Pentecost Sunday - The Wonderful Works of God
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? 8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Acts 2:1-11
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Pentecost was the event that followed 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus; it was only 10 days after the ascension of Jesus. The disciples followed the instructions given by Jesus. They waited in the upper room for power from on high, power in the person of the Holy Spirit. Once the power came, that small band of people who formed the first church turned the world right-side up. Christ is the most controversial figure in history. We keep calendars based upon before and after his time on earth.
God’s Holy Spirit is unseen but is the center ingredient when it comes to revival. Without the Spirit, there is no revival. The Greek word “pneuma” is used interchangeably for wind and spirit. The folks in the upper room needed a revival because they had lost Jesus on the cross, found him again after the resurrection, and then lost him in the clouds.
They needed a fresh wind like the bones in Ezekiel’s valley. Do you recall Ezekiel’s vision? God showed him a great valley filled with dry bones, very dry bones! God said to speak to the bones; Ezekiel did, and they came back together. Then God’s Spirit entered them and they walked and spoke! They were equipped with new life. (Ezekiel 37)
Consider what it means that the Holy Spirit is like a fresh wind that energizes people with new life.
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1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
Daniel Gilbert in his book, Stumbling On Happiness, reminds us that memories are about the past, perception is about the present and imagination is about the future. We plan our future by looking at our present as we reflect on the past. However, present reality is not an indication of future possibilities. It is like the brokers say, “past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.”
Present reality is not an indication of future possibilities. Pentecost gets at this reality in a poignant way with an understanding of the perception that present reality can be eclipsed by the imagination of future possibilities. In the second chapter of Acts, the story of Pentecost is about an “extraordinary disturbance.” Whenever you see a crowd you look for a disturbance of some kind. Here is a crowd of people in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Here are groups of people who are passionate and convicted about conveying their beliefs about Jesus. They were amazingly effective. People listened to them and were moved by them; they were amazed by what they heard about the wondrous works of God.
Consider when the present reality you were experiencing was not an indication of the future possibilities of your life.
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1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4
The very nature of the Spirit defies our attempts to control or explain it. One thing can be stated unequivocally, the Spirit gives life. In the account of the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Spirit gives new life to a dispirited group of disciples. The church is born. Our very lives derive from and depend on God, whom we properly address as Father. In John, it is the Spirit or Advocate whose presence will continue to make new life possible for the disciples in the absence of Jesus’ physical presence. Isn’t that the way life unfolds for us? In the absence of the physical presence of one on whom we rely, we face the perception of the present reality with the imagination of an extraordinary disturbance that produces possibilities of a future that inspires and invigorates us with new life.
The Pentecost story is about the life-giving power and presence of the Spirit as a gift – unsolicited, undeserved, and unexpected. The exuberant account in Acts 2 makes it clear that the gift of the Spirit shatters all reasonable expectations. Only God could be responsible for such a marvel. In John, it is stated repeatedly that the Spirit is given or sent, either by the Father (John 14:16, 26) or by Jesus himself (John 15:26; 16:7). The people of God and the whole creation live by grace with this gift of the Spirit.
Consider what it means that the gift of the Spirit shatters all reasonable expectations with marvelous possibilities.
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5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? Acts 2:5-7
Ponder a few of the implications of this passage for us.
To be sure, everyone will not acknowledge God’s grace. To live by the Spirit is to live in some sense at odds with the world (John 14:17); the sneers from the crowd in Acts 2:13 serve to instruct us that life in the Spirit will mean opposition. Life in the Spirit is life as God intends. It is to know a peace that the world cannot give (John 14:27). In our world that so desperately seeks peace in self-help and the ability to manipulate and control, it is crucial that we wrestle with these texts and their claims. In a world devoid of wonder, the Spirit may begin to open us to experience the presence of mystery and the mystery of Presence.
New life – sudden, unmerited, irresistible new life! This is the reality the Pentecost narrative broadcasts and the text transmits the story in the most expansive way imaginable. All the stops on this great literary organ are employed: a heavenly sound like a rushing wind, descending fire, and patterns of transformed speech. It is as if the most lavish use of human language is capable of capturing the experiences herein presented and that is one of the emotions the text wishes to convey.
It is not accidental that the birth of the church, this great harvest of people, should occur during the festival of Pentecost. The Feast of Pentecost, or Weeks, as it is known in the Old Testament, marked the end of the celebration of the spring harvest, a liturgical cycle that began at Passover and during which devout Israelite families praised God for God’s grace and bounty. It should be noted that while they were acknowledging and celebrating what they have already received God, gives more. Pentecost is the moment when birthing occurs. Twice in connection with Jesus’ ascension, the coming of the spirit has been promised: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8). The promise is now realized in a manner far surpassing the expectations of even the most faithful disciples. New life for the church! New life for individuals in the church! New life through the Spirit of God! This is the meaning of Pentecost.
No one present is excluded from God’s grace. Unlike other important moments in the history of God’s mighty acts of salvation, such as The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13), where only the inner few are witnesses to the work of God’s Spirit – everyone is included at Pentecost. This is an inclusive moment. In order to make that clear, the list of places named traces a wide sweep through the world of the Greco-Roman world: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia (fri-gee-uh) and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya, belonging to Cyrene and visitors from Rome, both Jews, and proselytes, (Pro-se-lites) Cretans and Arabians.
Consider what it means that different people conclude what they perceive through the lens of their faith or lack thereof.
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8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:8-11
The Pentecost story is about people being drawn together in a kind of unity that empowered them to resist what would distract, destroy, and divide them.
There are things that draw people together. Danger drives people together. People who are frightened seek safety in numbers. Devotion draws people together. Commitment causes people to gather together. Determination knits people together. People who have a common cause, interest, purpose or similar agenda are drawn together.
Christians are drawn together by their common devotion to Christ Jesus. We are told that they were all together on one accord. The main thing that they had in common was that they loved Jesus. They were all there – they overcame their differences for the simple reason that they loved Jesus. Christians have been drawn together ever since. Even now congregations are drawn together each week – despite their differences because of Jesus. There is something about Christ that draws people together.
They were united in fellowship. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They understood each other. There is a universal language that everyone understands, regardless of dialect, ethnicity, and/or syntax, and is basic to existence in community. The language of affection and admiration, compassion and commitment, devotion and determination, faith and fortitude, grace and guilt, love and loyalty, sacrifice and service are all universal. The essence of the life of Christ dealt with life with which everyone could and can identify.
Those first Christians were drawn and held together by life’s common denominators as we are drawn and held together. The Christian faith began and is sustained by the common devotion, experience, and language that express our common life from God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The list of the people is intended to cover every nation.
The early church was a community centered around the worship of God and Jesus. They were a community where the bonds of fellowship were real, a community where they looked out for each other. They were a community where the glory of God is revealed to the nations in a way that makes others want to become God’s people too.
We too should become a community centered around our worship of God and Jesus. We should be a community that cares for one another in practical ways that lifts the weak and shares our resources. We too should be a community in which the glory of God is seen. Our motto as a nation is E Pluribus Unum (Latin), “Out of many, one.”
Consider what it means that people are drawn together by danger, devotion and/or determination.
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8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. Acts 2:8-11
The Pentecost story reminds us that there is something besides what we see.
Simon Peter, the fisherman, became a disciple and has now become apostle. Something we call the Spirit – is free not bound, flexible not fixed, creative not cruel, personal not impersonal; invades the lives of people. The Spirit breaks into our world in an incredibly wonderful way. Into a degenerate Roman world, where there seemed to be no hope for any good future, came a mighty rushing wind and flames of fire, like a directive from on high. All the things that seemed fixed were changed and a free, life renewing Spirit invaded this world from the outside.
We know that nothing can change the world but some intrusion by a power greater than anything the world itself contains. It is the church’s responsibility to be open to the intrusion of the Spirit to empower, equip and enable the people of God to witness to the work of God in the world.
There is a mystery to spirituality. Jesus told Nicodemus, The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
The Pentecost story reminds us that not everyone responds in a positive when they are exposed to the Spirit.
However, everyone does not respond to the winds and fires of new life; at least not in a positive way. Some mocked (v. 13) and in their unwillingness to believe the freshness of God’s initiatives, reacted with stale words (I Samuel 1:14) as they confused the Spirit’s – induced joy with alcohol-induced inebriation. Perhaps it was the very extravagant expression of the Spirit’s presence that drove them to conclude that this cannot be what it seems to be! Yet what it seemed to be is precisely what it was, God’s Spirit unleashed! New life – sudden, unmerited and irresistible new life!
The prophet Joel’s words are used, 28And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth. (Joel 2:28-30)
Consider what it means that there is more to life that influences us than we can see.
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……we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Acts 2:11
Conclusion
There is a story about a general under the emperor Cyrus. While he was away, his wife was accused of treason and sentenced to die. The general returned before the sentence was carried out. He pleaded with Cyrus to let him die in his wife’s place. Cyrus was touched. "Love like that must not be spoiled by death," Cyrus said. He pardoned the wife.
And as they left the palace, the husband said, "Did you notice how kindly the king looked at us when he gave you a free pardon?" She said, "No. I had no eyes for the king. I saw only the man who was willing to die for me."
This is our legacy. We only have eyes for the one whose life was sacrificed for us. If we are ready to keep our eyes on Jesus, pattern our lives after Jesus, being ready to give ourselves to this community in the name of Jesus, we will not only stay together, we will become the body of Christ to this community and the world.
One composer put it in these words.
You thought I was worth saving / So you came and changed my life
You thought I was worth keeping / so you cleaned me up inside
You thought I was to die for/ so you sacrificed your life
So I could be free / So I could be whole / So I could tell everyone I know
Chorus
Hallelujah / Glory to God who changed my life / Forever / Because I am free
Because I am whole / And I will tell everyone I know
You thought I was worth saving / So you came and changed my life
You thought I was worth keeping / so you cleaned me up inside
You thought I was to die for/ so you sacrificed your life
So I could be free / So I could be whole / So I could tell everyone I know
-Anthony Brown
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Los Angeles, CA 90011
Phone: (213) 748-0318
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