Acts
2:1-12
1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in
one place.
2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came
from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated
and came to rest on each of them.
4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from
every nation under heaven.
6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who
are speaking Galileans?
8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native
language?
9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;
visitors from Rome
11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-- we
hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"
12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does
this mean?"
(NIV)
This
never, ever happens at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, but in my last
pastorate I had a member named Norm.
Norm
could never stay awake for an entire worship service.
He would
sit close to the front and I always had a direct line of sight view of Norm.
His head
would slooowly tip back.
His eyes
would slooowly shut close.
His jaw
would fall open.
And he
would stay that way until the end of the service.
One day,
Norm brought his 5 year old granddaughter to church, and apparently, she had
never seen anyone fall asleep in church.
So she
stood up on the pew and with her face right in Norm’s face, she yelled out,
“Granddaddy. Are you asleep, or are you
dead?”
In this
morning’s New Testament lesson, we read about a church service in which it
would have been very difficult to have fallen asleep.
It was on the Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus and ten days after His ascension to heaven, the Holy Spirit arrived in a powerful and dramatic way.
It was an exciting occasion!
No body
could sleep through something like that!
I believe church should always to have an element of excitement!
I believe church should always to have an element of excitement!
The
church was exciting when it was given birth on Pentecost Sunday.
The
church remained exciting through its early history as seen in the Book of Acts.
The
church should always be an exciting place where the Holy Spirit is alive and
working.
Now what
does that mean? Besides the fact that
you should stay awake in church, what does that mean?
Does
being in a church where the Holy Spirit is alive and well mean that we are an
out of control church? Not at all.
To be
a church that is filled with the Spirit means we are controlled by the Spirit.
Now, at
the moment of Holy Spirit descended upon the church, there was a rushing of a
strong and mighty wind. Then there was
the appearance of tongues of fire sitting on top of everyone’s heads. And add to that everyone spoke in a different
language and understood what was being said.
You can’t
sleep through something like that!
Obviously,
there are lots of interesting things here.
But as confusing
as it may have appeared on the surface, there was a sense of order here.
From the
outside, it looked as if the Christians were drunk. But Simon Peter had to tell some of the
spectators that the church members weren’t drunk! (v. 15) They were "under
the influence" all right, but it was the influence of the Holy Spirit!
As the scripture commands us in Ephesians 5:18 - "Be not drunk with wine...but be filled with the Spirit."
When believers get filled with the Spirit things will get exciting!
Out of control? Never! Exciting? Yes, definitely!
Throughout the ages, one of the favorite Bible verses for Presbyterian theologians and preachers comes from I Corinthians 14:40 - "Let all things be done decently and in order.”
As the scripture commands us in Ephesians 5:18 - "Be not drunk with wine...but be filled with the Spirit."
When believers get filled with the Spirit things will get exciting!
Out of control? Never! Exciting? Yes, definitely!
Throughout the ages, one of the favorite Bible verses for Presbyterian theologians and preachers comes from I Corinthians 14:40 - "Let all things be done decently and in order.”
And
earlier in that New Testament book, Paul wrote, “For God is not the author of
confusion." (1 Corinthians 14:33)
We also learn from our New Testament Lesson that being a church filled with the Holy Spirit means that the preaching and studying the Word of God must be central.
In the Second Chapter of Acts, after the Holy Spirit descended on the church, Peter began to preach. As he did, Peter was constantly quoting Old Testament scriptures in his sermon. It so impacted the hearers that they were asking "what shall we do?" (verse 37)
The Word of God remains the message of the Church.
We also learn from our New Testament Lesson that being a church filled with the Holy Spirit means that the preaching and studying the Word of God must be central.
In the Second Chapter of Acts, after the Holy Spirit descended on the church, Peter began to preach. As he did, Peter was constantly quoting Old Testament scriptures in his sermon. It so impacted the hearers that they were asking "what shall we do?" (verse 37)
The Word of God remains the message of the Church.
We are
moving through a study of the Book of Acts, and in one place in Acts (Acts
4:31-32) there is a description of a worship service. Acts puts it this way – “After they prayed,
the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in
heart and mind.”
Worship –
the Holy Spirit – the Word of God – they all go together in perfect harmony.
You can’t
have true worship without the Holy Spirit or the Word of God.
We
also learn from our New Testament Lesson that being a church filled with the
Holy Spirit means that all people are welcomed into the church.
In the Book of Acts we see a wonderfully multicultural gathering of people.
In the Book of Acts we see a wonderfully multicultural gathering of people.
You can
imagine the scene. People of different
nationalities and races. Different
cultures. Rich and poor. All gathered together.
In fact,
this was one of the struggles that the Roman empire
had with Christianity. The empire had a
strong sense of classes – and a strong sense that certain people who belonged
to one class had to actually live and function in that class. But in the Christian Church, a wealthy and
politically connected Roman citizen might be a simple member of the Christian
community, while a slave could actually become a bishop in the church.
In
Christ, we are all equal.
In the
Book of Acts, this morning’s story begins with the disciples of Jesus being in
"one accord" and in "one place". But that was the easy
part.
It’s fairly easy to get together and worship with folks like yourself.
But to worship with people are different that takes the Spirit of God.
It’s fairly easy to get together and worship with folks like yourself.
But to worship with people are different that takes the Spirit of God.
Some
people find it difficult to worship with people of other races – for some, that
diversity is a joy. For God it is certainly a joy when all of his
children are together.
Some
people find it hard to worship next to someone who has long hair, or tattoos,
or (heaven forbid) a beard. Some people
don’t like worshipping next to someone wearing blue jeans and a leather jacket,
while others don’t like worshipping next to a person in a suit and tie.
But all
of us are God’s children, and if we don’t learn to worship together HERE on
earth, heaven is going to be a little tougher than expected.
Can you imagine
what it was like at Pentecost when folks from at least 16 different locations
came together for a cultural and linguistic encounter?
I’ll tell you what it is like – it is like the Kingdom of God. Because that is the way it will be when we get to heaven.
I’ll tell you what it is like – it is like the Kingdom of God. Because that is the way it will be when we get to heaven.
Every
race, every nation, every language. Rich
and poor. Well educated and the
illiterate.
Some of
us will have nothing in common except for the one thing that we will all have
in common – Jesus Christ.
In many churches, whenever anyone comes in who looks different or dresses differently church members keep their distance. Anybody outside their little circle of friends threatens them.
But that doesn’t happen in a church that is filled with the Holy Spirit.
The
church that welcomes the Holy Spirit, must also welcome all children of God.
One
last thing about the church that is led and filled by the Holy Spirit. It cannot help but share the Good News of the
Gospel.
In our New Testament lesson for today, what was the purpose for the gift of tongues? So folks from around the world could hear the gospel in their own language.
Jesus had told his disciples in Acts 1:8: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Think
about that.
The
disciples liked Jerusalem and Judea.
They did
not like Samaria.
And the
ends of the earth meant hard work!
But Jesus
sent them to all of those places.
This is
one of the great purposes of the church -- to proclaim the good news that Jesus
died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. And all who place
their trust in Him for salvation have eternal life!
Peter proclaimed "...those who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (verse 21)
Those who were saved on the Day of Pentecost were baptized and joined with the other disciples in spreading the good news even further!
Sadly, surveys today indicate that only one in four Christians even believe that they have a responsibility to share this Good News with others.
If we are not careful we can neglect the most important part of Spirit-led worship - the part where we expand the church by sharing the gospel!
I read a tragic story several years ago.
Peter proclaimed "...those who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (verse 21)
Those who were saved on the Day of Pentecost were baptized and joined with the other disciples in spreading the good news even further!
Sadly, surveys today indicate that only one in four Christians even believe that they have a responsibility to share this Good News with others.
If we are not careful we can neglect the most important part of Spirit-led worship - the part where we expand the church by sharing the gospel!
I read a tragic story several years ago.
In the
city of New Orleans,
there had been an increase of drownings in the public swimming pools one year,
so as the city approached a new summer season, the community leaders were
determined to stress safety at all public swimming pools. Sure enough, that summer, with all of the
emphasis on safety, the city of New
Orleans had a wonderful summer – the first summer in
memory of not a single drowning at any of the public pools.
At the
end of the summer season, there was a celebration at one of the municipal
pools. They threw a party at pool-side to celebrate and two hundred people
gathered in honor of the momentous occasion, including about 100 certified
lifeguards. But as the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty
began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They
tried to revive Jerome Moody, age 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded
by lifeguards celebrating their successful season. (United Press International,
Aug 2, 1985)
In the church, we stand around and celebrate and worship – and sometimes forget one of the most important things that we are supposed to be doing – sharing the Gospel!!!!
In the church, we stand around and celebrate and worship – and sometimes forget one of the most important things that we are supposed to be doing – sharing the Gospel!!!!
We just
fall asleep. We get comfortable. We
forget.
The
Spirit-led church never forgets – never neglects to share the gospel. And where
there’s an atmosphere conducive to the new birth - there is excitement.
Everybody stays awake!
Copyright 2013, Dr. Maynard
Pittendreigh
All rights reserved.