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Acts
2:1-8 WE
NEED ANOTHER PENTECOST Intro: “Pentecost means fiftieth/refers
to Jewish feast held fifty days after second day of Passover. Called Feast
of Weeks, Ex. 34:22; Deut. 16:10,
and Feast
of the Harvest, Ex. 23:16. Pentecost/a
day of thanksgiving to mark the end of the grain harvest. A
holy Sabbath day. Two loaves of bread made from the new wheat and two
yearling lambs were waved before the Lord as a thank offering. Praising God for His grace in giving them a good harvest. People
were expected to attend this feast/required to offer a free will offering to
the Lord. Ill. The “day of Pentecost. Acts
1:3 - Jesus was with them for 40 days/then ascended back to Heaven. Ten
days after ascension and 50 days after resurrection, the words of Joel (Joel 3:18) and John the Baptist (Matt. 3:11) were fulfilled. On this
day, set aside to praise the Lord for giving His people a great harvest, the
Lord began to harvest the lost souls of this world through His church. The
church would never be the same! The world and the church were changed forever. Ill. Amazing
things took place that day. Charismatic friends zero in on the miracle of
tongues. They believe that God expects all His people to speak in tongues. Tongues
were not the primary miracle that day. Tongues were never given as a sign to
the church; tongues came for the Jews, 1
Cor. 14:22. Tongues are mentioned in the book of Acts when a new people
group is brought into the church. (Jews – Act
2; Samaritans – Acts 8; Gentiles
– Acts 10; and the Disciples of John
– Act 19) Tongues were designed to let
Jews know that they were to be judged for their disobedience to God, Isa. 28:11; Deut. 28:49; 1 Cor. 14:21. Tongues
have ceased, 1 Cor. 13:8. Cannot duplicate the events of Pentecost. We cannot go to
Jerusalem, enter the upper room and wait to be filled with the Spirit. The Holy
Ghost has already come, and baptized every person who is saved, 1 Cor. 12:13. We cannot duplicate the
miracles of that day. The miracles are God’s doing and we are foolish if we
spend our time seeking the spectacular. While we
cannot duplicate the events of that day, we can duplicate the conditions that
existed among the people of God on that day. We can see the Lord move in our
midst in power and glory in these days, just as He moved in those days. I
believe that we need another Pentecost! When we create an atmosphere like the
one that existed in the church on that day, we will see Him move in power among
us in these days. One of the
striking characteristics of the early church in the day of Pentecost was that
they were together “with one accord. The word accord means to
have one mind. These early disciples, all 120, 1:15, were united in their
desire to seek the face of the Lord, 1:14!
Unity was the calling card of the early church, and it should mark us as well.
If we want the Lord’s presence and power in these days, then God’s people are
going to have walk together in unity. We Need Another Pentecost! We need a
move of God in these days like the early church enjoyed in those days. But, if
that is to happen, there must be unity among God’s people. Let’s me show the ways
in which the early church was united. We should seek unity in the same areas. I. 1:4-5 UNITED
IN PURPOSE · They waited on the Lord together. · This same trait should mark the church. Ill. Phil 1:27 We are told to strive
together. This phrase means to work together as athletes. We
are a team! We are to work together, for the glory of God, carrying out His
will in the world. · We each have different functions, 1 Cor. 12:7-26, but we should all have the same goal, 1 Cor. 10:31. (Ill. There are some
glory hounds, Diotrephes, 3 John and James and John, Mark
10:35-37 Dont get caught up in their antics, do what He has called you
to do and be what He has called you to be!) (Ill. That is why we need Eph. 4:1-7; 4:31-32.) · We may have different ideas, but once a consensus is
reached, we should break out of our huddle and stand together! Satan is a
divider, 1 Cor. 1:10; Christ is a uniter, Eph. 2:14-15.
II. 1:14 UNITED IN PRAYER · They prayed together. They prayed with and for one
another. · Nothing builds unity in a church any more than
carrying one another’s burdens to the Lord in prayer, Gal. 6:1-5. (Ill. There is a bond that develops between people who
pray together!) · When we pray for others, we are less focused on
ourselves and our own problems, Phil.
2:1-4. III.
2:3-4a
UNITED
IN POWER · They were “all filled with the Holy Ghost. The
unity of the early church came about because they were all right with God and
filled with the Spirit of God. This unity produced amazing results: They
preached the same message, 2:11; They believed the same things, 2:41-44a; They carried the same burdens, 2:44b-45; 4:34-35. They loved the same things, 2:46-47. · One of the problems in the modern church is that the
members are in all different stages of spiritual development. Some are saved
but immature. Some are saved and growing. Some are saved and Spirit-filled.
Some are not even saved. This diversity makes for difficulty in the family. · There is no way around diversity, but God’s will for
us every single saint to be filled with the Spirit, Eph. 5:18. (Ill. Present Tense; Imperative Mood; Passive Voice)
(Ill. To be filled means “to be controlled. When He controls
me and He controls you, we will walk together in His power for His glory!) IV.
2:4b UNITED IN PERFORMANCE ·
all were filled…and began to speak
Each one was busy doing their part! · God saved no one to sit; He saved all to serve – Eph.
2:10; James 2:18 A faith that wont work isnt real! · No task is unimportant or small; each is vital to the
success of the church. (Ill. Hur Ex. 17 and Bezaleel,
Ex. 31:1-5; Ill. The Psalmist – Psa. 84:10) (Ill. Prayer, Witness,
Workers, Cleaners, Mom & Dad, Josh, Teachers, Deacons, Giving, etc.) · Are you doing what He wants you to do? Are you doing all you can do? (Ill. Mary – Mark 14:1-9 Ill. What she couldnt
do! Conc: We need another Pentecost! It will come when walking
and working together! As Vance Havner said, “Snowflakes
are fragile things, but when they stick together they can stop traffic!
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change
TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. “What makes you think you can walk
right in here and take over? asks Linus. “These
five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they're nothing but when I curl
them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible
to behold.” Which channel do you want? asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why
can't you guys get organized like that? |
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