If you've got a Bible, turn to Acts chapter 2.
If you want a church Bible, they're just as you come in by there.
And it's on page 909.
Page 909, Acts chapter 2.
And what we're going to do this morning is,
it's like when you go on a website and there's a hyperlink.
You know there's words which are in slightly darker font.
And there's a link, isn't it?
And you click on that and it takes you to another page.
And often you find that you click on something else
and it takes you to another page, another page.
And what I want to do that with is I want to do that with
the four words in verse 1.
And I hope that as we click on this hyperlink,
it'll really crack open Acts chapter 2.
The four words are the day of Pentecost.
The day of Pentecost.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, verse 1,
they were all together in one place.
And suddenly they came from heaven,
a sound like a mighty Russian wind
and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
What was Pentecost?
What is the day of Pentecost?
Well, it was a Jewish feast.
It had been observed all down through the history of God's people.
It wasn't new.
It wasn't novel.
The word literally means 50th.
It was the 50th day after the Passover.
It was called by various names.
And each of these names is important for you and I to understand.
And what I want to do is I want us to kind of click on this link
of the day of Pentecost
and look at some of the connections that we find in the Bible
and what lies behind it.
And as we do that, I think we'll see what acts to what God is doing and saying to us.
The first great name that was given to the day of Pentecost
was the Feast of Weeks.
It's from Leviticus in the Old Testament, chapter 23.
The Feast of Weeks.
A week of weeks is 49 days.
And the next day after a week of weeks is the 50th day.
The Pentecostal day.
The 50th day from the Passover.
And what its significance is that the Feast of Pentecost
and the Feast of the Passover are both linked together.
You might be thinking, well, what on earth is the Passover?
It's that moment where in Israel's history,
they celebrated their redemption, their escape from Egypt.
If you know the story, there was the shed blood of a lamb.
It was put on the doorpost of where every one of the people of Israel was.
And the Passover celebrated that great event
where the angel of death passed over them
and they came out of the land of Egypt.
And so in Israel's history, every Jew, they got together
to celebrate their redemption.
And Pentecost came 50 days after this most notable day
in the history of God's people.
But the day of Pentecost that we've just read in Acts 2 and verse 1
comes 50 days, doesn't it,
after the most notable event in the history of the world.
The offering up of not a lamb of God,
but the lamb of God, the sacrificial lamb of God,
who was the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it's in his offering up of himself on the cross,
dying in our place,
and then rising from the dead,
that the New Testament sees the fulfilment of the Passover.
And so Jesus is the Christ,
our Passover lamb, sacrificed for us.
Therefore we keep the feast, they say.
50 days after this celebration
came this day of Pentecost.
And that's of great significance for you and I
because you cannot celebrate Pentecost from the Passover.
And you cannot understand the significance of Pentecost
apart from the offering up of Jesus as our sacrifice for our sins
in order that he might gain for us
all the benefits and blessings of our salvation.
And so the day of Pentecost, what I'm saying to you,
cannot be separated from the work of the Lord Jesus.
It is in many ways the great climax.
where the coming of God's Holy Spirit
is to accomplish in God's people
what the death of Jesus has accomplished for them.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was to accomplish in God's people
what the death of Jesus has accomplished for them.
And this is the great link,
the great link between Christ offering himself as our Passover
and the day of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit comes in power.
What Jesus had accomplished for us,
the Holy Spirit comes to apply to us
and accomplish in us.
It is not sufficient, according to the teaching of the Bible,
that Jesus, he accomplishes something for us by his death.
He comes to his disciples, do you remember,
Reuben preached on it during the summertime.
In that upper room discourse in John 14 to 16
and Jesus tells them there's something he has to accomplish
not only for them by leaving and going to Calvary,
but there's something that Jesus has to accomplish in them
by sending his Holy Spirit.
So let me read to you from John 14 and 16.
Jesus says,
I will ask the Father
and he will give you another helper to be with you forever,
even the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive
because it neither sees him nor knows him.
You know him, for he dwells in you
and will be in you.
He says,
Because I've said these things to you,
sorrow has filled your heart that I'm going away.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
It's to your advantage that I go away.
Because if I do not go away, Jesus says,
the helper will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he'll convict the world of sin,
unrighteousness and judgment to come.
So Jesus links together his going
and the Spirit's coming.
Can you see that the day of Pentecost
is as much a vital part
of the saving work of God in our redemption
as the death of Jesus is?
Jesus says,
It's to your advantage.
It's for your good that I go away.
Because when I go,
I will send the Holy Spirit
and he will be in you.
The New Testament describes
the saving work of Jesus
in a series of events.
If you want to know
what the New Testament teaches
about Christianity,
about the Lord Jesus Christ,
let me give it to you.
It's all centred on Jesus
and they're mighty things that God has done.
The first thing that the preaching in Acts
tells us is that Jesus
left heaven's glory.
He did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped.
And in order to come down,
he was born.
He was born as a baby.
His birth.
And then his perfect life.
And then his atoning death.
And then his resurrection.
And then his ascension into heaven.
And then his sending down
the Holy Spirit.
And now his present intercession.
He is in heaven speaking
to the Father on our behalf.
At the right hand of God.
And then he will return again
in glory to the end of the world.
When he will raise the dead.
And he will finish the work of salvation.
He will give to his people new bodies.
In order that we might live for God
and worship him.
That is salvation in the New Testament.
It is a mighty sweep
of what God has done.
That God has planned in eternity.
And it will find its conclusion
and consummation
in the glory of the world
that is to come.
And within that mighty sweep
of God's plan,
the saving work of Jesus,
the day of Pentecost,
has a vital part.
because it is the application
of our redemption to us
by the Holy Spirit.
Let me show you these elements
in Peter 7.
I'm looking at Acts 2 in verse 22.
If you look there,
it says,
verse 22,
Men of Israel,
hear these words,
Jesus of Nazareth,
a man attested to you by God
with mighty works
and wonders and signs
that God did through him
in your midst
as you yourselves know.
Can you see there,
Peter's speaking of Jesus' manhood.
His leaving heaven's glory,
his incarnation
as a true man.
His God-attested life.
Here is a man attested to you
by God
with mighty works
and wonders
which God did through him.
And then his death,
verse 23.
This Jesus delivered up
according to the definite plan
and foreknowledge of God,
you crucified
and you killed
by the hands of lawless men
so that the death of Jesus
was planned by God
and accomplished by sinners.
And then verse 24,
you've got his resurrection.
God raised him up,
loosing the pangs of death
because it was not possible
for him to be held by it.
And his exaltation,
look at verse 33.
Being therefore exalted
to the right hand of God,
having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he's poured out this
that you yourselves
are seeing and hearing.
So there it is, isn't it?
The exalting of the Lord Jesus
and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
That is the way
that the apostles preached
the good news of Christianity.
not just a reference
for Jesus dying for our sins,
but this Jesus
left heaven's glory.
He came and he humbled himself
to be a man.
He took our nature.
He lived a perfect life
here on earth.
He offered himself
as the perfect sacrifice.
And he was crucified,
died and was buried.
And then he was raised again
and now he is ascended
to the right hand of God.
And from there
he sent down the Holy Spirit
and one day
this King Jesus
will come again.
That is
the message
of the early church.
And integral
to the message
of the early church
was the coming
of the Holy Spirit.
So can you see
in this sense
the coming of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost
Pentecost
was a once
for all event.
It's no more
to be repeated
no more to be repeated
than the cross
is to be repeated
or the resurrection
is to be repeated
or the return
of Jesus
will be repeated.
It is a once
for all event
in the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit
subsequent to the death
of Jesus.
And it was
a necessary event.
because at the coming
of the Holy Spirit
all that Jesus
accomplished
is applied
to Christians
by the Holy Spirit.
So these men
are described
as full.
The cynical
Bible bystanders
say they are
well they're full
of wine
they mistake
what they're full of
they think
that they're drunk
but they recognise
don't they
these bystanders
that these people
are full of something.
The Apostle Peter
he tells them
what it is.
He tells them
it is the Holy Spirit
who has come
and he's taken
the saving grace
of God
bought for us
by Jesus
and he's applied it
to the lives
of these men.
And it's because
he is in them
that they are so full.
So I can say this
Pentecost
is a once
for all event
unrepeatable.
but let me say this
the gift of the Holy Spirit
is not once
for all.
For this was
the first fruit
of what was to be
the experience
of every believer.
Can you notice
how the Apostle
preaches it
in Acts 2
verse 38
the Holy Spirit
is given to
every believer
who repents
and confesses
Jesus as saviour
and they receive
the forgiveness
of sins.
Verse 37
brothers what shall we do?
That's what the crowd
say what shall we do?
And Peter said to them
repent and be baptised
every one of you
in the name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness
of sins
and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So repentance
and faith
and confessing Christ
and receiving
the Holy Spirit
are of the essence
of experiencing salvation
of what it means
to be a Christian.
And so it means this
every true believer
has a personal
Pentecost.
when the Holy Spirit
comes to you
and you repent
and you believe
he comes to indwell you
and he applies
to you
the benefits
of what the Lord
Jesus has done.
In his death
and in his resurrection
he gives to you
an assurance
of faith
of being a child
of God
and he raises you
into newness
of life with him.
so that Jesus Christ
may live out
his life
through you.
That is your
personal Pentecost.
When the Holy Spirit
comes to
dwell in you
according to the promise
that the Apostle Peter
makes here
and that's why
Christianity
is the power
of God
under salvation.
I think that's really
important to us
you might be hearing
you're somebody
who's not a Christian
and you think
what are these people
wanting me to believe?
Are they just
wanting me to understand
certain facts
about Jesus'
life and death
and his resurrection
and his ascension?
Is that what we think
the Christian gospel is?
No,
all of us need to understand
that the Christian gospel
presents you and I
with the promise
that God himself
comes to make
his dwelling
in the heart
of believers.
It is God's purpose
to inhabit you
within
with himself.
So the temple
of God is
we don't go to Jerusalem
we don't have to go
on some sort of pilgrimage
the temple
of God
is
your body
says the apostle
and Pentecost
means that
God the Holy Spirit
comes to
every believer
and indwells him
and inhabits him
and so
if anyone
does not have
the spirit of Christ
he's not his
that's what
Romans 8
says
and that indwelling
if you like
is the personal
Pentecost
when somebody
repents
and trusts
in the Lord Jesus
and they are given
the power
of the Holy Spirit
to help them live
and it's got
a profoundly
important connection
with what the
Passover
pointed to
the death
of Jesus
and the coming
and the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit
on the believing
is taking
the blessings
and the benefits
of what Jesus
has accomplished
and applying them
to you
and so
can I ask you
do you know that?
Do you know
the personal
application
of the powerful
death
of the Lord Jesus
that he has come
to save you
from your rebellion
and your guilt
to raise you
into newness
of life
to experience
the living God
that is
biblical
Christianity
it's not
taking a form
on the passport
that is
New Testament
Christianity
but experiencing
personally
the coming
of God
into your life
by his Holy Spirit
the second thing
when you click
on the day
of Pentecost
is you will find
that it was
a celebration
of the giving
of the law
seems a strange
thing doesn't it
to have a day
celebrating the giving
of a law
but that is the giving
of the law
that Reuben read
to us
in Exodus
chapter 19
and 20
on Mount Sinai
50 days
after the original
Passover
and the association
between the giving
of the law
and Pentecost
is of great
significance
the giving
of the law
50 days
after the day
of Pentecost
after the Passover
was designed
wasn't it
the law
to be a revelation
of who God is
but also a standard
for living
a standard
of life
I am the Lord
your God
who brought you
out of Egypt
out of the household
of slavery
therefore because of that
you shall have no other gods
before me
you shall not make
for yourself an idol
you shall not take
the name of the Lord
your God in vain
remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy
it was to mould
the people of God
into the likeness
of God
it was an external
standard
and the people of God
were to keep
God's law
and God
came to
Israel at Sinai
and he gave them
his Lord
to show them
who he was
and to show them
how he intended
them to live
and he came down
didn't he
in mighty power
in thunder
and lightning
and fire
the loud blast
of a trumpet
which is very significant
when you look at
what happened
in Acts 2
and so let me read
this to some of you
on the morning
of the third day
from Exodus
there were thunders
and lightnings
and a cloud
on the mountain
and a very loud
trumpet blast
and it went up
like the smoke
of a kiln
and the whole mountain
trembled greatly
and as the sound
of the trumpet
grew louder
and louder
Moses spoke
and God answered
him in thunder
and the Lord
came down
Mount Sinai
in order to give
the law
in order to shape
the lives
of his people
who had been redeemed
that's what the law
of God
was intended for
God came down
spoke to his people
and his people
were to be changed
but if you know
your Bible
you'll know
that isn't what happened
that God's ultimate purpose
was not merely
to leave his people
with an external law
but God's purpose
was to write
his law
on our hearts
to put his spirit
within them
let me read to you
from Exodus 36
where the prophet
says this
it's a promise of God
I will give you
a new heart
and a new spirit
and I will put
within you
and I will remove
the heart of stone
from your flesh
and give you
I will remove
the heart of stone
from your flesh
and give you
a heart of flesh
and I will put
my spirit
within you
that will cause you
to walk in my statutes
and my laws
think of what
that promise meant
to the people
of Israel
they'd listened
to the law
being read
week by week
like we do
and they knew
that they didn't
keep it
they'd broken it
they knew
that despite
resolving
to try better
and to try better
they knew
that they couldn't
do it
and that they
needed a new
heart
and God
says
I will come
and I will
sprinkle you
with clean water
and you should
be clean
it was their
cleansing
and I'll give
you a new
heart
and a new
spirit
I will put
within you
and I will
take away
that old
stony heart
and I will
give you
a heart
of flesh
and I will
put my
spirit
within you
so that you
might walk
in my laws
now where
was that
fulfilled
where was
that fulfilled
it's Acts
chapter 2
in the
outpouring
of the
spirit
of God
because this
is the day
when God
sends his
spirit
and he
transforms
the character
of his
people
and so if
you want
to see
the apostle
Paul's
reference
to this
you need
to flick
over to
2 Corinthians
3
and there
the apostle
Paul
he contrasts
what it's
like to live
by religious
law
to the
time of
the
spirit
this is what
he says
such is the
confidence that
we have
through Christ
towards God
not that we're
sufficient in
ourselves to
claim anything
that's coming
from us
but our
sufficiency is
from God
who's made us
sufficient to be
ministers of a
new covenant
here's the point
not of the
letter but of
the spirit
for the letter
kills but the
spirit of
gives life
and now if the
ministry of
death carved
in letters on
stone came
with such glory
that the
Israelites couldn't
even gaze
at Moses
face because
of its glory
which has
been brought
to an end
will not the
ministry of
the spirit
have even
more glory
for if there
was glory
in the
ministry of
condemnation
the ministry
of righteousness
must far
exceed it in
glory
what does it
all amount to
it amounts to
this
now the
Lord is the
spirit
and where the
spirit of the
Lord is there
is freedom
and we
all with
unveiled faces
behold the
glory of the
Lord and
we're being
transformed
into the
same image
from one
glory to
another for
this comes
from the
Lord who
is the
Holy Spirit
listen to
this what
is the
Holy Spirit
given to
you
given to
do
the Holy
Spirit is
given to
us as we
trust in the
Lord Jesus
Christ to
write God's
law on our
hearts
and to
take our
character
the least
likely of
us
the weakest
of us
those who
this morning
may be on
the verge
of giving
up the
struggle
and they
feel absolutely
hopeless
and the
Holy Spirit
takes our
character
and he
moulds us
and he
changes us
from one
degree of
glory to
another
until we
bear the
image of
the Lord
Jesus
and that
is what
salvation is
about
it is not
a little
thing
it is not
being
religious
it is not
trying your
best
it is the
changing of
our character
which we
cannot do
on our
own
until it
reflects the
glory and
the beauty
of the
Lord Jesus
and the
Holy Spirit
comes to
us and
that is
what his
job is
and so at
Pentecost he
comes down in
the sound of
a mighty
rushing wind
and tongues
of flaming
fire
it's what
the promise
is for
that the
wonderful
works of
God
the life
of God
might be
seen in
the souls
and lives
of men
and women
and boys
and girls
it's why
isn't it
when the
New Testament
goes on to
speak about
the effects
of the Holy
Spirit in
someone
it speaks
about fruit
the fruit
of the
Spirit
is love
joy
peace
gentleness
goodness
self control
and so
on
what are
those things
are this
they are
the law
of God
being written
on the
hearts of
men and
women
and on
the day
of Pentecost
that is
what God
is doing
the third
thing
that the day
of Pentecost
was associated
with again
was again
from Leviticus
23 and it's
the feast
of first fruits
in other
words
the day
of Pentecost
was a
harvest
celebration
and Jews
came to it
from every
corner
of the
world
as they
did at
the Passover
the first
years of
ripe corn
were offered
up to God
and the
first fruits
were part
of the
harvest
the first
fruits
were part
of the
harvest
but they
were the
promise
of the
rest of
it
they were
like a
deposit
and so
do you
see
how
perfectly
God
chooses
his
times
and his
season
how
beautifully
this
helps
us
to
understand
what
is
the
great
significance
of
Pentecost
in Acts
chapter 2
the great
significance
of it
is this
that we
were to
see the
first fruits
of God's
harvest
on that
day there
were 3,000
who were
added to
the church
and day
by day
God
kept
adding to
the church
those who
were being
saved
the first
fruits of
the harvest
were here
and that
harvest is
still being
gathered even
this morning
all over
the world
and the
end of that
harvest will
not be until
Jesus comes
again
now what
does this
tell
about
Pentecost
it tells
us that
Pentecost
perhaps above
everything else
is a missionary
event
and the
spirit
filled
church
was born
on the
day of
Pentecost
the tongues
of fire
verse 3
seem to have
significance
particularly
don't they
verse 3
divided tongues
as a 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
utterance
so can
you see
that the
speaking of
tongues
here in
Acts 2
is closely
associated
with the
preaching
and praising
of God
in the
presence of
these people
who've come
from every
corner of
the world
look at
verse 5
they were
dwelling in
Jerusalem
Jews
devout
men
from every
nation
under
heaven
and as
the sound
of the
multitude
came
together
they were
bewildered
because
each one
hearing
them speak
in his
own
language
and they
were amazed
and astonished
saying aren't
these who
are speaking
Galilean
and at the
end of
verse 11
we hear
them telling
in our
own
tongues
the mighty
works of
God
the significance
of tongues
is important
why is it so
important
it's saying
isn't it
because right
from the
beginning
this will be
a missionary
church that
will go out
into the
ends of
the earth
to speak
in the
language
of these
people
who've
come from
if you
check
where
the
details
are
they've
come
from the
north
the south
the east
and the west
from every
corner of the
world
and God
came down
in tongues
to enable
them to
speak
clearly
the wonderful
works of
God
to every
creature
you might
say Paul
you've missed
the most
obvious thing
of all
about the
day of
Pentecost
what's the
most obvious
thing of all
about Pentecost
well if you
go back to
Genesis
in Genesis
chapter 11
everyone spoke
the same
language
do you remember
the Tower of
Babel
everyone spoke
the same
language
and they
used that
language
common language
they used
that to
defy God
they wanted
to not
fulfil God's
purposes
they wanted
to build a
tower to
heaven
and make
a name
for themselves
and God
scatters
them
and he
confuses
their language
so they
cannot
understand
one another
and so
suddenly
different
languages
are born
in Genesis
11
and yet
Christ
comes
and the
Holy Spirit
comes
and what
happens in
Acts 2
it is the
reversal
of
Babel
it is the
reversal
of the
curse
and so
Acts 2
is not
saying you
all start
off to
babble
in a
different
language
in an
unknown
language
in fact
it's
saying the
exact
opposite
is saying
that because
of Christ
and because
of the
work of
the Holy
Spirit
the curse
of Babel
is being
removed
and the
first fruits
of the
harvest
are coming
in
and so
this should
enormously
encourage us
shouldn't it
this should
be
wonderfully
encouraging
look around
you
just look
around you
and see
where the
people are
from
they are
not all
from
Wales
they are
not all
from
England
God
by his
Holy Spirit
is calling
the nations
to himself
the missionary
expansion
of the
church
and God
has come
down
and God's
people
are being
filled
with the
Spirit
can you
just see
with me
as we
finish
what is
the result
of people
understanding
the gospel
in their
language
can you
see verse
37
verse 37
when they
heard this
here is the
authentic
response
to hearing
the message
of the
Lord Jesus
Christ
that he
is Lord
and Christ
this Jesus
whom you
crucified
they were
cut to the
heart
and they
cried
what shall
we do
and Peter
said to
them
repent
and be
baptized
every one
of you
in the
name of
Jesus
Christ
for the
forgiveness
of sins
when you
repent
what happens
you will
receive the
gift of
the Holy
Spirit
and this
promise
this promise
of the Holy
Spirit is
for you
and it's
for your
children
and it's
for those
who are
far off
everyone
whom the
Lord our
God
calls to
himself
so it
may be
this morning
that you've
recognized
actually I
don't know
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
I don't
know the
Lord Jesus
Christ
and I
want to
ask you
this morning
I want to
plead with
you
to call
on him
to ask
him
to forgive
your sins
to thank
you for
that incredible
salvation of
event of
him leaving
the glory of
heaven
and becoming
a human
being
and living
a perfect
life
and dying
a death
that you
deserve
and then
being buried
and raised
and ascended
and today
he is pouring
out his
Holy Spirit
and so believe
on the Lord
Jesus Christ
and you will
be saved
let's pray
and so
thank you
for
your
time
and so
for
time
!