Word of Salvation – September 2025

 

Happy Birthday… Church of Jesus Christ

 

Sermon by Rev. John Westendorp on Acts 2:1-4

Scripture Readings: Acts 2:1-28

Singing:
BoW.344       O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God                [1,2,3,] BoW.118a     This is the Day
BoW.182       Lord, the light of your love
BoW.344       O Spirit of Life, O Spirit of God                [4,5,6,] BoW.345       Breathe on me Breath of God

 

Theme: Pentecost as the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ.

 

Introd:            If we were to have a Birthday Party for this church… how old would our church be?

Think about it.  How many candles would you put on the birthday cake of this church?

You are Christian Reformed…?  They began in Australia with the post war migration from Europe.
So perhaps some 75 or 80 candles on the birthday cake…!?!

You’re Presbyterian…?  In 1977 Presbyterians merged with other churches to form the Uniting Church.
But some Presbyterians stayed out of that union and regrouped.
That was some 50 years ago.  So should we suggest 50 candles on the cake?
That would be very short-sighted… and wrong.  Presbyterian migrants came with the first fleet.
Presbyterians trace their origins back through John Knox to the Protestant Reformation.
That was over 500 years ago.  We’re going to need a huge cake aren’t we folks…?

 

But if we really want to say, “Happy birthday, Church!” then we have to think in even bigger numbers.
Not just in terms of 40 years… or even 500 years… but in thousands of years.
We who gather here, are part of something that goes right back to our text in Acts 2.

That’s nearly 2000 years.  And in a sense we can go back even further.
In some ways we could really go all the way back to Moses… and Abraham… and Adam.
Maybe the church is already more than 6000 years old.

Because there was already a believing community in the days of Moses!
And believers already gathered for praise and worship in the tents of Abraham.
And Adam and Eve already taught their kids to worship the Lord.
So we who sing God’s praises today trace our religious roots right back to Paradise.
And that makes our recent history a mere drop in the ocean.

 

Happy birthday, Church!  Yes, but how old are you really?  When did it really begin?

It’s good for us to reflect on that as we study this story of Pentecost Sunday.

Because many people say that on that day the church began.

 

A]        PENTECOST AND THE HOLY SPIRIT’S PRESENCE.

 

1. As we read Acts 2 we must ask ourselves: what really happened there?

Because it’s easy to look at the spectacular things and let them become the focus.
And that has happened so often.
Speaking in tongues…?  Marvellous…!  We’ve got to do that today!
Because here in Acts 2 you see it: Having God’s Spirit in you means you’ll speak in tongues!

 

But that immediately creates some issues for us.
Why only the speaking in tongues?  Let’s have the flames of fire and the roaring wind too.
So instead we need to ask about the meaning of these ‘signs’.
What is it all about?  What is happening here?

 

It’s tempting to say:  Well, that’s easy; the Holy Spirit has come!
His presence is now a reality.
But does that mean the Holy Spirit wasn’t there before Pentecost?
Do you know where we first read about the Holy Spirit in the Bible…?
Yes, surprise!  We already meet Him in Genesis 1(vs.2).  The Holy Spirit is eternal God.

 

Well ok, what about the way He works?  Doesn’t He now fill God’s people… and live in them?
Yes!  But John the Baptiser – before Pentecost – was filled with the Holy Spirit too.
So what difference does Pentecost really make in the scheme of things?

 

2. What about when we look at it from the perspective of the church?

Isn’t it the N.T. church that is new thing?  Isn’t this really where the church begins?

In many ways we’d have to say, “No!  Not really.”
As I pointed out before – the church was there already in the Old Testament.
And even the New Testament church… the Christian church is already there.
It existed already immediately after Easter and before Pentecost.

Luke tells us at the opening of this chapter that all the believers were together in one place.
In Acts 1 he tells of regular meetings of Jerusalem Christians.
There were regular gatherings of about 120 believers.
From Paul we know that there were some 500 witnesses to the resurrection.
So it’s possible that here in Acts 2 there were as many as 500 gathered together.

So already for some fifty days the church… the believers in Jesus… had been meeting.
And they were a faithful church.
They knew how important it was for Christians to meet together.
And on that Pentecost Sunday morning they were all there.

 

So before Acts 2 the Holy Spirit is already there… and the Christian Church is already there.
Should we then perhaps just focus on those spectacular events after all?
Or look back with nostalgia to Acts 2 the way some do… wanting a repeat of these events?

 

But that raises those other questions:
Why aren’t all of those special Pentecost signs happening today?
I know of no proven claims of a repeat of the sound of a violent wind… not since the apostles.
Nor do we see today tongues of fire appearing on the heads of whole church gatherings.

And even the speaking in other tongues here at Pentecost
seems different from the ecstatic speech we read about later in the New Testament.
At least… we never again read anywhere that people heard them each in his own language.
So what really makes the difference in the Pentecost event?  What is it really all about?

 

3. That will only fall into place for us if we understand the timing of Acts 2.

It is not so that the coming of the Holy Spirit is what makes Pentecost, Pentecost. (Vs.1)

Rather the Holy Spirit is sent on the church on a day that was already well-known as Pentecost Day.

 

Pentecost, fifty days after the Jewish Passover, was the O.T. Harvest feast.
It was one of the great O.T. festivals.
On that day thousands of pilgrims (expatriates!) flock into the city from every land.
They have been arriving already for several days.
Many of them gathered daily in the temple courts… and especially on this day.

It’s the day when the first loaves of bread made from this year’s new grain harvest
are about to be offered in thanksgiving to the Lord in the temple.
And thousands of people will give thanks to God for the blessings of the harvest.

 

Today some churches still hold thanksgiving services for harvest and industry.

Well, that’s what Pentecost was all about… but then on a national scale… even an international scale.

All of Israel… giving thanks by bringing the first-fruits of the harvest to God in the temple.

 

It is not accidental that the Spirit comes just on that day… that is deliberate.
Because the Spirit of God comes to begin gathering in God’s people through the church.
The Holy Spirit (who has always existed) comes to do a special work – a harvest ingathering.
And the church (which has always existed) is indwelt by God’s Spirit to do that harvest work.

 

B]        THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.

 

1. In that light let’s take another look at the church gathered in Jerusalem on this special day.

In many ways, yes, it’s a heart-warming scene that makes us envious.
Luke is specific about it: all the believers are together. There is a lovely sense of unity.
We who live so many years after Pentecost look back with a sense of nostalgia.
How different it all is today.  We’re sadly divided into dozens of denominations.
Church A doesn’t trust group B… and there is no communication between churches C and D.

And not only are they all together… this is also a praying community.
In 1:14 Luke tells us these people were constantly at prayer.
And so often we struggle to keep a regular weekly prayer meeting going.
So this church… even before Pentecost… might make us a little envious.

 

But then consider the opportunity they have at Pentecost to give a Christian witness.
Whenever the Olympic Games are on dozens of Christian groups get involved.
They organise themselves to provide a Christian presence and a Christian witness.
Shouldn’t these 500 Christians in Jerusalem have done something similar?

Why not organise a group to hand out tracts as the pilgrims enter Jerusalem?
Maybe a Christian coffee shop for all those visitors would have gone down real well.
Maybe a Christian singing group could have buskered in the Jerusalem mall.
`           Okay… they didn’t have the ‘Jesus’ film… but maybe a Christian drama group…?
And why not a Christian literature table and bookstall in one of the temple porches?
I mean… if the money changers can set up tables there… then why not the church?

 

The point is that these Christians have this wonderful opportunity to tell the good news of Jesus.
Earth shaking events have happened: the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
But nothing is planned… and nothing happens… and so far there is only silence.

 

2. The problem is that the church here is more like a group of refugees in a bomb shelter.

These are fearful people… afraid of the Jewish authorities.

Here are 500 people with a wonderful message of hope that sinners might live for ever.
They have a message of comfort for that streaming multitude.
A gospel of life in death… of light in darkness!
But no one makes a move.

 

And that is just the point… that’s the big difference.
This church that is gathered here is basically still an Old Testament church.
Sure, it’s a true gathering of believers who now trust in Jesus for salvation.
But one which is not effective in its witness… or in its testimony.

That is a sad feature of the O.T. covenant. Their witness was weak and spasmodic.
Witnessing happened just a little here and a little there.
The youth, Daniel, gets carted off to Babylon where he witnesses to a king.
A little servant girl talks about the Lord to the Syrian general, Naaman, who has leprosy.
Even God’s prophet, Jonah, needs a kick in the pants to get him to preach in Nineveh.

That is the kind of church as it is gathered together here on the day of Pentecost.
It is a little like the old church organ…. all complete, notes in place, the registers are set.
But press the keys and nothing happens.  It isn’t plugged into the power point.

 

The church here is still basically the OT church that was not big on its missionary task to Gentiles.

It especially needs the Spirit’s power for the task of bringing the good news to all nations.

 

3. Then… suddenly it changes from here on… and that helps us to understand what’s happening.

The Spirit indwells the church… but then in a special way and for a special purpose.

 

That’s the wonder of Pentecost: all those people… filled with the Holy Spirit.
There is this one almighty outpouring of the Spirit of God on the church.
A once-for-all, never to be repeated, baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ sends His Spirit upon the church…
and He transforms it from what was basically still an OT church
into a living church of Jesus Christ that will proclaim the good news to all nations.

 

So there is at least this sense in which Pentecost is indeed the birthday of the church.
The church of all ages and all places is now empowered to gather in the harvest.
The church will now no longer be basically an isolated people group living in Judea.
But it will be a church that will go and make disciples of all nations.

 

Here is a marvellous new beginning that will go on until Jesus comes.
The amazing result of this outpouring of the H.Sp is that they cannot remain silent anymore.
They must speak of what they have seen and what they know.
And so Peter stands up to preach… and what does he preach about?
About the Holy Spirit…?  About those special signs…?
No!  He preaches Jesus and Him crucified.
And those five hundred are ready to be counsellors and to help with follow-up.
And the result is 3000 added to the church in one day.  3000 converts.

 

So the Pentecostal Harvest thanksgiving celebration suddenly receives a new meaning.
The first-fruits of the harvest of Christ’s redeeming work are gathered into the church.
On Pentecost day… the first-fruits… and many, many more will follow.
Happy birthday church of Jesus!  Happy birthday mission church!

 

C]        THE SPIRIT’S ENABLING POWER TO PROCLAIM JESUS..

 

1. Once we have seen the meaning of the event of Pentecost we also begin to understand those 3 signs.

The first one is a sign that the ear can hear – the sound of a violent gale.

 

Years ago, in my first parish, we regularly farewelled relatives at the small country airport.
We stood at the fence to wave our visitors off.  We heard the roar of the engines.
And as the aircraft turned we felt the blast of the wind that thrust the plane into the air.
That spoke of raw power.

 

So too the first sign on Pentecost is a sign of the Spirit’s POWER… over which we have no control.
You hear the sound of the wind… you can tell it from the effect that it has.
So the Spirit baptises the Church with power from on high.
And that power is the power of Christ reaching out to all nations through His Church.

 

That power is not there first of all to give Christians a thrill… a high.
Back in Acts 1:8 we were told what the purpose of that power is.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you… and…
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
The power of the Spirit is given so that we can tell others about Jesus.

 

It’s interesting that the word for wind is also the word for breath… and breath is life.
So what is the sign of a church that is alive?  Is it having a good music team and great singing?
Contemporary worship and lots of activities and programs?
No!  The sign of an alive church is gospel proclamation.
And not just from the pulpit… but all of us ready to give an account of the hope that is in us.

 

2. Secondly there is also a sign for the eyes to see – the candle-like flames on all the people of God.

That has been interpreted to have various meanings.

 

In a sense that too speaks of power… the power of a raging fire.
Fire that is almost impossible to stop and that takes everything along with it!
So too nothing can stop the Spirit as He works in the church to gather in God’s elect.
Who can hinder His work of bringing people into relationship with Jesus Christ?

 

Fire also speaks of purification… the Biblical image is of a refining fire.
Fire burns away the rubbish… the stubble that is left after the harvest.
Or think of the fire in the blast furnace that purifies the metals.
So the Spirit works through the church changing and renewing and cleaning up lives.

 

Or in terms of mission – the flame of fire also brings light into darkness.
That gospel message of Jesus as Saviour and Lord shines into our hopelessness.
It grips us in our lostness and shows us the way to go home.
So the Spirit works through the church making the light of Jesus shine in our world.

 

3. Finally, there is also the most convincing sign of the Spirit’s mission – speech in other languages.

The age-old barriers of race and nation are being broken down.

It is a sign that the witness to Jesus, in the power of the H.Sp, will be heard in every language on earth.

 

Here these people – who came from every country of the then known world –
they heard them speak in their own language.
And the content of that speaking is the great deeds of God in Jesus Christ.

The H.Sp is poured out on the church especially for this purpose…
The church of the OT becomes the church of the NT especially for this reason…
To ensure that the ends of the earth will now hear the good news that Jesus saves.

 

I believe that none of these three Pentecostal signs are with us any longer.
Because Pentecost is unrepeatable… it’s a once-for-all event..!
And if you look for a repeat of Pentecost then you have not understood that event.

You can no more have a repeat of Pentecost than you can have a repeat of Xmas or Easter.
You can no more have a repeat of it than you can have a repeat of the day you were born.
Because this is the birthday of the mission Church…!

 

Today there is still one sure sign of Pentecost that does remain.
That is the sign of a Christian community proclaiming Jesus as Lord.
Today there is a sign that church is alive with the Spirit’s power.
And that is that it speaks of Jesus Christ… it witnesses to Him.
And it does that from the pulpit and over the backyard fence.
It does that over the workbench and in the office.

The sign of a Spirit-filled Christian is not whether you speak in tongues.
The sign of a Spirit-filled Christian is seen in a desire to make Jesus known.

 

Today it makes sense to remember the birthday of a church.
And it makes sense – as we read the Pentecost story in Acts 2 – to say:
“Happy Birthday, church of Jesus Christ!”
But it only makes sense if you are living out of the Spirit’s power.
And in the Spirit’s power making the love of Jesus known to every tribe and language group;
Also here in multicultural Australia.

 

Amen.