Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Peter

Scripture: Acts 2:1-41

Video Link: https://youtu.be/hckX4rgSt9I

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The Spirit’s presence
  • Peter’s message
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning, everyone.

Many of you probably know that the Tawa tree (from which our suburb gets its name) relies on just two birds for the dispersal of its seeds, the kererū and the kokako.

The fruit of the Tawa tree is quite big, up to 3.5cm long. The kererū and the kokako are the only birds large enough to eat the fruit and pass the seeds through their gut unharmed. If the kererū and the kokako became extinct then the tawa tree might follow.

Everything in God’s creation is connected. Each part relies on the parts around it for propagation and survival.

Today, we say goodbye to Joseph and hello to the book of Acts. During the month of August, we will focus on four messages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. Then, at the end of August, we will take up a special Renew Together offering for our Baptist missionaries.

The book of Acts tells how the message about Jesus started to spread throughout the world. Just as God uses kererū and kokako to spread tawa tree seeds, so too the Spirit of God uses ordinary men and women to spread the gospel.

The Spirit’s presence

Let’s begin then with a reading from Acts chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost. From Acts 2, verse 1 we read…

When the day of Pentecost came, they [the disciples of Jesus] were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tonguesas the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?  8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?… 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

You may have heard of the goldilocks principle, named after the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Like Goldilocks, we human beings want things ‘just right’. Not too hot or too cold. Not too hard or too soft and not too big or too small.

Dark KitKat is (for me) a goldilocks chocolate. Not too sweet (like milk KitKat) and not too bitter either. The biscuit gives the KitKat a nice texture without breaking your teeth (not too hard or too soft). And one KitKat finger is just the right amount, not too much or too little.   

Planet earth is in the goldilocks zone, situated the perfect distance from the sun and the moon and in the right part of the galaxy. The temperature and gravity (and hundreds of other things) are just right for supporting life.

The day of Pentecost, in Acts 2, is a goldilocks moment. Thousands of God-fearing Jews from all over the known world have come to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival of Pentecost. It has been seven weeks since Jesus’ death and resurrection. The disciples have spent much of that time in prayer and worship. They are in the zone, spiritually speaking.

The disciples are together, ready and waiting for what God will do next, when a sound like a violent wind blowing from heaven fills the whole house. This sound is not too loud that it deafens them and not too soft that they don’t notice it.

The Holy Spirit is like the wind in some ways. A powerful, untameable, uncontrollable, unseen energy. But it’s not like the wind in every way. The Spirit is more than just an energy. The Spirit is a person; creative, intelligent, intentional and capable of self-control. The Spirit is just right.  

After the sound like wind, the disciples saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. The Spirit’s touch was not too hot or heavy. No disciples were harmed by the tongues of fire.

In the ancient world, fire was thought to be the purest thing of all. The Holy Spirit is like fire in some ways, an agent of cleansing and purification. But the Spirit is not like fire in every way. The Spirit is life giving. The Spirit fills people just the right amount, without destroying them or requiring a 111 call.

Verse 4 says all of the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit enabled the apostles to speak in different languages (languages they did not know and had not learned) so that people from all over the known world heard a message in their mother tongue.

Why did the Holy Spirit do this? Well, the Spirit is given for the purpose of mission. The Spirit empowers believers to communicate Jesus.  

One thing we observe about the Spirit, from our own experience, is that he has a unique way of creating connections. It appears the Spirit was connecting the dots for those present at the Pentecost festival in Acts 2. 

If you find yourself in just the right place, at just the right time, with just the right skills and resources to help someone, that’s probably not a coincidence.

A goldilocks moment like that may well be the Holy Spirit’s way of connecting someone with Jesus. Making Jesus real for that person.

The crowd were amazed and perplexed, asking one another, “What does this mean?” They cannot understand how uneducated men from Galilee (a despised place) were able to speak so fluently in foreign languages. From verse 14 we pick up the story…

Peter’s message:

14 Peter raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. …this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

In the Old Testament, the festival of Pentecost celebrated the giving of the Law. For Christians though, the festival of Pentecost celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit. The Law was given through Moses, but the Spirit was given through Christ. 

Peter quotes some familiar verses from the prophet Joel as a way of interpreting these events. This is what the prophets foretold centuries earlier. This is God pouring out his Spirit on humankind.

The remarkable thing about the gift of the Spirit is the universal scope. It had always been God’s intention to pour out his Spirit on all people, not just the Jews, but Gentiles also. Not just men, but women too. Young and old.   

About 35 years ago, I worked for Youth for Christ as a volunteer. In those days YFC ran youth groups, camps and rallies, through which the gospel was presented in creative ways. YFC also provided training for their leaders. One skill they taught us was how to give a short talk about the gospel.

When speaking in front of a crowd your talk needs four things: hook, look, book, took. The hook is something to get people’s attention. Something that connects them to the message. Once you have people’s attention you tell them what your talk is about. ‘Look, here’s the point of what I’m saying’.

Then you support your main point with some words from the Bible, that’s the Book part. And the ‘took’ is the takeaway, something people can do to apply what you’ve said so the message sticks.

We see this pattern of hook, look, book, took, in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit provided the hook, by enabling the apostles to speak in foreign languages that the audience could understand. That certainly got people’s attention. It brought them together and connected them.

Then Peter (by the inspiration of the Spirit) provided the look, book and took parts. In verses 22-24 Peter points to Jesus, as if to say, ‘Look, here’s the point’…   

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

In just three short verses Peter directs his audience to look at the work, death and resurrection of Jesus, which was all part of God’s plan of salvation for humankind and directly linked to the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter’s comment that it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus, indicates that Jesus has conquered sin and death. For if death is the consequence of sin, then it logically follows that Jesus was without sin, for death had no claim on him.

Peter draws on various Scriptures (from the book of the Old Testament) to support his point. For example, in verses 25-27 of Acts 2, Peter quotes Psalm 16 saying…

25 David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.

Peter is saying here that king David was talking about Jesus’ resurrection from the dead when he wrote Psalm 16. More than this, Jesus is even greater than David, for God did not raise David from the dead. So, Jesus is God’s promised Messiah. 

In verse 36 of Acts 2, Peter drives his main point home saying…

36 “Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”  37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

This is gutsy stuff from Peter. He is telling his audience, quite bluntly, you are responsible for killing Jesus, the Messiah of God.

Verse 37 says the people were cut to the heart when they heard this. What Peter said resonates as true and they cannot deny it. They are convicted to their core.

This feeling of conviction and remorse is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit shows us the truth about ourselves so that we realise our need for God’s grace and call out for help.   

In verses 38-39, Peter finishes with his took. This is the takeaway of his message. This is what his listeners are to do, so the message sticks…

38 “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Peter gives us a recipe for Christian conversion here. Becoming a Christian involves believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as repentance, water baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit.

The elements of Christian conversion don’t always happen in the same order and they don’t always happen on the same day. Elsewhere in the book of Acts we see a variety of conversion experiences, all of which are based on faith in the resurrection of Jesus. And all of which are orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is always pointing us to Jesus. Always looking for ways to connect us to Christ and make Jesus real in our experience.   

Not everyone accepted Peter’s message that day, but for about 3000 people it was a goldilocks sermon, it was ‘just right’. Most of those 3000 had been present for the Passover festival, two months earlier, when Jesus was condemned and crucified. Now they were present for a miraculous outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Many of the 3000 were pilgrims from other parts of the world. They were like the kererū and the kokako. On returning to their homes, they took with them the digested seed of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus has conquered sin and death. Through Jesus, God’s Spirit is poured out.

Conclusion:

One other thing we notice and that is the transformation that takes place in Peter in such a short time. Just seven weeks earlier, the night of Jesus’ trial, Peter had denied knowing Jesus three times. At that stage the Holy Spirit had not been poured out and Peter was understandably afraid for his life.

Now at Pentecost, when the religious leaders are still a very real threat, Peter (an uneducated fisherman from the backwaters of Galilee) is filled with the Spirit and boldly tells thousands of people about Jesus.

Without the Holy Spirit, Peter’s best intentions to stand for Jesus, end in failure and shame. But with the Holy Spirit, Peter bears witness to the risen Christ, with courage and clarity.

The Holy Spirit does not always manifest his power in such dramatic ways, like he did in Acts 2. But, 2000 years later, he is still very active in the world, creating connections and making Jesus real for people.

The work of the Spirit does not need to be dramatic to be effective. We may not speak in foreign languages, like the apostles, but our experience of the Spirit is still valid. There is a certain winsomeness and intimacy in seeing the Spirit do something special that only you and one or two others notice.

The point is, when it comes to Christian mission, we cannot do anything without the power and guidance of God’s Spirit. Our part is to prayerfully wait for the Spirit, remaining open to receive what God wants to give and ready to respond to Jesus’ prompting.

Whether we are speaking to thousands, like Peter did, or simply sharing our faith with one person over coffee, may we go on being filled with the Spirit of Christ. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. In what ways is the Holy Spirit like wind and fire? In what ways is the Spirit not like wind and fire?
  3. Why does the Holy Spirit empower the apostles to speak in foreign languages? Why is the Spirit given?
  4. What is the main point of Peter’s message in Acts 2?
  5. If you had the opportunity to tell people about Jesus, what would you say?
  6. How did you become a Christian? Are any of the elements of conversion, mentioned by Peter in Acts 2:38, missing for you?
  7. What is your experience of God’s Spirit? How does the Spirit help you to share the love and truth of Jesus?