5/27/07 - Pentecost - Acts 2:1-21

THE SPIRIT WORKS THROUGH THE WORD
- This is the only way he works
- This is the only way he works through us

The disciples must have been at least a little excited. Because after Jesus ascended into heaven they went back to Jerusalem knowing that something very special was about to happen to them. They knew this for a fact because before Jesus left them he said, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49), and “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8). And so with these words of Jesus fresh in their minds, the disciples were waiting in the temple for this power to come upon them on what now has become known as the day of Pentecost. Now, they didn’t know when this was going to happen and they didn’t know exactly what this power was going to be either. But I’m sure each of the disciples had their own ideas about what kind of power they were going to receive.
Think about all the different ways Jesus had displayed his power in the last month and a half leading up to Pentecost. The disciples saw Jesus appear before them in a locked room. Was that going to be the special power they were to receive? Were they going to be able to walk through walls? A couple of the disciples saw Jesus disappear into thin air after he walked with them on the road to Emmaus. Was that going to be the special power? Were they going to be able to disappear without a trace when persecution threatened? And the disciples, of course, also saw Jesus bodily rise up in the air. Was that going to be their special power? Were they going to be able to go anywhere at any time without walking or riding or any trouble at all? There were countless possibilities for the disciples to think about if they considered all of the miraculous things that Jesus did throughout his life.
But as they were therein Jerusalem, sitting in the temple, on what is now the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave them a power that was probably completely different from anything they were expecting. They heard the sound of a rushing wind, they saw what appeared to be a flame of fire separating and coming to rest on each of their heads, and then this special power was distributed: they “began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.” Not walking through walls. Not disappearing into thin air. Not the ability to defy gravity. But the skill of speaking a different language. A miracle - no doubt. But why that miracle? Out of all the powers that the Holy Spirit could have given to those disciples, out of all the ways he could have miraculously blessed them, why the relatively ordinary ability to speak another language? Well, the Holy Spirit had a very good reason for doing that. He blessed them with that power because his main and most important work is bringing people to faith. And the only way he does that is through the Word of God.
The Holy Spirit knew what he was doing. He had planned it perfectly. Because on that specific day thousands of people from the east, west, north, and south of Judea were all gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the Old Testament Feast of Weeks. This was one of the three main festivals each year that people gathered in Jerusalem for. So many people were there who spoke different languages. Many Jews were there who did not yet know about Christ. And so how appropriate it was for the Holy Spirit to bless the disciples with that specific power on that specific day in that specific city. There were many, many unbelievers there. And so there were also many, many opportunities to spread the Word.
There is an important point here that needs to be brought up. The Holy Spirit was visibly and audibly at work on the day of Pentecost in a more obvious outward way then he had ever been before. Thousands of unbelievers were there in Jerusalem as witnesses of this fact. But the Holy Spirit didn’t use his almighty power to instantly convert everyone there. He didn’t magically zap those people from heaven and bring them to faith - although he very well could have. Rather, the power the Holy Spirit displayed was through that special gift to the disciples so that he in turn could do what he does best: work through the Word they preached. “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues” the crowd exclaimed. And we read at the end of this chapter that through that spoken Word of God about 3000 people were brought to faith in the Lord that day. And the Holy Spirit worked faith into each one of those individual hearts only through the Word. That’s the only way he has ever promised to work. That’s the only way he has promised to do it until the end of this world. And we - just like those disciples - are privileged to have the Holy Spirit want to do that all-important work through us.
Has that fact ever taken your breath away? Has the grasping of that fact ever amazed you, frightened you, humbled you? The Almighty, all powerful God, the Creator of the universe, Controller of all things, Savior of our souls, has decided in his infinite wisdom to use you to bring others to the faith. You. You whose heart had to be wrenched away from the road leading to hell. You whose life is nothing but one sin after another. You who are one of his creatures, one of his impatient and imperfect servants. He has decided to use you. He has decided to use me - who has failed to uphold the office of the ministry as I should, who has no right to stand up in front of his fellow sinners and speak, who will never be the kind of shepherd the Lord intended pastors to be. The Lord has decided to use us - we who are in a constant struggle with our sinful natures, who only by God’s mercy have been given the gift of faith. And now we are to help the Holy Spirit himself spread this word of faith to others?!? How incredible! What an honor! “Who is equal to such a task” (2 Cor. 2:16) Paul says?
And on top of all that: the Lord didn’t have to do it this way. The Holy Spirit is powerful enough to convert people to the true faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior in any way he wants. But he chose to use sinners. He chose to use you and me. He has given us the unimaginable privilege and colossal responsibility of helping him do this work. He wants to work through the Word that is spread by us. And so this is your job as his child. This is your calling as a Christian. This is the honorable and undeserving task you are to carry out all the days of your life.
Do you now understand the weight of that responsibility and the implications of not carrying it out? The Holy Spirit only works through the Word. If you don’t spread that Word to those around you, who will? The Holy Spirit doesn’t promise to work in any other way so don’t expect someone you know to come to faith in their Savior without being exposed to that through which the Spirit works. You are the messenger of this news. You are the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to carry this message to the lost. You have let him down many times, haven’t you? I know that you have because I have let him down more times than I care to think about. I have squandered countless opportunities. I have shied away from far too many situations. There have been many times I have neglected the privilege and responsibility I have as a Christian. How disappointing. How wicked it is to let the Lord down. How wicked it is to keep the Word from those who will die without it.
My fellow messengers of the Word that we have kept to ourselves far too often, we need to repent. We need to admit our sins and fall to the Lord’s feet for mercy. We need to ask him to forgive us for letting him down. And please know that he will. He will forgive us even for the sin of letting him down. Even for the sin of disappointing the Holy Spirit himself. Why? Because you are his child. He loves you. He wants to forgive you. He went through humiliation, pain, torture, agony, mocking, and ridicule to earn that forgiveness for you. That’s why he humbled himself on this earth, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended to his Father’s right hand - he wanted to give you forgiveness. And so he will not hold it back! He wants to wash those sins away. He wants to give you that sweet relief and peace of mind that only his forgiveness can give. And his has and he does and always will.
These are the same “wonders of God” that the disciples spoke about to the crowds at Pentecost. A free salvation. An unlimited supply of forgiveness. A love that, as Paul says, is so wide and so long and so high and so deep that it covers all sins of all people of all time (Eph. 3:18). This is the Word the disciples spread. This is the Word the people in Jerusalem listened to. And this is the Word the Holy Spirit worked through to bring thousands of people to faith in their Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s true that Pentecost happened a while ago. Almost 2000 years ago in fact. But don’t think for a second that it has nothing to do with us now. Because ever since then the Word has been spread by faithful Christians throughout the world in many different languages to many different people. The Word has covered the continents. The Word has converted countless throngs of saints now at home in heaven. The Word has been the center and the source and the motivation for all Christians no matter where or when or how they have lived. Nothing is different today. The Word still remains the way through which the Holy Spirit works. And the spreading of that Word on the first Pentecost is just as real and just as urgent for us today. It is essential we continue the work of those disciples and carry out that duty. And it is our joy and glory to embrace this most honorable of privileges. So that in our lifetime thousands upon thousands more will be brought to faith in their Savior through the work of the Holy Spirit, through us, through the Word.
Amen.

“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” - 1 Cor. 6:11