Text: Acts 2:17
'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out 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.
Prayer: from Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Today we celebrate Pentecost. It is a special day that we, as Christians, associate with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Christ in Jerusalem and the birth of the Christian Church.
There was Pentecost, however, before there was a Christian Church. The term, Pentecost, was a Greek term, meaning 50th day, given to the Jewish festival of weeks, which was observed 50 days after the festival of the barley sheaf during the Passover celebration. It marked the beginning of the offering of first fruits. This is why Jews from many nations and languages had gathered in Jerusalem on that day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the followers of Jesus.
But there was the Holy Spirit before there was Pentecost. The Bible including the Old Testament speaks of the Holy Spirit in many instances, and traditional Christian theology teaches that the Holy Spirit, has existed with the Father and the Son from the beginning of time.
There was Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit was active in the world before that great and glorious day which is described by Luke in the 2nd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that day when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the followers of Jesus, that day we consider to be the birthday of the Christian Church.
Luke writes about the Holy Spirit not only in the Acts of the Apostles but also in his gospel. Right in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke we read about the Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit was active from the beginning, but the day of Pentecost was unusual. It was remarkable. Luke sees it as a sign of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel:
“'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out 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. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”
Pentecost was the event that revealed that the Holy Spirit was given not just to special individuals such as Zechariah, or Elizabeth, or Mary, or John, or Simeon. The Holy Spirit was poured out upon a whole host of people who were to become the Church of Jesus Christ. Pentecost was the event that revealed that the Holy Spirit was given not just a special group of people, like the priests or Pharisees of Jerusalem, or the people of Judea. The Holy Spirit was poured out on people of many nations and many languages. It was a sign that God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, upon sons and daughters, upon young and old, upon servants and slaves.
It is no accident that it is Luke who records this event in his Acts of the Apostles.
The Apostle Paul is known as the great missionary of the Church. But it is Luke, the companion of Paul who is the historian and the scribe of the mission of the early church. It is Luke who records that at the Ascension Jesus said to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. It is Luke who records that the gospel is preached to an Ethiopian. It is Luke who records that the Holy Spirit was given to foreigners and gentiles. These are all signs that the prophecy of Joel is being fulfilled. God’s Spirit is poured out upon all flesh.
It is this very same Holy Spirit who has given power to the followers of Jesus throughout the ages to tell of the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ throughout the world to many nations in many languages. It is this very same Holy Spirit who gave inspiration and determination to the Reformed Church to send pioneering missionaries to the Arabian Peninsula, to India, to China. It was the same Holy Spirit who inspired Reverend Horace Underwood to preach the gospel in Korea. And the story continues to this day.
The Holy Spirit still blesses the followers of Jesus so that they may proclaim the gospel in word and in deed to people of every nation, language and race.
This morning we are witnesses to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We are a sign of the prophecy of Joel. We are followers of Jesus Christ and we are gathered here in one place. We have been gathered from many nations, from many languages. We who come from Korea, Taiwan, Ghana, France, Germany, Jamaica, the Netherlands, India, Canada, and the United States, and other nations, we who speak French, Tamil, Ashanti, Spanish, English, Dutch, Taiwanese, German, Japanese as well as others, are together to praise God and witness to the good news of Jesus.
We are a sign of the prophecy of Joel that God’s Spirit is to be poured out upon all flesh. We are witnesses to the promise of our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit that the good news of the gospel is for all people. What a blessing. I’m so glad to be here.