The Day of Pentecost

Actually, I've been reading a book recently. I started it. I've only gone through chapter one, so I don't have a lot of authority on the book, but it's called The Burden is Light.

It's been a great book by one of my favorite pastors called John Tyson. One of the exercises that he does at the beginning of the book is talk about a life planning exercise that him and his wife did.

So he plotted a chart, X and Y axis, plus and minus, and then he basically thought back to the whole of his life and tried to remember the moments in his life that were turning points, where once that moment happened, there was no turning back, for better or for worse.

Those moments in your life that really define who you are right now, you're sat here today.

Juju says he doesn't know where he'd be without his mother. He just wouldn't be. But there are moments in our lives that define who we are.

For me, maybe my first one was when I was seven years old, when I was playing football at school and came home and I love football.

My favorite football team has not been doing too well. But then my mom says, hey, you need to change sports because you're not tall enough.

Actually, everyone who plays basketball gets tall. So you should play basketball.

So she took me to my first ever after school basketball class. And clearly she was right because I am now the tallest in my family.

So that was a that was a turning point for me once I touched that basketball.

Another one was maybe when I was 11. Growing up in the UK, we came back to Hong Kong to holiday.

And for some reason in the UK, we weren't allowed to wander the streets by ourselves because it's dangerous.

Well, even more so now. But in Hong Kong, in Yuen Long, my parents were just like, oh, just go.

Just go and buy some food. And as an 11 year old, I went downstairs, walked the streets, decided what I want to do and bought it.

And the freedom that I felt changed my life forever.

No turning back after that.

My first girlfriend. I won't say what age, but Christina, my first girlfriend.

The moment I met her, there was no turning back.

Christina, my last girlfriend.

Won't talk about what's in between, but no turning back.

17.

When we were having dinner as a family on Joe's birthday, I've shared this before, and dad passes away and enters into glory.

There is no turning back.

Going to university.

And then becoming a teacher at 23.

Teaching in front of high school students.

There's no turning back. That's where you sink or you swim.

And then at 24, deciding to get married.

There is no turning back.

The beginning of the end was when it started.

That was the last moment where I still had a head full of hair, and things were just going downhill from there.

Number of years into teaching.

By the time I reached 30, feeling the call of God to go into ministry.

2015 was when we quit teaching and working in the hospital, and we started to go into seminaries and training, Christina training counseling.

There was no turning back from that.

And then in 2018, we got the call from God to come to Hong Kong.

There was no turning back.

What's your moment of no turning back?

Well, what are your moments when that happened, you were never the same person before?

Gracie, I know you're about to have one coming up, but think back in the past.

What was the turning moment in your life where you're like, that happened, and there's no going back now?

Entering in the industry.

Entering in the industry.

Yeah.

A whole other life.

A whole other life.

The entertainment industry and everything that it demanded of you.

From that moment, it defined who you were in a different way.

Yeah.

No turning back.

Sam, what about you?

Was there a moment in your life where that happened and you weren't the same?

Brain tumor.

Brain tumor.

How old were you?

26.

26.

26.

And what impact did that have on your life?

The physical toll and the healing was one part, but mentally, spiritually, personally,

that took place after.

The physical, the spiritual, the mental toll at 26, having a brain tumor, and the trajectory

that sent you on.

There was no turning back.

We all have those moments.

The people of God had those moments too.

If you think about Adam and Eve walking in the garden and then making that decision and

turning, and there was no turning back.

They couldn't stay in the garden anymore.

You fast forward to Genesis 6 and you see Noah being the only family that was righteous,

that was considered righteous.

And God saying, hey, actually, we have to hit the reset button here.

And so I'm going to choose this one family and they're going to continue humanity.

But it was only a couple chapters later, the descendants of Noah in chapter 10, where they

start, well, actually, after the flood, God says, go fill the earth.

Go fill the earth with my glory.

Go fill it.

What do they do?

They don't do that.

They stop and they say, hey, why don't we just stay?

Instead of scattering and filling the earth, why don't we just stay and build our own tower?

And why don't we make a name for ourselves?

So only a couple chapters later, you see them falling into the same trap.

But God promised not to have a flood again, so tries to spare them.

And how does he spare them?

The Tower of Babel.

As they tried to build this tower, he said, well, actually, currently, Genesis 11 is where

you'll see this.

They're all speaking one language, but maybe if I let them all speak different languages,

they won't be scheming towards their own self-pride.

They won't be heading towards the same destruction that they had.

That was a point of no turning back.

And that's how languages were born.

And then, of course, you've got Abraham.

There was no turning back when he said, when God said, go, leave your country to a place

where I'm going to lead you.

And then, of course, you've got Isaac.

And then you've got Jacob.

There was no turning back when he wrestled with God and turned from Jacob into Israel.

And then, of course, you had his sons, the 12 tribes of Israel that they would become.

But Joseph, the spoilt younger boy, who ended up getting kicked out by his brothers,

ends up going to Pharaoh, going to Egypt.

And somehow, the Israelites end up in Egypt, saved by their little brother.

There was no turning back.

But then they get trapped in slavery there for hundreds of years.

And then there's this boy, Moses, growing up in Pharaoh's house as a prince, the prince of Egypt.

But sees an injustice and lashes out via impulse.

There was no turning back for him.

He heads into the wilderness himself, becomes a shepherd, and then sees a bush.

But this bush is unique.

It's different.

It's strange.

There's fire.

It's a burning bush.

He meets God.

And there is no turning back.

He goes back to Egypt.

Says, let my people go.

Then his people do get let go.

That's the long story short.

They go, and they don't really know where they're going.

And then they see this pillar of fire at night to follow, to guide.

If you saw that, there would be no turning back.

If you saw the Red Sea part, there would be no turning back.

But they're hard-hearted.

They forget.

They rebel.

Then Moses has to go up to the mountain, Mount Sinai, Exodus 19, Exodus 20.

He goes up to the mountain.

God descends on the mountain like fire.

So those at the foot of the mountain see the smoke.

He gives Moses two iPads.

The tablets with the commandments.

Moses comes down.

And he sees that the people have stopped worshipping the God who is fire.

And is worshipping this gold little cow.

There is no turning back.

The church.

The church had a moment where they could not turn back anymore.

Jesus came.

A lot of them followed him for three years.

He dies.

He resurrects.

And then just before he ascends and returns to the Father, he says in Acts 1, this is where Gabe took us through these last two weeks.

He says, go, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and you'll be my witnesses.

In Jerusalem, in Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And then he goes up and he flies off.

And if I'm you, if I'm them, I'm just standing there going, where did he just go?

What's he going to do?

And then two angels look at him and look down and go, why are you still standing there?

Why are you still staring at this guy?

Go.

He's going to come back again.

500 people saw him ascent.

500.

Twice this room.

380 go home.

They see something that they've never seen before.

And they decide, oh, well, I guess we, I guess it's Sunday night.

I guess we should go home, get ready for work for Monday.

And they just continue with their lives.

But 120 out of that 500, they say, guys, there's no turning back.

We just saw someone that we followed for years do many miracles, die, come back to life, and fly.

There's no turning back.

We can't go home.

Do you want to go?

I can't go home.

I'm changed forever.

So they go.

Now, history would tell us that the ascension happened around 40 days after the resurrection.

What we're about to read, Pentecost happened 50 days after.

So there were 10 days where these 120 who decided there is no turning back were just like, we just have to do something.

We have to go somewhere.

So where do they go?

They go back to Jerusalem.

They go into this upper room about the size of this group here.

And they say, we're just going to, we're just going to wait for 10 days.

I can imagine the first day.

Okay, that was crazy, guys.

I'm so gutted that I didn't get my phone out to film him flying up into the sky.

Something is up with the world.

And he's going to come back.

So let's just go.

Who knows when?

Maybe it's this afternoon.

Maybe you just need to pop up.

Maybe Jesus just needed a toilet break.

And he's going to come back.

And he's going to come to save the world.

But let's just go pray.

Is that cool?

And so we do it.

Day one.

Okay, I'm tired, guys.

Let's go home.

Day two.

Day three.

Day four.

Can you imagine the conviction that these people had saying, we can't go back now?

10 days.

Sometimes we wait for God.

Say, God, why aren't you speaking to me about this?

How long did you pray for?

10 minutes?

10 seconds?

10 days.

These people waited.

And finally, the moment comes.

Finally, the moment that they've been waiting for.

The moment that Jesus had promised them.

Jesus said in John 16, hey, I know that you guys quite like me.

And you're going to give up your lives for me.

And you're going to follow me.

But actually, let me tell you something even more crazy.

It's actually better for you that I leave.

Because someone's going to come and he's going to help you.

His power is going to come upon you.

And you're going to spread this word to the ends of the earth.

So it's better for you that I leave.

10 days later, finally, it happens.

And so we reach Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Can I invite you to stand for the word of the Lord?

Amen.

The coming of the Holy Spirit.

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 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 and 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?

But others mocking said,

They are filled with new wine.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

This is the church's birthday.

Pentecost is the church's birthday where you see,

And we sang it in the songs, King of Kings,

Where the Spirit lit the flame.

And now the church begins.

There is no turning back from here.

You could almost see someone fly into the sky

And go back to your everyday life

And really act as though nothing happened.

But the moment the Holy Spirit comes,

There is really no turning back.

And so we're going to go through these verses

And see what we learn from here.

And it is a fascinating, fascinating story here

That we see that Luke puts an account for.

And he says this,

When the day of Pentecost arrived,

Just to note here,

Pentecost didn't start in Acts 2.

It's been around for a long time.

The Israelites would celebrate Pentecost

50 days after the Passover.

And it would be called the Festival of First Fruits.

Of course, these people would rely on a harvest each time, each year.

And so a Festival of First Fruits 50 days after Passover

Is basically saying to God,

Hey, we celebrate the food that you're gifting us.

And as tradition went on,

Not only would they celebrate the first fruits,

They would also celebrate the law.

Because it was also believed

That it was about 50 days after Passover

That Moses came down from the Mount of Sinai

With the law of God.

So they would celebrate really these two things.

And they would all gather every year.

Jews from all around the land,

Is what it says here,

From every nation under heaven

Would come to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival.

So that's why other people were outside.

But remember, 120, they were still waiting.

10 days, day 10.

They're like, we still cannot ignore what we saw.

There's something here, and we must wait.

That's what he told us to do.

And so that's what we will do.

And they were all together in one place.

Same upper room.

But commentators think, actually, that's not just a place.

It's not just the time.

It is these...

Can you imagine just 120 people just every day

Without any agenda,

Without any expectation of what's going to happen.

No one has any timeline.

They're just waiting.

What is that?

That is unity.

That is people of one spirit and one mind going,

There is something here.

We cannot ignore.

So there was a unity that comes.

And maybe that's the first point that I find interesting,

But also a little bit ironic.

When it comes to the Holy Spirit,

Holy Spirit brings unity.

But ironically,

Even the church is constantly debating and discussing

What the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does.

You've got different wings of Christianity,

Whether the people on the Pentecostal side,

Or the charismatic side,

Or the reformed side,

Or all these other sides which have different views

On who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit is doing.

Maybe there are people who are perceived as more extreme

In their experiences of the Holy Spirit.

And so then another group will look at that and go,

Well, we don't really want that.

We're afraid of that.

We don't really know what that is.

You see, the Holy Spirit has an equal role in the Trinity.

Yet depending on our own theological method,

We may have emphasized one more or one less.

So it's ironic here because these people were united.

Together in one place.

Waiting for the Spirit to come.

And it says this, verse 2,

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound

Like a mighty rushing wind.

Later in verse 3 it says this,

And divided tongues as of fire.

So a couple things there.

It came from heaven.

Which tells me something.

That the Holy Spirit,

When we're talking about the Holy Spirit,

When we're talking about this,

We're really not talking about anything natural.

We're not talking about anything that can be proven

From a scientific, natural place.

That's not what we're talking about.

It came from heaven.

It came from heaven.

And actually we can see that because how Luke describes the Holy Spirit,

Or rather how the Apostle John describes his vision in Revelation,

It's always like, it's like that.

It's as of that.

What he's saying is,

I don't even have the words to describe what this is.

This is from heaven.

This is mind-boggling.

I don't have the words to describe this.

I don't have the mind to understand this.

Which tells me something else about the Holy Spirit,

On top of the fact that it really comes through unity,

Is that we have to approach it with such humility.

I've always said this.

I'm not smart enough and experienced enough

To be able to tell you what I think the Holy Spirit is,

And who he is,

And what he does.

But I'm not sure I can confidently believe someone

Who says that they do know everything about the Holy Spirit.

Someone who doesn't seem to have the humility,

And going, well, the Holy Spirit is something that is supernatural.

His thoughts and ways are so much higher.

It is mind-boggling.

Well, our minds, our limited minds cannot understand this.

And I think that's how we should approach anything to do with the Holy Spirit.

That we simply do not know.

Because if we did, we would be God.

I've made the example before where,

Imagine my dog, my toy poodle at home, Walter.

Meets fellow canines and goes,

Hey, guys, I've been studying the human race.

The five humans that have been living in my flat.

I think I understand what they're like.

I understand what they do.

I know where they go when they open that door and they leave.

And they come back eight hours later.

I know exactly what they're thinking, what they do.

No, he won't. He's a dog.

He has no idea.

And yet sometimes us as human beings,

I think when we are at fault of approaching issues of the Holy Spirit,

issues of the supernatural world,

we've got to be careful not to have the pride.

That we come and go,

Actually, he has revealed himself.

Not just through the word,

through experience.

Some of you have had experiences with the Holy Spirit

where he has spoken to you.

And then you align it with the word and you go,

That really is truly from God.

But even through all of those things,

my prayer is that even if I have those moments,

I would present them and I would approach them with humility.

Because we're dealing with something that is from heaven.

We're dealing with something that we don't actually have the words to truly describe.

As of wind.

Like wind.

As of fire.

And of course, he goes into something that's actually very controversial in the church,

which I will touch on very lightly here,

because I don't think it's the main point of why Luke is sharing this to us,

to debate this topic.

And verse three,

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of tongues.

What is the gift of tongues?

It is speaking in a different language.

If you look at 1 Corinthians 13,

you see the Apostle Paul talking about the tongues of men and the tongues of angels.

And he says,

If I speak in either of these and I don't have love,

then it's just a noisy gong.

It's worth nothing.

But that says that there is the tongues of men,

and then there is the tongues of angels.

The tongues of angels can be described as glossolalia,

where you can,

sometimes you'll have heard people speaking in this,

maybe during prayer,

maybe during worship,

where they're speaking in a language that you actually can't understand.

And it's unintelligible,

but it's just basically between them and God.

And the Spirit is praying through them to God.

But then there is another type,

which is the tongues of men,

which I think is what is happening here in Acts 2,

because these people,

these 120,

they're filled with the Holy Spirit,

and then suddenly the Holy Spirit gives them the gift

of speaking in tongues,

and they speak a different language.

A language that they don't understand,

and they don't know.

I think it's key,

it's important here,

because if you go into the next bit,

you'll see,

this is how the church has started.

This is how the church has started,

because others outside see this,

come together and go,

what is going on here?

But maybe just a teeny little bit more

about speaking in tongues.

If you want to find out more about speaking in tongues,

read the Bible.

Read the Bible first,

and then ask people who may have experience with this.

But if you're going to read the Bible,

go to 1 Corinthians 12 to 14.

1 Corinthians 12 to 14 will tell you a lot

about the spiritual gifts.

Paul is talking to the church in Corinth

about spiritual gifts.

And one thing I want you to know

about the gift of tongues

is that it is a spiritual gift,

but it's also pretty much,

in every list that you can see in the Bible,

it's always at the bottom.

It's always towards the end.

Where somehow in the church,

what we've done is we've lifted it up to the top.

Anyone who,

there are some churches who say,

hey, well,

if you believe in Jesus,

you should start speaking in tongues straight away.

And we may be,

we're guilty of overemphasizing

on what this actually is.

But you see,

when Paul talks about it,

it's always at the bottom of the list.

But it's the one that is actually,

that you can take home,

it's for personal edification.

1 Corinthians 14 is where it talks about this.

So if you're confused,

don't be worried.

Because this is a topic that is hard.

But go to scripture.

Go to scripture.

And actually you'll see,

how Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 14

makes a ton of sense.

And it is orderly.

And it actually isn't filled with chaos and confusion.

And so you see here,

it's for personal edification,

is what he's saying in 1 Corinthians 14.

It's the one that I've had described to me,

is the spiritual gift of tongues

is the one that you can take home.

It's the one that you can use yourself

between you and God.

But there are times where in a worship service,

in a corporate gathering,

someone will speak in tongues,

in a language that they may not understand themselves.

But the point there is that someone else in the room

will be able to understand.

Because when there is a gift of speaking in tongues,

there is also the gift of interpretation.

And so 1 Corinthians 12 talks about that.

It's actually,

and this has happened before,

and I've been in gatherings,

this has happened before,

where someone stands up to speak

in a language that they don't understand,

but someone else in the room

is able to interpret it.

What's the purpose of that?

I'll tell you what it is not.

It's not for those two people,

the one who's speaking

and the one who's interpreting,

to show off and say,

look what we can do.

We just made up a secret language

in real time

and none of you know what it's about.

That is not what it's about.

Go back to scripture again.

1 Corinthians 14,

Paul says,

all these gifts,

what are they for?

To build up the church.

Strive to excel in building up the church,

edifying the church.

It's all about the common good

is what 1 Corinthians 12 talks about.

That's what the spiritual gifts are for

and that's what even the tongues are for.

And you see,

this is exactly the way

he wants to start off with a bang

and it goes from here.

So what happens?

That group of 120,

they receive this gift

and then they spill out into the streets

because they don't know what's happening.

They're just speaking

in this other language

that they don't understand.

And so what happens is verse 5,

now they were dwelling in Jerusalem,

Jews,

devout men from every nation

under earth,

heaven.

And at this sound,

the multitude came together

and they were bewildered

because each one was hearing them speak

in his own language.

Just imagine the scene there.

How shocking it would be

for people to see

what was happening.

These Galileans

who were known to be

of people of just one dialect,

of working class people,

not educated,

not sophisticated,

but spilling onto the street

and speaking to you

in your language.

I'm trying to find

a modern day equivalent

for this.

But those who are

the Chinese diaspora

who maybe grew up

in a different part

of the world,

maybe Cuban,

when he goes to visit France,

of course,

it's different

because Cuban actually

speaks French,

but imagine Cuban

goes to France

and there's a French person there

who recognizes him

and speaks to him

in Chinese,

in Cantonese.

That's the effect

that it would be,

what is going on here?

Because ironically,

Cuban's French

is probably better

than his Cantonese.

But you see the point.

Or you see

a German person

coming to Hong Kong

and visits

some Chopin

and then sees

an uncle on the stall

speak to him

in German.

It would have been

mind-boggling.

That's why the words

here described

would be bewildered.

Amazed.

Astonished.

Something was happening

here that no one

had ever seen before.

And actually,

they asked that question.

They were like,

what is going on?

Are these not all

Galileans?

Commentators think

that actually,

as these people

were speaking

in these foreign languages,

they probably still

had a Galilean twang.

Which shows actually

that actually

when God uses people,

he uses even

the imperfections.

It doesn't come out

as this perfect dialect.

It wasn't the Queen's English

that came out.

It was the Brummie accent

that came out

as well as the gospel.

So God uses people

to speak through.

And so they're like,

what is going on?

These Galileans,

these working class people.

And now each of us

are hearing

our own language.

What does this tell me?

If I just take a step back

and go,

why did Luke introduce

the church like this?

I think he's saying,

well,

the church is for every culture.

The church is for every culture,

for every type of person,

for every tribe and tongue.

You see later

in Revelation 7

that there is a great multitude.

Every tribe and tongue

will be worshipping God.

The gospel is not just

for one group of people.

From the beginning,

day zero of the church,

it was about unity

and not division.

And yet we just have to

take a pause now

and just look at our church now

and go,

whew,

that's how the church started.

That was the first mission trip

to show the world

that it was for every language,

for every culture.

And yet now here,

Christianity in this day and age

can often be used as a weapon

for racism,

for politics,

and you're like,

wow,

how far have we fallen?

Well,

there's another group

who maybe associate Christianity

with it's a,

it's a,

it's a Western religion.

It's a white work,

white middle class religion.

Imagine Peter

showing up at one of these churches

going,

whoa,

whoa,

it is not

a Western middle class religion

because I am not

Western or middle class.

don't we need to hear this

as a church

that the gospel

is for every culture?

You go onto the news now

and Juju and I,

we just,

we're on BBC News

just a,

just a,

an hour ago.

You just see all these names

pop up.

You see India

and Pakistan.

You see Russia

and Ukraine.

You see the US

and China.

And you see how the church

not only doesn't rise above

those discussions,

but it gets sucked into all of them.

And yet Luke seems to go out

of his way here

and lists people from Asia,

people from Africa,

people from Europe.

And he's,

this is how the church started.

There's another place

where you see this kind of list

of different countries

and cultures.

Let's go back to Genesis 11,

the Tower of Babel.

Isn't it interesting

that mankind started

with one language,

but because of their pride,

because wanting to make

a name for themselves,

God has to create them

and confuse them

with all these other languages.

And now what you see here

in Pentecost

is actually a reversal

of that curse.

So as a Jew,

you would have known this.

You would have known

the stories of the

no turning backs

that I just shared with you

at the beginning.

And you're like,

what is going on here?

This is like the Tower of Babel,

but in reverse.

They were confused

because they can understand

each other,

but yet here,

we can understand someone

who seemingly should be

speaking a different language

to us.

One language,

same words,

try to build a city,

make a name for themselves,

focuses on their own acclaim.

What was that?

What was that scene

in the Tower of Babel

where they say,

hey,

I know we were told

to scatter to fill the earth

with God's glory,

but let's stay

and build this tower

and make a name for ourselves

and maybe the top of the tower

will reach heaven.

You know what that is?

That's climbing to the top

of the tower

and giving God

the middle finger

and saying,

God,

we don't need you.

That's what they were

trying to do.

And yet,

God in his mercy says,

look,

I won't let you do that

because I'd already promised

Noah that there won't be

a flood.

So my best thing now

is to disperse you.

If your tendency

is to stay,

to make a name

for yourselves,

then I will give you

many languages

so you have to move.

Growing up in England

as an ethnic minority,

I understand what that means.

Joe and I,

we went to a school

where we were

the only two Chinese kids

for primary school.

Secondary school,

there were one or two

other Chinese kids

and I knew every time

you walk in the corridor,

you see the other

Chinese kid,

you're like,

it's okay,

are you safe?

Yeah,

yeah,

I'm safe.

Safe,

safe,

safe,

safe.

Why do we have

Chinese churches

in the UK?

Because the British churches

don't give good food.

So we have to

have communities

where we have food.

I joke,

but it's also very true.

You see,

just ethnic minorities

overseas

are just trying to gather.

Why?

Just because

there's safety in numbers.

But the idol

there is that

you end up

just looking in

on yourself.

And this is exactly

what was happening

with the Jews,

with the Israelites.

Just before Jesus

flew off,

what was the question

asked to him?

What did they ask him

just before he ascended?

They're like,

well,

Jesus,

you came,

you did all this stuff,

you died

and then you rose again.

When are you going

to restore Israel?

Well,

they say,

when are you going

to help us?

When are you going

to help us

with our agenda?

Peter,

we've suffered

too long.

Our people

have suffered

too long.

We need to show

everyone that we

are the best nation.

And Jesus says,

no,

that's not what

this is about.

And in Pentecost,

he shows us again.

So,

it is a reversal

of the curse

of Babylon.

Augustine says this,

that actually,

what happened

at the Tower of Babel

is basically

earthly pride,

pursuing earthly pride.

But what you see here

at Pentecost

is a group of people

united

by the grace

of Christ

for heavenly devotion.

for a city

that isn't of their own,

but a city

that is of God.

That,

I think,

is beautiful.

So,

I think a Jew

at that time

would have appreciated that.

I've got a final point here

because I want to really

throw this ball

back onto you guys.

Something else

that I really

picked up on this.

And suddenly

there came from heaven

a sound like

a rushing wind

and divided tongues

as of fire.

I think Luke

is interesting here

where he actually

uses the description

of fire

to describe

what was happening here.

The Israelites,

the Jews,

would have known this

because what's fire

always associated

with for them?

God.

The burning bush

is God

showing up

in fire.

Exodus 20,

when he descends

on Mount Sinai,

there's smoke.

Why?

Because God is fire.

When they're wandering

in the desert,

in the wilderness,

they see a pillar

of fire

following after them.

And what do they do?

They say,

hey, Moses,

we see it.

That guy is powerful

and we're scared.

Can you go

meet him instead?

So they send Moses up

because they're like,

we don't want anything

to do that.

Why?

Because they were

terrified of this fire.

Elijah,

in 1 Kings 18 and 19,

when he battles

the prophets of Baal,

what does he do?

Sends down fire.

Leviticus 10,

actually,

because of the issue

of the golden calf,

Aaron's sons,

they actually

have to be punished.

So how do they die?

Die?

Fire.

Fire has always

been associated

with God

for the Jews.

So Luke here says,

hey,

something came

from heaven

as of fire.

But I just want you

to have a little

thought exercise here.

Imagine Moses

at Pentecost.

Just for a second there.

Moses,

who was the only one

who could see God.

Actually,

Moses himself

in Exodus 33 to 34

said,

God,

show me your glory.

That's the song

that we sang, right?

God,

show us your glory.

And what does God say?

God says,

you actually can't see

my full glory.

Why?

Because if you saw it,

you would die.

But I hear you,

Moses.

I know you want

to have a connection

with me.

I do too.

That's why we're here.

So this is what

we're going to do.

You're going to hide

in this little club here.

I'm going to walk by.

And as I walk by,

I'm going to cover

your eyes with my hand.

And then as I pass by,

you'll see my back.

And that's all

you'll be able to see.

Moses spent his life

just trying to see God.

And of course,

mediating on behalf

of the people.

Imagine if he was

at Pentecost.

He'd be like,

guys,

do you know

what just happened

with you?

Do you know

how terrifying

it was for me

to go up to the mountain

alone

and to see

the fire of God

alone?

Did you know

I came back

from my trip

to see God

and I was glowing

for a while.

No one could even

look at me.

I had to cover my face

because I'd spent

that time with God.

Do you realize

what is happening?

Do you realize

that when I was

walking in the wilderness,

there was a pillar

of fire

that I had to follow?

And now,

that fire

that I saw Aaron's

sons be killed

by

is living inside you.

I think he would

have gone nuts.

He'd be like,

this is something

that I dreamt of.

I could only dream

of seeing it.

You guys

now have him

living inside you.

I was the only one

who could go

to that mountain.

But now,

the mountain

has come down

to you

and each one

of you

is filled

with that fire.

I was the only one

that saw

the burning bush.

But now,

each of you

sat here

are,

in essence,

burning bushes.

Why?

Because the Holy Spirit,

the fire of God

is living inside you.

Forget Pentecost.

Imagine if Moses

showed up here.

People who

say we believe

in Jesus,

who have received

the Holy Spirit,

declared him as Lord,

live with the fire

inside us.

My fear is

that he'd be

heartbroken.

He'd be devastated.

You guys have

no idea

what you have

inside you.

I tried to catch

a glimpse of it

and he said

I couldn't

because I'd die.

And now,

you have it

living inside you

and all you can do

is just sit

and enjoy

your comfy chair.

I was the only one

who could see God

and now all of you

have God

living inside you.

I went up to the

mount to get the law

but now the Spirit

has come down

at Pentecost

on all of you.

He would have been

mind blown.

I don't think

we truly grasp

what happened

at Pentecost.

That from that moment

the church was born

because each believer

was filled

filled with the Holy Spirit

filled with a fire

inside them.

I'll tell you something

about fire and wind.

If you're stood

next to fire and wind

it changes you.

You have no choice.

It forces you to move.

Wind,

it forces you to move.

Why do we close

everything down

in Typhoon 8?

Because it's

dangerous.

Just look at the

wildfires in the US

and you see

the effects

of fire and wind.

and yet here we are

as recipients

of the Holy Spirit

as of fire

as like wind

and yet we sit.

We have the fullness

of God living inside us

and yet we look

nothing like Jesus.

I think for Moses

it would have been shocking.

It's interesting.

Just to quickly

pop back to Exodus 34.

So Moses says

I want to see you.

God says

you can't see me

you'll die

but hey

this is what we'll do.

And finally

he walks by

he sees his back

and then God

actually introduces himself.

If there's one part

of the Bible

that tells us about God

is when he chooses

to describe himself

and what he says here

Exodus 34

The Lord

a God

merciful and gracious

slow to anger

abounding in steadfast love

and faithfulness

keeping steadfast love

for thousands

forgiving iniquity

and transgression

and sin.

It's like

Moses

you and your people

have got me all wrong

I am filled with grace

and mercy

I am abounding

in steadfast love

I forgive

but just in case

you think

that I'm soft

that I'm here

just to let things slide

he finishes

with saying this

forgiving iniquity

and transgression

and sin

but who will

by no means

clear the guilty.

So Moses

would have come down

from the mountain

and go

guys

guys

this fire

this terrifying fire

that you see

he is gracious

and he is compassionate

he is abounding

in steadfast love

he is slow to anger

he will forgive you

he will forgive us

but it doesn't mean

he clears the guilty

he would have come down

a little bit perplexed

I wonder how that works

I wonder how God

can be both

just

and loving

at the same time

you see Moses

hadn't seen the future

Moses was up there

on the mountain

by himself

but soon

many years later

he'd be stood

on the mountain

again

with someone

who embodied

that grace

and that truth

that God was

talking to him

about here

John 1

says this

the word became flesh

filled with grace

and truth

Romans 8

says

what God could not do

in the law

because it was weakened

by the flesh

now is fulfilled

by Jesus

right here

the one who is

gracious

and true

and just

and he would have been like

guys

you saw him

you have his spirit

living inside you

why aren't you

moving

this is a moment

where you should not

be turning back

this is a moment

that should have changed

your life forever

and yet you're sat here

still the same

as you were

five years ago

it would not have made sense

to Moses

why does it make sense

for us

he would have said

do you know what happened

after the golden calf incident

3,000 people died

3,000 people died

because they chose

to worship a calf

and now at Pentecost

what happens

if you go into

Acts chapter 2 later

Acts 2 · chapter mention

what happens

when they're filled

with the Holy Spirit

Peter preaches the sermon

people are cut to the heart

and how many people

are saved

3,000

God is reversing

the curse

of the Tower of Babel

God is reversing

the sins

of mankind

Moses would have been

completely astonished

back then

they were terrified

of the fire

but now we are empowered

by that same fire

can you see

the parallels

can you see

the significance

of Pentecost

well if you can

see the significance

can this be

a moment

where you do not

turn back

where you now

truly understand

what it means

to have the Holy Spirit

like wind

like fire

living inside you

you cannot

just gather

brothers and sisters

now we have

more comfy chairs

you cannot

just gather

just as the day

of Pentecost

can we wait

for him

just as the day

of Pentecost

can we be filled

with the spirit

and then cannot

help but to

spill out

into the streets

and to show people

what we have

now just

beware here

when you're filled

with the spirit

and he lets you

do things

that are incredible

that causes people

to be astonished

and amazed

and perplexed

don't make the same

mistake as those

in the Tower of Babel

where they say

let's make a name

for ourselves

when these people

are filled with the spirit

and they go out

and they speak

all kinds of languages

the ones that they

have no idea of knowing

I mean I'm trying

so hard to learn

Mandarin

and it is so hard

I mean I can ask

questions but I have

no idea what they're

saying when they

answer me

and then Joe and I

have the same

people pleasing issue

we go and we go

to Shenzhen

and we ask

and then they'll be like

and then Alex

and Christina

will laugh

and just go

do you know

what you just

said yes to

like no idea

but they weren't

amazed that they

could speak a new

language

what were they

shouting about

Acts chapter 2

Acts 2:12

verse 12

and all were amazed

and perplexed

actually sorry

verse 11

we hear them

telling in our

own tongues

the mighty

works

of God

whereas in the

Tower of Babel

they were talking

about finding a name

making a name

for themselves

the reversal is

complete because

they are not

making a name

for themselves

they're not

coming hey

look what we

can do

look what party

tricks we can

do

they're saying

have you heard

about the amazing

works of God

the fire that

Moses saw

on Mount Sinai

has now

descended

full of grace

and truth

we have seen

his face

Jesus

Jesus

who died

for our sins

but rose again

and will come

back again

that would have

been the message

coming out of

their mouths

can we be

people who

are similar

my prayer is

that

as we have

different turning

points in our

lives

different things

that happen to

us

I pray that

this will be

one of those

moments

maybe not

exactly today

but maybe

is today

as well

maybe you've

been sat

there too

long

holding the

fullness of

God inside

you

and not

unleashing it

to the world

and I pray

that today

you'll decide

I cannot

turn back

this changes

everything

this forces

me to

not just

gather

but to

scatter

imagine

look around

now

this room

is filled

with people

who are

basically

burning

bushes

that's

what we

see here

in scripture

that's

what we

are

we can't

help but

go out

and spread

this

see the

parallels

in Mount

Sinai

and Pentecost

see the

parallels

of the

Tower of

Babel

and Pentecost

but most of

all see

the God

who has

been working

from the

beginning

to the

end

the one

who lives

inside you

right now

and go

would you

tell of his

mighty works

we're going

to finish

with communion

and this

is a time

for all

of us

just to

sit

just to

evaluate

well

how much

of a

burning

bush

have I

been

maybe

some of

you

like

look

I've

been

trying

trying

to get

this

fire

started

but it's

not

working

well

I'll

tell

you

this

I'll

encourage

you

here

you're

in

the

right

place

as I

look

around

I can

see

people

that are

on

fire

tell

you

what

I

would

do

if

I

was

you

and I

have

no

fire

and they

have

fire

what's

the

best

thing

about

fire

it

just

spreads

go sit

next to

them

go hang

out

with

them

go have

lunch

with

them

go

hey

tell

me

how

you

are

so

on

fire

that's

what

I

would

do

and hope

to catch

that

fire

next

but if

there's

something

inside

us

that

have

completely

stopped

that

then this

is now

the perfect

time for

us to

take this

to God

and go

God

I'm so

sorry

I didn't

realize

what was

inside

me

I didn't

realize

what I

was denying

the power

of

show me

how

show

me

how

Jesus

you are

enough

you are

the subject

of all

of our

devotion

we know

the Holy

Spirit

came to

point people

to point

us to

you

to tell

of the

mighty

works

of God

and so

we decide

today

we pray

that today

would be a

turning point

where we

do not

turn back

where we

decide to

follow you

wherever you

may lead

as of

Noah

as of

Abraham

as of

Isaac

as of

Jacob

as of

Moses

Jesus

we follow

you

the great

high priest

we know

that through

what you

did on

the cross

through your

spirit

we all

have access

to the

father

now

not just

Moses

and you

you

Lord

have

broken

down

the

dividing

wall

of

hostility

between

nations

between

friends

within

families

you come

and you

preach

peace

and so

we follow

you

Jesus

everything

we need

is in

you

so would

you give

us the

opportunities

this week

to be

that burning

bush

would you

send people

to us

that you

are desiring

to meet

and just

as Moses

was poor

with his

words

we come

with our

flawed

apologetics

we come

without lofty

speech or

wisdom

but we

take comfort

in the fact

that the

power of

the cross

is enough

Lord would

you use

us

would we

be your

chosen

instruments

would you

burn

inside us

just as

on the

day of

Pentecost

Holy

Spirit

would you

continue

to lead

us

through

the

night

would you

continue

to refine

us to be

more like

you

would you

complete

what you

already

started

would you

allow us

empower us

to be a

part of

it

thank you

Holy Spirit

we know

that we

tread on

holy ground

because you

are here

thank you

Lord

thank you

for being

with us