Pentecost Sunday 2009
50 days after the Easter something incredible happened
in the life of those first followers of Jesus Christ.
It changed those faithful men and women in such a dramatic way
that it will be said of them, “they’ve turned the world upside down.”
(Acts 17:6 KJV)
Today I would like for us to consider what happened that first Pentecost and
its significance for our own lives today.
And how you have access to the life of God such that
through you the world can be turned upside down again.
Acts 2:1-4 (MSG)
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.
The Holy Spirit is God.
As Christians we have read and studied the revelations of the
New Testament and over the first 300 years of debating we came to an
agreement called the doctrine of the Trinity.
At first it sounds totally illogical.
But it is what the scripture reveals about the nature of God.
The official statement in our faith community reads:
We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign of the universe; that He only is God, creative and administrative, holy in nature, attributes, and purpose; that He, as God, is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
What this means is that we believe that there is one God,
Who has been revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Not separate beings, but one in the same.
A unity revealed as community.
God the Father above us.
God the Son before us.
God the Holy Spirit in us.
In 387 AD the church council of Nicaea in order to preserve the Christian faith
published a statement of faith, a creed:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
But instead of reading it, let’s hear it sung for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tpq4MoRVV4
The debate was far from over in 387,
But the truth still stands over the centuries
That on the first Pentecost after Easter God took up residence in the
lives of those who believed.
A revelation of the third person of the Trinity is foretold by the Prophets.
Ezekiel 36:27 (NIV)
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Throughout the Old Testament we read of the Spirit coming upon an individual to
empower them to complete a God ordained task.
When the task is completed the Spirit departed.
Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to indwell His disciples,
to remain with them.
John 14:16-18 (NIV)
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 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. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
This is what happens on Pentecost.
God the Holy Spirit makes Himself available to every believer.
God now indwells believers.
When you began living the ABC’s of the faith
Accepting that you needed a savior,
Believing that the only savor is Jesus,
And committing yourself to discipleship.
God reconciled your estrangement to Him
And declared you to be righteous.
God the Holy Spirit began making you what He
declared you to be.
The Holy Spirit breathes spiritual life into a person the moment that God accepts
that individual as His own.
Your relationship with God is set right
The change is so incredible that the scripture describes the
event as being born again, as becoming some one new.
(John 3:3-18 and 2 Corinthians 5:17)
1 Samuel 10:6 (NIV)
The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.
God the Holy Spirit lays a hold of your life and brings it under obedience to Christ,
God the Holy Spirit empowers you to take up your cross and follow after
Jesus with no intention of going back.
By the power of the indwelling God you turn your back on your old way of life.
By the power of the indwelling God earth is turned into a desert as you are given
visions of heaven.
It is the Holy Spirit that sets your feet upon a spiritual mountain
And from that lofty vantage point you see all of life through God’s eyes.
You see how big God is and how awesome Jesus is and how small
you are, yet so loved.
(A.W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous: Faith Is a Perturbing Thing)
It is the Holy Spirit who transforms you increasingly more like Jesus;
adopting His attitudes,
His intent,
His agenda,
His world view.
The Holy Spirit initiates a transformational process to make all that is unrighteous
in our lives, righteous.
On this journey of becoming everything God has created you to be
it is God the Holy Spirit who is your guide.
John 16:13 (NIV)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
The truth is Jesus.
It is the Holy Spirit who partners with you on your journey into Jesus.
Maps are good when you are moving through unfamiliar territory.
But I prefer a guide.
If the Bible is a map,
then the Holy Spirit is the guide.
Ever misread a map and find yourself lost?
People can do some outlandish things and blame their behavior on
God, simply by saying “God told me.”
As you keep in step with the Holy Spirit,
He will never steer you off the course detailed in the map.
Good guides can tell you where you are and what is just around the bend;
what to expect just a little way down the path.
The Spirit leads and directs you throughout your spiritual
journey.
This spiritual journey isn’t easy.
If you knew how difficult, you would give up before you started.
The task is impossible.
You can not live your life to the full without Divine
intervention.
In ourselves we lack the ability, the resources,
The skills, the “know how”
and even the desire..
Catch this—you can’t do it.
You can’t live the life God has planned for you under your own
power.
You can believe, but you can’t live it.
It is God the Holy Spirit within you that empowers you.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
“… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…”
Without the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit we could accomplish nothing
of eternal value.
Left to our own resources we soon discover that we do not have what
it takes even to change ourselves let alone change the world
around us.
It is a fool’s game to attempt to accomplish a heavenly objective through
worldly resources.
You can’t unless God
Say this: “I can’t unless God.”
On that first Pentecost after Easter,
The long awaited promise of God became a present reality for every
Believer,
Not only could a believer enter the holy of holies,
The holy of holies entered the believer.
Now a lot of our brothers and sisters in Christ believe that the evidence that God
the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in your life is
that you will speak in tongues.
They reason that if that’s what happened when the believers were baptized
with the Holy Spirit, then it will still happen to you.
I see something a little different.
Acts 2:2-8 (MSG)
Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn't for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, "Aren't these all Galileans? How come we're hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?
Luke tells us something extremely important.
When God the Holy Spirit entered into the lives of believers,
These believers were able to proclaim the good news of the gospel
in the native languages of those gathered in Jerusalem.
This is very significant, because its is the true evidence of a believer being
baptized with God the Holy Spirit.
To see the significance you have to recall the story of the Tower of Babel in
Genesis 11
Genesis 11:4-9 (NIV)
Humanity said,
"Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,
so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of
the whole earth."
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were
building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have
begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for
them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not
understand each other."
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel --because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
This story tells us that pride divides and isolates.
The sin of pride blocks communication,
deterring, damaging and destroying relationships
that causes a scattering,
creating separation in humanity,
What we see at Easter’s first Pentecost is a reversal of that schism.
God comes and every one hears -- bringing unity.
And that’s the significance—
The disharmony of sin is reconciled so that there is unity
in the diversity.
I believe that the evidence of being baptized with God the Holy Spirit is
living a life of unifying love.
It’s by God the Holy Spirits guiding and empowering that living a life of
unifying love is possible and by living that kind of life we become His
witnesses.
That’s what happened on what some people call the birthday of the
Church, the first Pentecost after Easter.
Acts 2:38-47 (MSG)
Peter said,
"Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of
Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who
are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites." He went on in this vein
for a long time, urging them over and over, "Get out while you can; get out of
this sick and stupid culture!" That day about three thousand took him at his
word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the
teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the
apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything
in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each
person's need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple
followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as
they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number
grew as God added those who were saved.
That my friends is a picture of the evidence of being baptized with God the Holy
Spirit: unifying love.
If unifying love is not part of your life,
Not the motivating principle of your life,
I think you’ve missed something extremely important.
If unifying love isn’t the motivating principle of your life,
You don’t have Jesus, you’ve got religion.
Is It Possible To Believe
But Not Have God The Holy Spirit Taken Up Residence In Your Life?
Unfortunately, tragically, the answer is yes.
James 2:18-19 (NIV)
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
You can believe but have no part of God.
You can go to church, go through the motions,
You can do good things and still miss out on the real thing.
Can You Have Known Fellowship With Your Creator
And Allowed Your Relationship To Slip Away?
Unfortunately, tragically, the answer is yes.
Ephesians 4:30 (MSG)
Don't grieve God. Don't break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don't take such a gift for granted.
I have grieved the heart of God the Holy Spirit.
He gives me himself in all fullness that I might be like Him.
But when I choose not to follow His lead and
Can’t bring myself to do even the easy things He’s asked in
scripture—I break His heart.
I’ve broken His heart
He empowers me to do incredible things
Yet when I refuse to meet the need of another
because I don’t want to be bothered,
because there’s nothing in it for me,
because its too big a task,
because its inconvenient –
I break His heart.
I’ve broken His heart.
He partners with me to transform me into His very likeness,
knowing that in becoming holy I will find true happiness.
Then I say no to becoming the person He has creating me to be,
I do what I want
I break His heart.
I’ve broken His Heart.
He entrusts me with wealth and the goods of this world
But when He asks me to release a portion of what I have, to bless someone else, I can’t part with a dollar, or a minute,
A dime or a moment.
I break His heart.
I’ve broken His Heart.
If I persist the same prophet who foretold the coming of God the Holy Spirit.
Also gives this warning:
Ezekiel 18:24 (MSG)
"The same thing goes for a good person who turns his back on an upright life and starts sinning, plunging into the same vile obscenities that the wicked person practices. Will this person live? I don't keep a list of all the things this person did right, like money in the bank he can draw on. Because of his defection, because he accumulates sin, he'll die.
If you’ve grieved God the Holy Spirit,
If you’ve broken the heart of God,
If you persist, the blessings of a right relationship with God will
depart from you.
That’s not what I want to see happen to you.
I want you to live your life to the full.
Can’t do that without keeping in step with
God the Holy Spirit.
Life to the full.
A life of freedom and liberty.
A life of love and joy
A life of acceptance and belonging
A life of meaning and purpose.
The world and everything in it becomes a gift to enjoy
And enjoying it you’re worshiping the One who gave it to you.
Life to the full
A life of wholeness and contentment;
Assurance and hope.
Living a life that matters to others.
Its you becoming unifying love.
So rock solid that even the suffering that visits
your life can not steal your joy.
Where you recognize that the tests and trials that God sends your way
are to discipline you and perfect you.
You receive them as a friend knowing that
God’s plans are good and
God’s plans are wise and
God’s plans are loving.
Life to the full
Redeemed from all the nightmares of the past,
The secret sins confessed and forgiven,
No more shame, no more hiding,
Liberated from addiction.
Emancipated from the tyranny of egoism.
Life to the full
Where what you do matters,
Doing that which makes a real difference in the life of another,
Contributing to building the kingdom,
Advocating justice,
Loving the unlovable.
Its only God the Holy Spirit who can empower you to live your life to the full.
Without Him you got nothing and you’re headed no where.
But with Him, following His lead, heading His direction, partnering with Him
You can turn this world upside down.
So today on this 1,976th Pentecost after the first Easter are you going to leave here
today full or empty?
In step with God the Holy Spirit, or still marching to the death beat of your own
drummer?
Are you going to leave here with God the Holy Spirit empowering
you or are you going to leave with a religious lie?