Providence Church (CREC)
Pentecost Sunday
May 31st, 2009, 18th sermon
Sermon: The Prophethood of all Believers
Text: Acts 2:1-21
Pastor Uriesou T. Brito
Text: Acts 2:1-21
Prayer: Our Lord and God, You have ascended to heaven, so Your Spirit would be sent to fill Your Church with power and might. May Your church declare your praises and may we ascend into the heavens to feast in Your presence. Amen.
Sermon: People of God, it is safe to say that sometime around the year AD 30, the promise of our Great Lord was fulfilled. The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people and thus introducing a new age in human history. Jesus’ physical presence was now departed from the presence of the disciples and the Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, would now take a more preeminent role in the life of the New Israel, the Church.
Pentecost was the most spectacular sign to the Jews and to the other nations present that there would be no more exclusivity when it comes to the effects of the gospel message. It was a sign that the promise was not only to you and your Jewish children, but to all those who are afar off.
Pentecost was a Feast Day for the Israelites in the Law of Moses. It was the 50th day after Passover.[1] This was also the Feast of the Harvest. What we are considering in this Pentecost Sunday is the Pentecost of all Pentecosts. In fact, we can say that Pentecost in Acts 2 is the great fulfillment of all previous Pentecosts. The Old Testament Feasts lead us to this exact moment of redemptive history in the first century. The Great Harvest Feast is now being fulfilled and God is harvesting the nations, and since Christ is sitting at His Right Hand, the nations are being given to Jesus Christ as an inheritance.
Jesus has gone on high; He is exalted above all. Pentecost tells us that though Jesus’ earthly ministry may be done, His public work continues through His chosen vessel, His Church. This work is being done through the power of the Spirit. Pentecost is a mighty moment in history. It shall never be repeated again, but the consequences of that day will unfold and will continue to unfold until the coming of our exalted King in the end of Human History.
What Pentecost brings to our attention is a shift from Israel-centricity to Ecclesio-centricity. In other words, a shift from Israel as the means to bringing the world to right to the church as the main vehicle God uses to bring sinners to repentance. This is an introduction to an entirely new era in Redemptive History.
We see that when Pentecost arrived, there were both visible and audible signs. In verse 2 there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and that it filled the entire house and tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on them. These signs serve to tie together the OT imagery with Pentecost as the great sign of the newness of this empowered Church. The Church always existed from the days of the Garden of Eden, but on the day of Pentecost it received power from on high. The Church follows the pattern of Messiah. Messiah was baptized with the Spirit to launch his public ministry to Israel; now the Church is baptized with the Spirit to launch her ministry to all the nations of the earth. We see this as a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies that God would baptize the nations. We see that in Acts 2 the Spirit is like a rushing wind. Throughout the Scriptures, we see that the Spirit and Wind are the same word. In John 3, the work of the Spirit is like a wind that blows wherever it wishes. Here is a description of the work of the Spirit in bringing to life that which was dead. The Old Covenant was dead in its unfaithfulness. Israel was dead. They had killed the prophets. Israel needs to be re-made into a new creation. The Old World needs to die, so that a new world can be made alive. Continue reading “Pentecost Sermon: Acts 2:1-21, The Prophethood of All Believers”