Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Acts 2: 1-21

¹When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…

[Peter said]¹⁶ But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, …

²¹ And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

We keep track of all kinds of events on our calendars. These Thrivent calendars used to be the thing to have and were gobbled up in a hurry. They are awesome calendars to have and keep all the events of your life on them. These days most you use an electronic calendar and more than likely it’s on your phone.

I remember as a child flipping the pages of the calendar counting months or days to my birthday or to Christmas. I couldn’t wait for the calendar page to turn to the page with that event on it.

Laurie has tracked the release of the new Star Trek movie for some time. Well the day of the release, Friday, arrived and is gone and we didn’t even see it. Lauren called and asked us to wait until Memorial Day weekend so we could see it together. So, we turned the page on the calendar to the month where this big anticipated event arrived and went and nothing changed. Our lives are exactly the same today as they were before the arrival of the release of Star Trek. The release of Star Trek had no lasting impact on our life.

We turn the page and almost every month there is an event to look forward to… (turn pages of calendar until November)

Children all over the world look forward to Christmas every year. They watch the calendar, count months and days; finally the calendar page is turned to the month of December. The excitement builds every day closer to Christmas. Then we celebrate the amazing event of Jesus birth, we exchange presents, and sit down together to eat a huge meal, then a few days later we pack up all the decorations until next year. Christ’s birth is a world altering event where the savior of the world became flesh. But what did last Christmas’ celebration change in your life? We turned the page on the new 2013 calendar and went on with our life.

Our text describes the event we call Pentecost as arrived. It almost makes it sound as important in our lives as the release of the new Star Trek. We turned the page of the calendar, ho hum, it’s here, now it’s gone, turn another page and look for the next event. The reality is that this event made a huge impact on everyone’s life that was in Jerusalem at the time and all Christians since then. Sure doesn’t sound ho hum to me.

There were people from all over the region, from many nations in Jerusalem at the time that the day of Pentecost "arrived." So, why were so many people there and what was Pentecost to them on that day? Pentecost was an important annual Jewish observance of the Feast of Harvest; it is also called Feast of Weeks. This is important like Christmas is important to us; it is something we look forward to celebrating every year. Pentecost literally means 50^th. They used the name Pentecost because the feast was celebrated 50 days after the Passover Sabbath. Every pious Jew tried to be in Jerusalem for this annual observance. Just like our celebration of Christmas where the event that took place long ago had the major impact but the annual celebrations are remembrances, Pentecost came and went every year without any major impact.

Except this year! God had a special event in mind for this Pentecost in A.D. 30. What Jesus promised about the Holy Spirit would now take place, "for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Act 1:5 ESV). What John the Baptist predicted would now be fulfilled, "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Luke 3:16 ESV). The apostles and several others were together. The fuller meaning of the word translated as together is they were all in one place, no disciple was absent and they were ready when the Spirit came. The baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire occurred in that room on that day.

The tongues of fire came to rest on every person in the room, not just the apostles. Everyone received the baptism of the Spirit! Everyone had work to do in carrying out the Great Commission to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Mat 28:16 ESV). The Holy Spirit equipped them for their work. The Holy Spirit equipped the apostles to proclaim God’s great saving work in many languages. They were equipped to share God’s love through Jesus’ death, and resurrection. They were equipped to share the forgiveness of sins earned by His death. They were equipped to share the eternal life Jesus gave us when He rose from the dead. They were equipped! They were filled with the Holy Spirit! They didn’t quite realize the extent or the full meaning of all nations but they would adjust. On this day, God reversed the confusion of tongues that resulted from men trying to glorify themselves by building the tower of Babel. On this day, the Spirit moved men to glorify God in languages that were understood by all who heard.

The speaking in other languages was the sign that the Holy Spirit was being poured out, as God promised through the prophet Joel, "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy."

So, this celebration of Pentecost didn’t just "arrive" did it? The better way to interpret the word interpreted as arrive is more of fulfillment or making full the measure of time the Lord contemplated when He made the promise. The fulfillment of this promise changes everything from that day on. God promised through Joel that all people would receive the Spirit. All people would proclaim God’s message to others after receiving his revelation. The revelation is in the preaching of the Gospel; the revelation that leads to repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

The outpouring of the Spirit that began on the day of Pentecost continues today! That day, some 2,000 years ago has impacted everyone since then. The outpouring continues today wherever the Gospel is preached. It is the Gospel that God pours out, has poured out, his Spirit on all flesh. This pouring out of the Spirit through the Gospel signifies God has come to His people. He has come to His people that He made for Himself in creation. We who believe in Jesus, the Spirit has called and gathered and will keep.

There is more to the arrival of Pentecost than turning the calendar to a new page. Pentecost is more than a day. The day of Pentecost ushers in a new era. It is an era where we are filled with the Holy Spirit and equipped for the work for God’s kingdom. Don’t just turn the page and move on to another month with another holiday or event. Thank and praise God that you are equipped to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Mat 28:16 ESV). You have been given His Spirit! Your life has been changed! Don’t just turn the page on the calendar, live in the joy and peace and love of the Spirit everyday, not just this Day of Pentecost. Listen to the Gospel, spoken for you in your language. Feel the tongue of fire on your own head. Some of you may remember what it felt like to be filled with the Holy Spirit at your Baptism. Those that don’t remember your baptism trust that you too are filled with the Holy Spirit. You were brought into the family of God, just like those baptized with the Spirit on that first Pentecost day. Live the life of the Holy Spirit of God. Amen