"The Gospel: Clear and Powerful"

I’m sure by now, that it’s no surprise to anyone here this morning that today is Pentecost Sunday. What might surprise you would be for me to say that Pentecost is just as important as both Christmas and Easter. Sure, we know that the birth of Christ was essential to our salvation, because if Jesus hadn’t been born, he would not have been able to rescue us from our sins.

Easter is also crucial in God’s plan to save us, because our Lord, through the cross, Jesus purchased our salvation with his blood as the payment for our sins. Since Jesus has risen, we know his payment for our sin was accepted by God the Father. And since Jesus has risen from the dead, all believers share in the Easter Sunday promise of eternal life.

But Pentecost stands with Easter and Christmas as equally important. Why? Because, beginning with Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fills believers and spreads the Gospel. Before Pentecost, there was the Gospel promise – the promise of the coming Messiah. But now, salvation has been accomplished. Now by the Spirit’s power, we are made aware of the Gospel’s saving power, and all can be drawn to and moved to Christian faith and service by the Holy Spirit.

A man named John R.W. Stott wrote about the importance of the Holy Spirit in the Christians life. He wrote "Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be inconceivable. [Further], there can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding without the Spirit of Truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character apart from the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and no effective witness without his power."

So the third person of the Trinity provides the power for Christian faith, life, and growth. And here at the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gets the Good News out. In this passage from Acts, a huge assembly of people is made aware of the Gospel’s saving power and is drawn by the Spirit’s gracious work to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

The disciples were all together when the day of Pentecost arrived. And the sound of a rushing wind from heaven filled the entire house where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. It was the sound of the rushing wind that brought the multitude of devout men from every nation under heaven together. They were bewildered because they heard the disciples speaking in their own language. For the most part, the devout Jews listened to the message.

But odd as it seems, there were some that questioned what they were hearing. What they saw – the tongues of fire and what they heard – a bunch of Galileans speaking in their native tongues – should have been enough to convince them right away that something special was going on here.

But at first the meaning wasn’t clear. They were amazed and astonished and perplexed. They said to one another, "What does this mean?" They heard in their own tongues about the mighty works of God. And since they couldn’t comprehend the supernatural, they did like we humans tend to do – they came up with a natural explanation. They decide that these abilities to speak in different languages are the result of too much new wine.

I don’t know about the foreign language skills that each of you may possess. I took German in high school and some Spanish when I was in law enforcement to help deal with the large Latino population in the area. And of course I had to learn Greek as a pre-requisite for some seminary classes. I can’t remember ever trying to speak any of these languages when I might have had a little too much to drink. But I am quite sure that alcohol would not improve my ability to communicate in a foreign language. Of course there’s the possibility that I might think I could, but I’m pretty sure that I couldn’t suddenly start speaking fluent French or Italian, or Chinese, or anything else just because of too many margarita’s.

Fortunately, Peter explains the miracle that thousands of people witnessed that day. First of all, it was only 9:00 in the morning. There is no way they could be drunk. This was the time for morning prayers an sacrifice. No Jew was allowed to eat or drink before this time. Peter explains that they are all witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel – the outpouring of the Spirit.

The amazing part about this miracle was that language was not a barrier to this day’s Gospel proclamation. What a neat thing it must have been to be in a foreign country and hear the Gospel proclaimed, to hear about the mighty works of God, in your native tongue. These men from Galilee couldn’t have known all these languages. Isaiah 55:11 says "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Traveling in Europe several years ago, it wasn’t too hard to find people who spoke English. Only once in a while communication became difficult or impossible. In Germany, since I was the only one who knew some German, I would try to communicate in German, and that usually opened the doors of communication. I think they got tired of listening to me butcher their language and after a moment would figure out that I was an American and just start talking to me in English. I think they appreciated my attempt, but just found it easier on both of us if we just spoke English.

In other countries, like Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, we would just begin in English. Most of the time there was no problem. But it became funny after a while – when we listened to each other try to communicate even in English. Here was a bunch of G.I’s from Alabama. What was funny was that we began to sound almost British in the way we would speak slowly and clearly – our southern accents becoming almost imperceptible – at least when we talked to the Europeans.

On that first Pentecost day, the Lord wanted the Gospel to be easily understood. Knowing the Gospel message and receiving Christ in faith is of crucial importance, both then and now. Now the Gospel message of salvation is very, very clear. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord in faith shall be saved.

Verses 17 and 18 of our text as they were fulfilled at the first Pentecost as fulfilled as needed and directed by the Lord today. Today, prophecy is less a matter of foretelling future events and more a matter for "forthtelling" the Gospel news of salvation in Christ.

If the words of verses 19 and 30 sound familiar, it’s because they are an echo of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24 when he tells his disciples the signs of the last days. They are a clear reference to the Second Coming of Christ.

The "mighty works of God" declared by those who were under the power of the Holy Spirit that day were the works of salvation that Christ accomplished through his innocent death on the cross, and his resurrection. In that death we have forgiveness and in that resurrection we have the promise of eternal life.

As Peter continued his speech to the crowd, in the verses of Acts 2 just after our text, Peter explains to the crowd who Jesus was. He reminds them of the miracles He performed and the wonders and signs they saw. He tells that that Jesus was handed over according to God’s set purpose and plan. Peter tells them that with the help of wicked men, he was put to death on a cross.

After preaching the Law to them, Peter then preaches the Gospel. He tells them that God raised Jesus to life. That he is now exalted to God’s right hand. And that God had made this Jesus whom they had crucified both Lord and Christ.

The Holy Spirit draws our hearts to faith. To call upon the name of the Lord is to call him to our aid. In faith, we recognize that he alone can rescue us from the coming Day of Judgment, and the penalty of hell that our sins deserve. Peter tells the crowd to "Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This salvation is available to everyone. The Scriptures are clear; Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. With the Holy Spirit’s work, God now stands with those who call on His name.

Everything changed for those gathered in Jerusalem that day. New Christians were confessing what they had seen and heard. The clear message that day was that in Jesus Christ, all answers are supplied for life today and eternal life as well. The clear message today is that peace, joy, love, forgiveness, hope, and salvation all come through a faith relationship with the Savior.

The good news is that the power of God and the Word of God will triumph over all opposition. God will not, then or now, permit the message of his Son to be lost. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, we carry this good news with us on a day-to-day basis. Amen.