PENTECOST IN GOD S PLAN OF REDEMPTION Acts 2:1-45 Happy SHAVUOT! This is the way a Jewish person would greet you on this day. Shavuot is what the Jewish people called The Festival of Weeks. Shavuot means weeks. The Old Testament Festival of Weeks happened 50 days following the Passover Feast. We call it Pentecost, which means 50. It was one of the three Festivals each year that every Jewish male was required to come to Jerusalem and appear before God. Deuteronomy 16:16 NIV Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed: It was a very important event in the life of God s Old Testament people. And it turns out to be a very important event in the life of God s New Testament people. God has certain CRITICAL points or events in working out His salvation for mankind. In the Old Testament these critical points were usually marked by covenants. God s covenant with Abraham, Moses, and David in particular. Then God gave the promise of the New Covenant, which would be fulfilled by the Messiah Jesus Christ. Pentecost is one of those critical points in God s redemptive history in the New Testament. It ranks right up with the coming of Jesus at the Incarnation, the Death and Resurrection of Christ, who is the 2 nd Person of the Trinity. Pentecost is the coming of the 3 rd Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. We want to think about the significance of Pentecost in God s history of redemption and also what it should mean for us today. Let s think about it. IT FULFILLS THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER First Pentecost fulfills the PROMISE of the Father. This is what Jesus called it. This was Jesus emphasis with His disciples. In the Upper Room Jesus stressed that the Father would send the Holy Spirit to the disciples in Jesus name. (John 14:26) Before his ascension Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 1
Jerusalem for Him to send to them what the Father had promised. (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4) God s promised was being fulfilled when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. In the Old Testament God had promised to pour out the Holy Spirit on His people in at least THREE prophets: Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. Isaiah 44:3 NIV For I will pour 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. The Lord promises that His people (who were then distressed by His judgment) will receive the refreshing outpouring of the Spirit, like streams upon the dry ground, and that they will flourish like willows by the watercourses. In Ezekiel 36 the Lord says: Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. (26) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Peter mentions the Joel prophesy to explain what was happening on the day of Pentecost. Joel 2:28 NIV "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Pentecost is the fulfillment of the promise of the Father to pour out His Spirit on all people. God keeps His promises. We can trust Him to do that. No matter how dark our life may get we can always know that God will fulfill all His promises He gives us in His Word, because all His promises are fulfilled in Christ. In Christ all the promises of God are Yes and Amen. (II Cor 1:20) 2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Pentecost gives us the great assurance of the faithfulness of God. When God promised you to forgive your sins in Christ, you can trust Him. When God May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 2
promised to be your God and you his people, you can trust Him to do this. When God promises to give you eternal life, you can trust Him. Trust Him for every promise in the Bible. Pentecost is a turning point in God s history of redemption and a great advancement of His purposes. IT STARTS THE ROYAL REIGN OF OUR ASCENDED LORD Secondly, Pentecost is the start of Christ s royal REIGN in heaven and His reign on earth today. Did you notice in our reading of Acts 2 how Peter relates the outpouring of the Spirit to Jesus sitting on the throne of David at the right hand of the Father? Look again at 2:31-35 Acts 2:31-35 NIV Seeing what was to come, he [David] spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. (32) God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. (33) Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. (34) For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand (35) until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."' Jesus is now ruling in the Kingdom of God and He is working out the will of the Father on earth. We have been studying about the Kingdom of God on Wednesday nights in our study of the parables of Jesus. Jesus gave at least 13 parables explicitly explaining how the kingdom is now at hand and also how it will be consummated at his 2 nd Coming. There are TWO phases of the Kingdom of God. The present phase is hidden to the unbelievers. The final phase will be acknowledged by all when Jesus comes again. How is Jesus reigning on earth today? It is through the work of the Holy Spirit who uses the Word of God. Without Pentecost Jesus could not be establishing His kingdom on earth. It is through His people who are born again, who are co-workers with Christ in doing the work of the kingdom. What is the work of the kingdom? In verse 35 it mentions that Jesus is overcoming all enemies of God. Who are the enemies of God? Satan, sin, death, division, wars, killings, hatred, idolatry, etc. Jesus is working to destroy the works of Satan and He is doing it through His church who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and living by His power. May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 3
Are you in the kingdom? Jesus says that you must be born again to enter into the kingdom. To be born again the Holy Spirit must lead you to put your faith in Jesus and give to you new, spiritual life. Pentecost is related to Jesus reigning as King today. Without Pentecost God s plan for His kingdom would not be possible. IT IS ANALOGOUS TO GOD GIVING THE LAW TO MOSES Third, Pentecost is related to the New Covenant by putting the law of God in our HEARTS. This is analogous to God s giving the Law to Moses. In modern Judaism what is celebrated at Shavuot is the giving of the law in the days of Moses. The book of Exodus describes how God came down and spoke to the children of Israel at Mt Sinai. He gave His law to Moses to give to the people. This was the formation of the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob into a holy nation. God gave the 10 commandments and also practical laws on how to live under God s rule in the Old Testament. On the Day of Pentecost we have an analogous situation. God, at Pentecost sent His law to his people, not on tablets of stone, but written on their hearts by the Holy Spirit. This is one of the promises of the New Covenant. Jeremiah 31:33 NIV "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. God writes his law on our hearts and He gives us a new heart so that we will give attention to that law because of the work of the Spirit in our lives. This was made explicit in the Ezekiel 36 promise. Again in verse 27: 27) And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Pentecost means that God is now writing His law on your heart and giving you the inward motivation to follow them. This inward motivation is the moving of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Do you sense a true desire to follow Jesus and keep His commandments? He said that He has my commandments and keeps them is he that loves me. The Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost is the prime mover in our hearts to show our love to Jesus by keeping his commandments. His May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 4
commandments are written on our hearts. Pentecost is essential for our living for Jesus today and is an advance forward in God s history of redemption. PENTECOST MEANS THAT WE ARE TO TAKE THE GOSPEL TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH Finally, Jesus points to another significance of Pentecost for us today and that is that the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost is the POWER for us to take the message of Christ to the entire world. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to go spread the Gospel to all nations. Isn t this what Jesus told the disciples right before His Ascension? Matthew 28:18-20 NIV Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Jesus has all authority. He is the King. He wants us to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8 NIV But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." On the day of Pentecost there were God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. And the miracle is that when the apostles began proclaiming the mighty deeds of God done in Christ, they all heard them in their language. Pentecost reverses the God s judgment at the tower of Babel. The tower of Babel was man s attempt to make a name for himself by building a tower that reaches heaven. The arrogance of mankind was judged by the Lord. Genesis 11:9 NIV That is why it was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. Pentecost reverses this judgment because God broke down the inability for the people to hear the message of God by giving the disciples the ability to speak the language of all the different people present on the day of Pentecost. May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 5
Pentecost means that God wants his church to take the powerful message of Jesus to all the earth, proclaiming Him as King and proclaiming Him as Savior of the whole world. Pentecost is a great advancement in God s history of redemption. CONCLUSION Pentecost is one of the critical turning points in God s history of redemption. We are to celebrate it and more importantly we are to catch the wind of the Spirit which blew upon the disciples and fulfill the will of God today. To carry out the purpose of Pentecost the church is to be a going church to all nations. To carry out the purpose of Pentecost the church is to be following the King and obeying his law which the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts. To carry out the purpose of Pentecost the church is to claim and look forward to every promise of the Father being fulfilled by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whom God has placed at His right Hand until all enemies are put under His feet. So Happy Shavuot! Let s celebrate Pentecost by YIELDING our lives to the One who came at Pentecost and follow His leading in our lives. Amen? Amen! May 20, 2018 Corntassel CP Church Page 6