Dan Herold | Joel 2:28-29 | 6/4/2017
A few moments ago you heard me read the three scripture lessons which are typically read on the festival of Pentecost. When you think about Pentecost what sticks out in your mind? There’s the little flames that appeared on the disciples heads. There’s the sound of the wind, but just the sound, which the disciples heard but didn’t feel. There’s Peter’s sermon and all the people who came to faith that day. There’s the fact that these men from Galilee miraculously began to speak foreign languages so everyone could hear their message. Maybe there’s some other aspects that catch your attention too. So, with all that going on why do you think we read a passage from an Old Testament prophet who was writing about Judgement Day this morning? Why do you think Peter chose that section of Scripture from the prophet Joel for the basis for his sermon on Pentecost?
There’s a temptation for us, as I’m sure there was a temptation for the thousands of people in Peter’s audience, to think the events of Pentecost were about the disciples. They were the ones experiencing the awesome gifts that the Holy Spirit delivered. They were the ones miraculously speaking all those different languages. The disciples were the ones baptizing over 3000 people that day. It’s easy for us to put all the focus and attention on those men, but that’s not where it belongs and it’s not where Peter wanted the crowd’s attention to be either. The verses from Joel 2 that Peter spoke about and which we read this morning are very important words…they are so important because they put our focus back where it should be—on the Gospel and on Jesus.
By all means, the disciples were incredibly important people whom God used in a miraculous way, but the Holy Spirit didn’t come in the sound of a violent wind and tongues of fire to show us how great Peter and the others were. The events of Pentecost serve as a focusing lens. In the wake of the emotional lows and highs of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension we need something to re-focus us on the mission with which Christ left us—to baptize and make disciples of all nations. Pentecost does just that…the events of that day are evidence that Jesus was who he said he was and gives the church the gifts we need to move forward with the task that will occupy us until Jesus returns on Judgment Day.
As Luke records it in the book of Acts, some strange things happened on the day of the festival of Pentecost ten days after Jesus returned to heaven. We are told in Acts 2 that as the disciples were gathered together in a room,
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
And when it says that they were speaking in tongues, it really means other languages, and we know that because other people understand them and come to see this strange thing.
Luke says that there were people there from all nations under heaven, people from far away places, and they heard the disciples speaking in these different languages.
“So they said to each other, Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues (or languages)!” And they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
These people had just been given a gift! Even though they were in a foreign land they were hearing the disciples declaring the wonders of God in their own tongues! But just like we so often do, when we read God declare wonderful things to us, these people asked, “What does it mean?” They even wonder if the disciples had celebrated this festival a little too much and had drank too much wine. So Peter comes to the forefront of the group and begins to explain things.
He says, “Listen carefully…these men aren’t drunk, it’s too early in the day for that! No, this is what the prophet Joel wrote about.”
In other words…what they were seeing and hearing on that day of Pentecost some 2000 years ago is the event, or the day, that Joel had written about. It was also a prophecy that Jesus had repeated when he promised that the Holy Spirit would come to the disciples. Peter is saying that on that day Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled…we aren’t waiting for it anymore, we don’t need to look for it anywhere else, because God says (as he speaks through Peter) that it happened—that God’s Old Testament promise and Jesus’ more recent promise came true.
Well, that sheds a little light on the situation for us, but still…what does this mean? We know that God is the one who delivered this gift, but what are we supposed to do with it? From Peter’s sermon we can learn some things about that gift that help us know how to use it. Like with any gift, we can give thanks! We can give thanks for God’s gift of the Holy Spirit because it the Holy Spirit who focuses us on what is truly important and equips us to do what God asks us to do.
It generic cialis prices is easy to order an ED drug via a reputed and reliable drug store. NOTE: This drug india viagra unica-web.com is just for you. Men with ED may also be able to develop an erection which making love to your female companion. cialis canada cheap Others possess suffered incidents that may contain affected their genitals, thus having an adverse outcome in their sexual performance. low cialis cost is one of the pills for treating impotence. We can give thanks for this glorious gift because God gave us part of himself! The Holy Spirit is part of the trinity and is truly God. So, what an amazing gift it is that God gave part of of himself to his church. Joel wrote that God promised to send HIS Spirit, not some other spirit or someone else’s spirit. He promised to give himself to his followers so that he would always be with them to give us guidance and focus.
This gift was also a gracious gift because it wasn’t only given to one or two people, but on Pentecost all the Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit and today every Christian receives the Holy Spirit as well. Joel says that these gifts would be for old men and young men, for male and female servants. That doesn’t mean that everyone is necessarily going to get the same gifts, and it doesn’t mean that we should expect to instantaneously speak foreign languages like the Apostles did. It does mean, though, that each of us has spiritual gifts that we can put to use to share the message of salvation. Each of us is able to share our faith with others and we each are able to do that in different and unique ways.
But it was also a necessary gift. God gave an enormous and very important task to the church. Before Jesus ascended into heaven he spoke to his disciples and said,
“Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Jesus also told his disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. Now without some sort of help that would have been a task too big for any group of people, let alone a group that only started out with 11 men. So, God blessed them with a gift that made it possible.
God sent the Holy Spirit to give the Apostles the special gifts they would need to begin their work. He did that in two ways: he did that by sending his Holy Spirit to testify that Jesus was their savior and that his word is true and also by giving them the spiritual gifts they needed to be able to tell others about Jesus.
There were so many people to tell about Jesus that the Holy Spirit blessed the Apostles with the ability to speak in different languages so that they could get to work being Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth right away. There were so many opportunities to share the gospel that the Holy Spirit equipped the Apostles with whatever gifts were necessary for them to preach the message of salvation to those who were eager to hear it.
Lastly, we can give thanks for this gift because it was a practical one. The gift of the Holy Spirit was practical because it allowed the Apostles and the New Testament church to carry out its job of making disciples. It would be like if you gave a farmer a brand new tractor…not only is it a very gracious gift, but it’s also a practical one because it helps him do his job. It’s gifts like that—ones that you can use and have a practical purpose that really are the best.
When we come across verses in the Bible like Joel 2:28-29 at first they really can seem like that awkward gift we aren’t really sure what to do with. Thankfully though, all of Scripture is tied together and has a common purpose—to tell us about our Savior, Jesus. If you remember that truth it will help you understand even the most difficult parts of scripture.
When you come across a passage that just seems to be a little out there—one you have trouble understanding—the first question to ask is, “How do these words relate to Jesus?” Then you can look at the context and the sections around the one you’re having trouble understanding to help you see what it is saying about Jesus. You can even turn to other parts of Scripture that are easier to understand to help you understand the hard parts. That’s essentially what we just did—we looked at Peter’s words about this passage from Joel chapter 2 to see how it connects to Jesus.
And just like with any gift, even those awkward ones we don’t quite know what to do with, we can always give thanks for the gifs God gives. As we learn more about those gifts we learn why we can be thankful. In this case, where Joel recorded God’s promise that a time would come when he would send his Holy Spirit, we can give thanks for that gift because it was a gracious gift which came from God. We can give thanks because it was a gift the church needed in order to carry out the task they had been given by Jesus. And we can thank God for this practical gift which we can make use of everyday. Give thanks to God for his Holy Spirit who gives us focus and every spiritual gift we need.
Amen.