The Spirit gives wonderful works.

Sermon for Pentecost, May 31, 2020

Grace, mercy, and peace be yours in abundance from God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Acts 2:1-11  ¹ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  ² Suddenly a sound like the rushing of a violent wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.  ³ They saw divided tongues that were like fire resting on each one of them.  ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, since the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak fluently.  ⁵ Now there were godly Jewish men from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  ⁶ When this sound was heard, a crowd came together and was confused, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.  ⁷ They were completely baffled and said to each other, “Look, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?  ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them speaking in his own native language?  ⁹ Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God.” (EHV)

The Spirit gives wonderful works.

I.    Miraculous signs

II.   Amazing faith

III.  Transformed lives

Dear friends of the living God,

            The first thing one might notice when reading this portion of God’s Word is the miraculous signs, but why do you suppose God chose to give those special gifts at that time?  We might find our answer by considering what the reaction of the crowds would have been without the signs.  Do you think many people would have paused to listen to ordinary fishermen and tax collectors if it was just them against the world?  Would anyone have listened if Peter and his fellow believers had just stood up in the city square and begun preaching?  The crowds attending the Pentecost festival had come to offer the first fruits of harvest to the Lord, not to hear some hicks from Galilee tell them about a Savior who had been convicted and crucified.

But then came the first sign: “Suddenly a sound like the rushing of a violent wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”  Was this sound for the disciples’ benefit?  Certainly, but it was also for the benefit of the crowds—and for you and me as well.  As that unearthly sound was heard in the house where the disciples were gathered, the Holy Spirit was calling out to the people who were in Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival to come and see, and to hear the Good News of what the Lord has done for them and for all. 

The second sign given was the tongues of fire upon the disciples’ heads, fulfilling what John the Baptist had prophesied, “I baptize you with water.  But someone mightier than I is coming.  I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16)  This sign confirmed the arrival of the Holy Spirit Jesus had promised to send. (Acts 1:5)  Now, these tongues of fire alighted on every believer’s head in that house.  The Holy Spirit wasn’t given to some and not others.  He wasn’t sent only to the preachers, or only to the most faithful.  The Holy Spirit is sent to all believers.  In fact, we see that it is the Spirit who makes believers out of us poor sinners.

A third sign was given—one that too often gets outsized attention—the speaking in tongues.  Luke reports, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, since the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak fluently.”  Again, this gift was given to all of Jesus’ disciples.  It wasn’t limited to the twelve.  All of those gathered together to wait for the Spirit as Jesus had commanded began to speak as the Spirit gave them to speak.  It included the women.  It likely included the 120 who are earlier mentioned by Luke, all those people waiting for Jesus’ to give His Spirit were given the ability to speak in new tongues, just as the prophet Joel had foretold.

Notice, also, that this speaking in tongues wasn’t babble.  It wasn’t a made-up language no one understood, or some so-called “heavenly tongue” that needed to be interpreted.  Neither was it something the disciples had to figure out how to do.  The speaking in tongues given to the disciples was simply the very words of the Gospel that they were given the ability to speak in languages and dialects of the people they met on the street.  The Holy Spirit gave this ability to speak in new languages so that the Gospel message could be most quickly given to comfort people who needed to hear of the salvation Christ has won.  As Jesus’ followers went out from their meeting house, they were able to tell everyone this wonderful good news in clear words that sounded like music to the ears.  This signaled that Jesus’ disciples had been entrusted with God’s true Word.  What they were speaking didn’t come from men, but from God Himself, so we learn that The Spirit gives wonderful works of miraculous signs.

Yet, the Holy Spirit does far more than give miraculous signs—He works amazing faith.  That faith became evident, both, in how Jesus’ followers were now boldly proclaiming the good news and in the transformation of the crowds.  Did you catch the changes in Jesus’ disciples?  Consider what they had previously been.  Formerly, the disciples had been somewhat petty and seeking honor and power in this world.  Then, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, all of them ran away in a panic, and when they saw Jesus was crucified, they were afraid that they were also in danger, so they locked themselves away, hiding from the public view. 

When people sin, it is most common to want to hide.  We see that throughout the Bible.  Adam and Eve hid their shame beneath the tree leaves in the Garden of Eden.  Cain hid behind bluster and defiance when God questioned him about his brother’s murder.  When God was giving His Law from the top of the mountain, the children of Israel hid behind Moses crying, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen, but do not let God speak with us, or we will die.” (Exodus 20:19)  David tried to hide his sin, and Jesus’ disciples continued the trend as they hid themselves in an upper room, afraid, embarrassed that they had run away from their Lord.

So, how do we hide when we feel our guilt?  Do we hide from God by staying away from His Word?  Do we hide behind excuses by blaming others for our sins, or for theirs?  Do we hide behind bluster, and start to question God and His actions in our lives, as Adam did when he accused God of fault for giving him the woman?  When we start hiding from God, we really are demonstrating that we are giving up our faith. 

But look at the amazing faith the Holy Spirit worked in the disciples.  Those men and women, who a few weeks earlier had hidden from everyone, now went out into the crowds of the Pentecost festival and began proclaiming all that the Holy Spirit gave them to speak.  They didn’t hold back any truth.  If we read a little further in the book of Acts, we see Peter accuse the people of killing their own Savior.  But then, the disciples preached the Good News that Jesus had died for their sins, too. 

With the Holy Spirit filling the disciples, fear was no longer an issue.  They now understood what Jesus had been telling them for the last three years: that His kingdom isn’t of this world but a heavenly realm, and Jesus gives citizenship in His kingdom to all who follow Him.  It was an amazing change in the disciple’s faith, and amazing faith came also to those who heard them preach.  Luke tells us the whole crowd were all confused and completely baffled at the signs that the Spirit was pouring out.  But notice, too, that the proclamation of the Good News led over three thousand souls to believe in Jesus that day.  They said, “We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God."

In this short phrase we see what God really intends by this day—that The Spirit gives Wonderful Works of amazing faith.  This wasn’t a magic show.  The disciples weren’t trying to impress anyone with their great speaking prowess or their ability to do miracles.  Rather, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth of all that God has done for the salvation of the world.  The signs and the speaking in tongues emphasized that these were Jesus’ chosen eyewitnesses.

It truly is the gift of the Holy Spirit that anyone believes in Jesus.  God’s wonderful works include everything He has done for a sinful, disobedient, unfaithful people.  As you read the books of the Old Testament, you see the wickedness of man and the foibles and folly of the Israelites, but in their example, we see how we, so often too, go our own way abandoning the God who loves us and provides for us. 

As we observe the abuse of power and the looting and rioting so near to home this past week, we see again the depravity of man.  Without faith in the Savior God, society eventually breaks down into anarchy where no one is safe.  Thanks be to Jesus; The Spirit gives Wonderful Works.

Though no one on earth could ever deserve God’s mercy, He sent His Son to earn forgiveness for all people by living for us and dying on our behalf.  Daily God provides everything we need to sustain our bodies.  Daily He blesses the world with unearned providence.  But most important, even though all mankind was lost in sin and unbelief, God provided a Savior so that despite our sinfulness, He could be good and gracious as His Spirit gives wonderful works of transformed lives. 

In our text, Luke lists fifteen different nations to which the Jewish people had dispersed.  This gives us an example of how God wants His Word proclaimed to all people without regard to race, color, or background.  The people in the crowd that day said, "Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, and of Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring in our own languages the wonderful works of God."  God’s great work of salvation isn’t limited to the Children of Israel.  God sent His Holy Spirit on that Pentecost Day to proclaim that His salvation was for everyone on this earth. 

God’s grace for the world hasn’t changed.  Since that moment when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jesus’ disciples, the Word has been spread from one corner of the world to another.  To this day the Holy Spirit continues to save Christians through His Word.  Through the gospel, the Holy Spirit builds faith in Jesus so that we no longer need fear what the world might do to us.  Safe in our Savior’s love, we don’t need to be afraid of what might happen when wicked people run wild, and we don’t need to fear what will come in the next world, either, because God has promised us a home that will last forever, a home where we will live with Him in perfect peace and love.  Furthermore, the Spirit works a change in our hearts, so that believing, we live to serve Christ in obedience to all of God’s will, and we strive to live in peace with our neighbors.

Because the Spirit gives wonderful works of transformed lives, we, as Jesus disciples, are moved to tell friends and neighbors of the great love and sacrifice of God’s Son, so that they, too, will know that all of their sins have been paid for and there is so much more ahead for those who believe than the highs and lows of this world.

Dear Christian friends, Jesus and the Father sent the Holy Spirit to give you the wonderful works of God: declaring the message of forgiveness through faith in Christ Jesus, showing miraculous signs of God’s forgiveness in the water of Baptism and the body and blood of the Lord’s Supper, giving you faith in the forgiveness that Jesus died to earn, and the salvation Jesus won for you and for all, the signs to confirm the truth of God’s Word, and a transformed life as you believe in Jesus as your only Savior.  By the works of the Spirit, your God shows that He loves you with an everlasting love.  He sent His Son to win your release from fear, from sin, and from death.  In the preaching of His Word, God sends His Spirit to give you wonderful works of signs, faith, and life.  May He sustain you to the end.  Amen.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forevermore.  Amen.