[The following is a manuscript of my sermon delivered on Sunday morning, the 4th of June, 2017 - Pentecost Sunday. Look for the video on our Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]
Today is Pentecost Sunday. We should all be familiar with what happened at Pentecost. The events and results of that day, and the sermon Peter gave regarding those events, can be found in chapter 2 of the Apostle Luke’s Book of Acts.
There are some folks who consider that our Bible mentions four distinct instances of Pentecost targeting four separate audiences, with the one in Acts chapter 2 being called the Jewish Pentecost because those in attendance were primarily faithful Jews. The next, as recorded in Acts chapter 8, involved the Holy Spirit descending upon the Samaritans - folks that good Jews looked down on.
The third and fourth instances of Pentecost are of more interest to us, because they deal with the Gentiles and with those who believed in Jesus but had not yet received the Holy Spirit. That last is often called the Christian Pentecost and is saved for us in Acts chapter 19.
What I’d like to look at today is the Gentile Pentecost and the remarkable revelation God made to Peter, and to us. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle Peter reacted to what God showed him, from chapter 10 of Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles, verses 34 through 45, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
There are some folks who consider that our Bible mentions four distinct instances of Pentecost targeting four separate audiences, with the one in Acts chapter 2 being called the Jewish Pentecost because those in attendance were primarily faithful Jews. The next, as recorded in Acts chapter 8, involved the Holy Spirit descending upon the Samaritans - folks that good Jews looked down on.
The third and fourth instances of Pentecost are of more interest to us, because they deal with the Gentiles and with those who believed in Jesus but had not yet received the Holy Spirit. That last is often called the Christian Pentecost and is saved for us in Acts chapter 19.
What I’d like to look at today is the Gentile Pentecost and the remarkable revelation God made to Peter, and to us. Listen and follow along to how the Apostle Peter reacted to what God showed him, from chapter 10 of Luke’s Book of the Acts of the Apostles, verses 34 through 45, and I’ll be reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…
34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. 35 In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. 38 And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
39 “And we apostles are witnesses of all He did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross, 40 but God raised Him to life on the third day. Then God allowed Him to appear, 41 not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be His witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. 42 And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. 43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His name.”
44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.
--Acts 10:34-45 (NLT)
Let us pray… Father God, as You did for Peter, help us to clearly see Your will and Your purpose. Speak to us now, Father, through Your Holy Spirit directly into our hearts, that we might receive, understand, and obey Your message this morning. In the blessed name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Sally the Sunday School teacher lined up the children in her class so they could recite the creed they had been memorizing the past few weeks:
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth," Robbie began.
"And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord," Suzy said next.
"Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary," said Timmy.
"Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, buried," said Molly.
"He descended into hell," said Jimmy.
"The third day he rose again from the dead," said Alice.
"He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty," said Billy.
"From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead," said Jill.
Then followed a long silence. Finally Timmy spoke up again and said, "The boy who believes in the Holy Spirit isn't here today."
I’m hoping all of us here today believe in the Holy Spirit, because He believes in us and He is certainly here with us this morning! Peter definitely believed, and he was moved by God to go to Caesarea to the home of a Roman centurion named Cornelius. And as Peter was speaking to the household, telling them about Jesus and what God had shown him, the Holy Spirit fell upon them all.
The Jews that had accompanied Peter were astonished that God’s wonderful gift had also been given to the Gentiles. But as Peter noted, God shows no favoritism. In His eyes, we are all His children. Once we have accepted His Son as our Lord, He blesses us with the gift of His Holy Spirit.
Gifts from God. There are so many instances in our Bible of God blessing us. One of the earliest can be seen in Numbers chapter 18 verse 6, when God effectively set up the priesthood by telling Moses and the chosen people…
Jesus also mentioned a gift from God when He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account, chapter 4 verses 9 and 10…
And the Apostle Paul wrote of the greatest gift of all in his letter to the church in Rome, chapter 6 verse 23…
Peter understood how much of a gift the Holy Spirit is. He said as much during his impromptu sermon there at the first Pentecost, that we celebrate this morning. In Acts chapter 2 verses 37 and 38 Peter responds to those in attendance who saw the wondrous act of the Holy Spirit…
The Holy Spirit is a gift, freely given by God. We cannot earn it, we cannot buy it, we cannot acquire it in any way except as a gift from our Father above. A sorcerer named Simon learned this the hard way. It happened during the second Pentecost, the one to the Samaritans, as recorded in Acts chapter 8 verses 14 through 21…
God’s gift of the Holy Spirit cannot be bought. But it can be forgotten, set aside, ignored.
Faith is another of God’s gifts, but once it is in our possession we must use it, strengthen it, live by it, share it with others. Once we have been given the wonderful gift of God’s Holy Spirit, it is up to us to put that gift to good use. The Holy Spirit will guide us, if we let Him. He will comfort us when we’re hurting. He will support us through our times of trial. He will even speak to our Father God for us when we can’t come up with the words to say.
Evangelist Francis Chan calls the Holy Spirit the “forgotten God”, because we too often put greater emphasis on Jesus the Son and God the Father while giving very little thought to the person of God that actually lives right here within us! We talk about making disciples and helping bring people to Christ, but it’s the Holy Spirit who does all the tough work of softening hearts and touching lives and taking someone by the hand and giving them to Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirit that lights fires and can bring an entire nation back to God.
There’s a story of a village atheist that was not a bad man, he just didn’t believe in God. He wasn’t interested in church, even though there was only one in the area. Sadly, this church was mostly a social club, heartlessly and spiritually dead, with no conversions or decisions for Christ having been made in quite some time. One day the church building literally caught on fire, and everyone in town ran to help extinguish the flames - even the village atheist! Someone noticed the non-believer and hollered out: “Hey, this is something - this is the first time we’ve ever seen you running to church!” The atheist replied, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen the church on fire!”
Are we a church on fire? I don’t just mean this church that calls itself Pilgrim. I mean the entire church of Jesus, the body of Christ left on earth to carry out His work. Is the church on fire to serve Jesus and do His bidding? Or have the flames slowly grown cold and died out?
God’s gift, the Holy Spirit, can fan those flames back into a raging fire if we let Him. He can touch men’s hearts and soften them so that they can truly see Jesus and come to know Him as their personal Savior and Lord. But we need to keep Him alive within us so He can overflow outward to others we encounter. We must keep Him alive and well within us so that His fruits will be evident in our lives. We must cherish God’s gift, and share His Holy Spirit with all the world.
In the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You have given us so many wonderful gifts in our lives, it’s tough to say which are best. Sending Your Son to earth to offer us salvation, giving us faith, and filling us with Your own Holy Spirit are definitely at the top. Your Spirit joins with our spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to be our constant Companion, and to speak for us to You when words will not easily come. Thank You, Father, for this wonderful gift of Your Spirit. May we never take Him for granted or ignore Him in our lives.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, acknowledging our belief in Your Son Jesus and our acceptance of Him as our Master, rededicating ourselves to Your service, promising to repent of our disobedience and sin, seeking Your forgiveness, listening for Your voice…
Lord Jesus, when You returned to heaven, You asked our Father God to send us a Companion to always be with us. You asked Your Father to share His own Holy Spirit with us, so that we might never be alone. Thank You so much, Jesus, for caring about us that much. Help us to follow God’s Spirit and God’s commandments in all we do.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
Sally the Sunday School teacher lined up the children in her class so they could recite the creed they had been memorizing the past few weeks:
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth," Robbie began.
"And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord," Suzy said next.
"Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary," said Timmy.
"Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, buried," said Molly.
"He descended into hell," said Jimmy.
"The third day he rose again from the dead," said Alice.
"He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty," said Billy.
"From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead," said Jill.
Then followed a long silence. Finally Timmy spoke up again and said, "The boy who believes in the Holy Spirit isn't here today."
I’m hoping all of us here today believe in the Holy Spirit, because He believes in us and He is certainly here with us this morning! Peter definitely believed, and he was moved by God to go to Caesarea to the home of a Roman centurion named Cornelius. And as Peter was speaking to the household, telling them about Jesus and what God had shown him, the Holy Spirit fell upon them all.
The Jews that had accompanied Peter were astonished that God’s wonderful gift had also been given to the Gentiles. But as Peter noted, God shows no favoritism. In His eyes, we are all His children. Once we have accepted His Son as our Lord, He blesses us with the gift of His Holy Spirit.
Gifts from God. There are so many instances in our Bible of God blessing us. One of the earliest can be seen in Numbers chapter 18 verse 6, when God effectively set up the priesthood by telling Moses and the chosen people…
6 “Behold, I Myself have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are a gift to you, given by the Lord, to do the work of the tabernacle of meeting.”
--Numbers 18:6 (NKJV)
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are You asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask Me, and I would give you living water.”
--John 4:9-10 (NLT)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
--Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
37 These words of Peter’s moved them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 And Peter replied, “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit.”
--Acts 2:37-38 (TLB)
14 When the apostles back in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent down Peter and John. 15 As soon as they arrived, they began praying for these new Christians to receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for as yet He had not come upon any of them. For they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw this — that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles placed their hands upon people’s heads — he offered money to buy this power.
19 “Let me have this power too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
20 But Peter replied, “Your money perish with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! 21 You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right before God.
--Acts 8:14-21 (TLB)
Faith is another of God’s gifts, but once it is in our possession we must use it, strengthen it, live by it, share it with others. Once we have been given the wonderful gift of God’s Holy Spirit, it is up to us to put that gift to good use. The Holy Spirit will guide us, if we let Him. He will comfort us when we’re hurting. He will support us through our times of trial. He will even speak to our Father God for us when we can’t come up with the words to say.
Evangelist Francis Chan calls the Holy Spirit the “forgotten God”, because we too often put greater emphasis on Jesus the Son and God the Father while giving very little thought to the person of God that actually lives right here within us! We talk about making disciples and helping bring people to Christ, but it’s the Holy Spirit who does all the tough work of softening hearts and touching lives and taking someone by the hand and giving them to Jesus. It’s the Holy Spirit that lights fires and can bring an entire nation back to God.
There’s a story of a village atheist that was not a bad man, he just didn’t believe in God. He wasn’t interested in church, even though there was only one in the area. Sadly, this church was mostly a social club, heartlessly and spiritually dead, with no conversions or decisions for Christ having been made in quite some time. One day the church building literally caught on fire, and everyone in town ran to help extinguish the flames - even the village atheist! Someone noticed the non-believer and hollered out: “Hey, this is something - this is the first time we’ve ever seen you running to church!” The atheist replied, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen the church on fire!”
Are we a church on fire? I don’t just mean this church that calls itself Pilgrim. I mean the entire church of Jesus, the body of Christ left on earth to carry out His work. Is the church on fire to serve Jesus and do His bidding? Or have the flames slowly grown cold and died out?
God’s gift, the Holy Spirit, can fan those flames back into a raging fire if we let Him. He can touch men’s hearts and soften them so that they can truly see Jesus and come to know Him as their personal Savior and Lord. But we need to keep Him alive within us so He can overflow outward to others we encounter. We must keep Him alive and well within us so that His fruits will be evident in our lives. We must cherish God’s gift, and share His Holy Spirit with all the world.
In the glorious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Father God, You have given us so many wonderful gifts in our lives, it’s tough to say which are best. Sending Your Son to earth to offer us salvation, giving us faith, and filling us with Your own Holy Spirit are definitely at the top. Your Spirit joins with our spirit to guide us, to comfort us, to be our constant Companion, and to speak for us to You when words will not easily come. Thank You, Father, for this wonderful gift of Your Spirit. May we never take Him for granted or ignore Him in our lives.
Please hear us now, Father, as we silently speak to You from our hearts, acknowledging our belief in Your Son Jesus and our acceptance of Him as our Master, rededicating ourselves to Your service, promising to repent of our disobedience and sin, seeking Your forgiveness, listening for Your voice…
Lord Jesus, when You returned to heaven, You asked our Father God to send us a Companion to always be with us. You asked Your Father to share His own Holy Spirit with us, so that we might never be alone. Thank You so much, Jesus, for caring about us that much. Help us to follow God’s Spirit and God’s commandments in all we do.
This we pray in Your glorious name, Lord Jesus Christ, our Master and our Savior, the one true Son of God, in whom we place all our hope, all our trust, all our faith. Amen.
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