Acts 2:14-17, 19-21 “Fellow Jews, and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘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… I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Purpose one for God sending his Spirit: He wanted his people to know. Before the completion of the Bible, he gave prophesies, visions, and dreams through his Spirit. The religion of grace isn’t something you figure out by logical deduction. We don’t instinctively believe that the way back to God is through grace, that the way past our sins is only his forgiveness, that the way to be saved is purely the gift of his Son. God’s Spirit reveals it.

Even with a completed Bible, it is the Spirit who lets us understand. I have heard the testimonies of so many Christians who will tell you they weren’t “reasoned” into Christian faith. Something happened through repeated exposure to the word. It is like a light bulb went on, and suddenly they just realized that these things they had been reading and hearing about Jesus were true. That is the Spirit’s power at work, teaching us what we need to know.

Purpose two for God sending his Spirit: He wants his people to speak. “Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” They will prophesy. That doesn’t have to refer to predicting the future. It describes any preaching of God’s message. And it isn’t limited to professional clergy. It is included in the job description of your pastor. But God has poured his Spirit “on my servants, both men and women.” You may be afraid to speak about your faith. “I’m not very good at talking,” you say. So did Moses, you may remember. And God told him, “Hey Moses, I made your mouth, remember? I can make it work just fine.” And he says to us, “Hey Christian, I gave you my Spirit, remember? He will give you the words you need to say.”

Purpose three for God sending his Spirit: He wants people to be saved. Peter uses the Prophet Joel to walk us right through the New Testament era and the rest of history to the last day. Then, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This is what Pentecost Day is all about. This is why God sent his Spirit on us with power. It’s not about giving us the ability to create some utopia here, a heaven on earth. It is not about giving us the ability to do neat little supernatural things to impress our friends and acquaintances. It is about fortifying our own faith and equipping us to share it with others, so that people can call on Jesus’ name in faith and be saved.