The Spirit of Pentecost                                          Acts 2:14-21

Let’s get right into this one; verse 1, “Then Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd…”

Jesus has ascended and here are the eleven remaining disciples and Matthias who was chosen to replace Judas. I know Peter was the acknowledged leader of the group before Jesus arrest but it’s not long ago that Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. One can imagine scripture saying John stood up, Thaddeus stood up, Nathanael stood up, even Thomas stood up; but it says Peter stood up.

Peter was the one to preach the first Christian sermon. Peter’s change from fear and denial to spirit filled and leadership shows us the age of the Holy Spirit has descended and he brings with him the power to change lives. Knowing all we know about Peter, this simple line, “Peter stood up…” tells all mankind that faith in the resurrected Jesus means that our past life and mistakes no longer stands between us and God. If Christ’s denier is changed so much by the Holy Spirit, we now have a world of hope and forgiveness in Christ.

These men who knew Jesus, who lived and traveled with Jesus, picked and followed Peter, imperfect and sinful Peter. This demonstrates for us that our leaders, political, business, even our ministers are flawed human beings.

A relative of mine once said to me, “I don’t go to church because I haven’t found a minister who hasn’t done some questionable things in their life, I think a minister should have been more careful and aware when they were young.” I don’t know anyone who came out of the womb professing they were going into ministry. And many ministers are like I am, heard God’s call later in life. These eleven following Peter says to us 2000 years later; when looking to a teacher of the Word don’t look at what someone did before they came to faith in the resurrected Lord, look at what their life is now with the Holy Spirit within them. There are plenty of ex-criminals, recovered addicts, that have been called by God and are leading others to Christ.

Verse 15, “These people are not drunk as you suppose. It is only nine in the morning!” Nine in the morning was the third hour of the day. The historian Josephus tells us that a small meal would be eaten after morning prayer, around the fourth hour. On the Sabbath a larger meal would be served around the sixth hour, or about noon. Peter rebukes this falsehood spoken about the disciples by basically saying “What do you mean drunk, we haven’t even had breakfast yet,” or another way, “How can we be drunk, look at what we’re doing today.”

Like this crowd misunderstood, there are many misunderstandings about Christianity that are born of false ideas. And there are many who will look at you and say, “You’re not a believer, I remember when you…” Peter’s rebuke reaches across the years to us. Take note that Peter didn’t get offensive, he got forceful. We are to stand our ground and rebuke those who falsify against us, “You’re wrong about me, I made mistakes yes, but look at my life since I accepted Christ, look at me now that the Holy Spirit is in me, look how God changed me.”

Verse 16, “No, this is hat was spoken by the prophet Joel.” When explaining Christianity, when explaining to others the changes in your life, go back to the Bible. You don’t need to memorize much, just know where a few verses are that you can use to make your point.

Verse 17, “In the last days…” The last days is a common term in the Old Testament, it denotes the time the Messiah would come. It can be inferred from Old Testament scripture  that there would be two comings of the Messiah for it teaches the Messiah would come to suffer and die for the sins of his people and it also tells us the Messiah would come in glory to set up his kingdom. So there will be two comings of the Messiah separated by a period of time and this time is the last days. 1 John 2:18, “Dear children, this is the last hour.” The first coming of Christ ushered in the last days.

I like to watch football. Many times I’ve seen a team that is losing in the final minutes and you can see the players just give up. We are in the final days and I know people who have said “You say judgment is coming, I can’t do anything about it so why worry?” Jesus went to the cross for all men. This attitude shows men giving up on God not God giving up on men.

It is now in the end days that the Holy Spirit has been sent into the world, verse 17, “In the last days…I will pour out my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy.”

Now to understand this we have to know how prophesying changed at the cross. Before Jesus the prophets told the people what would happen in the future. After the resurrection prophesying changed from telling the future to telling the truth of scripture. The chief effect of the Holy Spirit on prophesy is it is no longer a narrow foretelling of the future to a select people, but a broad and much more important telling of the saving grace of God to all people.

Back to verse 17, “…your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” Martin Luther wrote, “What are all other gifts together compared to this gift, that the Spirit of God himself, the eternal God, comes down into our hearts, yea, into our bodies and dwells in us, rules, guides, leads us! Thus, now concerning this passage of the prophet, prophesying, visions, dreams are all one thing, namely the knowledge of God through Christ, which the Holy Spirit kindles and makes to burn through the Word of the gospel.”

Now having explained how the Holy Spirit will be on all believers and how we are appointed to go and tell others about the grace of God as described in scripture, Peter tells his audience and us why this work is so important; verse 19 & 20, “I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.” Peter is not prophesying the future, this is a repeat of Joel chapter 3 verses 30-31, so he is simply reciting scripture.

There is coming a glorious day when Jesus returns to earth. Peter is telling the crowd and the millions who have been born since and those yet to be born, that we need to speak up and spread the gospel now because our time is limited and when the clock runs out everything we know will be wiped away. This is also described in great detail in Revelation.

This crowd, after hearing the prophet Joel’s description of the devastation that will come must be thinking how can I avoid being caught up in this destruction, how can I keep my children and grandchildren safe from this ruin? It is now that Peter gives the climax to his sermon, the good news to his audience, and the promise to all people throughout these end days; verse 21, “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Peter’s first Christian sermon is pretty good. In it he tells us by faith our old life is gone and our new life is here. Our old life cannot interfere between our new life and God.

We see that our leaders, our ministers, every person born is fallible. When dealing with others, especially believers; look for God in a person, not the mistakes in a person’s life.

Be prepared and willing to rebuke the misconceptions about Christianity and about the truth of your faith.

Be willing to prophesy, that is be willing to speak of the truth of scripture. Time is limited, we need to share the gospel with others now because when Jesus returns behind fire and smoke only those who believe and trust in him will be saved.

May God’s peace, love and strength be with you all,

Amen.