O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping Through Us

Acts 2:1-13

In the 18th century, a mighty revival swept through America, called the Great Awakening. Tens of thousands converted over 20 years. Revival came because of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, and George Whitefield. Even non-religious people like Benjamin Franklin, remarked that preaching produced remarkable positive effects. Jonathan Edwards reported - “There was scarcely a single person in the town, old or young, left unconcerned about the great things of the eternal world…Our young people, when they met, spent the time talking about the excellency and dying love of Jesus Christ, the glory of the way of salvation, the wonderful, free, and sovereign grace of God, his glorious work in the conversion of a soul, the truth and certainty of the great things of God’s word.”

We also see revivals in Scripture. When Josiah sought God the people destroyed their idols. When Jonah preached, the Ninevites repented in sackcloth. When Ezra read the law, the Jews rebuilt Jerusalem. But the greatest revival was the giving of the Spirit. When the Spirit filled the disciples, they preached and many were converted; they obeyed Christ and grew in holiness. No matter what her theology of revival is, every church desires spiritual disciples who grow in obedience and holiness to minister the gospel. But that starts with the Spirit. He gives power to us to be holy and do great things. He empowers all Christians. But it wasn’t always so. In the Old Testament, not everyone had that power. But it predicted a time when it would come. Jesus said he would come. So the disciples returned to Jerusalem to wait for the Father’s promise. As they waited, they prayed, obeying God proactively. Today we see 2 facts about the giving of the Spirit: firstly, the Feast of the First Fruits was fulfilled by the coming of the Spirit; and secondly, the last Pentecost had bold effects on all the people of God.

Firstly, the Feast of the First Fruits was fulfilled by the coming of the Spirit. Verse 1 says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come.” Or more literally as the NASB puts it, when the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled. This tells us something very important. It tells us that the feast had a time of fulfillment. This is the same for every other feast. The Day of Atonement was a feast when the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies through the veil with the blood of the sin offering to sprinkle it on the mercy seat and pray. This was finally fulfilled when Jesus ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God to pray for us, giving us direct access to God. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” Similarly, Passover was fulfilled with Jesus’ crucifixion on that last Passover, being the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Also the Sabbath looked forward to the resurrection of Christ and our eternal rest in him. So the fulfillment of Pentecost was not coincidental. Neither was the Spirit coming. Pentecost was a foreshadow. And now it was fulfilled.

The Feast of Pentecost, or the Feast of the First Fruits was an agricultural festival. All male adult Jews had to go to Jerusalem. They’d give thanks to God for the initial harvest. They’d ask God to bless the remaining harvest. This was held 50 days, or in Greek, ??????????, after Passover. And because it a summer feast, it was the best attended. If you recall, Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest, and when the harvest was being gleaned, Boaz heaped grain onto Ruth as a promise of more and of marriage - that was around Pentecost. The feast also commemorated the giving of the Law, because around 50 days after Passover, the Israelites received the Law from God. There, God gave the 10 commandments by voice and then by Tablets of Stone when Moses descended. They were always his people, but now were a nation with laws.

So how was Pentecost fulfilled? There was a harvest. The disciples preached and 3000 souls were saved. But why were so many convicted that day of their sins? Just as Moses ascended into Mount Sinai and came down with the written law on stone tablets, Jesus ascended into the real Mount Zion, and sent His Spirit to write the laws on the hearts of man. The disciples preached this Word and 3000 believed - they were the first fruits, with a promise of more to come because of the ministry of the Spirit.

And there were signs. While Passover fulfilled by the accompaniment of many signs - like darkness, and the Day of Atonement at Jesus’ resurrection by that cloud into heaven - Pentecost also had audio and visual signs. Verses 2-3 - “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” When the disciples were in the upper room, they heard the sound of a rushing mighty wind. It was mighty - meaning, loud - so loud it drowned every other sound - it filled all the house. Like NDP - when the fighter jets pass overhead - you can’t hear anything else. What did the sound mean? It meant God had come. At Sinai, when God gave the law, there was thunder so loud that the people trembled. Why thunder? Some would say because there was lightning! Perhaps. But the Hebrew word for thunder is kolot which also means voices. When God gave the law, he came with his angels. Moses said in Deuteronomy 33:2 - “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.” And these angels were loud. In his vision in Ezekiel 1:24, Ezekiel said - “I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host.” Ezekiel 3:12 also - “Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing.” So the coming of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by great sound - of angels’ wings, his voice, the thunderous sound of wind. The disciples would’ve remembered what Jesus said in John 3:8 -“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.” The sound meant that God’s Spirit had come.

There were tongues of fire - flames resting on their heads. This also meant God was present. When Moses first met God, he saw the burning bush. When Israel escaped Egypt, they were led by a pillar of fire. At Mount Sinai, God came with lightning, fire, and smoke. God was in the fire. The disciples would’ve also remembered Matthew 3:11 - “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” John poured water on their heads, but Christ would pour his Spirit as fire on their heads. And he came with thunder and fire to fulfill the Feast of the First Fruits.

Secondly, we see the last Pentecost had bold effects on all the people of God. Why the last Pentecost? Because it was fulfilled. So when the Spirit came, what happened? Verse 4 - “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” There’s a common misunderstanding that before the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, people didn’t have the Holy Spirit. Of course people did. One can’t be saved without the washing of regeneration or the heart circumcision of the Spirit. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and told him that no one could see the kingdom of heaven unless he is born of water and the Spirit. But Nicodemus didn’t get it. Jesus asked - aren’t you a teacher of Israel? You don’t know this? Salvation’s not by good works or sacrifice or natural birth; not by physical circumcision. Hearts must be circumcised! Washed by the Spirit! Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 4:13 calls the Spirit, the Spirit of faith. And Hebrews 11 says the Old Testament saints had faith. How did they get their faith? Through the Holy Spirit.

So what’s the significance of that last Pentecost if Old Testament believers always had the Holy Spirit? The difference is this. While he regenerated those that believed and was with them, the Holy Spirit didn’t come and empower everyone. The Spirit indwelled all believers, but didn’t empower every believer. In the Old Testament, kings were anointed and commissioned to rule; priests to sacrifice; and prophets to preach. They were filled with the Spirit and power to do that work. But the Spirit didn’t come on everyone that way. But in the New Covenant, God promised to fill all his people to do his work. Why? In Christ, we are all prophets, priests, and kings. In Numbers 11, Moses was at his lowest point in ministry. He was tired, exhausted, depressed - why? He had to pastor 2 million disobedient people. So God took 70 leaders and empowered them with his Spirit. They did the work of preaching. Numbers 11:25 - “And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.” And there was a spillover of the Spirit’s power on 2 others who were not part of that 70. Joshua told Moses to stop them. What did Moses say? Was he jealous they were taking his job? No! He was excited! He wished there were more. Verse 29 - “would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” And this happened. The effects of that last Pentecost was the Spirit coming to empower all the people of God. In verse 4, we see them preaching - “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” What was once exclusive to certain chosen people was now given to all God’s people. Mary, Jesus’ brothers, women, the apostles, and all the rest of the 120 disciples. As prophets, we teach and admonish one another with the Word. As priests, we pray to God directly for one another. And as kings - we keep one another accountable, calling each other to repent. That’s the effect of the last Pentecost.

Another effect was boldness. Verse 4 tells us once the Spirit came on them - they started to preach. Verse 11 says they were preaching “the wonderful works of God.” They were preaching the gospel, being witnesses in Jerusalem - the danger hot spot - to Judea and Samaria which rejected Jesus, and to the ends of the world. And they could preach boldly in a variety of languages. Now, the text doesn’t explicitly say, but it seems they left the upper room into the streets. Verse 5 says that devout or God-fearing Jews, from every nation, heard them. They were loud - verse 6 says - their noise was heard. They were no longer afraid. Who cares if Jerusalem is dangerous!? We have power from above to preach! And they went forth boldly.

And their boldness had 2 effects. The Jews were affected positively. Verse 5 says the crowd had various people. But all Jews - Jews born Jerusalem, or Jews born elsewhere but immigrated to Jerusalem, and Jews who came for the feast from every known nation under heaven. And they reacted to the bold effects of the Spirit. They were confounded - verse 6 - bewildered! Why? Because each heard the gospel in their own language. They were also amazed and marveled - verse 7. Because the preachers were Galileans. Country bumpkins. So this is interesting. So this means that although they were speaking in Parthian, Median, Elamitish, Mesopotamian, Cappadocian, they still had their Galilean accents. Like people who speak English with their national accents. And so, these uneducated men, filled by the Spirit, amazed and perplexed the Jews. And verse 12 says they wanted to understand -“what does it mean?” they asked. These were the reactions of the devout Jews. They wanted to listen. But there was also a negative result. There will always be mockers. Verse 13 - some people said that the disciples were drunk. Now to be clear, they were not drunk. The mockers knew they weren’t drunk. It was 9 am! They were mockers. They heard the word and said - “you’re mad, out of your mind, or drunk if you believe what you’re preaching.” Dear folks, many Charismatics have wrongly interpreted this to say that the Spirit gives you the appearance of drunkenness; and this is how they defend their ecstatic utterances. But clearly, these mocked the message of the gospel. In spite of this, the apostles continued preaching - they were bold. Their preaching built the kingdom. Verse 41 tells us that as many as 3000 Jews came to salvation. This was the first harvest of the last Pentecost and there would be more to come. It was just the beginning. And these were Jews - coming from the ends of the earth.

What was the effect of giving the Spirit? What was God’s goal? He was rebuilding his people to do what they were supposed to do - to serve him boldly as witnesses. Remember the apostles asked Jesus in Acts 1:6 - “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Well, God was starting here. In his vision in Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel saw a whole valley of dry bones. He asked - can these dry bones live again? God answered in verse 4 - “Prophesy upon these bones, [preach the Word to them] and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Who were these dry bones? Verse 11 - “these bones are the whole house of Israel.” How would they become alive? Verse 14 - “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.” What would it sound like? Verse 7 - “and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.” How powerful would this people be? Verse 10 - “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” And from where will they come? Verse 21 - “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.”

This is what God promised - and it came to pass. And God’s people would grow to be a huge spiritual army of spirit-filled people. It would spread to the Samaritans and the Gentiles in the uttermost parts of the earth. God would do it by the Spirit - changing them, giving them power over sin, and empowering them to be useful. So how do we apply this?

Firstly, our worth as Christians is in what God has done through Christ. He’s saved us - and given us the gift of the Spirit. When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter if we’re highly educated or uneducated like the Galileans. It’s not our education or abilities in the end, when it comes to the kingdom of God. It’s the empowerment of the Spirit. We’ve been given power to grow in holiness, wisdom of God, understanding of spiritual things, and power to minister. And that’s why our worth is in what Christ has done for us already. O level results - education; press on, but they aren’t the most important things. Believe in Christ - you’ll have the Spirit and power of God!

Secondly, are we experiencing that holiness, wisdom, understanding, and ability to minister? Are we growing in boldness and love for the kingdom? After all, we’ve been given the Spirit. We’re to be fruitful, holy, powerful. And this is where we must ask ourselves - have we quenched the Spirit? He’s in us, but we aren’t praying that he fills us. We’re not heeding his prompting. We’re tempted, he reminds us - but we suppress him. We’re reminded about our spiritual duties by him - but we dismiss him - I’m too tired. We aren’t pursuing the kingdom, so we feel powerless to live for the kingdom. Are we praying and seeking his Word? Making use of opportunities to be witnesses? When we do, and pray that God would fill us to serve - he will. Dear friends, remember the Spirit is always there with us. Pray to him and submit yourself to him to use you. Would you pray and ask him to work in you?

Thirdly, the growth of the church is dependent on the Spirit. But often, we rely on means. In the Second Great Awakening, memories and longing of the past awakening caused a desire for another move of the Lord. And that longing caused them to try to manufacture progress. This is where the altar call was invented and music used not to praise God but to stir the emotions for commitment. Listen to what one reported - “Different hymns were sung at the same time, with much repetition, each to their tune. The singing was very loud and accompanied by violent motions of the body…The repetition of the hymns and the choruses would drive the people into a frenzy, resulting in much crying, bowing, prostrating, and dedications for Christ.” The Second Great Awakening historically did not produce the same kinds of fruit as the first - and it produced many false practices. It’s like steroids. Some of us know - you’re sick, but when you take steroids, it only gives you the appearance of health, but no real change.

It’s our 40th year. There are great desires that we have for the church. Some of us trust in means, rather than the work of the Spirit in us. The Pharisees mishandled the Law - they tried to use it to change people from the outside. But we need inward change. How can you have people in church who are closer to one another? When we spend time encouraging one another. How can you have people who are more fruitful in spiritual things? When they spend time with God and are spurred to be holier and more fruitful by one another. And this is a reminder for us who serve in office. Dear officers - let us love one another more, spend time with one another, so that we can minister effectively together. Let us encourage one another so we can encourage the people. That from our upper room we may minister across to our folks.

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