Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-12

Introduction

1.      Jesus:  “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

2.      It is not our feelings that declare us saved, but the Word of God

3.      The Spirit was the means by which God communicated His Word to the world  

Discussion

1.      The historical setting for the events of Pentecost

a.       Joel 2:28-32  

b.      The prophets had always had the Spirit – 2 Peter 1:20-21  

c.       David had the Spirit  - Psalm 51:11

d.      Saul had the Spirit, but the Spirit of God left him when he disobeyed God  - 1 Sam 16:14

e.       Pentecost presented a particular episode, involving the Holy Spirit, in the execution of God’s plan to save the world through His Son  

2.      The promise of the Spirit to the apostles

a.       Declaration from John the Baptist  - Matt 3:11

b.      Promise from Jesus – John 16:5-7; Acts 1:8  

c.       Things that did not happen with the coming of the Spirit to the apostles

                                                            i.      They were not saved

                                                          ii.      They were not sanctified

                                                        iii.      They did not receive power to perform miracles (they had already received that, see Matt 10:1)

                                                        iv.      They did not receive something called, “Holy Spirit baptism” (that phrase is not found in the Bible) – there is one baptism which involves both Spirit and water (John 3:5)

                                                          v.      Their will was not overpowered by the Holy Spirit – they could still sin and disobey God (see Gal 2:11)

                                                        vi.      The coming of the Holy Spirit did not end their troubles – John 16:33  

3.      The coming of the Spirit on Pentecost

a.       Accompanied by physical phenomena – a sound like a wind, an appearance like tongues of fire  

b.      What the Spirit did not do:  knock people down, cause them to babble, induce a frenzy, knock them unconscious, cause them to laugh uncontrollably:  they were not “slain in the Spirit”  

c.       Purpose:  The Spirit came to bear testimony to Jesus, not to himself:  John 15:26; 16:13-14; 1 Cor 12:3  

d.      The gift of the Spirit was given to those who repented and were baptized without any of the phenomena that accompanied the descent of the Spirit on the apostles  - Acts 2:38, 41

Conclusion

1.       The coming of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was only a prelude to the preaching of the gospel which was the “main event”

2.      It is Jesus who saves, not the Spirit

3.      It is Jesus whom we confess, not the Spirit

4.      It is Jesus who died for the sins of the world, not the Spirit