To make our way through the Acts of the Apostles, we come to the great day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 2, we'll be reading in just a moment from verses 1 through 13. Researchers in the United Kingdom undertook a fascinating study the year before last. They wanted to see how long it would take respondents to become frustrated by various tasks and events in life. They found on average, people became frustrated after waiting 16 seconds for a webpage to load. 25 seconds for a traffic light to change. 14 minutes waiting for food they ordered at a restaurant. and 90 minutes waiting for a reply to an urgent email. I don't think you have learned anything new. We are as a culture and as a people, we are impatient, but God wants us to be patient. Patience is a fruit of the spirit. And God had his people wait for centuries before the day we are about to read arrived, the day of Pentecost. He was having his people wait in patience. And as we're going to see, it was worth the wait. When God has you wait, it is always worth the wait. How so? Well, read along. and see from God's word. And before we read, let's ask his help in prayer. Our father, we do praise you for your word. We thank you that you are a God who blesses richly and unexpectedly. And we pray that we would draw in your works and your words that we may live answerably. with minds and hearts and lives devoted to you and to the glory of your name. Father, do this, we pray, through your word. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. Hear now God's word, beginning at Acts 2, verse 1. 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 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 as 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, 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. Thus far, God's holy, inspired, infallible, and inerrant word. May he add his blessing on it. Jesus, Luke has shown us in the first chapter of Acts, devoted 40 days between his resurrection from the dead and his ascension into heaven, to his disciples. He was furnishing proof of his resurrection. He was teaching them about the kingdom of God. And he commissioned them to preach the gospel to bear witness to him to all the nations. And as Jesus ascends into heaven, there is one thing lacking. It is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 1, verse 5, John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Verse 8, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And the church you remember gathers and she prays. She is humbled in expectant blessing that God will soon send. And now the day has come. Luke tells us in chapter two, verse one, that the day of Pentecost, many of our translations read, arrived. But the word that Luke uses is elsewhere translated in his gospel, fulfilled. The day of Pentecost, Luke says, was fulfilled on this occasion. How is that the case? Pentecost was something well known to the Jewish people. The word is a Greek word meaning 50th. That is to say, 50 days after Passover was the Old Testament feast of weeks. It was a feast where God's people in joy would remember his provision of harvest. And the scripture says here, it is that feast that finds its fulfillment on the day of Pentecost. God is providing the first fruits of the harvest of blessing of the Holy Spirit with his people. And because this is a day of fulfillment, Pentecost is something that is once for all. It is foundational in the history of redemption. It lies at the very foundation of the life of God's new covenant people. Now the spirit has always been at work, savingly in the lives of God's people. What is different? What is different now that the day of Pentecost has come? And Luke is going to dedicate the rest of this book to showing us exactly what is different. But our larger catechism summarizes it well. That after the day of Pentecost, the Spirit is now working in more fullness and evidence and efficacy to all nations. The Spirit had worked in dribs and drabs and now he pours out like a flood upon all the earth. Pentecost may be the foundation on which the church of Jesus Christ under the new covenant rests her feet. But make no mistake, Pentecost changed lives. And Pentecost changes lives. We see timid disciples becoming bold. They had been hiding, cowering behind the walls of an upper room deep in the city, and now they are bursting out into the streets, carried by the wind of the spirit, opening their mouths to glorify Christ. And here is Peter later in this chapter. The man who had been silenced into submission by a servant girl is now thundering to crowds of thousands, proclaiming Jesus Christ and calling sinners to repentance in his name. I want us to look this evening at Pentecost. I want us to see this great work of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I want us to see how it affects our lives tomorrow morning. And there are three things in these 13 verses that rise to the surface as we think about what Pentecost means to the Christian. And the first thing is presence. Pentecost means that God is present with each of his people in the person of the Spirit. And we see that in two ways at the beginning of our passage. There is, first of all, a great sound. Verse two, there suddenly came from heaven a sound like a mighty, rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Now this word wind is elsewhere translated spirit. It is the same underlying word in the Greek. And so when there is a sound like a mighty rushing wind, this is signaling the presence of God the spirit. And the spirit does not tiptoe into that upper room. He bursts into the room and announces his presence. And the spirit is coming as the spirit of life. He is going to quicken the saints. In the streets of Jerusalem, he will raise dead sinners to eternal life in Christ. Remember the prophet Ezekiel as he stood in that valley of dry bones in chapter 37. And God says to him, prophet, I want you to say, come from the four winds, O breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. And that is what the spirit is here to do. But there's a great sound and matching. It is a great site. Look again at verse two and divided tongues as a fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. You remember God had appeared to Moses in Exodus chapter three in that burning bush. God had come to his people on Mount Sinai in smoke and in thunder and in fire. Because that's who God is. Our God is a consuming fire. And now God comes down in fire upon his people in this upper room. But these tongues of fire, did you notice what happened? They rested on each one of them. God has come in fire not to destroy, but to bless. And they are not consumed. Some of you have seen, perhaps, the seal of the Free Church of Scotland. It is a likeness of the burning bush and underneath it is in Latin, it however was not consumed. And that could be written over the church here in the upper room, they were not consumed. And how is it that God in his holiness and in his righteousness comes down upon these men and women and does not consume them? How is it that the thrice holy God can come and bring blessing to these sinners? And the answer is Christ. It is because Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God upon the cross of Calvary. It is because the fires of judgment were exhausted. As Jesus Christ bore the sins of the many at Calvary. And so when the father and the son pour out the Holy Spirit and he comes down upon the church, he comes not to curse, but to bless. He comes not to consume. He comes to build. And so that's the first thing we see. God is present mightily, powerfully. and palpably with his people. What does this say to us? The first thing the scripture says, there's no such thing as a solitary Christian. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. And by that, I don't mean that we live in fellowship with one another. That's true. But did you notice the spirit comes and he rests upon each of these believers. Believer in Jesus Christ, scripture says, God, the spirit dwells in you. There is no place that you go, no condition in which you find yourself. The God, the spirit is not there with you. And that is an unspeakable gift. What did it cost for this abiding presence of God to be with you and to go with you? A father gave over his son and the son laid down his life. Do you ever thank God for this gift? As you look at your life their trials and distresses and afflictions. Lord, thank you for the gift of your spirit. I praise you. He is in my life. He will never leave me, forsake me or abandon me. And you express that thankfulness, not by grieving the spirit, but by keeping in step with the spirit by the grace he supplies. Is that your aim? What does it mean to have the spirit? It means, as the scripture shows us, no condemnation. That's what God is describing in 3D, in the lives of his people, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. and that in Christ there is blessing and only blessing that is poured out upon your life. And the spirit has come with a job to do. And his work, the scripture teaches, is to make you like Jesus Christ. The spirit is at work in a Christian's life. There will be gratitude. to Jesus Christ. There will be a heart yearning to be like Jesus Christ. Is the Spirit inclining your heart to look to the Savior, to find grace, to find mercy in your need? Do you yearn to be like the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ? And the scripture also says, if you don't have the spirit, if the spirit is absent from your life in this way, all is death and all is curse. And the good news of this scripture is that there's not a one of these 120 men and women in this room that deserved this gift. God freely poured out the Spirit for the sake of His Son, who had lived and died for sinners. Friend, there is grace and there is mercy for you. If you don't know Jesus Christ, and if you don't have the Spirit of His Son in your life, you look to Jesus Christ and you come to Him. and you find mercy and you find life and you will find that great unspeakable gift of the spirit whom he gives to every poor sinner who casts himself on him. Would you do that? So there is presence. The second thing we see is power. God is giving power to his people. Look at verse four. And they all were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. What's going on with this tongue speaking? It's often misunderstood today. Many think that if the Spirit inhabits a Christian's life, that there is going to be some kind of private experience where you're going to speak in tongues. And usually that is reserved only for some Christians, a second blessing. And you're not a real full Christian until you experience this work of the spirit. I want you to look closely at the scripture, and I want you to see something completely different. Did you notice in the first place they were all filled with the Holy Spirit? The Spirit doesn't rest on some and not on others. The Spirit comes upon all of these believers. And what happens, they began to speak in other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance. And that word tongue is the same word that is translated language in verse eight. Look at verse eight. How is it that we hear each in his own native language? Verse 11, we hear them telling in our own tongues, languages, the mighty works of God. And now you see why the Spirit has come down upon the church in power and is driving them out into the streets. It is so that they will bear witness to Jesus Christ. It is so that they will speak the mighty works of God in the languages of all the people who are around them. Christ had commissioned these disciples to bear witness to Him. And they can't do it, but God can. And God the Spirit comes down upon them in power, and they are now able to do what Jesus Christ has bid them do. And it is power to serve Him. What does this say to us? Here's a basic principle of the Christian life. Without the Spirit, you can do nothing. With the Spirit, you can take up what God has called you to do. The Spirit can only open the heart of sinners. The spirit can only bring men and women and boys and girls conviction of sin. Only the spirit can bring a sinner to repentance and faith. Only the spirit can plant the love of God and love of the brethren in the heart of a sinner. Friends, the good news of this scripture is that God is able and he is willing to do this work. God is able and he is willing to equip each and every one of his children to do what he has called his children to do. Would you pray that God would give the spirit in greater measure to his servants? We pray for the missionaries and for the pastors we support. And we pray many things for them. Would you pray, God, grant them a greater measure of the Holy Spirit? That they would minister in evident power and blessing that the Spirit alone can supply to their ministry. They can't give themselves that, you can't give themselves that, but God can. And our scripture says, God is willing. But you know, we need the Spirit's help for everything. Paul writes the Ephesians in chapter five at verse 18. He says, I want you Ephesian Christians to be filled with the Spirit. That's what's happening here. Be filled with the Spirit. What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Well, read on in Ephesians five. Address one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Give thanks always and for everything. Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Praise. Gratitude. Humility and submission. That's what the spirit does in the life of a Christian. And you and I need the Spirit to do the simplest and most basic of tasks that Jesus Christ sets upon us. Are you praying daily for yourself and for your brothers and sisters? God, would you send down the Spirit in greater measure, in greater power that I may live to His glory. So there is presence, there is power, And the third thing Pentecost means is people. God is forming a people for himself. God takes this little band of believers and he drives them out of the upper room into the streets. The streets do not pour up the stairs into that upper room. They pour out of the upper room out into the streets. And in God's providence, this is the feast of Pentecost. And Jews have come on this pilgrim feast from all over the world. You read these locations in verse nine and verse 10 and verse 11. This is from all the compass points. And as the gospel is preached to them, the gospel will radiate from Jerusalem out into the world. And these are all Jews. God is poised to do this work among the Gentiles as well. And God is building his church. And he's building it very simply through the spirit empowered preaching of the gospel. He is taking people who cannot understand each other, and he is forging them into one new man in Jesus Christ. He is taking weak and despised instruments, Galileans, not known for being sophisticates or academics. God uses these men to herald the glad tidings of salvation in Christ. You see, God is doing something new. He is forming a people for himself in Jesus Christ. As we come to a close, how does this apply? Here we get a glorious description of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church has never been man's idea. It would never have occurred to the wisdom of man to form and to frame the Church as she is. This is the work of God. This is the work of God the Spirit. And he loves the Church. And he is jealous for the church. And when Jesus Christ returns, all nations and all kingdoms will be consigned to the dustbin of oblivion. And there will remain the church of Jesus Christ. When the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And because that's true, our prayers, our priorities, our energies, our giving, does it reflect that? Do our lives say the church is most precious to God? The church is what will stand when Jesus Christ returns and the church is precious to me. And then you see, here's what the church is for. The spirit is driving the church out into the world to tell others of Christ, not the mighty works of ourselves, but the mighty works of God. And God has tasked this work to proclaim Christ to no other body in this world. It belongs to his church. There's a vision for the church. And the church can so easily get off track and distracted. Would you pray that the church, this church, the churches we support would be faithful to this work, this one work Jesus Christ has given us to preach him to the nations. There is a clear miracle in the streets of Jerusalem. It attracts the attention of all. They are bewildered and amazed and astonished, but not everybody. Did you see what happens in the very last word, verse others mocking said, they are filled with new wine. They're filled with something all right, but it's not the spirit of God. It is new wine. And you know, that's the fearful closing note of the scripture. You can be in the very presence of God. You can witness him at work powerfully and mightily, and yet mock it and chalk it up to drunkenness. It's not enough to have the spirit at work around you. The spirit must work in you. And that was true then. And it is true today. So how is it that the spirit can be at work in you? And you read on in chapter two. Peter doesn't begin to lecture and lambaste these people. Don't you understand what you're seeing? But he will explain what they're seeing in light of what Jesus Christ has come to do to save sinners. And he will cast their gaze upon Christ and him crucified. and the people will be broken, and they will melt in tears, not because of Peter's oratory, but because the Spirit took that word and broke stony hearts and drew them savingly to Jesus Christ. Those are your two options, either to mock and draw down curse, or to believe and to find blessing. And the good news that was for them is the good news that is for us. Has God given you eyes to see the glory of his son in the gospel? And if he has blessed, if he has not plead with him that he would. He is good who knows what the Lord may do. This was a long time coming, but all God's people said, Lord, it was worth the wait to see what you have done and are still doing by the power of your spirit and to the glory of your son. Let's pray. Our father, these scenes are so familiar to us. We confess, we don't pause to wonder at what you did on that day of Pentecost, on the mercy of the outpouring of your spirit in the life of your people and the great tide that was carried out of Jerusalem and still continues to the end of the earth. Father, we praise you that you are present with us by the spirit of Christ, that you empower us to do what you have called us to do and that you are forming a people precious to yourself. inhabited by the Spirit. We pray that you would give us eyes to see Christ and help us to live in light of these many blessings, even tomorrow morning. For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.