Wind and Fire: The Holy Spirit at Pentecost

All throughout the Old Testament, God promised his presence with his people.

But because of sin and death, no one was able to fully inherit that promise.

The only one who fully inherits that promise is Christ, the sinless Christ, the Christ who lives forever, risen beyond death.

He, as the man Jesus, our representative,

He is the only one who can stand before the Father and inherit the promise of the presence of God, the promise of the Holy Spirit.

And then he pours that out on his church.

The following message was recorded at Kingstree Church.

May the Spirit use it to help you see, savor, and sing the beauty of God in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.

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Last week we had a break from the Acts series as I was preaching on uh apocalyptic Christocentricity, this idea of Jesus Christ at the center of all things.

It's I was teaching at a at a Bible conference, and so I just decided to use that same sermon again for last week.

But we're back now to Acts.

We're back to Acts and we're into chapter two.

And this morning we're going to be look at looking at what is arguably

One of the most important events in all of salvation history.

We don't often feel like it's that, but it is when we look at what is being done here, what is being represented here.

This is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the pouring down, the giving of the Spirit on Pentecost.

That's what we're going to be considering this week and actually next week as well, because there's a lot that goes on in this.

In this chapter.

It's worth a lot more even than two weeks.

But we're going to be doing two weeks.

This week, we're going to just look at, okay, what happened at Pentecost and what did it mean?

So, what happened and what did it mean?

Next week, we're going to focus more closely on the sermon that Peter gives, because here we find this kind of first Christian sermon, this first sermon given after the

resurrection of Jesus.

So we're going to focus on his sermon.

And especially we're going to look at the way that he uses the Old Testament, because it's it's very illuminating to see how do the apostles read their Bible?

That's next week.

This week, though, we're just looking at, okay, what happened at Pentecost and what did it mean?

Because events themselves are ambiguous.

We need to ask not just what happened, but also what did it mean?

Because an event.

Doesn't come usually preloaded with an interpretation.

You might know, well, that was significant, but you don't know what it was for.

You know, you might know this war, the fall of this country, the fall of this ruler, or this event in my life, that was significant.

I can feel that that was a big event.

But you don't know what it means.

It's there is no meaning given to you.

Events in and of themselves are ambiguous until someone with authority can say,

This is what that meant.

And when it comes to a book, the author is the one who can do that for you.

The author can say, This is what that meant.

This is what that moment meant.

But in the events of our life, in the events that happen in history, only the author of history can give the defining interpretation.

Let me tell you what that meant.

So you might feel, that was significant, but we don't know what it meant until the author tells us.

And here in the book of Acts, in Acts chapter two.

Gratefully, we have the author telling us what this meant.

The there's the events of Pentecost.

And then right after that, Peter stands up and speaks in the power of the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit who just came on Pentecost, and he says, Let me tell you what this means.

Let me tell you from Scripture what just what the event that just happened means.

So that's what we're gonna look at today.

What happened and what's it mean?

And let me just put this in here, interject this.

The same goes for us.

The events in your life, you don't know what they mean until the author tells you what they meant.

You might say, Well, that was significant.

I know this date was massively significant for me, whether it's in a way that led to joy or a way that led to sorrow.

You may you know this was significant, but you don't yet know what that means.

So, so don't try to come up with your own, well, this is what it meant.

You'll find out what that means.

When you hear it from the lips of the author.

And and we can be sure when we hear what it means, what every event meant, we will rejoice beyond all imagining.

You will weep for joy when he tells you, let me tell you what that meant.

So, so don't rush to say, I'll try to have to figure out what this event meant.

No, wait till the author tells you.

That's what we're gonna look at today.

What happened?

What does it mean?

Let me pray for us and we'll look at the text.

Father, thank you that you are a God who acts in history and then who speaks in history.

You act in the dirt and the reality of this world, and then you speak to tell us what we're to think about that.

What did that mean for us?

And thank you that we find both of those in this chapter today.

And I pray, Father, that you would grant me now the grace of this same Holy Spirit who descended on Pentecost.

The strengthening of the same Holy Spirit, that my words would be anointed to do more than words can do.

And that you would grant me, that you, Lord, not me, that you would work now to build up your people into Christ, to give them Christ, to encourage them in Christ, to do your will

here in the midst of this people.

And may the words that I speak be the means unto that end.

And so we all together now look to you and we all confess our absolute dependence upon you as we open your word now and look to see and to hear and to know what you have for us.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, because this is a larger section, we're going to, I'm going to read it for you a piece at a time as we go through it.

So this first part is just looking at, okay, what happened on Pentecost?

And I should say, Pentecost was a uh Jewish observation.

It didn't just, you know, we think Pentecost, we think the Holy Spirit, but it was an event that the Jewish people observed before this.

That's why they were, everyone was gathered together.

Pentecost was had kind of

Two sides.

It was a a recognition of the in-gathering of the harvest, the harvest season, gathering it in and offering it to the Lord.

And it was a commemoration, a remembrance of the giving of the law from Sinai.

So gathering in the harvest and Sinai are in view when we come to Pentecost.

Now on this Pentecost, the first one after Jesus' resurrection, something happens.

Of singular importance, something that has never happened before.

Let me read for you Luke's account here.

When the day of Pentecost arises, chapter two, Lu Acts chapter two, starting in verse one.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where

they were sitting, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

And they were 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 his own native language?

Parthenians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia and Judea and Cappadocia and Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya, belonging to Cyrene,

so all over the place, that's the point.

All over the place.

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 what to one another, What does this mean?

What does this mean?

But others were mocking, saying, They're filled with new wine.

So there's the event.

There's what happened.

And you see, even there, it's not clear.

What does this mean?

We're going to look at that in a second.

But let's just consider the event itself briefly as we begin.

What happens?

Well, the disciples are all together.

We can assume they're praying, because that's what we read in chapter one.

They're all together.

And suddenly there's this sound of rushing wind, and it breaks in and fills the room where they are, and tongues of fire, the idea of like these, you know, flashing tongues of fire,

are are appear on their head and they begin to speak.

Now, when when Luke records this, he's recording historical fact, absolutely.

But he's also intending us to feel the symbolic weight that these facts carry.

Because these two concepts, wind and fire, they're full of symbolic weight that Luke wants us to hear.

And so I want to touch on that briefly.

It says, the sound of a mighty rushing wind.

So the spirit comes as a wind.

Now, if you know about ancient languages, wind, breath, and spirit.

Are all the same word in Greek and in Hebrew.

There's this, there's no division there.

There's the idea that the wind is the breath and the spirit all mingling in together.

It's one concept.

And so when he speaks of this wind coming, there's the idea also that it's God's own breath breaking into this place, which is also the Holy Spirit.

All that's together in this idea of wind.

Now I emphasize that.

Because the word Luke uses for wind here, a mighty rushing wind, is the same word we find at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis 2, when it says that God breathes into the

nostrils, the face of Adam, and brings them to life.

Genesis 2:7.

Genesis 2:7

So the first time we see this word, it's God breathing life into the unformed human being.

And now Luke, who is well aware of that.

Picks this up and say, this breath, this wind came from heaven into the place where they were and rested on the disciples.

So what Luke is calling us to see here, he's doing this through illusions.

He's calling us to see, it's as though the risen Jesus, in this moment, the risen Jesus, in a repetition of the creation of humanity, leans down and breathes into the face of his

still unformed bride.

Breathes his spirit into her and she becomes a living being.

This is the this is a repetition of the creation of humanity being presented at what we could call the creation of the church.

God breathing life into his people and making them his church, his bride, his people.

There's echoes of this all through scripture.

We'll look at it more next week, but that's the idea here.

That's what's going on here.

This is this is a recreation event.

They're being brought to life.

Now, also, what is what is especially emphasized is the fire.

They were filled, the the the s the wind fills the room, and tongues of fire rest upon each one of them.

Now, when you hear fire, may many things may come to mind.

In scripture, fire is often representing the presence of God, the presence, the holy, unapproachable presence of God.

You see that the very first kind of the paradigmatic moment where

Moses meets Yahweh, Yahweh speaks his name at the burning bush.

And that fire on the bush represents the presence of God, the holy presence of God.

You see this in the wilderness, also in Exodus, when God's people are being led, the sign of his presence with them is in the day there's a cloud, in the night, fire, a column of

fire goes before them.

When they come to Sinai, what comes down on Sinai?

Fire descends on the top of the mountain.

And remember, Pentecost has to do with Sinai, so where there's some echoing going on here.

Fire on Sinai represents the presence of God.

But perhaps most significantly for this today is at the at the dedication of the temple in Second Chronicles.

Let me turn back here and read this for you.

When Solomon dedicates the temple, here's what we find in Second Chronicles.

Chronicles 7.

I'll just read it for you.

You don't have to turn there.

As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple, and the priests

could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

When all the people saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple,

They bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshipped God, worshipped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

So when the temple is consecrated to Yahweh, what happens?

Fire descends, and the people see the fire and fall down and say, Glory, glory to God, glory to God.

God is in this place.

And we'll again, I don't mean to continue putting it off to next week.

We'll look at more specifics next week.

But it is quite clear that Luke is intending here that we would see this fire coming down from heaven onto the disciples as an as a repetition and a full fulfilling of that moment,

that the fire is descending to fill the temple.

Just like the fire came down on the temple in the old covenant, now the fire is coming down on the temple.

But the temple's the people of God, the temple's the disciples of Christ.

The temple is all those united by faith to the temple, Jesus Christ.

And so with this fire imagery, Luke is calling us to see the church of which we're a part, Christian, as the end time temple of God, the place where God meets with humanity.

So we'll come back to this, but what happened?

Wind, the breath of God bringing his people to life, fire, the presence of God descending upon his temple.

This is all happening in this little room in the middle of Jerusalem.

And everybody looks and says, What does this mean?

What what are the implications of this happening in our midst?

We'll get to that.

We'll get to that at our second part, but let me say first, before we do, before we make that transition, see what the Spirit does.

See what the Spirit does.

He gives speech.

Look at verse four.

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak.

Not there's any number of things they could have done, but they began to speak in other tongues, which means in in other languages.

First, see here what the content of their speech is.

They began to speak, and what is it they were saying?

Look down in verse 11.

Both Jews and proselytes, all these different people, we hear them telling what?

The mighty works of God, or the or the excellencies of God.

What does the Spirit do?

He fills the people of Christ so that they speak about the excellencies of God.

That's what the Spirit does here in this in this first appearance.

He fills the people so that they speak about God.

And if we go on and look at the rest of this chapter, it's clear.

The excellencies that they're speaking about, the mighty works to which they're referring, is Christ, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Spirit fills the people so that they speak the excellence of God in Christ.

That's what the Spirit, that's his, that's his work.

That's what he does.

But then look at the character of his speech.

The character of the speech is universal.

Verse 8: How is it?

That we hear each of us in our own language.

And then it goes through all these different scattered people.

And it says, all of us hear them telling in our own tongues the works of God.

So the speech the Spirit gives is about the excellencies of God in Christ.

And it is a universal, it it draws together.

It brings in.

It doesn't push away, it brings in.

This is neat to see.

We're going back to Genesis here for a moment.

I'm I know I'm bouncing back and forth, but Luke is doing so much.

In such subtle ways here.

In Genesis, you might remember this: the Tower of Babel, right?

Humanity opposes God.

They want to glorify themselves.

So God comes down, confuses their language, and scatters them.

Okay?

Glorify myself, language confused, scattered.

What we see here, the people are speaking now to glorify God.

And in doing so, language is

Healed, the divisions of languages are healed, and nations, all these nations it lists here, come together to hear.

So this is an anti-Babel, a reversal of Babel, glorifying God, languages healed, people are gathered together.

So when the Spirit comes, he moves people to speak of the excellencies of God in Christ.

And by this speech, the divisions of the human race are being.

Healed.

How do we heal these divisions?

You'd mean people say, we're more polarized now than we've ever been.

We're more divided now than we've ever been.

Division among humans is healed as Jesus Christ is lifted up and glory is given to God by the power of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit lifts up Christ and as and that heals the divisions we've driven into ourselves by our own pursuits of glory.

That's what's going on here.

So here's what's happening.

This is the the the the wind has come, the breath has been given to the church, this fire has fallen on the temple, Babel is being reversed, all these things are happening, all

this is coming together, and we say, What does it mean?

What am I supposed to understand about this?

What what do I take away from this?

And that's then, thankfully, Peter stands up and says, Okay, let me tell you all who are confused.

Let me tell you what this means, what you're seeing here.

You're all aware something significant is going on, but let me tell you what it means.

That's what Peter's doing in verse 12.

So I'm sorry, verse 14.

So let me read a little bit for you.

Verse 14, Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them because they're all confused.

What's going on?

Men of Judah, men of Judah and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you.

And give ear to my words.

For these people are not drunk.

Okay, that's not what's going on.

These people are not drunk, as you suppose.

It is only the third hour of the day.

But this, this thing that's happening, this thing that you're seeing, this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel.

And then he quotes a long section straight from the book of Joel, where he says this And in the last days it shall be, God declares.

That I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, on your sons and your daughter your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream

dreams, even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my spirit, and they shall prophesy, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs on the

earth below, blood and fire, vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned to darkness, the moon to blood.

Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day, and it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

So Peter is saying, Listen, you remember that thing Joel wrote?

That's what's happening right now.

That's what's happened.

That's that's the meaning.

It's exactly what was said in the book of Joel.

Now, perhaps you remember as a kid fire drills at sh at your school.

I do, I remember them.

And you know, your teacher says, hey, we're gonna have a fire drill today, and you get excited because that means, hey, 15 minutes at least is out of this class because we're

all gonna have to get up and leave.

But you know it's a drill.

The alarm goes off, nobody's terribly concerned, you know it's a drill, you walk out, you get there, and then you come back in.

But if that ever happens and somebody says, This is not a drill, this is not a drill, you say, Whoa, okay, it's serious now.

This is really happening now, and that changes the way everything feels.

This is really happening.

In a sense, that's what Peter's doing here.

The prophecies have been coming for a long time.

The last day is coming, the inbreaking of God, the great work of salvation.

This day's coming, but it's always been, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming.

And now Peter stands up and says, This happening right now is what he said.

He essentially says, This is not a drill.

This is the last days breaking in, happening right now.

That's what Peter's saying here.

And there's more to that, too.

Because let's go back, or or just listen carefully with me if you don't want to fiddle around with your Bible.

Let's go back and look at that passage in Joel because there's something pretty interesting to see.

So Peter quotes Joel chapter 2, verse 28, and following.

Joel 2:28

He's saying, This is being fulfilled right now.

This is being fulfilled right now.

Okay, let's go back and see what it says.

Verse 28 begins this way.

And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and everything we just read.

Now, here's why that's important.

Peter is pointing to this passage in Joel and saying, This is happening right now.

But this passage in Joel says, This won't happen until something else has happened.

This all, this this whole thing, will only happen after something else has already happened.

So in Peter's mind, Peter is saying, This is all happening now, which means the thing Joel says has to happen first must have already happened.

You follow me with where Peter's thinking there?

Okay, well then let's go back and see what Joel says has to happen before the spirit is poured out.

Because in Peter's mind, that's already been taken care of.

What's it say?

Just a little bit earlier in Joel, it says this fear not, O land.

Be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things.

Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green.

The tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vine give their full yield.

Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication.

He has poured down for you for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, and then jump down and

To verse twenty six, you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dwelt dealt wondrously with you, and my people shall never again be

put to shame.

You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is none else, and my people shall never again be put to shame.

Now here's the point.

Joel says that has to happen before the spirit is poured out.

And Peter says, the spirit is being poured out just like Joel said.

The end times are here, just like Joel said.

Well, wait a second.

That means this awesome salvation by which we know Yahweh in our midst.

That must have already happened.

Because Joel says the spirit's not being poured out till that happens.

And we say, When did that happen?

And Peter's answer he's going to give is

In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Joel, this great end time salvation, this inbreaking of God by which he says, This is who I am, and you are mine, and I am saving you.

That happens, not in some further time way down the road.

Peter's interpretation is that happened when Jesus came.

That happened when Jesus died on the cross.

And that happened when Jesus was raised up again to new life.

So that's that's Peter's interpretation here.

This is not a drill.

The end times are here.

And that means the great salvation of God has been worked in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is an awesome thing to consider.

So that's how Peter starts.

He says, the end times are here, and they happened.

As God broke in to save through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But then he goes on and gives a little bit more.

He says, Men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth.

So now we know why.

Why is he instantly jumped to talk about Jesus?

Well, we know why, because in his mind he's saying the great salvation was achieved through Christ.

Because of that, the spirit is poured out, just like Joel said.

So, of course, after I mention this pouring out of the spirit,

I'm going to talk about Jesus who brought that all about, who made that all possible.

So he says, Men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourself know.

What an amazing sermon, right?

You remember Jesus?

You remember he was here two months ago?

You remember what he did?

Like that's amazing that Peter's able to give this sermon, but then he goes on.

As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

But God raised him up, loosening the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by them.

It was not possible.

For David says, and this is what we read this morning: I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand.

That I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart was glad, my tongue rejoiced, my flesh also will dwell in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades.

That's David writing.

Peter says, that's about Jesus.

You'll not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your holy one see corruption.

You have made known to me the path of life.

You will make me full of gladness with your presence.

Brothers, Peter says, I may say to you with confidence that the patriarch David.

He both died and was buried, and his tomb is right here in this city, with us to this day.

Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on the throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of

the Christ, that he was not to be abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh seek corruption.

This Jesus, God raised up, and we are all witnesses of this.

Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, here's the key to hear, being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the

Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves see.

So what's going on?

The last days are here, Peter says, and they are here.

Why?

Because a man was crucified and is now crucial.

raised up again.

By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, these last days have begun.

By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, these last days have begun.

And how do we know he's risen?

You know, how do we know that Jesus Christ is raised?

How does Peter have any or have any confidence of that?

Look what he says.

Verse 33, being therefore exalted to the right hand of God, having received from the Father the promise of the Spirit, he has poured this out.

So he says, Look, the Spirit is here because Christ is risen.

That's the point.

The Spirit is here because the man you crucified is risen from the dead.

And he has received the Holy Spirit, and he has poured him out.

He has poured him out on us all throughout the Old Testament.

God promised his presence with his people.

But because of sin and death, no one was able to fully inherit that promise.

The only one who fully inherits that promise is Christ, the sinless Christ, the Christ who lives forever, risen beyond death.

He, as the man Jesus, our representative, he is the only one who can stand before the Father and inherit.

The promise of the presence of God, the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, our Lord, our King, He's done that.

He's gone there.

He's received that promise as the risen Jesus.

And then He pours that out on His church.

And Peter says, Listen, the only reason this is happening is because Christ is risen and has received the promise and poured it out on us.

Think about this.

Imagine there's a king and he's in a kingdom, but there's an enemy with a great empire all around him.

And and this enemy is opposed to the king.

And the king says to you, I'm going into the I'm going into enemy territory, and I'm going to defeat my enemy and take the throne.

And when I do, I will send a dove as a sign, I've I've conquered.

I'm on the throne.

And you say, Okay, all right, I trust you.

He leaves.

You don't see anything.

You wait, you wait, you wait.

Months go by.

And after a while, a messenger comes into your town, opens up a wooden cage, and a white dove flies out.

Now that dove is a lot more than a bird.

It is a witness the king has conquered.

Right?

Because he said, When I rule, I'll send this sign.

So if the sign is here, he's ruling.

If the sign is here, he's alive and well and reigning.

And that's what Peter says.

He says, The spirit is.

Is the sign Jesus is alive and well and reigning over creation, over all things.

If the Spirit is here, then this means the man who was crucified two months ago on a Roman cross is the king of the universe right now.

That's the claim Peter's making, which is an astounding claim.

But the Holy Spirit is here bearing witness to it.

That's the whole point.

Everybody says, what does this mean?

And Peter says it means the man you crucified is alive.

That's why the Spirit is here.

The man you crucified is alive.

But more than that, more than that, one further step, it means the man you crucified is Lord and Christ.

Do you see that at the very end?

verse verse thirty six six, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you've crucified.

That's the meaning.

What does Pentecost mean?

It means the crucified man, Jesus, is risen again and is Lord and Christ over all.

That's what Pentecost means.

Let all of Israel, and he could say, let all humanity, let everyone here at King Street, let all people know for certain, therefore, right, because the Spirit is here, let

everyone know for certain God has made the crucified Jesus to be the Lord and the Christ, the anointed King, over all of reality.

Okay, see that.

dove that the king said, I'll release it when I when I conquer my enemy.

See that dove flying, and you say, He's conquered.

He's the victor.

The enemy is thrown down.

There is there's a king on the throne.

How do you know?

I see his sign.

I see the dove he sent.

And we say, How do you know?

And you say, The spirit.

The spirit could not be here if Christ were not risen and reigning from the throne, having inherited that promise from the Father and poured it out.

On his people.

So what does Pentecost mean?

It means Christ is risen.

And it means that the risen Christ is reigning.

And it means that by his resurrection, the great promised salvation of God has come, and the last days have begun.

That's what it means.

That's what Pentecost means.

That's what we're living in the midst of.

And Peter is saying to the people listening to him this is what's happened.

I want you to see that this is what's happened.

So then, what does that mean for us?

If that's what Pentecost means, and you know we went through this quickly, we'll come back and look at it with a finer tooth comb next week.

But if that's the broad brush strokes of what Pentecost means, what does it mean for me?

I'm not in first century Jerusalem.

I'm in 21st century Sabina or Wilmington or wherever it may be.

What does this mean for me?

Well, of course.

We could say so many things.

What does the Holy Spirit mean?

Right.

You could so much about that.

But I think there's three things that we can draw out of this particular passage to take with us.

First, the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost means that we are the temple of God right now.

It means that.

It means that.

So we'll see some of these more links uh in the text next week, but but especially and simply by that imagery of fire coming down and resting, Luke is saying the presence of God

is now in the church.

The presence, not this building, you know, not this this, but in his people, his church, his body, the presence of God is now among his people.

We Christians, we the church are the temple of God.

That's what the coming of the Spirit.

Means.

That was true of them, and it's true of us, to the extent that, as Peter says in Acts 2 38, he says, um, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ,

for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Not you might, not if you're really sincere, maybe you will, not if you read your Bible this much, this much, you'll get the Spirit.

Repent, believe, be baptized, you will receive.

So to the extent that you are a Christian,

In Christ, trusting him, the Spirit is in you.

And we are the temple of God, you and me, this body, and every faithful Christian gathering.

That is where the temple is.

Temple's not in a specific place.

It's not in Jerusalem.

It's not, it's here.

It's where his people are.

And that is the place where God dwells.

Remember, that's what the temple is about.

This is where God dwells.

Where does God live?

Among his people.

This ramshackle group of people.

You look at us, you say, Well, God lives there.

Yes.

God lives in the midst of his blood bought people.

And remember, the dwelling place of God was also the place that he ordained that he would be seen in his glory and known and reconciled with and met with.

You wanted to reconcile with God, you wanted to meet with God, you had to go to the temple.

That place now is his people, his people.

Which means, Christian, that from since the coming of the Spirit, we bear the weighty honor of being the place where the world meets with God.

Of course, God can meet people any way he wants, and he does, but in the regular course of things, people are to meet with God in the midst of his people, because of his people.

We are bearing that, like it says in 1 John, love one another.

And the implication is, he says, no one has ever seen God, but if you love one another, God is in your midst and people will see him in your midst.

So that's a weighty honor that we bear.

We are the place people meet with God.

How can it be?

Only by his grace.

But it also means this: if we would meet with God, we need to come together.

That's the other thing here.

If you would meet, if we would meet with him,

We need to be with his people.

There's a place for solitary seeking of the Lord.

Absolutely.

There's a place for getting away and pursuing him, but that's not the deepest.

That's not the main way.

The main way we meet with him is with his people at his temple, coming together and being with his people.

So are we thirsting for him, seeking for him, empty for him, meet with his people?

That's where he's ordained.

In the unique way to meet us, because this is where the Spirit is dwelling.

And of course, we are the temple of God only, only, only because we are united to the temple, which is Jesus Christ.

Only because we're the body of Christ can it be said that we're his temple here on the earth.

The slain and risen Christ is the temple.

We are the body of that temple here in time and space.

So that's the first thing it means.

Second thing, briefly.

The coming of the Spirit on Pentecost means for you and for me that Jesus is risen.

I find this awesome to imagine and to hold on to.

Remember, the only way the spirit is present is if Christ is risen.

That's the key here.

The Spirit isn't poured out unless Jesus is raised from the dead to receive the Spirit and pour the Spirit out.

Which means if the Spirit is here, Christ is risen.

If the Spirit is anywhere, Christ is risen.

If the Spirit is working to convict you or encourage you or point you to Christ, he, by his very presence with you, is saying, Christ is risen.

It's like the Spirit is resonating constantly with this declaration: Christ is risen, Christ is risen, Christ is risen, because he is only here because of the resurrection of

Jesus Christ.

And here's something amazing.

1 Corinthians 12 13 says, you cannot say Jesus is Lord unless the Holy Spirit is enabling you to do that.

Okay?

Okay, wait a second.

I can't see the slain and risen Jesus and say, My Lord, and mean it, unless the Spirit is working.

But the Spirit can't be here to work unless that Jesus is risen from the dead.

Which means every time your faith exerts itself in any way.

Toward Christ, you are saying Christ is risen.

Just, just the statement, Jesus is my Lord, is saying, Jesus is raised from the dead.

Because I couldn't say this unless the Spirit was enabling it.

And the Spirit's not going to enable it unless Christ is risen to give the Spirit.

Why does that matter?

Here's why.

In the very depths of darkness, in the very depths of sorrow, when everything is broken to the ground.

The merest flicker in your soul that is able to say, Christ is Lord.

Christ is Lord.

That statement is a promise to you that He is risen.

He's risen.

The whispered confession of faith in the torture chamber of a prison camp is a declaration from the Spirit of God.

Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and you will be raised with him.

And you will be with him.

Joy is the end of your song.

When I whisper in the midst of sorrow, Christ is my Lord.

Jesus is my Lord.

That is a promise, you'll be raised.

Joy is coming.

Hope is true.

Love has overcome.

Jesus Christ is raised from the dead.

So the presence of the Spirit tells us Christ is risen.

And then lastly, lastly, the presence of the Spirit tells us Jesus is king.

He could not be here unless Jesus was on the throne.

The Holy Spirit could not be in our midst unless Christ was reigning on the throne.

And so again, in the midst of our darkness, when we say, Jesus, you're my Lord, where else can I go?

That statement, enabled by the Spirit, is promising you He's risen and He's reigning.

He's alive and He's in control.

Just in the midst of it.

You don't know what to say.

I don't know what to pray.

I don't know what to do.

If you can say, Jesus is Lord, God is saying to you, your hope is secure.

Christ is alive.

Joy is coming.

And there's a king ruling the universe.

So take heart.

Just the ability to confess that.

The world around us is looking, looking, looking for indications of what's gonna happen, what's gonna happen?

How can I be in control?

The stock markets, the trends, the blood tests, the health numbers, the probabilities, it's all trying to give me this sense of control so that I can have peace.

But the presence of the Spirit ought to be the only indicator I need because the presence of the Spirit tells me Jesus is King.

Jesus is Lord.

There's a king on the throne and he holds all things in his hands, and he rules your past and your present.

And your future, and you belong to Him.

That's what the Holy Spirit is telling us, and that's at least partially what it means to live as Christians after Pentecost, after the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost.

Now, that throne, that throne from which Jesus Christ, the crucified one, is ruling reality right now, is in a very real sense this table.

This table is that throne.

Here

In front of us, here is a instantiation, a picture, a witness of the throne of heaven from which the one whose body was broken for us and whose blood was spilled for us is reigning

in love over us right now.

That's what this is a witness to.

This very table.

And you can get up, right, and walk to this table by your own strength, but you can't come to this table.

And receive it in faith, unless the Holy Spirit is working.

The only way for you, Christian, to come to this table and say, Jesus is my Lord, is if the Spirit is right now working in you, working in me.

What that means then is if you can come to this table here in a moment by faith, then the Spirit is here.

And if the Spirit is here, then we are united to Christ as the temple of God.

If the Spirit is here, the crucified one is risen, and we will be raised with him.

If the Spirit is here, Jesus Christ is reigning over all things from the throne.

So as you come by faith to this table and say, This one is my Lord, the Spirit is testifying to you that these things are true.

Let me pray for us then before we come up and take communion together.

Father, we praise you.

We thank you that you have not left us as orphans.

It's not that you sent your son to do all things, and then when he was raised and ascended, we were on our own.

But you poured out the Holy Spirit.

Thank you, Jesus, that you have given us the Spirit as a comforter, as a counselor, as a witness that you are alive.

We can't see you with our eyes, but the Spirit

Bears witness that you are risen and reigning over all.

We thank you for such great gifts.

And we thank you for the body of Christ, that you don't send us out by ourselves as freelancers, but you weave us together into a body.

And we can come now together around this table and bear witness that we have one Lord who's given us one spirit who binds us together in one faith as one church.

To the glory of the one God and Father over all.

We praise you, Father, for all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you for listening to this message from Kingstree Church in Sabina, Ohio.

To see more of the beauty of God in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, come worship with us on Sundays at 10 a.m.

or visit our website at Kingstreech.org.