This, I think, is a fair and accurate statement of the reality—these two ideas of the church. One, that the church is free to shift its outward form in harmony with what would be called “the spirit of the New Testament” in order to adapt to the changing needs of a society or culture. And so, whatever the congregation wishes to change—free to do that. What it wants to add—free to do that. What it wants to leave off—free to do that. The other view was that the church is of divine nature, that while men and women compose it, it has as its ideal a divine nature, and it is not to be changed. Whatever may be the circumstances, the central theme must always be “the church is divine in nature and it is not to be changed from what is revealed in the New Testament”.

These two ideas were in conflict. They have continued to be in conflict. They are still at the heart of much of the difficulty being faced among our people today. I want to think with you in this series about a number of topics, all of which will grow out of this fundamental idea, that “the church is divine. It is NOT to be changed.” There are matters of judgment, matters of expediency—that is, methods. All of these can and should be changed in order to use the abilities to the best of those involved. But, methods are not the substance of the church. Whether we are using overhead projectors, or a chalk board, is a matter of expediency, a matter of judgment. It is not a matter of faith. Whether we have an assembly like this in this particular area or in a meeting house or in a home, that’s a matter of judgment, a matter of expediency. What takes place—whether you use one method of teaching, or have one place of meeting—what takes place in the life and work and worship of the church is of divine nature.

I want to think with you today about what I call “Lessons From Pentecost.” There are any number of ways that one might approach the study of Acts, chapter 2. It is a remarkable chapter by any yardstick. I want to think with you about some thoughts that we need to remember today, all of them emerging from this very fascinating chapter.

Think for a moment about what a remarkable thing occurred that day. When the sun came up on this Pentecost Day of, say, AD 33, there were thousands of people in the city of Jerusalem, most of whom were loyal Jews. O, to be sure, there were Roman soldiers; there were, no doubt, merchants and travelers of all nationality. But, the main population of the city was Jewish. Many of these were residents of Jerusalem and Judea; others had come great distances, some from some fifteen different places.

Well, theses folk were there for a great moment in their lives. Perhaps, some of them had saved their money for many years. They had made a pilgrimage of a lifetime. They would tell their children, their grandchildren in years to come, “What a great time we had in Jerusalem, Pentecost, AD 33!” This is what was true when the sun came up.

When the sun went down, some 3,000 of these people had changed their direction remarkably! Some of these—perhaps most of these—had been present some fifty days before when a Man from Nazareth, named Jesus, was crucified. Perhaps some of them had yelled out to Pontius Pilate, “Crucify!!” And so, He had died. Then He was buried; and according to the Jewish rulers, some of His disciples came and “stole away His body” and “the disciples claimed that He had been raised from the dead.” All of that was not true, according to the Jewish people. [Matthew 28:11-15: “…some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. 12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, 13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole Him away while we slept. 14 And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. 15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”]

So, here they are—loyal Jews at sunrise. At sunset, 3,000 of them had accepted the divine Truth of Jesus, an absolutely remarkable thing to consider. You imagine what it would take today for 3,000 of the citizens of Albuquerque to totally, completely change their religious orientation between sunup and sundown. I think that would stagger the imagination! Well, how did that occur on the Day of Pentecost? I want to think with you about that, and in the thinking of that, lay something of a foundation for our continuing studies.

THE FIRST LESSON that comes to mind from this chapter is that, What God Has Said Is True. What God has said is true. Look in the 2 nd chapter of Acts, and verse 16. I’m reading from the King James Translation. Peter said, when some stated that the men who had experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit were drunk, “No, these men are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel…” [Acts 2:15-16]. He proceeded to quote Joel 2:28 through 32.

Now, think for a moment about what he is quoting: “ And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,” [Acts 2:17], and he continues with a quotation. Usually, the book of Joel is dated about 830 BC. These verses, from what we would call Joel 2, had, no doubt, been read and thought about by any number of Jewish people. But, without the events of the day, what does this mean? What is the meaning of “the last days”? What is the meaning of “the pouring out of God’s Spirit on all flesh”? What in the world is he talking about?

Well, God knew. God clearly knew what He meant. There’s no way to reckon the number who had puzzled about Joel 2. Now, what God had said about it was true. But the people did not know that at the time, and so here we are facing a remarkable Truth. What God says is TRUE, but people may not understand that for any number of years.