000 a year -- It sounded like a good entry-level job to me. The job was with Century Business Machines, Inc. out of Greensboro. I went down to the interview dressed in my best business attire; and it went well, and fast. They put me to work within an hour of arriving for the interview. "'This is our premium model typewriter; this is our business special model and this is our secretary's special. Here's the operating manual for these three machines in case you have any questions." He then showed me to a dingy back room where there was a beat up desk and chair. On the desk sat an old rotary dial telephone. He plopped a couple of phonebooks into my arms, and said with a wink, "Go to it kid, you're going to be great."
     That was a bare command. I knew nothing about typewriters; no sales experience, and no way was I answering any technical questions. What a bind! I couldn't do a job that I had no preparation or expertise or the slightest business doing! Likewise, when it comes to evangelism, it seems as if God's plan for reaching the world is straight out of the Century Business Machines, Inc. playbook.

THE REAL DEAL
     But you know that I've only given you one half of the equation from Acts 1:8. The full statement is this: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses…." My friends, this is the "gift of Pentecost." This priceless gift is the Holy Spirit of God. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist announces this prophecy concerning the coming Messiah: "I baptize you with water, but….He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
     The metaphor of fire brings to mind the presence of God in the burning bush on Sinai (Ex. 3); His leading and protection of the nation of Israel by a pillar of fire by night during the wilderness wanderings (Ex. 13:21-22); His deliverance and salvation through a chariot of fire that carried Elijah up by a whirlwind to heaven (2 Ki. 2:11); and most memorably, of Isaiah's commissioning as a prophet of God as an angel touches his mouth with burning coals, purifying him and declaring all of his sins forgiven. (Isa. 6:6).
     In Acts 2, God fulfilled John's prophecy on Pentecost when tongues of fire danced on each disciple, filling them with the power of the Holy Spirit. On that Sunday, ten days after Jesus had ascended back into heaven, 120 disciples, including the twelve apostles, were sitting in a house in Jerusalem, praying and waiting "for the promise of the Father" as Jesus had commanded them to do. And then, there was the deafening sound of a great wind as the Spirit descended.
     What happened next was truly miraculous. 120 disciples started to fan out into the Jerusalem crowds in the Temple area, "speaking of the mighty deeds of God" (Acts 2:11) in Jesus Christ. Jews from all over the world - Luke specifically mentions Jews in the regions of the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa - begin to hear the Gospel proclaimed in the language (or tongue) of the region that they represent, (vv.9-11).
     Some skeptics thought these lowly Galileans were drunk - but, when Peter stood up to preach, he reminded the crowds that it was only 9:00 in the morning! He also reminded them that this was the event that the prophet Joel had spoken of when he declared that God would "pour out [His] Spirit on all flesh; [and] your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Joel 2:28-29, 32).

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT
Peter's obvious point is that the promised outpouring of the Spirit has arrived; but he's also making a much subtler point that the Spirit has been given to all people: Men and women; young and old; slave and free. No distinctions here! (cf. Gal. 3:28). The gift is for all people; all who take it by faith in Christ. Pentecost represents the day when the one universal language of the Gospel is spoken clearly, and all have a chance to hear it.
Pentecost is God's gracious answer to the sin of Babel, when God confused the languages of the nations because they tried to take the place of God. "So by the Spirit of God given on Pentecost[,] believers are one, 'keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'" (Eph. 4:3). [quote from Faussett's Bible Dictionary]

OT BACKGROUND
I want you to think back to the Old Testament significance of Pentecost that I told you about earlier: Pentecost was a time to give thanks to God for His peace and abundant provision; a time to remember their bondage and renew their commitment to obedience; and of course, the giving of the Law on Pentecost. Just as Passover is shot through with the significance of the death and deliverance through the Lamb of God; so Pentecost is rife with images of the coming work of the Spirit! Pentecost, like the wheat harvest celebration, is the ultimate celebration of God's provision of the Holy Spirit. Because of this close association with the giving of the Spirit, Pentecost Sunday was known in the early Church as Whitsunday (lit. White Sunday), a time when new converts were baptized in mass, and immediately wrapped in a white robe, symbolizing the purity of Christ as applied by the Spirit. It is by the Spirit that the power of sin - our bondage, if you will -- is broken. And last, but not least, Jeremiah prophesied that God would do a new thing in the last days, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah….I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Jeremiah 31:31, 33). On Sinai, the Law was written on stone tablets; at Pentecost, the Law is written on the human heart!

FINAL WORD
My friends in Christ, what I am trying to say to you this morning is that the gift of Pentecost is yours forever. You're gifted! You are equipped to carry out the last word; to make disciples. Of course, the gift needs to be exercised; it needs to be finessed; and you need to continue "feeding" upon the Word of God. May God give us the desire to embrace the power given to us in the Holy Spirit! Amen.