Last week, I began a new sermon series going through the book of Acts. This morning we’ll be in Acts 2, looking at what is known as the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 1, we saw Jesus, after rising from the dead, spend 40 days in Jerusalem teaching his disciples about the kingdom of God before He ascended to heaven. The ascension is an often-overlooked event in the life of Jesus, but it is significant for three primary reasons. The first is that Jesus now has divine authority, and so we can trust Him, no matter what is going on in our lives, knowing that He is working all things together for good, as it says in Romans 8:28-29. The second is that Jesus is exercising a divine advocacy on our behalf before the Father, so that no charge brought against us can stand, but we are declared not guilty, as he says in Romans 8:33-34.
And the third reason the ascension of Jesus is significant is that we can have divine intimacy with God. If Jesus were to remain on earth, he would only be in one location, but because he has ascended, he now sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of every believer, so that we can have God living in us at all times. That is what this morning and Acts 2 is all about. As Jesus said in John 14:16-17- And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you
As Acts 1 ends, the disciples are in Jerusalem praying and waiting for God to send the Holy Spirit. Let’s read Acts 2:1-13:
