What Is Pentecost?
Intro:
Praise the Lord!
How many came in here to have church this
morning?
I ain’t talking about playing church! Amen?
I said how many came to have some church?
How many came to shout...dance...
How many came to bless the Lord with all your
soul?
I don’t know about you but I came to cut loose in
the House of God today. Amen?
And I didn’t come expecting to do it all by myself.
You say well Pastor you gonna have to do it all by
yourself,
Cause we’re to dignified for all of that Pentecostal
style worship!
We’re to dignified for all of that jumping and
shouting and running and dancing.
Well I stand here to tell you this morning I’m
gonna do it anyway!
And I aint gonna do it all by myself neither,
Cause the Bible says if you won’t praise Him the
rocks will cry out!
If you won’t shout the spirit just might shout out
in an unknown tongue. Amen?
And if you won’t run and dance I’ll start running
and dancing and the Bible says
God has given us the paraclete!
That is the Holy Ghost!
That means one who comes along side!
And He’s liable to come along side of me this
morning and start dancing with me,
And Shouting With me, And running with me.
The Lord has showed me that there’s someone in
here this morning who’s said in their heart
That you ain’t got to do all of that to be christian.
Well That’s true!
You ain’t got to do all of that!
You ain’t got to shout His Glory!
You ain’t got to jump for joy.
You ain’t got to stomp and snort and preach until
you’re blue in the face.....
But you ain’t got to get what I got neither. Amen?
I said you might not have to act a fool for Jesus,
You might not have walk the isle like one of us
Holy Rollers,
But you ain’t got to walk in the divine favor of the
Lord neither.
You ain’t got to operate under a powerful
anointing neither. AMen?
There’s a doctrine that’s been in effect since the
dawn of creation.
And that is you reap what you sow. Amen?
Some say you get what you put in.
Well I want to invest my very best into the
Kingdom of God,
So I can reap the very best from the Kingdom of
God. Amen?
I want all that God has promised me. etc.
Not long ago I laid prostrate on the floor and said
Lord I know it ain’t much but I’ll give you my
utmost for your highest.
I’ll give you the very best of what I have.
Cause I know when I sow into your kingdom my
reward is Exceeding abundantly above all that I
could ever think or ask. Amen?
So I tell you today you ain’t got to go all out for
Jesus,
But when the going gets tough don’t expect Him
to go all out for you. Amen?
(praise)
How many came to celebrate today?
How many know what important Holy day we
celebrate today?
Today we celebrate Pentecost. Amen?
How many Pentecostals Christians do we have in
here this morning?
Every single one of you standing or sitting in this
church to day that have been blood bought and
spirit filled are pentecostal.
Some of you are saying no Pastor I was raised
Baptist, or Lutheran.
Well that’s all good but the Church as a whole
was born on the day of Pentecost.
So I guess that means in layman’s terms that we
all got a little Pentecostal in us. Amen?
Today, all across America, churches of many
denominations are celebrating Pentecost
Sunday...
But alot of Christians don’t even know what
Pentecost is!
And if Christians don’t know what Pentecost is
all about,
Then you know the world don’t have a clue.
But they need one!
Sometimes after a Sunday or Thursday service
I’ll go to a restaurant and the waitress will ask us
if we’ve been to church?
And usually when we answer "yes", they always
come back with the "where do you go to
church?"question.
And I tell them Church Alive!
Their first response to that answer is usually
"where’s that?"
And then what denomination are you?
(Walls illustration)
And when I tell them that we’re a non
denominational spirit-filled church they say well
what does that mean.
So I tell them we’re pretty much an independent
Pentecostal church.
Now a lot of times I lose them right there cause
they say oh you’;re one of those tongue talkers.
You’re one of those holy rollers the baptists
warned me about. Amen?
But most times they say "What’s Pentecost?"
(I wonder if the Catholics ever hear that
question... Baptists.... methodists... etc)
Even though there are millions of Pentecostal
and charismatic Christians in America and even
more millions...around the world...
...And more importantly, even though "The Day
of Pentecost" was the birthday of "The Church" -
God’s Church...
...Too many people are still asking the question
"What is Pentecost?"
I once heard a Pastor preach a message called
"What you don’t know - can hurt you"...
You say well Bishop "Are you saying that if you
don’t know what Pentecost is, you can’t be
saved?"
No. I’m saying that if you don’t know the
Principle... the Power... the Purpose... and the
meaning.... of Pentecost, according to the Bible it
can hurt you!
People who know about us Pentecostals often
believe the way we praise God is what makes us
fall under the catagory of PENTECOSTAL.
They think because we...clap...shout...dance..etc.
That that’s what makes us pentecostal!
CHURCH, PENTECOST HAS LITTLE TO DO
WITH THE WAY WE PRAISE!
IT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT
WE CLAP OUR HANDS OR... LIFT OUR
HANDS...
IT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH OUR
MUSIC...etc.
For the last one hundred years, people’s concepts
of Pentecostals had to do with the way we sing...
praise... clap... etc.
And because they don’t understand it they say
we’re crazy!
Nowadays our style of worship doesn’t stand out
as much because most churches have gone
contemporary.
BUT our services were contemporary when
contemporary wasn’t cool!!!
BUT THE PRINCIPLE... THE PURPOSE... AND
THE PRECEPT OF PENTECOST HAS LITTLE
TO DO WITH ALL THAT!
John Wimber was a product of the Jesus
movement in the 60’s.
He was converted in a dramatic way,
and began reading the New Testament,
He began in the Gospels and then went on to the
book of Acts.
He was excited about what he was reading,
but when he went to church he became
confused.
The polite and tidy service was over exactly on
time. etc.
So Wimber looked at some of the people around
him and said: "When are you gonna do the
stuff?"
"What stuff?"
He said, "You know. . . the stuff!"
He had been reading about the conversions,
healings, deliverance and other miracles that
took place in the early church and were recorded
the book of Acts.
He had read how the gospel was confirmed by
signs and wonders,
But instead of signs and wonders,
he saw no sign of anything that would make him
wonder,
All he saw was the deadness of the rituals and
traditions of men. Amen?
Yes, I DO want us to have the best music in
town... the best singing... the best praise...
...But that’s not what I want us to be known for!
...I want us to be known for the presence of God!
...And the presence of God IS the Principle, the
Purpose, and the Precept of Pentecost!
Turn to Acts chapter 2...
Your Bible says...
Acts chap. 2
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (one purpose; one desire) in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.(The next few verses tell us that people from other countries were in town, in Jerusalem, to celebrate Pentecost.)12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
I. The Day of Pentecost was the most important day in the history of the human race.
Pentecost was more important than any
celebrated day around the world.
It gathered into itself the purpose and plan
of God in the creation of man.
The purpose of the birth, the life, the death
and the resurrection of Jesus Christ was so
that the world could have a Pentecost.
"Why?"... I’ll tell you...
First, thanks to Adam & Eve, the Bible says
that we’re all sinners and inherently wicked...
none of us are good...
So for the first 2500 years of man’s existence,
God spoke to and dealt with mankind through
their conscience and audibly... (no written word of
God)...
But it didn’t seem to do much good.
During the latter 500 of that first 2500 years,
God chose a man named Abraham...
a righteous man who loved God...
...Gave him a son named Isaac and
eventually a grandson named Jacob.
In a confrontation one night,
God changed Jacob’s name to Israel...
In his old age, he and his family moved
to Egypt and there, his descendents
became the nation of Israel.
They stayed there 400 years...
300 of those years they were enslaved
by the Egyptians.
Finally, God raised up a man named
Moses and this is where it gets interesting...
* God tells Moses to go to Pharaoh...
* Pharaoh refuses... and the plagues begin...
* Water turned to Blood... insects... cattle die... boils... darkness...
After nine punishing plagues,
God says to Moses, "Here’s what we’re going to do...
(Explain the Passover...)
(Exodus... Red Sea...into the wilderness to Mount
Sinai)
Remember, all this time there had been no written
Word of God for man to live by...
AT MOUNT SINAI - FIFTY DAYS
AFTER THAT PASSOVER WHERE BLOOD WAS
SHED TO DELIVER ISRAEL...
...GOD GAVE MOSES HIS FIRST WRITTEN
WORD ON STONE TABLETS...
...THAT WAS THE FIRST PENTECOST -
MEANING FIFTY.
That Law - those commandments on stone tablets
- was to lead, guide, govern, and direct God’s
people.
For the next 1,500 years this Law was to be the
most important thing in their lives.
It was the first written Word of God.
It was their guidance.
It was their direction.
It was their conscience.
It’s what they lived by.
It’s what separated them from every other nation.
Every thing they did...every thing they were was
built on the Law.
It was the foundation of their relationship with
God.
Nothing was more important than the Law.
Nothing took precedence over the Law.
They read it daily.
They taught it to their children.
It was what connected them to Almighty God.
You say well why are you telling me all of this?
Because to understand Pentecost -
you have to understand its origin and meaning...
...It doesn’t have anything to do with the music!
At Passover, the blood was shed...
At Pentecost, (50 days later) God’s Word was
given.
That was what the Jewish Day of Pentecost was
all about.
The day God gave His Law to His People!
Now let’s fast forward 1500 years to 30 A.D.
It’s Passover Friday... Jesus Christ has been
crucified...
His blood has been shed...
And John calls Him the "Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world"!
Three days later He’s resurrected...
He spends the next forty days with His followers...
(See where this is going?)
On His last day with them He tells them to "Go to
Jerusalem and wait for the promise..."
What promise? The promise of His Spirit being
given for the first time...
He said... "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young
men shall see visions:"
He said... "A new heart also will I give you, and a
new spirit will I put within you: and I will take
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will
give you a heart of flesh.
"And I will put my spirit within you, and cause
you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them."
He called Him "The Spirit of truth...
He said He lives with you and IN you!
I will not leave you comfortless,
He said I will send a comforter.
And my favorite...
John 7:37-39
37. In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. [or ascended into Heaven])
Jesus had promised this so His followers [about
120] go to Jerusalem to an upper room of a
building, and there they pray, worship and wait
for 10 days...
Finally... on the Day of Pentecost - 50 days after
Christ’s Crucifixion at Passover...
The greatest phenomenon in the world
happened...
God began to fill men with His Spirit!
It wasn’t the Law written on stone tablets, but
rather it was Grace and Mercy written on the
hearts of men!
It was the Spirit of Almighty God filling willing
vessels of flesh!
But I tell you Pentecost was not just an event that
happened by coincidence or chance...
It was planned from the moment that sin entered
the world in the Garden of Eden until the moment
the wind began to blow in the upper room.
And when those Spirit-filled, spirit-intoxicated
and spirit-motivated people hit the streets of
Jerusalem the church was born!
****Pentecost changed the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
****Pentecost is more than a name of a church or
a name of a movement...
IT IS GOD’S DESIRE FOR OUR SECULAR AND
HUMANISTIC WORLD.
IT’S GOD’S DESIRE FOR EVERY MAN,
WOMAN, BOY AND GIRL!
We are ALL born sinners... so Jesus said, "you
must be born again...
And after that He said we need to be endued with
power from on high. Amen?
So many have been saved.
Or baptized,
But we’re left wanting more.
Or maybe we become satisfied with that,
But that’s not God’s plan!
Think about this...you can literally have the life of
God in you!
If you really want it, you can have the LIFE OF
GOD in you!
Closing
Pentecost is...
Not just the name of some churches...or
organizations...
It’s not just a movement...
Calling yourself Pentecostal doesn’t save you
or change you any more than climbing a tree and
eating a banana makes you a monkey...
It’s not just a religious choice to be made by
some...
But it’s an experience to be had by all!
A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE!
A SOUL-SAVING EXPERIENCE!
IT’S an empowering experience!
And IT’S MORE THAN JUST SALVATION....
It’s an intimate relationship with your God and
Savior Jesus Christ!
It’s a renewing of the mind...
It’s deliverance...
It’s joy unspeakable...
It’s miracles and blessings...
It’s a life of purpose and meaning!
