Pentecost Sunday ~ Two Symbols

Sermon Outline for Sunday, June 5, 2022

Pastor Andy Lambert

PASSAGES:   Luke 24:49; Acts 2:2–4; Galatians 5:22–23; Ephesians 4:8; Acts 1:8

Luke 24:49 ~ “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””

 

Acts 2:2-4 ~ “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Let’s take a look at the day of Pentecost in the eyes of the Jews at that day. Pentecost was the time of the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai. Do you think it is just a coincidence that the day celebrated by the Jews as the day Moses received the law on Mt. Sinai is the same day that AND SUDDENLY a mighty wind came down?

If at the commencement of the gospel we behold the Holy Spirit working great signs and wonders may we not expect a continuance—nay, if anything, an increased display—of his power as the ages roll on? The law vanished away, but the gospel will never vanish; it shineth more and more to the perfect millennial day; therefore, I reckon that, with the sole exception of physical miracles, whatever was wrought by the Holy Ghost at the first we may look to be wrought continually while the dispensation lasts. It ought not to be forgotten that Pentecost was the feast of first fruits; it was the time when the first ears of ripe corn were offered unto God. If, then, at the commencement of the gospel harvest we see so plainly the power of the Holy Spirit, may we not most properly expect infinitely more as the harvest advances, and most of all when the most numerous sheaves shall be in-gathered? May we not conclude that if the Pentecost was thus marvelous the actual harvest will be more wonderful still?

We are not looking at the Holy Spirit being a part of history, but to the fact He is with us this very hour. The Father hath send us the Comforter that He may dwell with us until the coming of the Lord Jesus; the Holy Spirit never returned, for He came in accordance with the Savior’s prayer to abide with us forever.

Let’s also look at the two symbols of the Holy Spirit, which were made prominent at Pentecost: There was a sound as of a mighty rushing wind and there were divided tongues as of fire.

WIND:

• The first is wind—an emblem of Deity, and therefore a proper symbol of the Holy Spirit. Often under the Old Testament God revealed himself under the emblem of breath or wind: the Hebrew word for “wind” and “spirit” is the same.
• So, with the Greek word, when Christ talked to Nicodemus, it is not very easy for translators to tell us when he said “spirit” and when he said “wind;” indeed, some most correctly render the original all the way through by the word “wind,” while others with much reason have also used the word “spirit” in their translation. The original word signified either the one or the other, or both. Wind is, of all material things, one of the most spiritual in appearance; it is invisible, ethereal, mysterious; hence, men have fixed upon it as being nearest akin to spirit.
• In Ezekiel’s famous vision, when he saw the valley full of dry bones, we all know that the Spirit of God was intended by that vivifying wind which came when the prophet prophesied and blew upon the withered relics till they were quickened into life. “The Lord hath his way in the whirlwind,” thus he displays himself when he works: “The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind,” thus he reveals himself when he teaches his servants.
• Notice on the Day of Pentecost – a sound as of a mighty rushing wind – this sound is to call attention to what is about to occur and to fill them with awe!
• With this awe-inspiring sound as of a mighty rushing wind, there was clear indication it was coming from heaven. Ordinary winds blow from one quarter or another of earth, however, this distinctly wind was descended from heaven itself. This sets forth the fact that the Spirit of God neither comes from this place or that place and neither can His power be controlled by human authority, but His working is ever from above, from God Himself.
• The sound filled all the house and was localized in the house they were at – WHY?
  • First, people needed to be startled and alarmed, attracted to gather from all over Jerusalem, seeking to know what had happened. An audience needed to be gathered for the first preaching of the gospel.
  • Second, the mighty power of the Spirit needed to be symbolized and dramatized for the disciples. They needed strong confidence instilled within them in order to stand and preach the gospel before the very persons who had crucified the Lord and who had hunted them down as accomplices.
  • Third, the disciples would learn how Christ wanted them to preach the gospel. The presence of the Holy Spirit upon them would either bring people flocking from all over, asking what had happened or lead them to the people whom they were to reach.
• The meaning of the symbol is that as breath, air, wind, is the very life of man, so is the Spirit of God the life of the spiritual man. By him are we quickened at the first; by him are we kept alive afterwards; by him is the inner life nurtured, and increased, and perfected. The breath of the nostrils of the man of God is the Spirit of God.

FIRE:

• The second Pentecostal symbol was fire. Fire, again, is a frequent symbol of Deity.
• Abraham saw a burning lamp, and Moses beheld a burning bush. When Solomon had builded his holy and beautiful house, its consecration lay in the fire of God descending upon the sacrifice to mark that the Lord was there; for when the Lord had dwelt aforetime in the tabernacle, which was superseded by the temple, he revealed himself in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
• “Our God is a consuming fire.” Hence the symbol of fire is a fit emblem of God the Holy Spirit. Tongues of flame sitting on each man’s head betoken a personal visitation to the mind and heart of each one of the chosen company. Not to consume them came the fires, for no one was injured by the flaming tongue; to men whom the Lord has prepared for his approach there is no danger in his visitations. They see God, and their lives are preserved; they feel his fires, and are not consumed. This is the privilege of those alone who have been prepared and purified for such fellowship with God.
• The intention of the symbol was to show them that the Holy Spirit would illuminate them, as fire gives light. “He shall lead you into all truth.”
• They were to be no more children untrained, but to be teachers in Israel, instructors of the nations whom they were to disciple unto Christ: the Spirit of light was upon them.
• But fire does more than give light: it inflames; and the flames which sat upon each showed them that they were to be ablaze with love, intense with zeal, burning with self-sacrifice; and that they were to go forth among men to speak not with the chill tongue of deliberate logic, but with burning tongues of passionate pleading; persuading and entreating men to come unto Christ that they might live.
• God was about to make them speak under a divine influence, to speak as the Spirit of God should give them utterance.
• May a fire burn steadily within to destroy our sin, a holy sacrificial flame to make us whole burnt offerings unto God, a never-dying flame of zeal for God, and devotion to the cross.
• Note that the emblem was not only fire, but a tongue of fire; for God meant to have a speaking church: not a church that would fight with the sword, but a church that should have a sword proceeding out of its mouth, whose one weapon should be the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Some preachers thinks that their Pentecostal influence that sat upon them in the form of tongues of flowers; but the Pentecost we know is not flowers, but flames. What fine preaching we have nowadays! What new thoughts, and poetical turns! This is not the style of the Holy Ghost. Soft and gentle is the flow of smooth speech which tells of the dignity of man, the grandeur of the century, the toning down of all punishment for sin, and the probable restoration of all lost spirits, including the arch-fiend himself. This is the Satanic ministry, subtle as the serpent, bland as his seducing words to Eve. The Holy Ghost does not call us to this mode of speech. Fire, intensity, zeal, passion as much as you will, but as for aiming at effect by polished phrases and brilliant periods—these are fitter for those who would deceive men than for those who would tell them the message of the Most High. The style of the Holy Ghost is one which conveys the truth to the mind in the most forcible manner,—it is plain but flaming, simple but consuming. The Holy Spirit has never written a cold period throughout the whole Bible, and never did he speak by a man a lifeless word, but evermore he gives and blesses the tongue of fire.

RESULTS OF THE TWO:

• The church and each individual believer were filled with the presence and power of the Spirit – all of the corporately and each of them individually. The wind and the fire was both a corporate and personal, individual infilling. Each believer had been commanded to wait for the baptism of the Spirit and each one was to be filled with His presence and power. The church and each individual believer was to experience and know His grace and power and fruit.

 

Galatians 5:22-23 ~ “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

• Also, the church and each individual believer were given the gifts of the Spirit to carry on the work of the ministry upon earth.

Ephesians 4:8 ~ “Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” … “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,”

Acts 1:8 ~ “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Pastor Andy Lambert ~ pastorandy@cvcog.church

Call/Text: 205.642.8744 ext 101