Welcome back to the Seminary, the podcast where
your Bible study smells like old hymnals, sounds
like a Bob Wills steel guitar breakdown, and
thinks like a footnote in a 4th century Greek
commentary. I'm your old host, Pastor Jim, and
this is where dusty scripture meets divine fire,
maybe just a side of country gravy. Today we're
cracking open one of the wildest, weirdest, and
most wonderful moments in all of church history.
The day the Spirit showed up like a freight train
through a prayer meeting. Pentecost. That's right,
y 'all. Wind, fire, foreign languages, confusion,
conviction. And the birth of something so big
it would eventually stretch from an upper room
in Jerusalem to pews in Tulsa, revival tents
in West Texas. I want you to imagine this. It's
been 50 days since Easter morning. The resurrection
is real, but the movement is still fragile. Jesus
has ascended. The disciples are waiting, and
heaven feels quiet. And then suddenly, heaven
isn't quiet anymore. It roars. In this episode,
we're not just going to marvel at the fire falling.
We're going to trace the ancient roots that made
this moment possible. We'll walk through Acts
2, wander back to Mount Sinai, tip our hats to
the prophets like Joel, and wrestle with what
it means that the Spirit now speaks in every
dialect under heaven. More than a spectacle,
Pentecost is a statement. It's a declaration.
It is a divine disruption. God is saying, I'm
not just coming near anymore. No, I'm moving
in. So grab your Bible, a little bit of historical
context, and a whole lot of curiosity. Whether
you're riding shotgun on the road to Emmaus or
stuck in traffic on I -40, this episode is for
anyone who's ever wondered what it looks when
God keeps a promise. So let's dive in. So where
we had left off last week, Jesus had ascended
and the disciples have returned to Jerusalem.
They were instructed to go there and wait. And
where we find them waiting is in that same upper
room where they had met the night before Jesus
was crucified. And they're there afraid of the
authorities and they're praying. So picture it.
It's 50 days now after the resurrection of Jesus,
a room full of disciples still waiting, still
wondering, and then boom, wind, fire, and language
is flying like confetti at revival. But what
really happened at Pentecost? What was the Spirit
up to? And this is the thing I want to explore
tonight and also on Sunday. is what does it actually
mean when we stop and think about it, because
we've read our Bibles, that God chose this particular
moment, this particular crowd, and that particular
fire to launch his church. So tonight, listeners,
if you're listening, you're in the middle of
a Bible study in a small church. Grab a chair,
grab your coffee, and join us. So tonight what
we're going to do is unpack the significance
of that. We're going to walk through the story
in Acts 2. We're also going to trace deep Old
Testament roots through the Christian observation
of Pentecost and explore why this event was less
about spiritual fireworks. and more about God
keeping a very old promise to reconcile the world
to himself. So, as I want to do, let's start
with some context. Pentecost wasn't a brand new
thing. In fact, we've talked about this several
times. Pentecost is something that we celebrate
now after the events that we now know as Pentecost.
But Jerusalem was filled with people at the time
celebrating a Jewish festival. And that festival
was called Shavuot. And it's also called the
Feast of Weeks. It marked seven days, seven weeks
after Passover. And it was a harvest festival.
We've talked about this. But it also, and pay
attention to this, this is super, super cool.
I did not come up with this idea, but I have
discovered this connection in my research about
this, and I think it's super cool. Shavuot also
was a commemoration of the giving of the law
at Sinai, where the Ten Commandments are given
to God's people. Let's revisit that story in
Exodus chapter 19. Just verses 16 through 19,
so we get where we're at. On the morning of the
third day, there were thunders and lightnings
and a thick cloud on the mountain. That's the
scene here at Sinai. Fire, wind, trembling. If
you know anything about Pentecost, you will see
that's very familiar. And God's not just making
a dramatic interest. He's establishing a covenant,
and he's initiating a relationship between himself
and a redeemed people. Sinai was not just also
about the law, but it was also about identity.
It was the moment when the nation stepped into
its role as a priesthood for the world. We'll
jump to the New Testament, and we go to Acts
2. Acts 2 says, when the day of Pentecost arrived,
a sound like a mighty rushing wind, tongues of
fire, all filled with the Holy Spirit, right,
descended upon the disciples. And we're meant
to hear the echoes of those two events. This
isn't God at Pentecost doing something new. It's
actually God fulfilling something that's old.
Sinai was God coming down to dwell near people.
Pentecost is God coming to dwell in them. And
it happened during a feast in a city filled with
religious pilgrims. Jews from all across the
known world had gathered in Jerusalem, each bringing
their own culture. language, and tradition. The
setting was a collision of worlds, and God chose
that moment, not for convenience, but symbolism.
The spirit didn't descend on a holy mountain
this time, but on an ordinary room filled with
ordinary people. Reminding us the gospel does
not begin with the elite or the righteous, but
with the faithful and the fearful. The Spirit's
arrival transforms a hesitant group of Jesus
followers into the living body of Christ. A mobile
temple. A living tabernacle. It is, in essence,
God moving into the neighborhood. And this is...
covenant renewal on a cosmic scale. It's about
God reasserting his presence, not from above,
but now from within. And that changes everything.
It changes worship, which moves from a sacrificial
system in a temple to a sacrifice of praise in
the lives of believers. It changes leadership
from hierarchical priesthoods to a spirit -led
community. And it changes mission from maintaining
purity to spreading reconciliation. So let's
talk about that crowd. Luke, in Acts chapter
2, tells us that there were Jews from every nation
under heaven. This phrase isn't casual. It's
theological. It's actually meant to evoke Genesis
chapter 11 and the Tower of Babel. Acts chapter
2, 5 through 11, well, 5, says, we hear them
telling in our own languages the mighty works
of God. Genesis 11, 7, 8 says, come, let us go
down there and confuse their language. so that
they may not be able to understand one's speech.
At Babel, pride was an attempt to build a tower
to God. At Pentecost, humility welcomed God's
descent. The confusion of tongues that scattered
humanity is undone by a spirit who unites through
understanding. This isn't just poetic. It's prophetic.
Pentecost signals the launch of a global church.
The gospel is multilingual from day one. God
is not waiting for people to assimilate to a
type. He's meeting them where they are. Think
about the social implications. Language, which
once divided, now unites. The Spirit doesn't
erase cultural identity. He redeems it. The gospel
travels best not when it colonizes, but when
it translates. That's God's heart. That's reconciliation.
Not just vertical, the relationship, us and God,
but the horizontal, us and each other as well.
Cultural walls begin to fall. The Spirit speaks
in every accent. And notice, the first result
of the Spirit's filling is speech, words, proclamation.
What does that mean? It means that this is not
meant to be a private religious experience. The
Spirit speaks outward. Witness is not a program
to follow. It's a person set on fire. This is
where theology meets anthropology. God isn't
just redeeming souls, he's redeeming societies.
Every tribe and tongue is no longer erased in
the kingdom, it's celebrated. Diversity isn't
a detour, it's design. This speaks into our world
today where language and ethnicity and identity
continue to divide us. Pentecost should stand
as a rebuke of division and a celebration of
God's real reconciliation power. Now enter our
friend Peter. The guy who buckled under pressure
by a campfire is now breathing fire from a pulpit.
What changed? The Spirit changed him. Acts chapter
2, verse 17, in the last days it shall be, God
declares, that I will pour my spirit on all flesh.
You may not know. What? That's Peter in Acts.
No, that's Peter in Acts, but he's quoting Joel,
the prophet from the Old Testament, because he
understands now Pentecost is not a surprise.
It's the fulfillment. The prophets had seen this.
In case you don't believe me, Joel chapter 2,
28 -29. And it shall come to pass afterwards
that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.
God's spirit used to rest on prophets and priests
and kings. Now it rests on sons and daughters,
on men and women, on the young and the old. It's
democratized holiness. And it's not power for
power's sake. It's power for reconciliation,
for witness, for love, for embodying the kingdom
of God. John chapter 14, 16, and 17 says, He
will give you another helper to be with you forever,
for he dwells with you and will be with you.
The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of
the Spirit in us is not an accessory to faith.
It's the engine of it. Because he's the one who
convicts and comforts and guides and glorifies
Christ. And Peter's sermon is not just a motivational
speech. It's a Spirit -breathed interpretation
of history. The Spirit now connects those dots
that the disciples had up until that point been
missing. Now they see Jesus crucified was no
accident. It was the climax of a rescue plan.
And this is communal. Peter's call is not to
isolate believers, but calling them rather to
a new kind of community. Remember, the early
church didn't just believe together. They lived
together. They broke bread together. They shared
their goods and their burdens. And that's the
spirit at work too. When the people hear these
words from Peter, Scripture says they're cut
to the heart. Not just with guilt, but with recognition.
And they ask, what shall we do? Because the gospel
invites not just belief. You are called to believe.
You are called as a Christ follower not to just
believe, but to participate. Acts chapter 2,
37 and 38 gives us Peter's answer. Brothers,
what shall we do? Repent and be baptized, every
one of you. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit. And let's not rush too quickly
through this. Don't miss the transformation here.
The same crew that were running from soldiers
are now running toward a mission. Pentecost didn't
give them personalities. It gave them purpose.
The Spirit doesn't just show up to make us feel
better. shows up to make us braver. The church
was not born in some strategy session or vision
board meeting. It's born in the presence of God,
born in breath, boldness, and born with a mission
to witness to the ends of the earth. That means
the spirit you have today is not secondhand.
The spirit we have is not a downgrade. The same
spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, the same
fire that fell from the sky in Jerusalem, the
same voice that spoke through Peter that day,
that's who dwells in you. Romans 8 and 11, the
spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you. He will also give life to your
mortal bodies. This is resurrection power. This
is new creation living. And it's not just for
you. It's for the whole world through you. Now,
your calling might not look like Peter's. You
might not stand before a crowd of thousands.
But you do stand before your family, your co
-workers, your friends, your neighbors. And they
need to see what spirit -filled reconciliation
actually looks like. Not just in doctrine and
beliefs, but in how we forgive, how we welcome,
and how we live. The relational impact of Pentecost
is ongoing. It's how we reconcile with our enemies,
calling us to include the outcast, to prioritize
community. over consumerism. The spirit is not
private piety. It's public witness. So, what
do we do with this? We live reconciled. We speak
boldly and we lean into the spirit. Because you
don't have to climb a mountain to meet with God
anymore. You just have to breathe because God's
moved in. He's not far. He's not silent. He's
not waiting for you to prove yourself. He's present,
and he is still speaking. This is the story of
Pentecost. Not a one -time event that happened
thousands of years ago. No, it is a new reality.
And the church? The church is not a building
or a program. It's people filled with God. So
let the wind blow. Let the fire fall. Let the
gospel roll out like thunder in every language
under heaven. Because that's the day God will
come. Amen? Amen. That's what I have for you.
And that, friends, is Pentecost. Not just a festival,
not just an origin story, it's the launch pad
for reconciliation. A divine fulfillment of God's
ancient promise to not only walk with us, but
live within us. And I've come to tell you, the
wind still blows, the fire still falls, and the
Spirit still speaks. But more than that, the
spirit still dwells. In jail cells, in small
town churches, in city coffee shops, in quiet
hearts, trembling hands. The God who thundered
from Sinai now whispers comfort into your grief.
The same spirit that rattled windows that day
in Jerusalem breathes peace over your anxious
heart. So, so. Let this be your benediction today.
Don't just study Pentecost. Live it. Live reconciled.
Live empowered. Live like God moved in and brought
his stuff. And if this episode stirred your soul,
send it to a friend, a fellow Bible nerd, or
especially that guy who always quotes Leviticus
out of context. And subscribe, rate, and review
if you're feeling so generous. But above all,
remember this. The Spirit isn't a guest. He's
a resident. He's still on the move. This is Brother
Jim signing off from the back pew of the internet,
reminding you the wind is still blowing, friend.
I'll see you next time on the Semi -Seminarium.