The Coming of the Holy Spirit

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. So we're kind of doing a little preemptive strike here, okay? That is, for a lot of churches, Pentecost, and even if we would follow up, Pentecost is 50 days after Passover, so we're kind of doing a little early because we've been going through a series called the biography, Words of Life, where we see really the story of the scriptures go from the beginning, in the beginning, the prologue, all the way through the resurrection of Jesus and into the church, and that's what we're in right now. And so we've been kind of moving all the way from January through now into the end of April, through the entire Bible, and showing that it's not just isolated little stories and moral points along the way, but the story of God and how he works in all sorts of situations, how he acts and what he does and what's going on. So today we're looking at Pentecost. And Jesus had told his disciples before he went to the cross in the Gospel of John, chapter 16, that he was going to leave them, and they were a little upset about that. Wait a minute, we've been with you for three years. But Jesus said in John 16, where he said, it's to your advantage that I leave you, because if I leave you, then I will send the Holy Spirit, the helper, and he will disclose everything about me. And that's what he did. I think I've got a slide on that verse right there. I don't know if those are going to come up or not. Yes. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And that's what Jesus did. And the day is called Pentecost. But it was called Pentecost beforehand. I don't know. Sometimes I didn't realize this stuff growing up. And even today, sometimes I forget it. But Pentecost beforehand, because it was the harvest festival in Israel. It's a time where they gathered together in Israel from all over the nation and from all different places to celebrate the fact that God had brought in the harvest. But more than that, they actually celebrated not grain and vegetables. They actually celebrated the giving of the Ten Commandments, the law, on Mount Sinai at this festival. Now, what's really ironic about that, if you remember way back when we talked about the deliverance and the covenant, is when God's people received the Ten Commandments, what were they doing? They were breaking the Ten Commandments. So here they center one of their chief festivals in Israel all around something that's kind of a contradiction in terms for them. It's their identity. It's who they are. It's what they're about. And yet it also accuses them. It also shows their mistakes. The law works against them. So their identity and yet also their failures at the same time. And it's that day of all days that God says, I'm going to give you a new identity, a new center, a new reason to be. Moses went up the mountain and there was fire and smoke and all that stuff. I am coming down and placing that wind and that fire upon you and within you. And you will be my presence in this world. So on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down, God was showing a whole new way of being. It's been called the birthday of the church. It's who we are now. So all these people from all these backgrounds and give props to Melissa. Man, you nailed it. That is one of the hardest Bible passages to ever read in church. You're just kind of going like, what are all these names? I've never heard of these people before. There's only, I think, a couple other places where it's got high bites and Jebusites and Girgisites and, you know, all of those Elamites. But at least they all end in it's here. This is like what? But anyway, she did very well. And all these people came together and they saw and they heard what was going on with the one hundred and twenty who were gathered in Jesus name. And they asked the question that a lot of you probably have heard before somewhere. What does this mean? And I think we do need to ask that question again today. What does this mean? And I think this text and the rest of the book, a chapter of acts is going to give us four points. What does Pentecost mean? What does this all mean? And these are the four points that there is. Number one, an external power. Number two, an internal joy. Number three, a universal access. And four, a present future impact. That's what I'd like you to remember from what Pentecost is really all about. First of all, the external power. So if you've got a if you need a Bible, I believe Vern has some back here. Acts chapter two, starting in verse one. If you don't have one, you can use your phone. Phone works great if you've got it on your phone or wherever. But anybody need a Bible? Anybody need a Bible? Raise your hand and Vern will get you one. All right. Vern, I think somebody beh...