05-15-16 Acts 2:1-21

Acts 2:1-21 (NLT)

1 On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place.

2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.

3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem.

6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee,

8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages!

9 Here we are Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome

11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”

12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this.

15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that.

16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days,’ God says,

‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below—blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

20 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the lord arrives.

21 But everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved.”

Let me ask you – Do we, Does the church, Does Religion sometimes take this “Christian thing” too far?

Is it OK, will we be OK if we are JUST - GOOD - PEOPLE?

Some of you may have seen this sign already.

But when I was visiting the Junction City High School yesterday, I couldn’t help notice this sign. It is hung in a window area in the main lobby of the school.

It says – “No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings”.

Now, what is this sign telling us or maybe even more important, what is this sign teaching our children?

·        First of all, it relates us to as being birds but we must also understand that the school’s mascot is “The Blue Jay” so since that is a bird, I believe it is a safe jump to relating to us as being a bird.

·        So…

·        Is it just saying that it isn’t good for us to cheat off of people around us?

·        That we should be doing our own work?

·        Is it saying that As long as we are ourselves, we are GRRRREAT!

·        Saying that there IS a limit of how high we can go and to be safe?

·        Is it saying that there IS NO limit from what we can do if we do it on our own?

You tell me, does it tell you something different than what I have covered?

Yes, I believe a Good Translation would be:

“That there IS NO LIMIT for what you can do, IF you do it on your own.”

·        How does that saying relate to God’s Words?

·        To God’s Message?

·        To how Jesus Christ lived His Life?

·        How does it relate to your Eternal Salvation?

·        What is that poster and that slogan telling, teaching - our children, your children EVERYDAY by them simply walking through that school hall?

The well-known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving:

A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said,

·        "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal."

·        The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was nowhere to be found.

·        The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody.

·        Craddock was taken back, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?"

·        He said, "No, I mean are you Pentecostal?"

·        Craddock said, "Are you asking me if I am charismatic?"

·        The student said, "I am asking you if you are Pentecostal."

·        Craddock said, "Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?"

·        He said, "I want to know if you are Pentecostal."

·        Craddock said, "I don't know what your question is."

·        The student said, "Obviously, you are not Pentecostal."

·        And he left.

What are we talking about this morning?

Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective?

And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?

The church is unwilling for the word simply to be:

·        A noun, to represent a date, a place, an event in the history of the church,

·        It refuses for the Pentecost to be simply:

o   a memory,

o   an item,

o   Something that occurred once back there somewhere.

·        The church must insist,

·        We must insist that this word would be

o   A noun as well as an adjective;

§  It describes a point of time

§  And it must describe the church,

§  It must describe US as well.

The word, then, is "Pentecostal."

If A Church,

The Church,

US as The Church,

If WE are

·        Alive in the world

·        And alive in our Faith,

·        It must, we must be Pentecostal.

How do we keep:

·        This Aliveness,

·        This Fire burning,

·        This Spirit moving?

o   WITHIN US?

What MUST EXIST

What Must Be REAL

·        In us,

·        Around us,

·        And through us,

·        If we are to be - Pentecostal?

·        If we are to be - ALIVE?

The answer can be found in these 3 simple things…

1 We are to be in one accord.

When the day of Pentecost came, we learn, that the apostles were all together in one place.

·        It was the day that Christ had promised.

·        Beginning with Easter, the Resurrected Christ had appeared at various times as well as places to the disciples and others.

·        They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was indeed the Eternal Living Lord.

And they had all just recently witnessed firsthand - of Jesus’ ascension, on His own power, raising up into the Heavens to be with His Father.

Jesus last words here on earth were directed to his apostles and to us.

He said in Acts, 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus had Ascended into Heaven –

To the Father

And now the apostles were waiting with expectation.

Waiting for what - they had no clue – But they waited with EXPECTATION!

That is key as well.

We need to have Expectations,

God Glorifying Expectations

But we need to expect God

To show up

And to be present.

·        How could they possibly have known that the Holy Spirit,

o   The third person of the Trinity,

o   He was about to descend upon them

o   In person –

o   And in such a personal and powerful way?

·        The result would be and was the beginning of the church.

·        Pentecost became the original fact of church history.

·        It was and still is the Charge.

·        The Explosion.

·        They received God’s power.

This power comes upon them on a day when they were, as NKJV, Acts 2:1 puts it,

“They were all with one accord in one place.”

In other words,

·        There was unity

·        And agreement about them.

·        There was a harmony among them.

·        They shared all things in common.

Now, It is important to note that it would not be that way forever.

·        Later a major split would occur in the church over who should “get in”.

·        It has been said that Peter and Paul came out fighting

o   And if you know of their personalities, you can almost visualize this event.

o   And Satan has been busy ever since, trying his hardest to split the church apart.  

·        But, in the earlier days, there was one accord.

·        And I believe it is very important for us to recognize that it was in that setting,

o   During their oneness –

o   That it was during that time when the Holy Spirit came.

Would you be surprised if I told you that there are:

·        Many congregations,

·        Many churches,

·        Well known churches who are right now

·        Drawn into a state of constant-internal-fighting?

And there is no church that is exempt from that type of division occurring within them.

·        This division is not from God.

·        It creates a poisonous atmosphere with a mission of destruction.

·        Sometimes people love their ideas more than they love Jesus.

·        Nothing does nor will ever

o   Take the place of community,

o   Of oneness.

o    

If we expect or need great things to happen,

o   Then we must be of “one accord”.

2. They joined together in constant Prayer.

Back in chapter 1, verse 14, we find out what the apostles were doing when the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit descended upon and entered into them.

Acts 1:14 NLT) “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus.”

Acts 1:14 NKJV) “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

And right here.

Right here we have the 2 KEY.

Together, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer.”

Do you know where the church is growing the fastest?

·        Surly NOT in the United States.

·        Oh no,

·        But it is in Korea, Africa, and Latin America.

·        For some years now there have been massive revivals taking place in these southern countries.

·        And if you would ask any pastor or ministers from those countries, they will tell you that

§  The CORNERSTONE of these revivals is “PRAYER”.

While it is true, churches that are together, in one accord can accomplish much.

Yes, that is true.

But no church can be truly Pentecostal, if it does not      

Pray Together.

·        And it seems to me that much of the church has lapsed into a weekly routine of Sunday morning sermons and Sunday Bible Study.

·        We have lost our desire to dedicate ourselves to prayer with expectations of the Holy Spirit.

·        To pray with the Belief and Expectations of the Holy Spirit will come and to move in our presence and change lives.

A poem by an unknown author speaks of this:

·        I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;

·        I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t take time to pray.

·        Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier became each task.

·        “Why doesn’t God help me,” I wondered. He answered: “You didn’t ask.”

·        I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak,

·        I wondered why God didn’t show me, He said: “But you didn’t seek.”

·        I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock,

·        God gently and livingly scolded: “My child, you didn’t knock.”

·        I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day.

·        I had so much to accomplish, that I had to take time to pray.

Too many people are trying to go at it alone.

Too many churches are trying to go at it alone.

·        We act as though the only thing that can occur within prayer is what God can do within ourselves – I mean what can take place spiritually within a person.

·        If - we are to come into God’s presence,

o   Then - we must ask to be in His presence.

So we have a need - to pray - in order for God to take control in our lives.

·        But there is another reason, and I feel it is even a greater reason.

I want to read to you what the President of the United States said about our nation:

“We have been the recipients of the greatest blessings of heaven.

We have been preserved in peace and prosperity.

We have grown in numbers, wealth and power,

As no other nation has ever grown.

But - we have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand,

Which preserved us in peace

And multiplied and enriched and strengthened us;

And we have vainly imagined,

In the deceitfulness of our hearts that

All these blessings were produced

By some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.

Intoxicated with unbroken success,

We have become too self-sufficient

To feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace,

Too proud to pray to God that made us.

We should be moved then

To humble ourselves

Before the God,

To confess our national sins,

And to pray for clemency and forgiveness.”

The President said this on April 30, 1863!

Abraham Lincoln said these words proclaiming a National Day of Fasting, Humility and Prayer.

·        Our need for prayer has not changed.

·        Nations, churches as well as individual people stand in need of prayer.

o   Prayer for guidance.

o   Prayer for deliverance.

o   Prayer to shape us into people of integrity.

o   Prayer to God to forgive us of our sins.

Which brings us to our third point.

3. We need to REPENT.

I know that there are those who teach that

We only have to ask for God’s forgiveness once in our life and in that asking,

We are made pure from that time forward, regardless of what we do,

With no need to return to the state of repentance.

·        Although this type of thinking may be appealing

o   Because it allows us to have our Self-Pride,

o   It removes the need for repentance,

o   From being sorry of our sin

o   And removes the requirement of being humble before God.

·        This type of thinking is hearsay and comes from the evil one.

When we ask for forgiveness,

And with that, IF WE FORGIVE AND FORGET ALL who have done us wrong,

Then we are forgiven and made pure as snow.

·        BUT, as we live on and sin again,

o   We MUST come back

§  And ask God once again for His Forgiveness of our NEW SINS

o   And we must also AGAIN –

§  Forgive and let go of all others who have done us wrong.

·        God died on the cross for all sin,

o   One Death

o   One Time

o   For all Time in the Past, Present and Future

§  YES – THIS IS TRUE,

·        But We Must

o   Humble ourselves before Him

o   And Repent for our sins.

If we are to be a Pentecostal church, we need to Repent.

·        If there is a moral crisis in the life of a person,

o   He/she must repent.

·        If there is a moral crisis in the event of a nation,

o   It must repent.

·        If there is a moral crisis in the life of a church,

o   She must repent.

·        Pentecost is possible, only where,

o   Sin is adequately dealt with.

Peter, the churches first leader, understood this.

In the very first sermon of the church - Peter reminded them of their most enormous and crucial error:

·        God was at work through Jesus,

o   Peter proclaimed to them,

§  But you handed Him over,

§  Put Him to death

§  Nailing Him to the cross.

o   But God raised Him from the dead

o   And exalted Him to the right hand of God the Father.

Peter then repeated this accusation one more time in verse 36 in Acts chapter 2 (NLT).

Peter said: “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

When Peter had finished giving his sermon, which takes up the last half of chapter two, the people ask of him: “What shall we do?”

Peter’s responded with: “Repent”.

Did you know that John Wesley preached more sermons on the text: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand,” than any other text?

It is the basic requirement for entering into the Kingdom of God.

But what is repentance?

For these first believers it was simply this:

·        Changing their mind.

·        Realizing their error.

·        Accepting the one they once condemned.

·        Becoming what they once ridiculed.

·        Receiving Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

My friends. That is REPENTANCE!

And it has not changed even to today.

It is by this act that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit today.

Erasmus, (ear-ras-a-mus) the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classic story, which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ's ministry with great commitment.  

·        In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. 

·        The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. 

·        Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.

·        When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, "But what happens now?" 

·        Jesus answers, "I have left behind eleven faithful disciples and a handful of men and women who have faithfully followed me. 

·        They will declare My message and express My love. 

·        These faithful people will build My church." 

·        "But," responds Michael, "What if these people fail?  What then is Your other plan?" 

·        And Jesus answers, "I have no other plan!"

Jesus is counting on you and you and you and me. 

But the good news is, we are not alone. 

The Holy Spirit is here to:

·        Melt us into one,

·        Mold us into one,

·        Fill us up with His Love,

·        And then, to use us to tell others.

It is for this unity, I am asking for all of you to come together.

·        To come to your Church on the remaining Saturday’s of May.

·        That is May 21 & May 28.

·        I know the 28^th is the beginning of Memorial Weekend but just imagine. By giving up a great sacrifice of fun for yourself - for the sake of Prayer. That will only increase your offering towards Your Lord God.

·        Beginning at 10 AM and going all the way through 6PM, we will be here.

·        It will be a come and go type of event with every hour, starting a new session.

·        Just as you saw, in our own schools today, we need a new vision on life, a new call upon God.

·        Just as President Lincoln asked for our Nation to come together back in 1863,

·        I am asking for all of us to come together so we can have

o   A Day of Fasting,

o   A Day of Humility

o   And a Day of Prayer.

Through unity, prayer, and repentance we can harness the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let me ask you again:

Are you Pentecostal?

Are you on Fire for God?

Amen.