Pentecost

Last week I mentioned that there were five key events in Jesus’ earthly ministry that make all the difference for us today: His birth, His death, His resurrection, His becoming Lord and His sending the Spirit. Last week, since it was Ascension Sunday, we looked at Jesus becoming Lord. Today is Pentecost Sunday. It only seems right for us to spend a little time considering the fifth event in Jesus’ earthly ministry, the sending of the Spirit.

Listen to how Luke described that Pentecost day.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2.1–12

So, a mighty rushing wind, bits of fire, proclamation in various languages the mighty works of God done through Jesus. That’s what happened. And it’s important to know what happened.

However, the question of the crowd is also quite important. ‘What does this mean?’ It’s not enough to simply recount the details of the event. What we need to be clear about is the significance of the event. What does this mean?

So, for example, it is an objective fact of history that a man named Jesus was executed by crucifixion by the Roman governor in Jerusalem during the first half of the first century. That is a fact few people debate. There is, however, great disagreement when Christians express their understanding of the significance of that event, when Christians answer the question, ‘What does this mean?’ We understand what happened as God’s atonement for sin. In the same way, we need to be clear not just about what happened on that Pentecost day. We also need to be clear about the significance of what happened. What does this mean?

There are some things that all Christians understand about that day. The Spirit of God came upon Peter and those early saints. Good start. But what did the Spirit come to do?

There are many Christians who see that day as the time when the Spirit finally showed up to do His special work, a special work that He had never done before. They would say that this is the beginning of the Spirit’s ministry.

But is that right? I don’t think so. It can’t be the beginning of the ministry of the Spirit. He had been plenty busy doing things before then.

He was busy creating.

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1.2

He was busy causing men to speak for God.

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1.21

And He was busy writing the Bible.

All Scripture is breathed out by God… 2 Timothy 3.16

There are those who will agree with all of this, but respond by saying that what’s new at Pentecost is that this is the beginning of the Spirit’s ministry in the souls of believers. This, they will say, is when He began to cause people to be born again and all that comes from that.

But that still can’t be right. Consider Abraham.

And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15.6

Abraham believed. This is where he is justified before God. How does that happen? Believing is the result of being born again. And that is something the Spirit brings about. Jesus explained that in His conversation with Nicodemus in John 3.

So, the Spirit was quite busy ministering in the souls of believers before Jesus shows up. That’s not what Pentecost is about.

There is something here that many Christians kind of assume. To be sure, they will say, God was doing things with all those people in the days of Moses and David and all the others, but the really important spiritual stuff about the Gospel only happens after Jesus shows up. It’s almost as if the work of God in the Gospel begins in Matthew’s Gospel. But the truth of the matter is that God has had only one plan to redeem the world. And He put that plan into action starting with Adam, with each person of the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Spirit - fulfilling His particular role from that day to now.

So, no, Pentecost isn’t the Spirit finally showing up to begin His ministry.

That still leaves us with our question. What is the significance of what happened on that day?

The work of God for the redemption of the world has proceeded by stages. Each stage was marked off by various historical events brought about through particular people. Here are the people God used at key turning points in this plan of redemption: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. Each of these men was associated with some new thing that God was bringing about. And while there were differences between what God was doing in the eras of each of these men, all of what was happening was a part of the one plan of God to redeem the world.

The final man in this plan of redemption was Jesus. His earthly ministry was the climax of that long historical process, the climax of this plan to redeem the world. This is where those five events of Jesus’ earthly ministry fit. And the last of those five was His sending the Spirit.

So, how does this sending of the Spirit fit in with the plan to redeem the world? The answer to this question will lead us to the answer of our question about the significance of Pentecost.

At each stage of this plan, the people of God were called to do certain things, certain things that those who went before them weren’t called to do. So, what is the new thing for the people of God after Jesus’ advent and ascension? What’s the new thing for us? We are given a mission. This is a new mission, and it involves the nations.

Before Jesus, the people of God had no mission concerning the other nations of the world. This mission to the nations was, however, predicted.

It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Isaiah 49.6

There would be a change in what the people of God were to be doing. Something new would be added. There would be a mission to the nations and that to the end of the earth.

With that in mind, listen to Jesus’ last words to His apostles.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1.8

So, let’s take this apart. The people of God now have a new mission. The Gospel is to go to the end of the earth. It’s to go to the nations. And that fits with what we find at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…  Matthew 28.19

‘Of all nations’. Jesus has initiated the last stage of God’s plan for the redemption of the world. Now, the people of God are to go to the nations and spread the news of the Gospel.

There’s something else in those last words of Jesus to His apostles that I want you to see. Jesus doesn’t just talk about the new mission. Jesus also explains how it is going to happen. Listen again.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…  Acts 1.8

This new mission is based on receiving the power of the Spirit. In fact, it is impossible without His power. So, first there is receiving the power of the Spirit. What follows is pursuing the mission to the nations.

And now we have an answer to our question about the significance of the sending of the Spirit. The coming of the Spirit to the people of God on Pentecost is all about this new mission. The Spirit has come to provide all that the Church will need to accomplish that mission. He is the power to succeed.

So, here are two main points that I would like you to see.

First, the people of God – that includes us - have a mission from God. That mission started when Jesus finished His earthly ministry. We are called to make disciples of the nations. The truths of God, the Gospel, are no longer to be limited to the people of God. Now, those truths are to be proclaimed to the end of the earth so that all can join us in enjoying God as disciples of Jesus. So, first point: we have a mission.

The second point is this. The Church will succeed at this mission. The nations will become Jesus’ disciples. And the reason that we will succeed is that the Spirit has come to bless us with success. He has come to provide all that we need to accomplish the mission. It will take a while. We’ve been at it now for two thousand years already. It may take another two thousand years or maybe even longer. Who knows? But however long it may take, we will succeed. So, second point: by the blessing of the Spirit, we will succeed at our mission.

Now, let’s take all of that and bring it down to earth. How are we to pursue this mission? What are we supposed to do? There have been different answers to that question among American evangelicals over the years. Here’s the one that was popular not all that long ago. Everybody needs to be an evangelist. Some of you lived through that era. You remember the little booklets that were being published, little booklets with a quick four-point summary of the Gospel. And faithful Christians everywhere were expected to make good use of those booklets. We were all expected to spread the news about Jesus and make converts. We were all expected to be evangelists.

These days, the paradigm has shifted. Among many evangelicals these days, especially younger evangelicals, we’re not all called to be evangelists but rather social workers. Faithful Christians everywhere are to be dealing with issues of poverty and homelessness and the like.

As I’m sure you can tell, I’m going to disagree with both of those. To find the answer to our question about how to pursue this mission we need to consider what the Spirit has revealed in Scriptures. We must take all of our questions to the Bible and look at the whole Bible to find answers.

Here’s something that will help us answer our question about what we are to do. Paul describes some important aspects of what it means to be the Church.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. …  For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. … For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 1 Corinthians 12.4-7,12, 14-15

The Spirit joined us all together into one body, the Church. But He didn’t give us all the same skills. Some of us have been blessed with one kind of skill and others with a different kind of skill. We are all different in this way, but we are joined together as one. God has done it this way so that we can succeed at our mission. And the way that we succeed is by being the Church as the Spirit intends. That is, we are to use the different skills that the Spirit has given us. And that means that while we will all be aimed at the same target, our mission for the nations to become disciples, we will be doing some very different things from one another.

So, not everyone needs to be an evangelist. And not everyone needs to be a social worker. Some will do these things, and thank God for that. But the rest of us will be doing lots of other things, each according to the skills that the Spirit has given us.

Here’s one very helpful result of seeing it this way. I knew a pastor who could quickly shift any conversation so that it’s about the Gospel. Give him a minute chatting with someone, and he would somehow get to talking about Jesus. I can’t do that. But I don’t have to feel bad that I don’t have that skill. I have different skills from the Spirit. So, while this pastor used the skills given to him to accomplish the mission of the Church, I have been using the skills given to me for the same purpose. He and I do different things with the same goal in mind.

Have you ever thought that you obviously aren’t as faithful as some other Christian you know because that other Christian is doing things that you can’t do? That’s not about being unfaithful. That’s about being given different skills. And as long as you are using your skills, whatever they are, for the sake of the mission, you’re being a faithful Christian.

So, back to our question. How shall we pursue this mission? What exactly are we supposed to do? The answer is for us to be the Church, the Body of Christ. Each of us is to use the skills that the Spirit has blessed us with, and to do that in such a way so that, together, we make progress to the goal: that the nations become disciples of Jesus.

Now, let’s take the next step and ask another question. Ok, we’re to be the Church and in this way achieve the mission. What does that look like? Here is one way to answer that question. It’s something that Jesus said.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13.34–35

Jesus calls us, His Church, to love one another. He does that because He knows that the world is watching us. And He is convinced that as the world watches us love one another they will be drawn to the Gospel that makes that love happen. So, being the Church on mission includes loving one another according to the skills the Spirit has given us.

Here’s one way we are to love one another. This is from Paul.

Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4.18

Paul’s word for ‘encourage’ can be translated by three different words: encourage, comfort, exhort. One way we can love the other people in this room is by encouraging them, comforting them and exhorting them. If you’re going to do any of that, there are some prerequisites.

First, you will need to know the person you’re trying to love. How do you comfort someone if you don’t know what is troubling that person? And we all, to one degree or another, tend to hide our real pains. The common annoyances we’ll share. The things that are closer to our hearts we tend to hide – except from people we trust. So, if you’re going to love a person, you’re going to need to invest the time and energy to really get to know that person, to show him or her you are someone who can be trusted. Being wise in how you use your time and energy is something you will need to pray about.

Second, you will need to know the Scriptures. How do you encourage someone who is wrestling with some serious problem without reference to the Scriptures? Simply saying, ‘I’m sure everything will be okay’, just doesn’t cut it. How do you know that it will be okay? Why should that person believe you? If you want to encourage someone you will need to remind him of some aspect of who God is and what He’s up to. You need to tell him some Scripture which means that you will need to know the Scriptures. Getting to know Scripture is something that you will need to pray about.

Third, you will need to be bold without being abrasive. To exhort someone is to urge him to some action. That may mean that you’ll need to talk with someone about areas of life that you’re not supposed to stick your nose into, at least according to the social etiquette of the day. Being bold without being abrasive is something that you will need to pray about.

Now to pull this all together.

There has been a progression in what I’ve told you this morning. We encourage, comfort and exhort so that we can love one another. We love one another as an aspect of being the Church. We work at being the Church, according to our various skills, so that, together, we can accomplish the mission of making disciples of the nations. And we can be assured that the Church will accomplish the mission because Jesus has sent us His Spirit who provides all that we need to be successful. That is the significance of Pentecost.