The Holy Spirit Cheat Code
Acts (To Be Continued...) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsWho is the Holy Spirit? What happened on the Day of Pentecost? And why does it matter for us now? Join us as we unpack one of the most important days in the life of the Early Church and how it makes a big difference for us now. We have the Ultimate Cheat Code.
Notes
Transcript
Cheat code—the Holy Spirit
Please turn to Acts 2:1.
up, up, down, down, left, right left, right, B, A, and start.
Ever done this before?
If you have, you have played the original Nintendo, and it is a famous code, a cheat code, designed by Kazuhisa Hashimoto.
He died Feb. 26, 2020.
He is famous for using this pattern to create a cheat code on old school Nintendo games like Contra—that if put in...
up up down down left right left right B, A, start…you get 30 lives in that game, which is really hard.
sometimes I will play that game with my son Caleb and say, “see son, this is way better than wimpy Fortnite...”
It became known as the Konami code—the cheat code that gave you an advantage in over 100 games…because he programmed it in.
Today, we are going to look at a passage that kind of gives us a cheat code—a passage on the 3rd member of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit.
Now, this isn’t a perfect comparison—the HS is greater than a cheat code—but it is to our advantage that He comes.
what happened here in Acts 2 gave us an incredible cheat code...
please stand as I read:
and remember..right now the early church is a group of 120—Jesus has ascended into heaven.
he said wait for for the gift my Father promised—the Holy Spirit…b/c you will receive power when HE comes on you to be Jesus’ witnesses.
so they are waiting and praying...
Acts 2:1–21 (NIV)
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Pentecost—you see the prefix - Pente—5
major Jewish religious feast
took place 50 days after the feast of Passover…50 days after the firstfruits of the harvest.
the city of Jerusalem would have increased in size population by over 4 or 5x as much as Jews descended on the city to celebrate the harvest
it celebrated God’s faithfulness in giving the harvest…aka the Feast of Weeks in the OT.
and also, some think it celebrated the giving of the Law of God on Mt. Sinai to Moses
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
btw—the word for wind in Greek—same word for spirit—there is activity and power
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 tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
(or other languages…)
so pause for a second…up, up, down, down, left, right, left right, B, A Start..
wind....
fire....
speaking in other known languages....
the Holy Spirit has come...
you can be seated.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
*The 3rd member of the Trinity---of the godhead....
God is one---but 3....
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit....
God is one as to essence, but 3 as to persons…it’s confusing.
We don’t believe in 3 gods…no that is called polytheism.
we also don’t believe that our God only exists in one mode at a time…sometimes HE is Father, Sometimes He is Son, sometimes Spirit...
Know He exists right now as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...
confused?
Me, too! Mind-blowing.
*The Holy Spirit is also a person....The Bible uses the pronoun “He”—to describe Him. He grieves, He intercedes. He testifies. He speaks.
*The Bible calls him a helper, comforter, counselor, and advocate…(John 14-16)
stand again...
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. (the Greek word is dialectos)
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?
the early disciples, those 120 gathered are being empowered for witness...
Jesus said this would happen—you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses....
they are being Jesus’ witnesses in a very powerful way...
Here is where they are from…(I will show you on the map)
9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia (modern day Turkey),
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene (North Africa); visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
(look at the map on screen)
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
**just a reminder that no matter how supernatural or miraculous the signs of God are—some will still resist and be hard-hearted.
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, 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.
15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel (from the OT):
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.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
let’s talk about why this day—this day of Pentecost matters...
Why does Pentecost matter:
*a new era has come (new covenant is here)
what do I mean—this marks a pivotal transition from the era of the old covenant or old testament to the new covenant...
before Pentecost and the Holy Spirit comes and fills them…
was the Holy Spirit active before this---especially in the OT? And the answer is yes.
look at Genesis 1:2 (creation)
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
in Genesis 2:7
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
but when Adam and Eve sinned—Genesis 3—it cut them off from God’s presence, and one might say—from God’s Spirit.
and so in the OT—the Spirit was now active, but it was different.
We see him gift God’s people for works of service. The guys who made the Ark of the Covenant were said to be gifted by the Spirit of God (those who have mechanical and artistic ability—that can be a Spirit given gift)
the Spirit is said to rest on individuals like — Gideon, Samson, King Saul---
but here is the problem...
The Spirit would only come on leaders it seemed like—prophets, priests, kings…not the everyday person...
and also He would seem to come and go—He departed from King Saul. King David prayed take not your Holy Spirit from me.
so the OT looked forward to the day to a new era—the new covenant when the Spirit of God would come in power.
there are 3 major OT prophecies that predict this:
1. Ezekiel 36-37 - indwelling spirit - (valley of dry bones) who will come personally and permanently
2. Joel 2 - (which Peter quoted) a universal spirit
3. Isaiah 11 — look forward to a Spirit-empowered Savior...
what was promised
an indwelling Spirit - Ezekiel chapters 36-37
a universal spirit Joel chapter 2
a Spirit led Savior - Isaiah 11
the OT longed for this—even Moses—longed for this.
Look at Numbers 11:24-29
Numbers 11:24–29 (NIV)
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent.
25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.
this is why here in Acts 2 - one of the things that happens when the Spirit comes—is they speak—like prophets—prophesy is a gift of speech.
27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
the era that Moses longed for, that the prophet Joel and Ezekiel and Isaiah longed for—IT’S HERE!
the Day of Pentecost marks a new era...
even Jeremiah the prophet talked about this new covenant era.
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
that day is here!
if you look at verse 17—Peter quoting Joel says this:
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.
because the Spirit of God is here—we are now in the LAST DAYS. The coming of the Spirit marks the end…we often think that is way in the future—no the last days are here.
to be more specific—the Spirit of God coming—means the promised Kingdom of God has come---God is now ruling and reigning (He always has) over His people--but in a new way by His Spirit.
He had promised in the OT that he would draw his people from all the earth together as one—and that is what is happening—His people—the Jews scattered by exile—are now coming back to be united.
in some ways—this is a reversal of the Tower of Babel. In Genesis 11. famous story—where the people gather to build a tower to make a name for themselves—it is hugely arrogant—to basically proclaim we are god. and God comes down—ironic—to see this tower—and scatters them and their languages…confuses and divides and judges them…but now Pentecost is bringing God’s people in unity under King Jesus—the kingdom of God is here. the effects of sin are being undone as the Spirit goes forth with the Gospel. the last days are here. The Spirit. a new era has begun. God’s people are coming together under Jesus—and soon that will spread to the Gentiles and the ends of the earth.
So what—what does this mean…for us now...
#1 — we can now — through Jesus--have the very presence and power of God living in us…b/c the Spirit convicts, he converts us — the new birth—we are born again, He unites us to Jesus, he glorifies Jesus, He comforts, guides, empowers/equips, He promises…
He makes us more like Jesus, produces fruit in us…
but focus first on the very presence and power of God.
look back at verses 1-4 — it mentions wind, fire, tongues of fire...
wind and spirit are often the same word in the original languages of the Bible—Hebrew and Greek — the idea is energy, motion, activity.
more than that—wind shows up when God begins to reveal Himself to the prophet Elijah…it shows up when the dry bones come to life in Ezekiel.
fire is symbolic of the presence of God....
God is a consuming fire—Hebrews says
God shows up in the burning bush to Moses
God leads the people of Israel with a pillar of fire by night
and when God met with his people Israel in the OT to get the 10 commandments and law of God...
18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
one author says--
“wind and fire. cloud and flame. The glory presence that went before and behind in the Exodus, that rested over the tabernacle (Num 9:18), that filled the temple (1 Kings 8:10-11), now rests over and fills up God’s new dwelling...
which is us...
this is amazing—Luke is showing us that the same wind, fire, cloud, glory—that terrified the people of God in the OT…that only dwelt on certain leaders or certain places like Mt. Sinai or the temple—now—b/c of Jesus Christ, b/c of this new era…actually rests in and on us.
and so the Apostle Paul can now say
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
why? b/c 1 Cor. 6:19
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
He can say—that we as a community have the Spirit of God—so don’t destroy God’s people or cause divisions
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
why? b/c Pentecost has come
if you go back to Acts 2—Peter is quoting Joel. Look at this again
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.
that happened on the day of Pentecost—and affects us all...
no matter your gender—you can get the Spirit
no matter you age—old and young
no matter your economic station in life—servants...
it’s not just leaders…you don’t have to have the last name Schwartz or Sprunger to have it....
you just need Jesus…(more on that next week).
and so as we think about Pentecost—are we thankful?
do you realize if you are a believer in Jesus—I will talk about this in a second—you have the very presence and power of God in your life?
if Moses and Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah were here—would they not say—do you realize what you have? we longed for this day.
JD Greer pastor says “The Spirit inside you is better than the Jesus beside you.” we often think if we could just have seen Jesus and His ministry…but Jesus had self-limited himself to time and space on earth—He couldn’t be everywhere.
He left—so he could ascend as the king—and now He pours out the presence of the Spirit—really the presence of Jesus in all of us. We get Jesus all the time in and beside us—b/c of the Holy Spirit.
He is the ultimate cheat code in life—up, up, down, down, left right, left right, B, A Start...
our Wednesday night study will examine more of that who and what the HS does...
what does Pentecost mean for us...
#2 - a crisis: (vs. 19-21)
look at verses 19-20
Peter is saying the last days are here. b/c the Spirit has come. the same God who dwelt in Eden and in the temple, and in Christ—now dwells within us by His Spirit
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
we often think those signs are only in the far future—when Jesus comes a 2nd time…but many Biblical scholars have noted—these wonders and signs match some of the things that happened at Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. while on the cross—darkness came over the whole land.
we read that a couple of different earthquakes took place—one when Jesu died—the curtain was torn—some people actually were raised to life—Matthew 27.
so one way we can interpret this—in Jesus’ death and resurrection—the day of the Lord began to occur.
it has not finished, but it has begun...
what is the Day of the Lord
the OT describes it as a day of judgment for unbelievers and hope for believers...
so what does Pentecost mean for us now? it introduces a crisis or crossroads...
either hope for believers in Jesus
or a coming judgment for nonbelievers
next week we will look at this more—but Peter will go on to preach—that the reason the new ear is here, the kingdom is here, the Spirit is here, the last days are here, is b/c of King Jesus. who lived, died for us, rose, ascended, and who has now poured out the Holy Spirit...
Pentecost proves that Jesus is ruling and reigning.
that everything in life hinges on King Jesus—are we going to be a part of His kingdom or not? are we going to surrender and submit or not?
and so verse 21 says this
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
38 Peter replied, “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.
God offers hope—the name that we now call on to be a part of His kingdom, the new era, is the name of Jesus.
when we repent and confess our sinful ways—our rebellion—and we look on Jesus in faith—we are forgiven. made new. we get baptized—as a sign of this that Jesus is our Pentecosts king.
and we don’t have to go through what they did—waiting in the upper room for the Spirit to come.
we get God’s Spirit immediately when we repent and believe in Jesus.
look at verse 38 again.
I want to call up the worship team...
it’s tempting with a passage like this to get freaked out…or to get weird...
but the Holy Spirit—His main job is to point to Jesus. He is like a spotlight—saying look at your sin—confess it, receive Jesus—look to Him—your king. trust in Him. Life is all about Him...
Jesus is coming back—look to Him before it’s too late and you are judged or rest in Him—keep trusting in Him…keep going.
I mentioned up, up, down, down, left right left right B, A Start...
we use the language of cheat codes all the time—i hear it with sports announcers—so and so—Patrick Mahones is the ultimate cheat code for a football team. it means “unfairly awesome, an act or object so redonkulous that a higher power must have programmed it into the game of life.”
We have Him—the Holy Spirit...
closing:
Ripples - not to late—financial peace, Baering with one another, book of Acts—we will go deeper in the Holy Spirit. (go to theirs b4 mine)
it’s nearing harvest time...
In the Old Testament, the feast of Pentecost celebrated God’s faithfulness in giving the harvest.
And the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost means the harvest of disciples is only beginning.
What does it mean for us? It means God’s Spirit poured out at Pentecost will take our proclamation of God’s Word and use it to build the church—just as Jesus promised.
God wants to continue to work in us as His witnesses for King Jesus.
(see Trevor Laurence - https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/pentecost-first-of-the-last-days/