When the Spirit Comes

SERMON: 2009-01-18--ac0911--when-the-spirit-comes SOURCE DURATION: 00:42:07.000 PROPOSED CUTS: 1 CONFIDENCE: 0.95 APPROVED: false REASON: The recording maintains a continuous flow from the initial exposition (Acts chapter context) through theological discussion and concludes with extended devotional/prayer material, which is considered part of the overall sermon structure. Acoustic segmentation found sustained music at the end edge and moved the boundary to the adjacent transcript segment. ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE: available ACOUSTIC MUSIC INTERVALS: 00:37:57.840-00:42:06.020 ACOUSTIC SPEECH OVERLAP: yes ACOUSTIC BOUNDARIES APPLIED: end Inline CUT markers identify each proposed audio boundary after the relevant word. --- ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT WITH PROPOSED CUTS MARKED --- So, here's the Lord Jesus. He has just returned to the Father in heaven after having completed his earthly ministry. He leaves behind him a relatively small group of people about a hundred and twenty in number. We read in Acts chapter one. And he entrusts to them his most incredible mission of going to the ends of the earth and making disciples of all nations. I'd say that's no minor mission. And it's complicated by the fact that they are but ordinary people. They have by and large no education. They have very limited financial resources. They don't have the means of communication or the means of transportation that you and I have available today. And yet the Bible says that in their generation they turn the world upside down. What was the key? Well, clearly the key was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. You will recall that prior to his ascension, this is what Jesus said to them. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The Holy Spirit, you will remember, is the third person of the Holy Trinity. He is the agent of the Godhead through whom the Father and the Son accomplish their purposes. If God the Father wants to bring us back as His children, if the Lord Jesus by His death, resurrection, and ascension makes possible our return to God, then it's the Holy Spirit who comes upon us and who comes upon creation to make all things new. And here in Acts chapter 2 then we have the fulfillment of that promise that the Lord Jesus made. We have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early church. This becomes the birthday, if you will, of the Christian church. From now on there is a decisive break with the past even as there is an amazing continuity. And as we begin this morning then to start looking at Acts chapter 2, there is just one thing that we're going to dwell on this morning and we might not even have time to dwell on that fully and that is this, that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Old Testament feast of Pentecost. For notice again how verse 1 reads, "When the day of Pentecost came they," that is the disciples, "were all together in one place." We're accustomed of thinking of Pentecost as a New Testament feast and of course it is. But it's much more than that. It was also an Old Testament feast. And if we're going to appreciate the significance of that then we have to spend some time this morning looking together at the harvest feasts of Israel that God enjoined upon the children of Israel in the Old Testament. And if you're familiar with the Old Testament then you may remember and I know the book of Leviticus is not everybody's favorite reading but Leviticus chapter 23 tells us in considerable detail that the Israelites when they got to the promised land were to observe seven harvest feasts. Here is the overview of them. You can see it, biblical holy days, seven of them divided into two groups of three and one single harvest. And so there you have Passover unleavened bread and the first fruits all part of one package. Then you have Pentecost standing by itself and then you have the trumpets, day of atonement and the feast of tabernacles. And those three stand together. Those three events were times of solemn assembly when all the male Israelites were to drop everything that they were doing and they would travel to Jerusalem for holy convocation. They would celebrate a holy Sabbath and they would celebrate each of these feasts in particular. I'm going to ask you to put on your thinking caps for just a moment as we quickly walk through each of these feasts because you can't understand the significance of the New Testament feast of Pentecost unless you understand particularly Old Testament Pentecost in the context of all these feasts. So to help you for studying that I have prepared for you in your bulletin a little insert. You don't need to take it out now but when you get home maybe for your own devotions or in a prayer time. Read through that in some detail because it will help you remember some of the things that I'm gonna run past you pretty quickly now. So the first feast is of course the feast of the Passover. And the Passover was observed after the first full moon of spring or in the month of Nisan on the 14th. It occurs in March and April. Israel observed lunar months and every month was started then at the beginning of a particular moon manifestation. So first full moon of spring corresponding to March and April of our calendar and of course the Passover celebrated the Exodus from Egypt. You will recall that after the children of Israel had come into Egypt under the leadership of Joseph they prospered they multiplied. A new Pharaoh arose who had not known Joseph. He became threatened by the rapid expansion of the people of Israel and he put them into slavery and for 400 years they cried out to God, "Won't you please deliver me?" And if you think sometimes God takes a long time in hearing your prayer imagine what it feels like to be waiting for 400 years. But eventually God heard their cry "Send Moses to the people of Israel." And you know the story of how God judged the nation and the gods of Egypt by the 10 terrible plagues the last plague being the destruction of the firstborn. Now the children of Israel were told then to take a lame and to slaughter it and to paint the blood on the doorposts. So that when the angel of God would come through Egypt to kill the firstborn he would pass over the houses of Israel. That then became the impetus for Pharaoh to say "Get out of here" and that becomes the exodus where the people of Israel escape from Egypt. And every year they were to celebrate on the 14th day of Nisan they were to celebrate the Passover. As we'll see a little bit later fulfilled obviously as all of these feasts are in the person of Jesus Christ. So that was followed then a day later by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the Feast of Unleavened Bread starts on the day after the Passover and it lasts for seven days and it is characterized by the purging of all leaven or yeast and the eating of unleavened bread. The reason? Leaven or yeast by and large in scripture represents the power of sin. And even as yeast spreads through a whole batch of dough so sin spreads through our lives through our communities and through the whole world. And because God has just redeemed his people on the Feast of Unleavened Bread they are to remember the holiness of God and they are to rid their lives of all sin. That's the significance of unleavened bread. If you're gonna belong to God then God wants you to be his holy people. And again as we'll see in a few moments fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. That then is followed by the Feast of the First Fruits. And the Feast of the First Fruits is celebrated two days after the Passover on Nicene the 16th. So you have the Passover, you have the Sabbath which is what starts the Feast of Unleavened Bread and then you have the celebration of the Feast of the First Fruits and that corresponds to our Sunday. Very significant as we'll see in a moment. And on the Feast of the First Fruits the people of Israel celebrated the start of the barley harvest. And the priest was to take a sheaf of barley, bring it into the temple and wave it before God as the first fruits of the new harvest. It was a celebration of a new harvest that had come in. And again as we'll see in a few moments. Profound significance as you see how it gets fulfilled come the New Testament. That brings us then to the Feast of Pentecost which is also known as the Feast of Weeks. It's called the Feast of Pentecost because the word Pentecost means what? Means fifty. Called the Feast of Weeks why? Because it comes seven weeks plus one day after the celebration of the Passover. And in the Feast of Weeks celebrated as it is fifty days after the Passover corresponding to our May or June calendar it was a celebration of the end of the grain or the wheat harvest. Began fifty days earlier with the barley harvest the grain harvest is now done. And on the day of Pentecost in the Old Testament when again old people of Israel would gather in Jerusalem for worship. The priest was to take that new grain and grind it up make out of it two loaves of bread with yeast interestingly enough and wave those before God in the tabernacle as a declaration of gratitude to God and a presentation to God of themselves and of their lives to him. So the Feast of Pentecost was observed in this fashion. It was a celebration of the end of the grain harvest and as again we'll see in a moment also the first fruits on top of the additional first fruits profound implications of that. After that comes what is known as the Feast of Trumpets. This now is one of the fall harvest seasons. It happens on the first day of the seventh month which corresponds to our September or October and on the day of Trumpets there was the blowing of the shofar. The the ram's horn. It was a declaration of trumpets and the old rabbis used to say there were three reasons why the shofar was blown on that particular day. The first is that it was a declaration for the dead to rise. It was number two a reminder to the Lord to remember his covenant promises to Israel and it was to confound the accusation of Satan against his people. And if you will remember that Israel observed two calendars a religious calendar and a civil or an agricultural calendar. The religious year began with Passover because the Christian life always begins at the cross but the agricultural year began with the Feast of Trumpets and I think you have a carry over of the Feast of Trumpets with the noisemakers that we associate with New Year's celebrations. Did you know that? Because one of those functions traditionally superstitiously is what? Why do people make a lot of noise on New Year's day? Well it's to drive the devil away for the year that is to come. That's a carryover back from the Feast of Trumpets I believe. Now the Feast of Trumpets then is followed ten days later by the Day of Atonement and the Day of Atonement was celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month against September or October and it was the day when the high priest once a year would go into the Holy of Holies to present sacrificial blood before the Ark of the Covenant. It was by any standard of measurement the most holy of holy days for all the people of Israel. On that day too, two goats were chosen. One was killed and the blood sacrificed. The other had hands laid on and sent into the wilderness. Symbolic presentation of God's removal of Israel's sin by shed sacrificial blood. The Day of Atonement today is known as Yom Kippur and it continues to be in the nation of Israel one of the holiest of all holy days. So you've got that and then that is followed by the final feast which is the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. It's celebrated on day 15 of the seventh month. It runs for seven days to the 22nd and has an eighth day tacked on at the end. And that's highly significant because that represents, as we'll see in a few moments, the dawn of eternity. And on the Feast of Booths a number of things would happen. They lived in tents made out of booths. You know, it was sort of the Old Testament Israel version of camping out. And the purpose of camping out was to remember that God had sustained them marvelously through their wilderness journey. These instructions are given to Israel while they are still in the wilderness long before they are out in the promised land. So they had to live in booths and they celebrated now the completion of the harvest. Because remember I said earlier, these are harvest feasts. Israel was largely an agricultural community certainly back in those days. And so the first fruits was the beginning of the barley harvest. The Pentecost was the end of the grain harvest. Throughout the rest of the summer then all the other harvests would come in. Olives and figs and, you know, whatever else they were growing. And then the Feast of Tabernacles was the celebration of the conclusion of the harvest. It was big party time because they celebrated God's incredible provision. And then the eighth day of that feast represented the start of the new agricultural year. Later on particularly the high priest and the people of Israel would take water and they would pour it out on the altar as a dedication to God and a prayer to God for the new rains to come which would start the new agricultural season and so it would cycle from year to year. So are you with me so far? Aren't you glad I put an insert in the bulletin so you can remember all this stuff? But here is the point I want us to understand. If you forget everything else that I have just talked about please remember this. These feasts are God's way of teaching the people of Israel and by extension you and me how God has purposed in Christ to restore the harvest of the world to himself. Let me say it one more time. These feasts are God's way of teaching Israel and us how God has purposed in Christ to restore the harvest of the world to himself. Think of it this way. Think of the human population as a crop of grain that you're growing. And so when God first creates the world and he sows humanity what does he do? He grows a very good crop because the Bible said at the end of creation God said what? It was very good. Humankind had full relationship with God full relationship with each other and full control over the creation where God had placed them. But remember there was a snake in the grass. The enemy comes along and what does he do? He sows weeds among the grain. And for all the rest of biblical and secular history what is happening is you have God working among humanity now corrupted by sin and he is trying to raise up for himself a new harvest. A new harvest that will truly love him and that will truly serve him and that can be fully restored to God. So these Old Testament feasts which were harvest feasts is God's way of instituting in the life of Israel and teaching you and me just how it is that God intends in the course of history to get rid of the weeds and to build for himself a brand new crop. As such then these feasts have multiple fulfillments in the course of human history and for our purposes they are fulfilled particularly on two levels. This is where it gets a little bit complicated but let's see if we can get our heads around this for a moment. First of all these feasts are fulfilled where? In the person of Jesus Christ. Secondly they are fulfilled in time. That is to say they are fulfilled in history. And if you find that confusing stick with me just a little bit longer and you'll see how this works out. Because let's go back to these feasts for a moment and I want to show you how each of these feasts now has this dual fulfillment. It's fulfilled in Christ but it's also fulfilled in time. And it will not only help us to understand the past in God's history of redemption but it will also help us understand the future. Passover. Passover is of course as I said the celebration of Israel's redemption out of Egypt. How is the Passover fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ? Well it's fulfilled in his death on the cross. Remember? He is the lamb for sinners slain. It wasn't the Passover lamb that could deliver anybody from Satan's power. It was a type, it was a symbol of what God was going to accomplish one day when he would send his son as the sacrifice for sin. Now here's the next question. When was Jesus crucified? On Good Friday. And so the Passover is fulfilled in Christ who sheds his blood for you and me and he shed his blood on Good Friday in history which is the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of the Passover. And every year when we celebrate Good Friday we celebrate in a special way his death on our behalf. Now you'll see where this goes in a moment if you'll bear with me. Then you have the feast of unleavened bread. When was the feast of unleavened bread fulfilled? It gets a little bit trickier. It refers to the burial of Jesus and so Paul refers to that biblically when he talks about get rid of the old yeast that you may new a new batch without yeast as you really are. Now listen to this. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed therefore let us keep the festival not with the old yeast the yeast of malice and wickedness but with bread without yeast the bread of sincerity and truth. You see Christ fulfills the feast of unleavened bread by dying on the cross and by being buried you and I are joined with him in his burial. Even as we'll see in a few moments we're joined with him in his resurrection and so Paul appeals to that of the New Testament and he says if you're joined to Christ don't live that old lifestyle anymore you've been made a new creation don't live with old yeast live in a way that honors God with the qualities and the purposes of God. So we have the Passover on Friday we have the feast of unleavened bread starting on Saturday and then we have the feast of the first fruits and where do you suppose the feast of the first fruits finds its fulfillment? It finds its fulfillment in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul puts it this way Christ indeed has been raised from the dead the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep for since death came through a man the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man for as an animal die so in Christ all will be made alive but each in his own turn Christ the first fruits and then when he comes those who belong to him. So there you have Easter Sunday morning so you have Passover you have unleavened bread you have the feast of the first fruits all fulfilled historically in the person of Jesus in his death in his burial and in his resurrection. Now this becomes really important to understand Pentecost because here's the question now why this emphasis on first fruits? What is the significance of first fruits? Why is the feast called first fruits? And why is Jesus said to be the first fruits of the harvest? Two reasons and if you can get these two reasons you'll understand what all of this is about. Reason number one the first fruits represents a new crop or in the case of Jesus a prototype of a new humanity. Remember how in the Old Testament the priest would take the new barley harvest and he would wave it before God as an offering. Well Jesus is the first fruits of the new harvest of humanity. Remember God sold that crop originally turned bad. God said I want to make a new crop I want to generate a new harvest. Well lo and behold in the resurrection of Jesus Christ here for the first time in human history is a member of the human race who doesn't share in Adam's sin doesn't share in Adam's corruption is not alienated from God the Father. God the Father has anointed him. God the Father has vindicated him and in the person of Jesus Christ you have somebody who has power over sin and death and hell. You have somebody who can love God above all and who can love his neighbor as he loves himself and nothing and nobody can knock him down because he's already been to hell and back and he has overcome. Like do we get the significance of this? This is like finally after thousands and thousands of years of playing around and experimenting God's production line finally produced a new prototype of humanity. Somebody who's got it right. Somebody who can't die anymore but who's going to live forever and who has the right to receive from God the Father every blessing God has for him. That's why the resurrection was an incredible celebration of God's vindication of the person of Jesus. Now listen to the rest of it because the first fruits not only represents the first of a brand new harvest but in scripture is also a guarantee. Not only that the rest of the harvest will come but that God has already guaranteed the rest of the harvest. Because you see if the first fruits of the dough says Paul is holy then so is all the rest. And again the prototype image really gets the picture across because once you've got the first plane that can fly and the first car that can drive or the first submarine that can dive or the first product that can be mass produced you now have the know-how you have the technology you have the skill to multiply this product and to extend it without limit. You see that? The first fruits means the rest of the harvest is guaranteed and it has God's blessing. God is going to make it happen. Now move with me to Pentecost and you will see why Pentecost is so incredibly important in the context of these harvest feasts. How is the feast of Pentecost fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ? Well first of all it was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ when he received the Holy Spirit in his baptism when he began his ministry. Jesus did the miracles that he did not simply because he was the son of God he laid all of that aside according to Philippians chapter two but he did it because the Holy Spirit came on him in power in the Jordan River. Now it's this spirit the spirit of Jesus who went through death and hell and got raised out of death and hell and seated at God's right hand who on the New Testament feast of Pentecost is poured out on the church and so what you have happening here now is an extension of the harvest. Remember Jesus is the first fruits on the day of Pentecost the spirit of Jesus is poured out on the hundred and twenty and now we have the nucleus of the New Testament church which is becoming a new humanity because they have been baptized by the spirit of Jesus. They're no longer just Adam's offspring living under the law trying to do their best to be good righteous and holy people no no they are now a curious mixture of humanity and God's Holy Spirit and out of this nucleus now this new humanity filled with the Holy Spirit for all the church age which is what we're living in God is at work bringing in the harvest because wherever they go bearing witness to Jesus wherever they go calling on the Holy Spirit to fall on God's people you've got this brand new harvest growing. Do you realize this morning that if you're in Christ you're part of a new harvest the old has passed away the new has come and you say well I'm full of sin and I do all kinds of things doesn't matter I mean it doesn't matter but it doesn't matter at the same time why because you're a new creation in Christ and God is at work in you making a new humanity that's why the Old Testament priests what do they present before God in the tabernacle they presented two loaves representing some people think Jew and Gentile because now the gospel goes to all nations it's no longer restricted to the Jewish people but more than that and this is a rare biblical exception it's bread made with yeast now there are two different interpretations of that one interpretation that I read about says the yeast there is a representation of our ongoing humanity and the fact that we're a mixture and that's a possibility but another interpretation is that now the yeast represents the leaven of the kingdom because in one of the parables of Jesus that's what he talks about too and this new yeast which is now the life of Christ spreads in us and through us until the final harvest day when we will be presented before God without any wrinkle or blemish or any such thing now remember the feast of Pentecost is also called the feast of weeks it's also referred to as a first fruits so get the picture here's Jesus he's the first fruits of the new harvest brand new humanity he's got it together God's prototype finally worked no small matter now on the day of Pentecost he shares his character his nature the essence of himself through the Holy Spirit with the church then guess what the harvest is increasing because now there are multiple people who are sharing the life the ministry the passion the fire the power of Jesus and so now the church get this the church becomes the first fruits of the new harvest when one day God will harvest the whole world get it the harvest has begun with Jesus spreads to the church throughout the whole church age when God's people are proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom people are coming to faith in Christ people are receiving the Holy Spirit they're learning how to live like God's children and all over the world often unseen unheralded you've got men and women boys and girls who are beginning to reflect heaven's life here on earth and all of that is but a small foretaste of the grand harvest that is still going to come in at the end of time now that's where we're going to leave it this morning Lord willing some weeks hence we'll come back to it but here's what I want you to think about if Passover was fulfilled in Jesus's crucifixion and if unleavened bread was fulfilled in his burial and if the first fruits was celebrated and fulfilled in his resurrection and if Pentecost in the Old Testament was fulfilled on Pentecost Sunday when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church then what is the fulfillment of trumpets what is the fulfillment of atonement and what is the fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles you reflect on that a little bit and you'll get a good idea of where God is going in history and in the meantime you and I need to be encouraged you and I need to be exhorted you and I need to be challenged we're part of an incredible process that God has been undertaking throughout the course of history and no matter how much we struggle how much sin we might have to fight with and how often we feel like failures fact of the matter is God has guaranteed through faith in Christ that he's going to present us before him without spot or wrinkle or blemish or any such thing and there's going to come a day when God will send his angels into the harvest and they will cut the grain they will harvest the final harvest and the world will see the coming of [PROPOSED CUT 1 START at 00:37:57.840; remove through 00:42:07.000] God's kingdom in [CUT] ways that you and I have not yet begun to imagine Lord pour out your spirit on all the peoples of the earth Let your sons and daughters speak your words of prophecy Send us dreams and visions Reveal the secrets of your heart Lord our faith is rising Let all heavens sound the coming of your day There's gonna be a great awakening There's gonna be a great revival in our land There's gonna be a great awakening Everyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved Lord pour out your spirit on all the nations of the world Let them see your glory Let them fall in revenue Show your mighty power Shake the heavens and the earth Lord the world is waiting Let creation see the coming of your day There's gonna be a great awakening There's gonna be a great revival in our land There's gonna be a great awakening Everyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved There's gonna be a great awakening There's gonna be a great revival in our land Everyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved Everyone who calls on Jesus' name will be saved [CUT] [PROPOSED CUT 1 END at 00:42:07.000; resume after this marked segment]