"and you will receive power..."Acts 1 & 2, Pentecost Sermon

Acts chapter 2:1-13

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested^[a] on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵ Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.⁷ And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, ¹¹ both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” ¹² And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

May God bless to us this reading of his Holy word.

Let us pray: Father, be with us through the power of your Spirit this morning – may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing and acceptable to you – our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

The picture we have here is of the disciples praying together. 52 days ago Jesus was crucified and these guys scattered. One betrayed him. One denied him. The rest fled and hid. None except John even made an appearance at the cross – the moment that the Lord Jesus needs them, needs care and support, the moment he is most lonely – these men abandoned him.

50 days ago… the unthinkable happens. Women who go to anoint his body return running with the news that Jesus is not dead! He is alive. And suddenly he starts appearing among them, he reassures them, he eats some fish, he shows Thomas his scars, he cooks breakfast on the beach and has a beautifully forgiving conversation with Peter, he spends a day walking with a couple to Emmaus and breaks bread with them and for the next 40 days reminds them that this was all part of the plan… Remember back I told you this would happen. Understand now that everything changes. I have conquered death, I have beaten sin – and you do not have to be afraid.

10 days ago… we read in Acts chapter one, that they gather together and ask him about the end of Roman rule, and the hope that the kingdom will be restored to Israel. Jesus must have smiled when he replied that it wasn’t for them to know the timing of everything… But…

But – and here comes the important bit.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end to the earth.

And then as he is speaking – he rises through the air and leaves.

I don’t know about you – but I would be thinking to myself – again!!! He’s going again! We thought we had lost him at the crucifixion, we thought he was gone, we grieved and mourned and wondered at the meaning of it all. But then he was back – it’s been wonderful – and now he’s gone again.

He may have told them to not be afraid… but they are. They hide out in an upper room, and they wait, and they pray.

For ten days they hide and they pray.

And they hold onto the truth that if he was able to rise from the dead, then he is able to come through on his promise of the Spirit.

And that’s when Pentecost happens. As they are praying the heavens open and the Spirit arrives – in power and beauty and strength. And suddenly they are no longer afraid. Suddenly we see them bursting out the house and telling everyone they can see – never mind the language… you have to know this news. The promise has come true – and the promise is for everyone.

And the promise is still fulfilled today.

The reading we did from Joel 2 included verses 28 and 29:

^28 [d] “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,
    and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹ Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

What made the difference? What did the Spirit do inside these men and women that changed them from hiding, from denying, from bewildered and alone to courageous, certain and faithful? What does this mean for us today?

In Acts chapter 1, Jesus tells them that they will receive Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.

This morning I want to explore what this means. Unfortunately, the Holy Spirit in so many of our churches has been regarded in two ways – either he has been largely ignored, or at the other end of the spectrum, he has been relegated to the the spooky and way-out spiritual realm. People start getting nervous at the mention of his name. And yet most of the time, the Spirit works quietly and beautifully among the ordinary things of life, and makes them extraordinary.

In order to look at this power that is promised, we need to clarify a few things about the Spirit first – unfortunately not having heard Doug’s series you may have covered some of these things – in which case see this as a recap!

The Spirit is one of the Trinity – Fully God, equal with the Father and the Son, yet distinct. We see Him working from the beginning of Scripture where at creation he is hovering over the waters – to Revelation where the Spirit and the bride together look forward to the return of Christ. He is a person not an impersonal force – someone with whom we can relate to – there are passages which mention how he speaks to us, how we can grieve him, how he can be insulted or lied to, that he teaches and counsels, that he gives gifts as he chooses and he prays for us. We see Him represented throughout Scripture as fire, as the wind or breath, as a life giving stream and as a companion. Before our story in Pentecost we see the Spirit empowering people for specific moments – to prophesy, or to do beautiful craftsmanship, or to interpret dreams or to lead well. But at Pentecost He is given freely to all.

And each of us here who knows Christ, who entrusted our lives into his care and have resolved to follow Him – each of us here have the Spirit within us. In fact it was His work in our lives that brought us to the point of salvation. 1 Corinthians 12:3 tells us that claiming Jesus as Lord of our lives is possible only through the work of the Holy Spirit.

So he is among us here – he is with us and within us. He took up residence in our hearts when we said Yes to Jesus and He is the same Spirit who took up residence in the hearts of the disciples at Pentecost almost 2000 years ago.

And as Jesus says to us:

You will receive power…. when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

In today’s world we often feel the opposite though. On a global scale we hear about what is happening in Northern Africa – where Christians are being martyred publicly, we hear about the earthquake in Nepal and the thousands who have lost their lives or everything that made life worth living, social media and newspapers bombard our minds with images of hunted rhino, starving families, crime and brutality. And we feel powerless.

Here in South Africa we struggle with a corrupt government, and inefficient departments. We are being load-shed and water-cut. We face massive unemployment and huge anger at the discrepancy between rich and poor. We hear statistics of 5.5million orphans. And we feel powerless.

But it’s even more personal than that. We watch a friend struggling through the pain of cancer, or fight a relationship that is breaking down, we are treated unjustly at work or battle the growing pile of bills that arrive at the end of each month. Perhaps we even appear to have it all together on the outside while inside we cry out with loneliness and confusion. We feel powerless in so many situations.

Where is this power we are promised? Why does the Spirit seem so quiet? Where is the good news?

In the book of John – in chapters 14-16, Jesus talks a great deal about the Spirit, who he is and what he will do – and I encourage you to take some time to read through all three chapters.

But looking through them, firstly we are told that he, the Spirit, gives Life.

14:18-19 reads

“I will not leave you as orphans – I will come to you. Before long the world will not see me anymore but you will see me. Because I live you also will live.” 

The new life that we live in Jesus comes because the Spirit lives in us and it is his life we now live. It is this life that will see us through into eternity. It is this life that is unending and that has a glorious promise attached. The promise that one day we will live to see justice reigning. We will see the evils of cancer and pain and corruption and brokenness thrown down into the pit defeated. A time will come where all will be made right. This is our ultimate hope – that we have nothing to fear because even the worst – even death is not the end but the beginning of all that is true and beautiful and right. The disciples’ courage came from this deep knowledge that the authorities could kill them, burn them, destroy them – but couldn’t touch their souls. Couldn’t take away the truth that they will see Jesus again, that they will see their friends and loved ones again. Death has been swallowed up in victory – it has been swallowed up by life.

The second thing we are told is in verse 26 of chapter 14:

“But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you everything I have said to you.”

The Spirit gives us power to understand and remember and be encouraged by God’s word. Have you ever sat in a sermon and felt as though the minister had looked through your personal diary and was preaching right at you? That’s the Spirit speaking. Or have you found that more often than not your daily devotion seems to be so exactly right for the day you are about to face… or sometimes when you are reading Scripture – something just jumps out at you, or suddenly you see it in a new way? All this is the Spirit speaking. When you are in a difficult spot or struggling with something or speaking to someone and suddenly a verse pops into your mind that you hadn’t thought of in years – All of This, is the power of the Spirit - Him reminding you.

I’m here.

I’m alive.

I’m with you.

I’ve got this.

The very next verse says this

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

One of the most powerful gifts the Spirit gives is peace – in the battles we face, in the fears we fight, in the storms we endure – we are given peace.

Our Emmanuel congregation has a crises prayer sms group – around 100 people have signed up for it and when there is a crises, like Doug’s sister for example – an sms goes out to all 100 people who then and there pray for the situation. What is incredible is that so often we hear testimonies from those who have been prayed for that at that moment, it feels as though someone is putting a warm blanket around their shoulders. At that moment – regardless of the situation – a peace that passes understanding enters their soul.

The Spirit of power does His work.

Peace that defeats fear.

Chapter 15 speaks of fruit – and the Spirit gives us power to bear the fruit of peace – but also of other attributes. Galatians 5:22 tells us that His fruit is

“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control”

We are given the power to love the unlovely, to have joy in the midst of heartache, peace in the fury of war, kindness and gentleness in a world that values arrogance and sarcasm, goodness in spite of evil, faithfulness while surrounded by betrayal and self-control in a society that celebrates self-indulgence. We are different because of the Spirit’s power.

And the end of chapter 15 calls us to testify to this difference – be different and know why you are different. Verse 26 says, “The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father he will testify about me.”

It is this presence, this power in our lives that will testify about Jesus to a world that is so hungry for Him.

Chapter 16:13 reads “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you…” The Spirit will also whisper to us words of guidance and direction. Jesus when talking about being the good shepherd says, “My sheep know my voice.” As we grow in our relationship with Him, the Spirit enables us to hear Him speak and be prompted and directed by His whispers. And this is beautiful – these are the times where you sense the need to call someone, or go visit – and when you do you find that in a mischievous way God has been at work. And sometimes it’s more than this – sometimes we hear of a need and realise that God is saying to us – “Go! I’m sending you” People are hungry – you go feed them. People are outcasts – you go accept them. People are in despair – you go… take my light. People simply need someone to talk to – you go… listen. The Spirits power enables us to hear God’s will for our lives.

The Spirit also gives us the power to pray. In Chapter 16 Jesus also says we can ask for things in His name, and through the Spirit not only will our joy be complete in this, but we will be able to pray with power. Romans 8:26 reads

“the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…”

In those times where we run out of words, in those times where we don’t know what is right or what is best, in those times where we simply cry out to God for Help – we can know that the Spirit is praying for us with the words we don’t even have language for. There is power in prayer because He is praying even when we cannot.

So many times when we speak of the Spirit’s power we think of the prophecy and tongues, or miracles and words of knowledge. And yet the Spirit’s power is real and tangible in so many more ways than that. Yes he still heals today. Yes there is prophecy and tongues and miracles – and what a joy it is to see Him at work like that. But that will need to be another whole sermon.

This morning I want you to realise that His power is a daily provision for you – a gift from God that enables you to live life fully. He lives within us so that when we hear about terrible situations in the world he gives us the ability to pray even when we don’t know what we should be asking for. We can take situations of war and conflict and simply ask for Him to work trusting that the Spirit will continue the conversation with the Father long after we have said Amen.

He lives within us with power when we watch our country struggle and enables us to live with joy even when circumstances are dire and news is negative. He enables us to face uncertainty with courage, he prompts us into actions where He can work through us to change things, He gives gifts of patience and self-control that diffuse situations and bring him glory.

He strengthens us with power to believe in eternity when journeying with our friend with cancer. He gives us wisdom to heal relationships, and trust to believe that he will provide when bills pile up. He gives us peace when our world feels as though it’s collapsing.

This is the power of the Spirit.

And our role is to trust Him. Trust Him that you have new life and therefore nothing to fear. Trust Him to speak to you through His word, and that he will whisper guidance in moments of need. Trust Him to provide peace in the storm and to grow fruits of love and joy and gentleness and self-control in your life. Trust him to use your life as a witness to testify in the lives of others. And trust that he loves you so much, that he is praying for you continuously – and that when we pray, we are simply joining in.

Pentecost is a time where we celebrate the Spirit. Where we recognise Him for who he is and praise him for all He does. Remember Jesus words to us – you will receive power… when the Holy Spirit comes and so you will be my witnesses.

I pray that as you go into your week you may recognise the signs of the Spirit at work in your life. I pray that you will experience his power as you read His word, as you go to work, as you wake up and as you go to sleep – that you will know you are never alone. I pray that you will trust in this power at work in your life – and come to know and love him more because of it.

Let us pray.