The Spirit Poured Out

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Pentecost Sunday morning, the 23rd of May, 2021, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  This was an abbreviated service due to constraints put in place from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Our YouTube streaming channel is:

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.  Look for the video of our recorded services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

Family, today is Pentecost Sunday.  We celebrate Pentecost on the seventh Sunday, the 50th day, after Easter.  The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek meaning fiftieth, and was celebrated by the Jews on the 50th day following their observance of the celebration and offering of First Fruits.

It was on this day, the 50th day after Jesus was raised from the dead, that the promised Holy Spirit came down to settle upon and live within the Apostles that remained in Jerusalem.  This was truly a remarkable event, very visible, witnessed by hundreds of people.

Please listen and follow along to how the Apostle Luke recorded all that happened in the 2nd chapter of his Book of the Acts of the Apostles, verses 1 through 24 and verses 38 and 39, and I’ll be reading this from the Living Bible…

1 Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. As the believers met together that day, 2 suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages they didn’t know, for the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

5 Many godly Jews were in Jerusalem that day for the religious celebrations, having arrived from many nations. 6 And when they heard the roaring in the sky above the house, crowds came running to see what it was all about, and were stunned to hear their own languages being spoken by the disciples.

7 “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “For these men are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking all the native languages of the lands where we were born! 9 Here we are — Parthians, Medes, Elamites, men from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia Minor, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the Cyrene language areas of Libya, visitors from Rome — both Jews and Jewish converts — 11 Cretans, and Arabians. And we all hear these men telling in our own languages about the mighty miracles of God!”

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

13 But others in the crowd were mocking. “They’re drunk, that’s all!” they said.

14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen, all of you, visitors and residents of Jerusalem alike! 15 Some of you are saying these men are drunk! It isn’t true! It’s much too early for that! People don’t get drunk by 9:00 a.m.! 16 No! What you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel — 17 ‘In the last days,’ God said, ‘I will pour out My Holy Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men dream dreams. 18 Yes, the Holy Spirit shall come upon all My servants, men and women alike, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will cause strange demonstrations in the heavens and on the earth — blood and fire and clouds of smoke; 20 the sun shall turn black and the moon blood-red before that awesome Day of the Lord arrives. 21 But anyone who asks for mercy from the Lord shall have it and shall be saved.’

22 “O men of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing tremendous miracles through Him, as you well know. 23 But God, following His prearranged plan, let you use the Roman government to nail Him to the cross and murder Him. 24 Then God released Him from the horrors of death and brought Him back to life again, for death could not keep this Man within its grip."

38 Then Peter said to them, “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. 39 For Christ promised Him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God, and to your children and even to those in distant lands!”

--Acts 2:1-24, 38-39 (TLB)

Let us pray…  Father God, Jesus promised His disciples that He would appeal to You to have Your Holy Spirit sent to all those who believed in and followed Him.  And You granted that request, beginning right there in Jerusalem at Pentecost, on the 50th day after you raised Jesus from the dead.  Thank You, Father, for sending Your Spirit to live within us, to empower us, to always be with us.  Father, please help us understand just what it means to have Your Spirit in us.  Help us understand the power He brings us.  Help us take better advantage of that power in serving You and Jesus.  And Father, please protect us from Satan’s traps and snares and from those who do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and purpose in our love and our service to Jesus.  Please keep us healthy and safe through these times that still try men’s souls.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit and better understand the message You have for us this day.  Stir Your Spirit within us.  Reignite our fire for service to our Lord Jesus.  This we pray in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, your Son.   Amen.

D. L. Moody once said, "I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God's law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts.  But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God.  We must be emptied before we can be filled."

Think for a moment about drinking a fresh, cold glass of iced tea on a hot summer day.  Once you drink all the tea, the ice remains and slowly melts, leaving water in the glass.  If you simply add some more ice and refill the glass with tea, it will be mostly watered down and not quite as good.  But if you first pour out all the water and any old ice left over, you can refill the glass and start anew.  This is what Moody was talking about, becoming new all over again by pouring out all the stuff from our old way of life and letting the Holy Spirit fill us completely.

When serving as a new missionary, Herbert Jackson was assigned a car that would not start without being pushed off.  So he arranged for a group of schoolkids from near his home to push him off every morning.  As he went about his rounds during the day, he would either park on a hill so he could roll it off, or else just leave the engine running.

He followed this practice for two years until his replacement arrived.  Jackson told the young man about the car and how he got around the problem of it not starting.  While he was explaining all this, the young man lifted the hood, noticed a loose wire, reattached it, climbed into the driver’s seat, and cranked the car right up.

For two years, Jackson had worked around a problem even though the power was there and available the whole time.  Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.

Family, we have the same power that brought Jesus back to life, the power that brings life, the power Jesus used to heal people.  We have that power living within us, and His name is God’s Holy Spirit.  What keeps us from putting that power to work?

In our scripture reading, seven weeks had passed since Jesus was executed, buried, and then rose from the grave.  It was the day of Pentecost, the 50th day observance of the Jewish people.  The believers had gathered together in a large meeting room, or house, maybe kind of like this one we are in today.

Suddenly, a great noise arose, originating outside, like a mighty windstorm rushing down on the house, filling the room with the sound.  And then it looked like flames touched each of the believers on their heads.  All the disciples present received the Holy Spirit, and the power He brought to them.

Now because that noise came from outside the house, other people heard it, many other people.  The city was filled with religious pilgrims that day, a multitude of observant Jews having come from far off to celebrate their Pentecost.  They heard the noise and entered the house to see what was going on.  And they were amazed, partly because they heard these Galileans speaking in the languages of the countries and lands these pilgrim traveled from.  When Peter heard some of these witnesses scoffing at the whole thing, he set them straight with a well-stated and impassioned sermon.  He concluded his speech with instructions on what we all must do in order to receive this marvelous gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

I didn’t include it in our reading, but Luke goes on to tell us that the people did as Peter told them, and around 3000 came to Christ that day.  Luke concluded by saying, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Repent, Peter told the people.  Turn from sin and turn back to God.  And be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins.  It’s not just about being dunked in the water or having a few drops sprinkled on our heads.  Our baptism is the outward sign of the change within that comes from accepting Jesus as the Son of God, our Lord and Master, our personal Savior, our only hope and the only way to God in heaven.  Forgiveness comes with that acceptance.  The Holy Spirit comes with that acceptance.

Why is this so important to us, to have God’s Holy Spirit living within us?  One could as easily ask why would it be important to have the greatest power in the universe available for our use whenever we need it?

Jesus used God’s Spirit to heal people, to see within them, even to raise them from the dead.  God used His Spirit to raise Jesus from the dead, as well as to create the world and all that is in it.  Among other things, the Holy Spirit brings life.

Let me relate a little story to you about the power of the Holy Spirit and one man’s experience with Him.  The prophet Ezekiel recorded this, in the book bearing his name, chapter 37, verses 1 through 10…

1-2 The power of the Lord was upon me and I was carried away by the Spirit of the Lord to a valley full of old, dry bones that were scattered everywhere across the ground. He led me around among them, 3 and then He said to me:

“Son of dust, can these bones become people again?”

I replied, “Lord, You alone know the answer to that.”

4 Then He told me to speak to the bones and say: “O dry bones, listen to the words of God, 5 for the Lord God says, ‘See! I am going to make you live and breathe again! 6 I will replace the flesh and muscles on you and cover you with skin. I will put breath into you, and you shall live and know I am the Lord.’”

7 So I spoke these words from God, just as He told me to; and suddenly there was a rattling noise from all across the valley, and the bones of each body came together and attached to each other as they used to be. 8 Then, as I watched, the muscles and flesh formed over the bones, and skin covered them, but the bodies had no breath. 9 Then He told me to call to the wind and say: “The Lord God says: Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe upon these slain bodies, that they may live again.” 10 So I spoke to the winds as He commanded me, and the bodies began breathing; they lived and stood up — a very great army.

--Ezekiel 37:1-10 (TLB)

First, God’s Spirit led Ezekiel into a valley where a great war had been fought long, long ago.  Nothing remained of the battle except the bones of the slain, scattered throughout the area.  And then God told Ezekiel to call His Holy Spirit to breathe life into all these old, dried bones.  God covered the bones with flesh, and the Spirit gave them life.

Family, sometimes we are like those bones.  Some good Christians have slowly dried up and become lifeless.  On this Pentecost, let us pray that God send His Spirit rushing in on the wind once again.  We need His Spirit to breathe life back into our hearts.  We need Him to touch us with flame and rekindle the fire that once burned inside us, the fire for serving our Lord Jesus.  And we need for others to be able to see the Spirit at work in us and through us, through our acts and deeds and in our words.

There is no power, no force, greater than the Holy Spirit.  Let’s put that power to work, for the sake of the lost.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for the gift of You very own Spirit, poured out on all who believe in Jesus and obey His voice.  You gave Your Spirit first to the Jewish converts, and then to all who follow Your Son.  Thank You, Father, for including us so that we too can receive this wonderful gift!  But Father, sometimes we aren’t sure of how the Spirit can help us.  We know how powerful He is, but we don’t think that we can wield that power as Jesus did.  Even if we do feel that power surging within us, we don’t know how to put it to use.  Please help us listen to and understand Your Spirit better.  Help us take advantage of His power within us and use it to spread the Gospel across the globe and further advance Your kingdom.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You from our hearts through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more faithful and true, putting all our trust in You and Jesus, and seeking Your help as we do so…

Lord Jesus, You promised that God’s Holy Spirit would come to all who follow You, and Your Father God fulfilled Your promise, first to His chosen people and then even to us, the Gentiles.  Thank You, Jesus, for including us in Your family, in God’s family.  Lord, we ask You to help us stay true to You.  Fortify us and strengthen our will to do God’s will.  Show us how to use the power of the Holy Spirit as You did when You walked this earth.  Give us the courage to be more bold and daring in our service to You.  Help us to be more loving, more understanding, kinder to all we encounter each day.  And please stand by our side as we try to show Your love to a world that so desperately needs it.  All this we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.