Pentecost

Pentecost

FRESH POWER FOR THE CHURCH TODAY

Pentecost (PP – 1)

Acts 2:1-47

(Preached 10-17-93 at CBBC – GBC – 12/2/01)

The Book of is a BOOK OF ACTS. (PP 2)

It is a book that records the actions of Jesus through the Christians of the first century in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost is a term derived from the Greek pentekostos, meaning fiftieth, which was applied to the fiftieth day after the passover. It was the culmination of the feast of weeks for the Jews.
In the church Pentecost is the anniversary of the coming of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended, he instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they should receive power from on high.
As a group of 120 were praying in an upper room in Jerusalem... fifty days after the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit descended upon them. This tremendous manifestation of divine power marked the beginning of the church, which has ever since regarded Pentecost as its birthday.
No part of God’s Word has received more prominence in the present-day excitement over the gifts of the Spirit nor has been so grossly misunderstood than the second chapter of Acts. In fact, a correct understanding of this pivotal passage is basic to any serious study of the charismatic gifts. Error and inaccuracy here are bound to be reflected in faulty doctrine and unsound interpretations elsewhere in dealing with relevant Scripture passages.
The paramount questions, therefore, to all who honor the Word and place it above experience are:
1) What is the significance of Acts 2?
2) What precisely does Pentecost mean?
3) What bearing does it have on today’s modern movements?
4) Does Pentecost teach a crisis experience of power subsequent to salvation?
5) Does speaking in tongues have anything to do with enjoying such an experience?"

*Careful scrutiny of God’s Word is necessary to answer these and similar questions highlighted in our day.
That brings us to our text for today.
TEXT: Acts 2:1-13, read all.
NOTE: (PP - 3)
I. THE POWER - VV. 1-13.
In future messages we will study:
II. THE PROPHECY - VV. 14-21.
III. THE PREACHING - VV. 22-36.
IV. THE PEOPLE - VV. 37-42.
V. THE PRODUCT - 43-47.

In Acts 1:8 we have the Promise of Power (Read).
The Promise – "You shall receive power"
The Plan – "You will be my witnesses"
The Place – "Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost"
In Acts 1:12 and 1:14, we find the Prerequisite of Power (Read).
1) Obedience – stayed in Jerusalem, waited.
2) One Mind – Unity.
3) Devoted to Prayer – Sanctification.
So, obedience, unity and prayerfulness result in God’s blessing
in fulfilling His promise of power.
Does any of this make any sense to us today?
Can we believe this for our church, for our time?
We must: (PP-4)
1. Recognize that Bible truth is always relevant to the present situation.
2. Acknowledge that Biblical principles can be drawn from the pages of Scripture to guide our lives today.
3. Decide to believe and obey the truths presented and allow them to change the way we live.
4. Discipline ourselves to the reality that if there is no continuing growth in our spiritual life and expanding integration of Biblical truth in the way we live... we are not right with God.

I. THE POWER - VV. 1-13. (PP – 5)
If we want power to face the challenges of today,
we must be: (V. 1)

1. "All together" - one accord, one mind, *Acts 1:14.
2. "One place" - on the same page, in the same place.
Same direction, same goals, same mind set, same mission, same vision. (Our Vision, Our Goals have been clearly explained in the Tri-Fold printed the first year I came as Pastor and explained before I was ever called as Pastor.)

Illustration:
How many have ever been in the military? (Hands)
How many are familiar with what is called "boot camp" even if you were not in the military? (Hands)
Do you know what one of the main objectives of "boot camp" is?
To get everyone on the same page. To train the soldiers to walk in sync. To teach the new recruit what is really important in the military.

Why?
So they will all be on the same page, so they will all be headed in the same direction, so they can have the maximum effectiveness in battle.

Friends, for us to be most effective in the spiritual warfare we are faced with every day, we must all be on the same page, headed in the same direction. We must have one mind, unity in our diversity.
3. We must be developing a heavenly mindset. We must all be seeking the same Biblical mindset and spirituality. We must seek the mind of Christ - Phil. 2:5, Col. 3:1-3, Rom. 12:2.

The Devil’s tactic is to divide and conquer. United we stand… divided we fall. We need to stand together in the battle for the Lord.
4. Our goal should continually and openly be... to be like Jesus.
PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP - Same)
Unite in a Christian sub-culture and support group so you can combat the forces of evil that surround you. Unite in mind and in spirit through the local church.
It is in the Christian community that we can find strength and help to face the problems we encounter.
It is in the safe harbor of Biblical values that we can be assured of God's blessing in the midst of the storm.

*The people in Acts faced a world of opposition:
1. The Jewish religious system.
2. The Roman government.
3. The cultural bias of the time - Jew had no relation with Gentiles, especially in religion. Now Gentiles were coming to the God of Israel.
4. Note... they found their strength in the company of those who believed.

APPLICATION
Are you united in mind and spirit with this local body of believers?
Are you contributing to the support of others as they face the evil around them? (How? – Answers)

Are you discouraged as you face your problems all alone?
Unite with us to face your difficulties and challenges.

B. The Spirit entered with such power He came with noise, wind, and fire. He "filled" all who were there. They spoke in other languages. (VV. 2-4)
1. To be filled means:
a. Diffused throughout their souls.
b. Permeated completely.
c. Soaked through and through.

Question:
Have you ever been filled with the Holy Spirit?

2. The Evidences of the Holy Spirit’s Coming In Acts 2.
a. Wind.
1) A sound as of a rushing mighty wind was the first evidence of the Spirit’s coming.
2) It came suddenly so that it could not be attributed to any natural cause, and it came from heaven, which probably refers both to the impression given of its origin and also to its actual supernatural origin.
3) It was not actually wind but rather a roar or reverberation, for verse two should be literally translated "an echoing sound as of a mighty wind borne violently."
4) It filled all the house which means that all of the 120 would have experienced the sensation since so many people would of necessity have been scattered throughout the house.
5) This was a fitting evidence of the Spirit’s coming, for the Lord had used this very symbol when He spoke of the things of the Spirit to Nicodemus (John 3:8).

b. Fire.
1) The audible sign, wind, was followed by a visible one, fire.
2) Actually the tongues which, looked like fire divided themselves over the company, a tongue settling upon the head of each one.
3) This, too, was an appropriate sign for the presence of the Holy Spirit, for fire had long been to the Jews a symbol of the divine presence (Exod 3:2; Deut 5:4).
4) The form of the original text makes one doubt the presence of material fire though the appearance of the tongues was clearly as if they had been composed of fire.

c. Languages.
1) Finally, each began to speak in a real language which was new to the speaker but which was understood by those from the various lands who were familiar with them.
2) This was the third piece of evidence.
3) These tongues were evidently real languages (vv. 6–8 ) which were spoken, and the imperfect tense, "was giving" (v. 4 ), indicates that they were spoken in turn, one after another.

2. The Effects of The Holy Spirit’s Coming in Acts 2.
a. Baptism.
1) The most important effect of the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost was the placing of men and women into the body of Christ by His baptism.
2) Our Lord spoke of this baptizing work of the Holy Spirit just before His ascension (Acts 1:5), and it is clear from His words that this was a ministry of the Spirit thus far unknown [even to those to whom He had said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost" (John 20:22)].
3) If the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not something new to men until the day of Pentecost, then the Lord’s words in Acts 1:5—and especially the future tense of the verb "ye shall be baptized"—mean nothing.
4) Although it is not specifically recorded in Acts 2 that the baptism of the Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost, it is recorded in Acts 11:15–16 that this happened then, and Peter states there that what happened at Pentecost was the fulfillment of the promise of Acts 1:5.
5) However, it is Paul who explains what this baptism (not to be confused with what is meant in Acts 2:38) accomplishes when he writes, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor 12:13).
6) In other words, on the day of Pentecost men were first placed into the body of Christ and that being accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
7) Thus, since the church is the body of Christ (Col 1:18), the church could not have begun until Pentecost.

Effects of the Holy Spirit’s coming:
b. Bewilderment.
1) Certain visible effects of the Spirit’s coming were evident in the crowd which gathered as a result of the phenomena connected with His coming.
2) At first the people (including Eastern or Babylonian Jews, Syrian Jews, Egyptian Jews, Roman Jews, Cretes and Arabians) were amazed.
3) Literally the text says that they stood out of themselves with wide-open astonishment (v. 7 ).
4) This is a mental reaction showing that their minds were arrested, confused, flabbergasted by what they observed.
5) Next they were perplexed (v. 12 ). This is a strong compound word from an adjective which means impassable and hence the word comes to mean to be wholly and utterly at a loss.
6) The amazement meant that they did not know. The perplexity meant that they knew they did not know.
7) Not knowing is always a blow to man’s pride; consequently this crowd, driven to find an answer to what they had seen and heard, replaced their ignorance with criticism (v. 13 ).
8) These are merely normal reactions of Satanically-blinded minds to which the things of God are foolishness (2 Cor 4:4; 1 Cor 2:14) and should not surprise us if they occur today.

9) The offense of the cross has not ceased.

Illustration
A "candid camera" television program portrayed a scene in which a motor had been removed from a car. The car was towed to the top of a hill and allowed to coast down the hill and into a service station with a lady from the program steering it.
When the attendant went to check the oil you can imagine his amazement at making the "missing motor" discovery. With disbelief and frustration he exclaimed, "Lady, you have no motor!"
This is the same the amazement, the same perplexity of the crowd in Acts 2.
Application to Christians:
It is just as foolish for us to think of ministering without God’s power as to try to drive a car without a motor. The Lord was teaching the disciples their helplessness apart from the Holy Spirit. For us to try to function for the Lord without the motor of the Holy Spirit is ridiculous. We may coast down a hill but when we must climb the mountain, we will be without power.
C. Read Acts 2:4.
1. The filling with the Holy Spirit is separate from the baptism of the Spirit.
2. The Spirit’s baptism occurs once for each believer at the moment of salvation (cf. 11:15-16; Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 2:12), but the Spirit’s filling may occur not only at salvation but also on a number of occasions after salvation (Acts 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9, 52).
3. An evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was other tongues (heterais gloµssais; cf. 11:15-16).
a. These were undoubtedly spoken living languages; the word used in 2:6, 8 is dialektoµ, which means "language" and not ecstatic utterance.
b. This gives insight into what is meant by "tongues" in chapters 2; 10; 19; and in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

4. This event marked the beginning of the church.
a. Up to this point the church was anticipated (Matt. 16:18).
b. The church is constituted a body by means of Spirit baptism (1 Cor. 12:13).
c. The first occurrence of the baptism of the Spirit therefore must indicate the inauguration of the church.
d. Again, Acts 2:1-4 does not state that Spirit baptism took place at Pentecost. However, 1:5 anticipates it and 11:15-16 refers back to it as having occurred at Pentecost. The church, therefore, came into existence then.

D. Pentecost signifies the coming of the Holy Spirit from heaven to take up His residence upon the earth in the newly formed church.
1. Although He was and is omnipresent as God, and present among men in all ages, so definitely was the new age to be characterized by the Spirit’s intimate presence, that our Lord in the Upper Room Discourse (John chapters 13–16 ) just before His death, declared that the Father would send the Spirit from heaven and that He would arrive upon the earth to take up His residence in the new people of God on the earth.
2. Jesus said, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide (menei, keep on remaining) with you for ever (eis ton aio„na, throughout the age)" (John 14:16, italics added).
3. Jesus continued, "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient (fit, proper) for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come (has arrived), he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:7–8, italics added). "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come (elthe„, has arrived) he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13, italics added).
4. These prophecies of our Lord unquestionably had Pentecost in view and were fulfilled in the events of that great day.
a. In light of this it is irrational for a regenerated believer to expect Him to enter into him, when the Spirit of God already permanently indwells his redeemed body (1 Cor 6:19; Rom 8:9) and is promised never to leave him (John 14:16–18).

b. Since the Spirit was given and received at the beginning of the church to inaugurate it and the blessings of the gift were poured out upon God’s new people then, we do not have to ask for the gift as if He had never been given or to attempt to receive Him when He has already been received for many centuries, and His benefits have been made available to every Christian since His original bestowal in Acts 2.

D. We are exhorted over and over in the epistles to "walk in the Spirit", "to be filled with the Holy Spirit", to yield to the control of the Holy Spirit.

This is the FRESH POWER THAT THE CHURCH NEEDS TODAY!

"Power" represents chiefly the Greek words dynamis and exousia.

1. Exousia means derived or conferred ‘authority’, the warrant or right to do something (Mt. 21:23-27).
2. Dynamis is ability (2 Cor. 8:3) or strength (Eph. 3:16), or it may mean a powerful act (Acts 2:22) or a powerful spirit (Rom. 8:38).
3. Christ had all authority given him by his Father (Mt. 28:18) and he used it to forgive sins (Mt. 9:6) and to cast out evil spirits (Mt. 10:1). He gave authority to his disciples to become sons of God (Jn. 1:12) and to share in his work (Mk. 3:15). Jesus came to his ministry in the power (dynamis) of the Spirit (Lk. 4:14), and his power was operative in healing miracles (Lk. 5:17) and he did many mighty works (Mt. 11:20).
4. In the Acts we see the power of the Spirit operative in the life of the church (4:7, 33; 6:8; cf. 10:38).
5. Paul looks back to the resurrection as the chief evidence of God’s power (Rom. 1:4; Eph. 1:19-20; Phil. 3:10) and sees the gospel as the means by which that power comes to work in men’s lives (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:18). (*Authority.)
Take note of the power and authority that is ours in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 1:18-23
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
E. What happened in Acts 2 was a miracle of the power of God.
(VV. 8-13)
1. They spoke of "the mighty deeds of God" - (V. 11).
2. They were witnessing - (Acts 1:8).
3. The "multitude" began to question - (V. 12).

*The purpose of the power given in the Person of the Holy Spirit is that people be brought to God in salvation, sanctification and worship.
Some have avoided the name charismatic but, "charismatic" simply means to respond to the presence of the Holy Spirit. It means to receive and to try to express the Holy Spirit’s message in the present age. In this since, we all need to be "charismatic".
4. Some mocked them. (V. 13)
PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP - Same)
Speak of the mighty deeds of God. Praise Him openly for His goodness and His grace to you.
a. The Holy Spirit wants to use us to transform men, to teach others and to build His church. But so often self gets in the way.
b. The power of the Spirit is present in the life of every Christian but often He finds our lives clogged with all manner of fleshly desires so that a full flow of His power is impossible. Drastic action is in order to allow Him free course. We should never be satisfied in our ministries to operate as "mere men."
c. We can invent new church structures, learn modern techniques, and originate challenging programs, but these in themselves are not enough.
d. These may win people to our organizations, but not to the living Christ.
e. We need men and women abandoned to God, contagiously radiant because in their inner lives a conversation goes on with Him who is Lord.
f. We need people who fill one’s soul with a free, spontaneous worship. In their presence your spirit has wings; you sense the very presence of God.

Do we not have more to praise God for than these first century Christians? YES... then let us praise Him.

Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and used of Him to win people to Christ.
*PLAN OF SALVATION*
People need to see a difference in our lives so they will come to Christ.
APPLICATION for the Christian:
Do people see the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Do people marvel at what God is doing in us?
Are people being saved because of the power of God in us?

END

Should Theology Today Be Charismatic?
—
Frederick Sontag*
Theology should reflect some mode of the way God chooses to appear in our time. In that case, can there, should there, be a charismatic theology today? To construct a theology always involves speaking about God, but this should be done in a technically adequate way. This means that the notion of God employed becomes the key in solving the problems the religious life of the day presents to theology. However, the theology that results must also be responsible to the tradition of the religious body from which it arises as well as to the ways in which God has been described in our common religious past. To be "charismatic" simply means to respond to the presence of the Holy Spirit. But, further, it means to receive and to try to express the Holy Spirit’s message in the present age.
Thus to be truly charismatic a theology would have to take its cue as much from an experience of the descent of the Holy Spirit as from Scripture or from tradition or from an understanding of the life of Jesus. Although a charismatic theology does not begin with a notion of God as Father or King but instead rises from below, it need not neglect Scripture or tradition or Jesus. To be a charismatic theology only requires that the experience of the presence and the movement of the Holy Spirit form the basis for the constructive theological effort. The experience of the Holy Spirit becomes the key upon which "God" and "Son" and "Church" are interpreted versus, say, taking the NT documents alone as in themselves the fundamental norm. A charismatic theology must be inspired by the enthusiasm of the Spirit. Otherwise theology comes at its task doomed to misunderstand God and sterile in its impact.
Should Christian theology be charismatic, whatever kinds of theologies or descriptions of God others might develop? Is there anything in the Christian experience that argues for this kind of theology as against another? At least two things stand out. First, the primitive Christian Church was formed at Pentecost (Acts 2:1) by the Holy Spirit’s descent, not by the individual power of the early disciples. They were sure of that. Thus a main branch of Christian theology stems from this event, if it is faithful to its community origins. The charismata—the favors, endowments, graces and offices bestowed by God’s action—first came to us, not directly from God or even from Jesus, but through the presence of the Holy Spirit in the early Church’s midst. No church, then, can be authentic without the Holy Spirit’s presence, nor does any group become the body of Christ except by the Spirit’s inspiration. In that sense, the death and resurrection of Jesus are not sufficient to establish a Christian community in separation from the Holy Spirit’s presence.
*Frederick Sontag is professor of philosophy at Pomona College in California.
However, the second justification for a charismatic theology is more important. "Jesus has risen," as the creeds report, but he has also ascended. Until the day of God’s direct intervention into the world and human affairs, a time that is still indeterminate, the mode of God’s presence with us is via the Holy Spirit. Since the day of Jesus’ departure, we are not necessarily in the age of the death of God but we are at least in the time of God’s indirect presence. If all that we affirm is that God was present in Jesus of Nazareth we may miss experiencing his presence today, unless we realize that God is no longer present with us in that form but only in the experience of the Holy Spirit. God chose a direct mode of presence to the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt, and God chose a visible presence in the form of the Son or the suffering servant in the time of Jesus. But since the close of those two ages, his form or presence is often less specific and usually more spiritual.
Most Christian theology has used one form of Greek or western philosophy in order to shape its technical doctrines. Does this mean that a charismatic theology could not be done in a rational form as western thought would recognize it? Would a charismatic theology somehow elude, or claim to be above, the analysis or grasp of reason and thus launch an irrationalism in theology? Would emotion, with all its vagaries and excesses, take over so that all hope of a critical appraisal of theology is set aside? Not necessarily. To seek inspiration by a divine spirit was alien neither to Plato nor to many Greek philosophers. Everything depends on how one conceives of the role of both emotion and inspiration and their relationship to rational comprehension and theological construction. At its base, movement and source for the structure of charismatic theology is the descent and movement of a divine spirit. But there is no reason that its appraisal, and the constructive effort built upon it, cannot still be a product of reason.
A charismatic theology would, however, have to start with the premise that the Spirit and his movements offer more direct access to God’s nature than rationality as such. It would interpret Jesus’ presence as the Spirit of God who has taken on human form. Thus God’s nature must be such as to be compatible with the human spirit in order to be present to us in a concrete form. We may, then, use human concepts to interpret God because he first demonstrated to us his essential identification with human form by incarnating spirit in human flesh. This need not mean that we think God is capable of presenting the divine only in a human, male body. But if we take our clue from the mode of spirit, it does mean that we can use the human spirit as a means to understand God more fully, even if the physical form of the body might vary. Men and women reason; they are moved by emotions; they will. These aspects are a part of human nature and thus of God’s—if our chief theological clues are the Holy Spirit’s incarnation in Jesus and at Pentecost.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are varied and are not equally distributed. Thus no theology can be universal—that is, equally valid for all. Nor can it exert the same force in every age and with every people. Even if the Holy Spirit is always with us, we are not always aware of this in similar ways, which means we must pass through dry spells whose duration we cannot predict. We also know that the power of any theology cannot lie in its literal word, even if it should be carefully constructed definitionally. Its real force will lie in the spirit it manages to encapsulate and transmit to others. The performance of rituals is not banned, nor is the observance of sacraments of no avail. However, the power of God cannot be said to move in or through them unless the Holy Spirit descends—and this we cannot compel. Churches may be built and people assembled. Priests and ministers may be ordained and serve their people, if it suits human convenience. But God is not present unless the Holy Spirit chooses to descend.
Aristotle and Aquinas tend to see God’s chief attributes as form and pure act, and this is one divine possibility. But a charismatic theology is more at-tuned to movement, time, change, contingency, and to the decisions of will that cannot be fixed in advance. Emotion is present, and we ignore it only at the risk of excluding the dynamics of spirit. This is one important aspect Descartes failed to see. However, to be emotionally moved is likewise no guarantee of the presence of the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, the descent of the spirit never occurs without corresponding emotional phenomena. In all of this, the function of reason is not excluded. It is enhanced by this psychological phenomenon, since it is reason’s task to establish criteria to judge the genuine and authentic presence of God in any spiritual movement. Merely to feel moved spiritually is in itself no guarantee of divine origin. The Devil moves people too. However, God’s presence is never without its disturbing side effects, all of which makes it difficult for us to distinguish God’s genuine movements with any certainty.
In a charismatic theology, "power" [OMNIPOTENCE] rather than omniscience becomes our key concept for understanding God’s nature. Plato ultimately decided to define "being" as "power" (cf. The Sophist), and charismatic theologies should follow his lead. What is real is what has power to move. All other divine perfections and attributes are subsidiary and can be present in God in a variety of arrangements. Such a divinity cares not so much for the fixity of its being as for maintaining its power to move creation and human creatures, psychologically as well as physically. Of course, Christians claim that this power in God is best understood in the form of outgoing love and compassion, even as we experience destruction in the present age. However, we need a faith in God’s future actions if we are to affirm this, since power as it is our confidence in divine love and compassion manifest in our present natural order often evidences quite opposite qualities. We humans demonstrate no significant preference for manifesting our power in the form of self-sacrificing love. In fact creatures often show a predominance of, and a preference for, power in the form of aggression even to the point of destruction.
A God who would choose to express himself in charismatic phenomena will maintain form and order as second to power in the divine nature. Power can hold one selected order on its course versus other possible orders. Without power to sustain it and the strength of will to elect it, no order or natural process could continue long in existence. Our world and human minds have a rational form and can take on additional forms, but such forms hold no ultimacy in God’s nature. Thus it is possible that an emotion such as love could move a divine being more than a form of rationality or a mode of justice (cf. Anselm’s views on God’s ultimate demand for justice in his Cur Deus Homo). God can operate with a variety of orders. However, divine will and emotions seek an outlet, and this requires a stability in nature for expression. A charismatically expressible God can set structure aside, or he can elect to do so, in order to achieve emotional satisfaction. The descent of the Holy Spirit is unpredictable and uncontrollable by the human mind. As the Spirit’s source, God must be also.
Those who experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit and their accompanying exaltation are often blinded to the fact that ultimately they may not care much for the God who is the source of these gifts. Most human beings prefer a God who is rationally confinable, one who actions are fixed. Faced with such a secure divinity, we frail beings can be comfortable in the security that such necessity provides to an uncertain humanity. Blinded by the ecstasy of divine descent, we may fail to see that the God who enters human life in this mode does not have to give us any guarantees. It is not that divinity is not capable of holding to its word. God’s power guarantees that to us. But to feel oneself possessed by an ecstatic spirit does not tell us in itself whether the uplift is divine or demonic, creative or destructive. We take risks in following such a God, whereas theologically deterministic views of foreordination offer us greater security. We are often fooled when we experience emotional upsurge, and so we need further tests other than ecstatic possession to be sure of divinity’s presence.
Now the convinced Christian will ask: But has God not given us a promise and a glimpse of divinity’s true intentions in the life of Jesus, and can we not trust this? God has indeed given us a sign, and those who believe in it do have a promise. But faith is needed if we are to hold on to such a promise, just because God’s intention is not and cannot be obvious to all humanity. Thus the Christian stands not with nature and the course of history but against it. This is why he or she is called to lead a difficult and not a natural life. Only a little in the world around us justifies the Christian’s hope. However, a God of the spirit who communicates by uncontrollable and uncertain charismatic gifts is also a God who might choose to work against the structures and the expectations implicit in the natural order as created. Reason would bind God to follow nature’s present course, as philosophers have observed. The power of emotion could free divinity from a bondage to the natural order. But God’s presence will be felt in strange, and sometimes even mistaken, signs.
Ronald Knox’s Enthusiasm is a classic if we want to study the effects of enthusiastic, or charismatic, movements. He points out that such groups are almost always at first denounced as "an innovation," and of course so they are. Yet from the point of view of any particular charismatic group they may claim to preserve the primitive discipline of the Church. Quite often the group will appeal to the effects they have seen a charismatic spirit have in transforming a broken human’s life. They see it more as an affair of the heart and less as an intellectual approach to religion. Luther, for instance, did not begin as an enthusiast, but charismatic change burst forth once he had shaken off the pattern of European theology.
This fact is not strange, since theology simply takes religious experience and codifies its primitive expressions in a systematic form. Its task is to hold such experience in an intellectual framework and in so doing to rob it of its explosive character. Thus religious emotions and responses cannot break out again until the rational framework that has controlled them and reduced them to an item of thought is broken so that spirit flows formless once again. For a hundred and fifty years after Luther, the search for a new theological form became the preoccupation of the best religious minds, just as the keenest religious spirits were caught up in experiencing every possible form of response to the Holy Spirit’s new movements.
False experiences are bound to creep in, and some would distinguish between "inspiration" as a real feeling of the divine presence and label "enthusiasm" as a false one. However, just like the attempt to distinguish "cult" from "religion" in order to label one false and the other true, no such definition is quite obvious. In his Treatise on Religious Affection, Jonathan Edwards tried to outline the criteria for distinguishing true from false religious emotion. This is the theologian’s task, but we need to remember two things: (1) No definition or set of criteria can be definitive or settle all controversy; and (2) the job needs doing again in any age in which charismatic gifts move large numbers of people.
No set of criteria or rational reconstruction can hope to define what a "charismatic" theology is unless it admits the legitimacy of ecstatic experience. Neither emotion nor ecstatic experience can be excluded from our definition of "knowledge." Using an exclusively rationalist base for epistemology will rule out the crucial features of charismatic theology. This is the chief issue we face today, since the majority of our inherited theologies are products of the age of rationalism. An empiricism need not exclude emotion, but that will depend on how it defines the "experience" it uses as its touchstone. Charismatic theology challenges us philosophically, since we must reappraise our fundamental assumptions and philosophical first principles before the constructive theological task can begin without distortion. JETS 30/2 (June 1987) 202

II. THE PROPHECY - (VV. 14-21) (PP – 4)
Peter told them they were not drunk, it was only 9 a.m.
(VV. 14-15)

B. Peter told them of the prophecy of Joel. (VV. 16-21)
("Continuous fullfillment" - Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, pp. 155-156.)

PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP - Same)
Yield to the power of the Holy Spirit so the prophecy of Joel may be fulfilled in you and many of our community may be saved.
APPLICATION for the Christian:
Do you know the Word of God well enough to defend yourself as Peter did?

Can you give the lost world the reason for the hope you have within you?
Do you take a stand in the face of the opposition?
III. THE PREACHING - (VV. 22-36) (PP – 5)
A. Peter, who denied Christ, now is a powerful preacher.
B. He gave them the gospel:
1. VV. 22-24.
2. VV. 32-33.
3. John 3:16, Rom. 5:8, I Pet. 3:18.
PLAN OF SALVATION
PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP - Same)
Be bold in your presentation of the Gospel. The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The world is bold and blatant in the presentation of its products, merchandise, philosophy and new age religion. (Beer Commercials, Sex Sit-Coms, Trash Talk Shows, Coors Billboards)
We as believers are falling behind in our timidity. We must be bold in our preaching of the gospel.
APPLICATION
Do you share the gospel with the lost world?
Do you witness as Peter did?
Will you allow the Holy Spirit to empower you so you can witness for Christ?

PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP - Same)
Recognize that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.
"Lord" = master, owner, absolute and ultimate authority, sovereign - Jehovah / Adonai.

"Christ" = messiah, anointed one.
He is in control of all things. He is the one to whom we owe our allegiance. He will bring us through the dark storm just as He did the first century Christians.
-----------------------------------------------------
IV. THE PEOPLE - (VV. 37-42)
A. They asked a question - V. 37.
B. They were given the answer - V. 38-40.
PLAN OF SALVATION
C. They were saved and baptized - V. 41.
PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP)
Realize that repentance is a necessary part of Biblical Christianity.
Repentance - "metanoia" = the inward change of mind, affections, convictions and commitment rooted in the fear of God and sorrow for offenses committed against him. > Accompanied by faith in Jesus Christ, repentance results in an outward turning from sin to God and His service in all of life.

*No Easy Believism - No belief without change of life* II Cor. 5:17

D. They began practicing their faith - V. 42.
*Js. 2:26 - faith without works is dead.
PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP)
True repentance and faith will result in a change of behavior from an ungodly lifestyle to a godly lifestyle. The believer will have a desire to be close to God.
APPLICATION
Have you been saved?
Have you been baptized?
Have you joined this church?
Do you devote yourself to the teachings of the Word?

V. THE PRODUCT - (VV. 43-47).
A. They shared all things - V. 44-45.
B. They had one mind - V. 46.
C. They were in the "temple"/ church - Heb. 10:23-25.
D. They kept the Lord's Supper, Communion - V. 46.
E. They ate together - V. 46.
F. They were sincere - V. 46.
G. They praised God - V. 47.
H. They had a good testimony with all people - V. 47.
I. The ones who were saved each day felt comfortable "adding" themselves to the church.

J. "And the Lord was adding to their number day by day" - V. 47.
1. Oh, that we would have the power of Pentecost so the Lord would add to our number each day. (Through salvation – to the body of Christ / Through fellowship and communion – to the local assembly, congregation or church)

2. Are we willing to pay the price?

3. Do we really want the filling of the Holy Spirit?

PRINCIPLE for Life Today: (PP)
If we will follow the example of the first century church, we can experience the same awe, community, unity, fellowship, gladness, transparency, worship, favor, and growth as they did.
QUESTION...
Will we follow their example?
Conclusion:
ILL. Fellowship - "After many months, a Russian girl..."
Could this be a commentary on our Glasgow Bible Church Community?
Do we really need each other?
Do we really care for one another?
Let's follow the example of the first century Christians.

Fresh Power for the Church Today
PENTECOST
Acts 2:1-47
Pastor Mike Padgett
I. THE POWER - VV. 1-13.
A. If we want the "power" today, we must _________________________________
______________________________________________________________
PRINCIPLE: Unite in a Christian sub-culture and support group so you can combat the forces of evil that surround you. Unite in mind and in spirit through the local church.

B. The purpose of the power is that men be brought to God.
PRINCIPLE: Speak of the mighty deeds of God. Praise Him openly for His goodness and His grace to you.
II. THE P__________________________________ - VV. 14-21.
A. Peter took a stand for Christ.
B. Peter told them the prophecy of Joel.
PRINCIPLE: Yield to the power of the Holy Spirit so the prophecy of Joel may be fulfilled in you and many of your community may be saved.
III. THE PREACHING - VV. 22-36.
A. Peter, who denied Christ, is now a powerful p_____________________.
B. He gave them the gospel.
PRINCIPLE: Be bold in your presentation of the Gospel. The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
PRINCIPLE: Recognize that God has made Jesus both Lord and Christ.
IV. THE PEOPLE - VV. 37-42.
A. They asked a question.
B. They were given the answer.
C. They were saved and baptized.
PRINCIPLE: Realize that repentance is a necessary part of Biblical Christianity.
D. They began practicing their faith.
PRINCIPLE: True repentance and faith will result in a change of behavior from an ungodly lifestyle to a godly lifestyle. The believer will have a desire to be close to God.

V. THE PRODUCT - VV. 43-47.
A. List the characteristics of the Christian community:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
B. Note the reaction of the unsaved.
PRINCIPLE: If we will follow the example of the first century church, we can experience the same a________, community, u__________, fellowship, gladness, transparency, w_____________, favor and growth as they did.

Will we follow their example?

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