Let us now pray and ask for the Lord's blessing
of the preaching of His word. Our God and our
Father, thank you for sending the Spirit to give
us life and to empower us for the call that you
have given to us to carry your words of life
to the ends of the earth. Please allow the words
of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts
to be acceptable in your sight. O Lord, our rock
and nearest kinsman, Redeemer, Jesus Christ,
our risen Lord. Amen. Our sermon text today,
four verses of Acts chapter 2, let us hear God's
word. When the day of Pentecost had fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place. And
suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of
a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. And there appeared
to them to be divided tongues as of fire, and
one sat upon each one of them. They were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak
with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance
These are the words of Almighty God receive them
in your hearts The three things that we want
to get out of the text today that I would like
you to see are this Pentecost is creation renewed
Pentecost is creation renewed Pentecost is Jesus'
wedding gift to His bride. And if that's unfamiliar
to you, the church is His bride. Pentecost is
Jesus' wedding gift to His bride. And finally,
Pentecost is for the church to bring life to
the world. Pentecost is for the church to bring
life to the world. As many of you know, the Gospel
of John, the predominant part of it is Jesus'
last week of life, beginning in chapter 12. However,
if you go back just a few months, five and a
half months in fact, we see from Pentecost to
John chapter 7 that Jesus is standing in the
temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus
makes this declaration from our gospel reading
verse 38 of chapter 7 says this he who believes
in me as the scripture has said out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water we've been following
the church calendar concerning the life of Christ
we saw during Advent the spirit overshadow Mary
We've been reminded of our Lord's humble birth.
We saw Jesus stooping low, literally condescending
in humility. But His coming alone does not deliver
us. Jesus lived a sinless life and experienced
the same temptations that are common to all men.
But this does not complete His work. on our behalf.
Jesus gives his perfect life, his sinless life,
as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for his
church. Now this meets our needs, but it doesn't
complete the process of what Jesus is doing for
us. We heard this morning in 1 Peter chapter
3, for Christ, Suffered once for sins the job
then the unjust that he might bring us to God
Being put to death in the flesh, but made alive
by the spirit The spirit by the will of the father
brought life to Jesus that he would be that we
would be reconciled to God We've considered the
works Jesus after resurrection the evidence is
provided to His disciples on those 40 days before
His ascension, especially Jesus' explanation
and teaching to His disciples that all of the
law, the prophets, and the Psalms were about
Him. Last week we celebrated Jesus' ascension
to the right hand of the Father. Jesus is received
as the firstborn of the resurrection. with all
authority in heaven and on earth bestowed to
him. And of course he's seated there until all
his enemies are put under his feet. It's a real
authority. It's a lasting authority. It is an
authority that transforms the world. Jesus' plan
to renew the broken world of men isn't in His
presence on earth right now, because He's seated
at the right hand of the Father. John 16 tells
us this, Jesus said, Nevertheless, I tell you
the truth, it is to your advantage that I go
away. For if I do not go away, hope will not
come to you. But if I depart, I will send him
to you." Throughout all of the Old Testament,
we see that God was meeting people in one specific
place. We know that Jesus told the woman at the
well that there would be a time coming where
they wouldn't worship in Jerusalem anymore, but
wherever God's people were together. How does
that happen? It isn't simply because Jesus is
on the throne. It is because He pours out His
Spirit. The Spirit flows out from the throne
of God the Father and Son, proceeding to the
world. And if He doesn't ascend, the Spirit doesn't
yet come. Jesus tells His disciples that it is
to their advantage that He goes away, otherwise
the helper. That paraclete the advocate the come
The encourager the empowering life -giving spirit
does not come Jesus declares that if he departs
he will send the spirit to them and as the Nicene
Creed emphasized It says the Holy Ghost is the
Lord and giver of life Now on that day of Pentecost
When 120 believers including the disciples are
gathered in an upper room in obedience to Jesus
in Jerusalem The spirit descends from heaven
sounding like a mighty rushing wind it is the
forcible breath of life and Just like the spirit
hovering Spirit brings the breath of life to
the new creation. Spirit is forming a people
to become the new temple, the place where God
dwells. In Exodus chapter 40, we see that the
cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting and that
the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle. It
was a cloud with fire. Also, in 2 Chronicles
chapter 7, when Solomon was dedicating the temple,
we're told that when he had finished praying,
that fire came down from heaven and consumed
the burnt offering and sacrifices. And the glory
of Yahweh filled the temple. We are told that
the glory cloud filled the tabernacle and the
temple and that neither with the tabernacle could
Moses or any of the the priest stay in there
nor at Solomon's dedication could the people
stay could the inside of the temple when the
when the spirit falls and the fire of God comes
out in the Old Testament because sins are only
temporarily and shadows and types Touched they're
driven out from the presence of God On the day
of Pentecost after the resurrection and the ascension
of Jesus when the presence of the Spirit in cloud
and wind and fire The hundred and twenty disciples
are not driven away. They're not driven out But
they receive the Holy Spirit To bring new life
to the world As one commentator puts it, it says
that fulfilled at Pentecost, the spirit is poured
out, the spirit who writes not on stone, but
on the tablet of human hearts. Two interesting
things that are relating to the Old Testament
feast of Pentecost is that it was celebrated
both on the early wheat harvest and to remember
Receiving the law of God's covenant at Mount
Sinai So we begin to see the significance of
the spirits work at Pentecost Symbolically remember
back in Matthew chapter 9 where Jesus says Pray
that the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into the harvest because the harvest is plentiful
Right. It is being fulfilled by the power of
the spirit through people the church. By the
way, it's interesting to take note that historically
it takes 120 persons in order to establish a
synagogue. And so here we have 120 people gathered.
The Spirit is poured out to bring life to the
world. And so we see God is forming a new house
of prayer. a new house of worship. Pentecost
had become a time to remember God's giving the
law at Mount Sinai. And He gave that law on what?
Tablets of stone. In God's promise of the establishment
of His new covenant in Jeremiah 31, we hear this
in verse 33. We see this fulfillment at Pentecost.
This is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh.
will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts and I will be their God and they
shall be my people the good news of the gospel
of the work of Jesus Christ to reconcile men
to God by the forgiveness of their sins is being
proclaimed in Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost
now Pentecost was one of the high feasts that
were which was required by God for all of the
men of Israel to attend. During high feasts,
everyone had to come to Jerusalem. And at that
time, there were ordinarily somewhere about 50
,000 people living in Jerusalem, but it would
swell up, just like Passover when Christ was
crucified, swell up to almost 300 ,000. Acts
2 records that there were devout Jews from every
nation under heaven it says. We find listed a
table of nations. Now this table of nations of
sorts is symbolically from the four corners of
the world. This is to remind us of the table
of nations descending from Noah after the flood
given in Genesis chapter 10. In Genesis chapter
11, we see, after the nations are established,
we see in Genesis 11 verse 1, now the whole earth
had one language and one speech. This verse seems
redundant in English, but the first word translated
as language is the Hebrew word sofá, which can
be interpreted and properly understood as religious
culture. We see this emphasized in Zechariah
3, Psalm 81, and Isaiah chapter 6. The point
is that the peoples of Babel were not obeying
God's command to take dominion and being fruitful
and filling the whole earth. That's Genesis 1
and Genesis 9. And we understand and are told
here that they are of one language and one rebellious
religious group. They were so unified in their
arrogant idolatry, really self -idolatry, that
they were building a man -made mountain so that
they could make a name for themselves and be
equal with God. The scripture kind of in a mocking
way. As they're building their way up, building
this mountain, trying to ascend to the heights
of God to make a name for themselves, we're told
that God came down. Their meager attempts and
their rebellion, God still has to come down and
look at what they're doing. They desire to be
equal with God and have a name as high as God's
name. And God comes down and as a grace, divides
their speaking languages into many languages
so that their evil would be constrained and not
unified and require another worldwide judgment.
Now, interestingly, it's also important to see
what happens. What do they do? In his judgment,
he divides them so they can't unify in their
evil, but they also, because of these divisions,
begin to go out and spread into the world reminds
us that even in our rebellion, God's sovereign
will is worked out. And so we see that God once
again came down. We see this. Again, we've been
studying it in the church calendar. We see this.
We know this. We see that again, God comes down
and contrasting to coming down in judgment. He
does this. He comes down in the incarnation of
Jesus who did not consider being equal with God
something to be grasped and to be held onto.
But he humbled himself even to the point of death
for our behalf. And at the ascension, God exalted
him. He exalted Jesus and gave him the name which
is above every name the people of Babel were
trying to make a name for themselves and Jesus
said no I'm coming as a servant I'm going to
deliver and reconcile these people and how is
he going to do that? He's going to do that by
coming down and being obedient to God and He
will receive the name A name, at the name of
Jesus, we know this, that every knee should bow,
that those in heaven and those on earth and those
under the earth, that every tongue should confess
that Jesus to the glory of the Father. Philippians
chapter two, if you want to mark that down. At
Pentecost, we have a reversal of Babel, a table
of nations, hearing the call of God to listen.
their own languages and tongues the good news
of Jesus work to restore men to write with God
The spirit called Convicted them of that says
they were pierced to the heart. What must we
do to be saved? And Peter said repent and be
baptized and so that day brought in by repentance
and baptism 3 ,000 souls were added to the 120
disciples that day. Remember when I said there's
this swelling of Jerusalem to almost 300 ,000,
and here we see 3 ,000? So we see 1%. 1 % has
transformed. That's the beginning. Built. Christ
Jesus as the cornerstone. The Apostles and the
prophets is the foundation And it's beginning
started out There's Jesus There's the Apostles
There's the 120 there's the 3 ,000 Here the spirit
establishes the new Jerusalem that we see pictured
in Revelation 21 where it says that The angel
carried John away in the spirit to a great high
mountain and showed him a great city the holy
Jerusalem descending out of heaven from god It
is a true bringing of heaven to earth in the
temple of god's people As one commentator puts
it not so much a place, but the people themselves
be temple The holy spirit consecrates human house
He fills the people who are living who are the
living stones of the new temple. And we see that
there are no sacrificial pieces in this temple.
Instead, Jesus takes his throne and he lights
his people on fire. The disciples are made the
altars. Right? Think about Romans 12. Be a living
sacrifice to God. The disciples are made the
living sacrifices. And so Pentecost reverses
that curse of babble and babble, the divided
nations, right, where they were confused and
dying and falling into death. Pentecost reassembles
the nations and joins them together because the
gospel is preached in all languages. Now the
languages aren't eliminated, so there are different
languages that we should expect to see. It'll
be interesting when we get to heaven and we see
all these different languages singing to God
and it will be unified. Each one of these folks
hears the good news in their own language, but
this diversity is brought into harmony and 3
,000 are baptized. And what do they do? They
share a common table, the Lord's table, and they
share their goods among each other. All that
God has blessed them with, they share with one
another. And they are devoted to prayers and
a common teaching. Now this is important. Saints
of God, I know you're here today. Most of you
are here because you know that this is where
you need to be on the Lord's Day. But one of
the reasons that the church is so sick today
is because we treat the church as if it's not
even necessary. The church itself. the living
stones of the temple, where we come together
and gather. This is the place. And every place
like this on the Lord's Day, where the Spirit
is poured out, where we ascend into God's presence.
And the Holy Spirit, with the rivers of life
flowing from the throne, goes out to bring life
to the world. And when you get the commission
today, you're going to flow out in the power
of the Spirit to bring life to the world. Heaven
and earth in Christ Jesus are brought together.
The Babel's builders wanted to link heaven and
earth, and this is precisely what the Spirit
accomplishes. The Spirit's arrival makes the
church an open gate of God. Throughout acts we
see God working by the gift of the Spirit empowering
miracles Reminding God's people of the words
of Jesus comforting guiding expanding and building
the temple made of living stones and It continues
this work today in this people the church The
spirit is the coronation gift of Jesus to his
church That's his that's his gift to his bride.
He's coronated. He is and he sends forth the
spirit So that we can bring life to others We're
blessed We're strengthened. We're encouraged
you are empowered by the spirit to be able to
do all that God has called you to do You ever
feel overwhelmed? Like life is too much that
there's too many struggles And certainly, our
sins and our troubles that we bring upon ourselves.
Turn to Christ, trust the Spirit, and He is guiding
you, He is leading you. Once enthroned, Jesus
distributes gifts, and He distributes gifts by
the giving, the one gift of all gifts, the Spirit.
What an assurance. What a comfort. What is too
hard for God? And it isn't like God is sort of
on the outside. Oh, I got to come over here and
help you in your circumstances or help you with
this family situation or help you with this work
situation. No, his sovereign providence is that
work in your life every day. When you wake up
whatever the circumstances are those are God's
given providences in your life and the spirit
will enable you To do God's will to be a life
We see in Ezekiel 47 the new promised temple
We are told that it will have a river flowing
from the throne of God to the whole world and
it says this and remember symbolically Right
in in the Old Testament we see and we understand
Gentiles are found in the sea. They're the fish
all these things that you heard today from Psalms
104 Right from Psalm 104 you hear all those things
That's God's creation He looks upon them, He
delivers them, He works in their life, and He
was preparing them. And it says that, and it
shall be every living thing that moves, whether
the rivers, wherever the rivers go, will live.
And there will be a great multitude of fish,
because these waters go there, for they will
be healed and everything will live wherever the
river goes. Wherever God's people goes, by the
living waters flowing out of His people, as churches
as they worship. And they will be healed. And
it says this, it tells us also in Ezekiel 4 -7
that there will be fishermen to catch the fish,
and that there will be trees lining that river,
bearing fruit all year round, and their leaves
will be for the healing of the nations. Make
no mistake. When Jesus calls His disciples and
He says, you will be fishers of men, He is talking
about this passage in Ezekiel 47. And when He
says that His people will be bearing fruit, right?
What is He talking about? The fruit of the Spirit.
And that the leaves, the things that strengthen
and bear the fruit will be for the healing of
the nations. It is for every nation. No people
are unredeemable. No tribe or ethnic group is
outside of the reach of the gospel and So bodies
minds and souls of all kinds of men are united
to one another in Christ to bring God's blessings
new creation We heard in our epistle reading
first Corinthians verse for by one spirit we
were all baptized into one body, whether Jews
or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and all have
been made to drink into one spirit, for in fact
the body is not one member, but many. Jesus and
all of his disciples and so now us, and for all
who are afar off, is to truly be fishers of men,
a diverse catch from the nations. and growing
into a mountain that will fill the whole earth.
And our call to worship today from Psalm 104,
it emphasized the great many creatures of the
seas. Verse 29 said this, now this is real important,
think about this as it relates to how God deals
with us and how our basic problem is what? If
we have a broken relationship with God, God's
face is not shining upon us. His countenance
is not upon us. And so you think about this.
It says this in verse 29 of Psalm 104. You hide
your face, and they are troubled. You take away
their breath, and they die and return to dust.
That's not just the sea creatures. That's all
men. In verse 30 it says, you send forth your
spirit, and they are created. End. you renew
the face of the earth. And at the very last verse
of verse 35 of Psalm 104, it says this, may sinners
be consumed from the earth and the wicked be
no more. Bless Yahweh, oh my soul. Praise Yahweh.
What's happening here? They're being consumed
by a holy fire. as living sacrifices, or they're
being burned in the chaff, as chaff in judgment.
God is holy. He sends forth His Spirit. It brings
life. And as the fire of the Holy Ghost goes
out, it transforms people, or it finds people
and brings them to judgment. Now like all God
distributes, it is not to be hoarded. but to
be generously shared with others for their benefit,
that is others' benefit, and for God's glory
and praise. You know, this is always easy to
say with money, right? If God really gives you
with a lot of money, you should bless others
with it, help them grow, right? So too with every
gift you have, whatever the gift is, you too
should be giving it. Too often we make our life
with Christ to be this thing. Oh, man, it's so
good to have my sins forgiven. It's so good to
be with these people at church. It's so good
for me, good for me, good for me. We're called
to be conformed to Christ Jesus, which is to
do what? Not cling, not hold on, but pour out
that others may have life. As one commentator
puts it, the river of living waters have a purpose
to irrigate the land beyond you. Be careful.
If you say what I'm doing and what God's work
is for me and mine, no. Do you think actually
you could hold back the waters of the river of
the spirit flowing forth? Are you irrigating
beyond yourself? Or do you think that the love
of the Father, the work of Christ, and the power
of the Spirit is just for you? Remember what
Jesus said? He said, if you believe in Me, the
waters of life will spring forth from you. How
are you a well of life? Are you a well of life
in your household? Men, would your husband say
that you're a well of life? I mean, excuse me.
Men, would your wives say? This is the extemporaneous
part, not in the notes. Husbands, would your
wives say that you're a well of life? Wives,
would your husband say that you're a well of
life? Parents, would the children in your household
say that you're a well of life? Children, are
you a well of life to your parents, to your brothers
and sisters? What about to your coworkers? What
about to your neighbors? What about that person
that gets on your ever last nerve? Are you a
well of life to them? Or are you vindictive?
And I want to keep what God's given to me, and
I don't want it to go and be a blessing to anybody
else. Proverbs chapter 10, verse 11 says, the
mouth of the righteous is a well of light, but
violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Do your
words give life? Proverbs 18 .21 says, death
and life? are in the power of the tongue, and
that those who love it will eat its fruit. This
is why in the epistles, twice in the epistles,
we are told that we are to give thanks to God,
and we are to bless one another by singing psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs. That's part of our
action item. Why do you suppose that is? Because
sometimes, Our husbands exasperate us. Our wives
antagonize us. Our children drive us to end.
Our brothers and sisters are not kind to one
another. So sing the praises of God and be thankful.
Trust in him. Trust in his word. His word transforms
things more than any word that you can utter
yourself. So give thanks to God for where you
find yourself and sing. his praises. When Jesus
declared at the temple that those who believe
in him out of their hearts would flow living
waters, he was saying that waters flowing from
the throne of life, that the life -giving spirit
would be for the transformation of the world.
On that first Pentecost, Jesus kept His Word
and poured out the Spirit to bring life into
the new temple, the living stones made up of
His people. As you go out, flowing in the river,
to the outposts of your households, to your jobs
and your communities, believe in Christ Jesus.
By the way, every time you disobey God's Word,
you're saying, I don't believe. So obey. What
did Jesus say? If you love me, You will obey
my commandments. So obey his commandments. Be
conformed to him, and be springs of living waters
to your wives, to your husbands, to your children,
to all those that God puts in your path. And
truly too, as we hear in Acts chapter 2 verse
21, And it shall come to pass that whoever calls
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Let us
pray. Gracious God, we thank you for your providential
provision for us through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Please help us to remember that our only hope
is in you. Help us to obey you, to live and proclaim
your words of life every day in all that you
have given to us. Help us, we pray, to believe
in Jesus and grant the living waters to flow
out of our hearts to your glory and the benefit
of all those around us. We ask all these things
for Jesus' sake, who reigns with you in the Holy
Spirit, world without end. Amen. Let us continue
our worship by the giving of our tithes and offerings.