5-23-21 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

Pentecost

May 23, 2021

The Holy Spirit’s Wonderful and Prophesied Presence Acts 2:1-21 1) Marvel at God’s Wonderful Work in You 2) Believe in What This All Means Out of all the worship services you have attended in your life, which ones have been memorable? Maybe there’s one that sticks in your mind because of the sheer scale of it. For those of you who have gone to previous Worship Conference with the thousands in attendance and dozens of professional musicians or who celebrated the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation with us 4 short years ago, you probably had at least one moment that took your breath away. Maybe there’s a worship service that’s memorable to you because of a loved one’s baptism, confirmation, marriage, or burial. Perhaps you have a service in mind for the occasion that prompted it like after 9/11 when churches across America had special prayer services because of its tragic events. Or maybe the worship service that comes to mind is this one because you don’t too much experience with them. If that’s the case, then know that I’m happy you’re with us this morning as we gather around God’s Word and worship him with joyful and thankful hearts.

No matter what our memorable worship services may be, they probably don’t compare to what happened when the Christians gathered together for worship on Pentecost. As Acts chapter 2 tells us, it was there that the Holy Spirit made his presence known through all sorts of miraculous signs and blessed results. His presence was first of all wonderful because it brought spiritual life to 3,000 people in a similar way for us today. The Holy Spirit’s presence was also prophesied by the prophet Joel who tells us what Pentecost is all about and its general promise for all people. And as we consider the Holy Spirit’s wonderful and prophesied presence on Pentecost, we cannot help but marvel at his wonderful work in us today as we believe in what this all means.

1) Marvel at God’s Wonderful Work in You One of the things that made Pentecost so memorable were the miraculous signs that accompanied the Holy Spirit’s presence. There was the loud sound of rushing, violent wind that came from heaven and filled the house where the Christians were gathered, the divided tongues that looked like fire resting over each believer’s head, and the fluent speaking in unlearned languages. When the godly Jewish men visiting Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire heard the wind’s loud sound, they came over to investigate. And were they surprised by what they found! Listen to what these godly Jewish men said, “Look, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them speaking in his own native language?…11We hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:7-8, 11 EHV) 1

Pastor Tim Patoka

Pentecost

May 23, 2021

These Galilean men were fluently speaking the native languages of modern-day Iraq, Iran, and Turkey as well as the northern African countries of Egypt and Libya, the city of Rome, and the Arabian Peninsula. And what was it that they all heard in their native language?

“The wonderful works of God.” (Acts 2:11b EHV) These wonderful works were not simply the miraculous signs that accompanied the Holy Spirit’s presence. No, these wonderful works certainly included the words and works of Jesus Christ that these Galilean men had witnessed.

In fact, this is what all of Pentecost’s miraculous signs and blessed results stemmed from and pointed to – the most wonderful work of Jesus who lived, died, and rose for us.

If you were there at Pentecost, would you consider God does for us in Jesus Christ to be his most wonderful work? Or would you perhaps look to the accompanying miraculous signs?

It’s very likely that the godly Jewish men first looked to these because the wind’s sound, fiery tongues, and speaking in unlearned languages were something else. Could you imagine what would happen today if God did these miraculous signs among us today? The loud sound of rushing, violent wind to get the attention of our neighborhood? The divided, fiery tongues resting over our heads without burning us? The speaking in real, living languages that we’ve never studied before? Now that would be something else! In fact, I’m pretty sure it would make our livestream on Youtube be Grace’s first ever video to go viral. Think of all the wonderful things God could do!

However, when God’s idea of wonderful works doesn’t line up with our expectations, we can be tempted to hold it against him. To blame God for our situation today where so many reject Jesus as their Savior because God doesn’t do such public miracles anymore. To doubt God’s wisdom when he doesn’t do things as we think he should.

While the miraculous signs that accompanied the Holy Spirit’s presence on Pentecost were eye-catching, that’s not what made his presence wonderful. Rather it’s what he does in us by bringing us life in Christ through the faith he wondrously works in us. This faith is none other than trust in who Jesus is and what he has done. As we’ll confess our faith during the Prayer of the Church, it is the Holy Spirit alone who connects us to our Savior Jesus and all his blessings. As with Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones where the Holy Spirit brought physical life to the physically dead, so he brings spiritual life to we who are born spiritually dead through the gift of faith. A life that is blessed with forgiveness of all our sins and a strong connection to our risen Lord.

It’s this spiritual death to life through the gift of faith that has us marvel at the Holy Spirit’s wonderful presence. Pentecost is not about the miraculous signs that happened nearly 2,000 years ago. It’s about our Savior Jesus Christ who is the object of the faith that the Holy Spirit wondrously worked in 3,000 people that day, a faith that he continues to wondrously work in us today. When we consider the spiritual death we were born in and the obstacles and stumbling blocks to faith we face today, we cannot help but marvel at God’s wonderful work in 2

Pastor Tim Patoka

Pentecost

May 23, 2021

us. Because not only have we gone from spiritual death to spiritual life, we also have the promise of life everlasting. And it’s all because of the Holy Spirit’s wonderful presence and the faith he has worked in us.

2) Believe in What This All Means But not all had a favorable view of the miraculous signs that accompanied the Holy Spirit’s presence on Pentecost. There were some who mocked the Galilean men speaking in unlearned languages by alleging that they were drunk! It’s at this point that the apostle Peter addresses the crowd and tells them what this day’s events all mean. The Galilean men were not drunk. Rather, they were fulfilling part of what the Old Testament prophet Joel had prophesied 900 some years before in chapter 2(:28-32) of his prophetic book. In typical prophetic fashion, Joel uses a mountaintop perspective that prophesies soon-coming and much-later-coming events all together. And there are 3 things in particular that Joel prophesies – the Holy Spirit’s outpouring on Pentecost, signs of the great and glorious day of the Lord, and a general promise for all people of all time.

When it comes to the Holy Spirit’s outpouring on Pentecost, we see that the Lord doesn’t practice any discrimination with the Holy Spirit. Rather, he pours him out on people of both genders, all ages, and regardless of their social status. With this outpouring comes not only a new faith in Christ, but also an increase in faith and knowledge of Jesus. When it comes to the signs of the great and glorious day of the Lord, I won’t say much more because this is not an End Time sermon or Sunday. Rather, I’ll refer you to Matthew chapter 24 or Luke chapter 21 where Jesus speaks very plainly about what is currently happening and what will happen as we approach his second and final coming. When it comes to that general promise for all people of all time, we hear it best in Joel’s own words, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 quoting Joel 2:32 EHV) To call on the name of the Lord is to look to Jesus for salvation from our sins with a faith-filled heart. And because this is a general promise, we can always be sure that whoever looks to Jesus for salvation will find it and be judged not guilty for the wrongs they have done.

But here again we struggle to believe in what Pentecost all means. We have our sinful nature that instinctually tempts us to dismiss it all as did those who mocked the Galilean preachers for being drunk on new wine at 9 in the morning. We have friends, relatives, and acquaintances who are lost in their sins and would likely mock us if they knew what we truly believe in. We also struggle to call upon someone else for help because it means we can’t do it ourselves. No one likes to admit their failures and weaknesses, even if it is in private with God. And if we call on anyone else’s name, we have no promise of salvation or hope to be free from our sins.

Let us instead listen to Joel’s prophetic words that explain what Pentecost all means. It is the Lord beginning to fulfill what was prophesied 900 some years before by indiscriminatingly 3

Pastor Tim Patoka

Pentecost

May 23, 2021

pouring out the Holy Spirit on people to create faith in their hearts. This is also right in line with what Jesus himself talked about in our Gospel from John chapter 14(:26) where he says, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I told you.” (EHV) As with the miraculous signs, so also with Joel’s prophecy. It all goes back to Jesus who lived, died, and rose for you and me so that it may be true when it says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 quoting Joel 2:32 EHV) The one who calls upon Jesus with faith in their heart will be saved from their sins and the eternal punishment that hell is. This is the message that the Galilean men preached in unlearned languages as they urged the godly Jewish men to believe in what Pentecost all means, a message that we too are urged to believe in on this Pentecost Sunday nearly 2,000 years later.

Conclusion As the Holy Spirit makes his presence known in Jerusalem with miraculous signs and blessed results, we see how his presence on Pentecost is both wonderful and prophesied. The Holy Spirit’s presence is wonderful because he brings with him the gift of faith that connects us to our risen Savior and all his blessings. As we consider God’s wonderful works, we cannot help but marvel at what he’s done in us as he brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life through the gift of faith along with the promise of a forgiven and everlasting life. The Holy Spirit’s presence on Pentecost was also prophesied by the prophet Joel 900 some years before.

As we listen to what he prophesied about that day and what is to come, we hear what the Galilean men urged the godly Jewish men to believe – to call upon the name of the Lord with the promise to be saved. May we also listen to their words and firmly believe in what Pentecost all means now and forever. Amen.

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