Scripture: Acts 2:37-47
This week, we finish our study of Acts 2. But even though we finish the chapter, that doesn’t mean that we can leave Pentecost behind for the next year. Pentecost must be more than just the appearance of the Holy Spirit, more than the first recorded instance of the gift of tongues, more than the day we celebrate the beginning of the Christian Church, more than just the claiming of 3,000 souls for Christ. Pentecost must become a way of life for all who believe and follow the Lord.
In Our walk through Pentecost, we have seen the promise that Jesus made to the disciples come true. John 15:26-27 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.”
We have seen the fulfilling of Joel’s prophesy of miracles, wonders and signs.
We have heard the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and new life proclaimed
And today, we will hear more. Today we take a look at the conclusion of Peter’s sermon, and then at what came of Peter’s call to all who would believe in Jesus.
Read Acts 2:37-40
Suddenly, the people are listening to the preacher. No longer are they hung up on the speaking in tongues that was ridiculed by the crowd. No longer are they simply amazed at what they are hearing. They are moved to cry out “What shall we do?”
They knew that they were in the presence of one who had the authority and blessing of God Almighty, and they knew that they were hearing a truth that they had, somehow, missed in the past. But the message was no longer being missed. They heard, they were convicted, and they wanted to do something about it.
And Peter tells them that the thing that they need to do is to repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, that you might be forgiven of your sins! They had come to know their sins for what they were, and the mere fact that they were God’s Chosen people could no longer be used as an excuse to keep living a sinful life. And 3,000 accepted the message that day, and they repented of their worldliness, and they were baptized.
But the promise didn’t end with their new membership! Peter also tells them that they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. John 15:26-27 said that because of the coming of the Spirit, that the disciples must also testify about him, because they had been with him since the beginning. It could be assumed that the reference to “being with Christ from the beginning” referred to his ministry. But these folks had not! The “beginning” doesn’t, and can't, refer to the ministry, it doesn’t even refer to the moment of creation, it refers to pre-creation – the very beginning.
Since the “Beginning”, since God was, Jesus had been with these 3,000 people, and now they were with him, and they, too, would soon testify to Christ in their lives!
Read Acts 2:42-47
And evangelism is born! And just so we are all on the same page as to what evangelism is all about, I looked it up in Webster’s Dictionary. The first definition is this – “of, relating to, or being in agreement with the Christian gospel esp. as it is presented in the four Gospels”., and an additional thought is ”emphasizing salvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion, the authority of Scripture, and the importance of preaching as contrasted with ritual.”
And that is exactly what the people began doing.
They devoted themselves to teaching and fellowship. They would come together to study and learn – not by speculation and supposition, but by the apostles. The teaching would be conducted by followers who had been with Jesus for a while, and had learned from him. But everything wouldn’t continue nice and smooth. If we jump ahead and read 1 Corinthians, we discover that as the church grew, false teaching began to creep in, and new believers were being deceived. And this will continue to be a problem right up to today, and will be until Christ returns and again begins to teach us directly once more.
The problem is that humans like to theorize, and we like to figure things out for ourselves. And that’s not a bad thing, at least not until our theories begin to lead us away from what is true. And when we don’t have all of the truth, this is going to be inevitable. But when we stick to scripture – all of scripture – not one piece taken out of context, not one piece that is twisted to suit our own desires, and when we study as a body, we will find that God’s truth will rise to the surface and will prevail.
The second part – that about fellowship – is almost as important as the study. In our meeting together, our partnership in Christ is solidified and strengthened. Conversely, when we only join together once in a great while, we not only miss out on the teaching and strengthening, but we miss out on being part of the solidarity. And that is when the “untruths” begin to emerge.
The people would also devote themselves to communing with each other, and to prayer with and for each other. The early church would gather together for a meal, for communion, for prayer, and for study and worship. There was a unity unlike anything that had been seen before. And the church of 2011 doesn’t to have that. We don’t commune with each other nearly enough. Our lives get busy, we have other obligations, the job demands more and more of our time, and there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything! Unfortunately, the world is intruding into our spiritual lives and that isn’t good. We need to become more intentional with the fellowship and study and worship and prayer that we are called to be doing, and that includes me. We need to surrender to the unity that can only come from the Spirit of God.
But in that early day, there was a unity. Verse 44 tells us that “the believers were together and had everything in common.” That doesn’t just mean that they got together on a regular basis. It means that they were in agreement on all matters and that they were constantly ready, and even anxious, to help each other. If another person was in need, they saw to it that the need was cared for. They would give their possessions to others, and would even sell them off to raise money to benefit someone else. If there was a need, there was no question that the community of believers would stick together to resolve the situation.
And in all things, they praised God and rejoiced in the fellowship of each other. “Make disciples, baptize, and teach them what Jesus would have them know.” This wasn’t a commandment just for the 1st century church – it’s a commandment for all time. Being a Christian must be cyclic in nature. You come into the church, become a committed member through baptism, you study and learn about the faith, and go out to invite others into the fellowship. You then come back, to be refreshed, to learn some more, and go out again.
The people did just that and the church grew daily. More and more would turn to Christ, repent of their sins, receive baptism for forgiveness, and they would begin to learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Consider the last call that Jesus placed on us, the one we know as the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 – 20.
First, make disciples, then baptize them, (both of which had happened at Pentecost), then teach them to obey the Lord’s commandments, and that is exactly what began to happen.
From an article in Interpretation, a study and preaching resource:
Regardless of denomination, evangelism retains for Christians its strong and rightful appeal. The reason is that it is not tangential to Christian faith but rooted in the apostolic identity of the church. From baptism and Sunday school, Christians are shaped by a biblical narrative that enjoins them to make disciples of all nations. The risen Jesus delivers his great commission on a mountain in Galilee. Peter stands up on Pentecost, and 3,000 persons are said to hear his summons to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And Paul travels the roads of the Mediterranean world on three journeys to proclaim God's salvation to the Gentiles. As the activity that corresponds to these narratives, Christianity is unthinkable without evangelism.
--Interpretation, April 1994, 116.
That’s what faith is all about – living in Christ and proclaiming him to the world! This is the Church’s commission, our charge. John 14:12 – “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these ..” The life of the Church - its very existence, its future, depends on the acts of the faithful. The church can’t grow unless we invite others to come to know Jesus. And we can’t invite unless we know what the fellowship of believers is all about in the first place. And we will never know the joy of fellowship unless we are part of it. And we will never know the joy that comes with faith unless we actively participate in it. And we will never be able to study and learn and grow unless we are invited.
But someone invited us – it was probably our parents, but it may have been a friend, it may even have been a stranger. Regardless of who it was, what a wonderful friend that person was! What greater gift could there possibly be?
So teh question for today must be "When will you return the favor and begin the cycle all over again?"
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
“Never Abandoned, Eternally Exalted”
Scripture: Acts 2:22-36
Last week, we began to look at Peter’s Pentecostal sermon. The scripture ended with his reminding the people of Joel’s prophesy of many miracles, that they would come when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all of the servants of the Lord. Peter told them that the blessing that they had just experienced, the prophesy that was offered in their own languages, was one of those miracles that the prophet had mentioned.
Some people today compare this to the abilities of magicians. From Houdini to Criss Angel, the magicians have had a following that is, in some instances, nearly fanatical. They go to see them disappear from one place and shortly reappear in another. They go to see the amazing, the things that they can’t explain, the things that are borderline to the miraculous.
But Philip Pare, an Anglican priest and author wrote:
Magic is usually a labor-saving device which spares the magician or his client time and trouble, and quite often magic is irrational. Miracles, on the other hand, tend to mean not less but more work for its beneficiaries.
-- Philip Pare,
God Made the Devil, cited in The Harper Religious & Inspirational Quotation Companion (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 288.
The miracles that were witnessed on that Pentecost day would definitely create new work, if not more, for the disciples, and as more and more people came to Jesus Christ, they, too, would be put to the new work. And Peter’s work that day was just beginning.
Read Acts 2:22-24
Magic amazes and entertains through the skills of humans, but miracles bring about a change that is God inspired. The miracles that had surrounded Jesus’ ministry, and that includes the things that his followers had done in his name, changed lives. People were physically healed from many different ailments; they were freed from demonic possession; they heard teaching that had never been heard before, but which would give them an entirely new outlook on life; they had discovered new life and rebirth and salvation in a way that had never before been offered or imagined.
But Jesus himself was never about the miracles – he was about the result of the miracles. He was about the changed lives, the new birth that replaced the old death, the majestic presence of God Incarnate in human lives. He would be about the love that goes beyond all reason.
Biblical scholar and professor J. Clinton McCann writes
Psalm 8 had the distinction of being the first biblical text to reach the moon, when the Apollo 11 mission left a silicon disc containing messages from 73 nations, including the Vatican, which contributed the text of this psalm. Psalm 8 was clearly an appropriate choice for this cosmic journey, for it is both an eloquent proclamation of the cosmic sovereignty of God and a remarkable affirmation of the exalted status and vocation of the human creature.
-J. Clinton McCann, The Book of Psalms (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 710-711.
Let me read a few of those verses again:
Psalm 8:3-5
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
The miracle isn’t that God could do all of that, but rather that he did do it for you and me! The miracle is that God loved his “created” this much! I once heard that love isn’t about how much you receive – it’s about how much you are willing to give up so that it might exist. How much does God love us? He should have turned his back on the whole lot of us, but instead, he came to earth to be the sacrificial offering for our salvation!
Read Acts 2:25-33
David knew this loving gift when he penned this Psalm 16, and Peter knew this when he spoke of it on that Pentecostal morning. You might think that Almighty God would have more important things to do in his creation than look out for the likes of us, but here it is – “he is at my right hand”, and he is with all of the people of earth, whether saint or sinner or somewhere in between.
Sometimes we like to think that the Lord is only with those who have given their life to him, but the truth is that he is with all – giving each us, at various times and in various ways, those little signs and wonders and miracles, that we might begin to consider just where those things come from, and why they come to us. David writes of a miracle – a revelation – that he received, that he will “live in hope and that he will not be abandoned to the grave”. And yet it seems strange that Peter only focuses on Jesus resurrection, and not on his promise that all who believe will be with him in eternity. But that’s the true miracle, isn’t it? Jesus is God, and resurrection to eternal life isn’t so astounding for him. But mortals? How can we be mortal and yet live an endless life with the Lord? Only as a gift to those who would follow the One who can change the mortal into the immortal! Now there’s a life changing miracle for you!
The miracle is that it’s a gift from God! Even as Jesus is exalted to the right hand of God, he will carry with him those who will follow.
Read Acts 2:34-36
Ronald Thomas, a 20th century Welsh poet, wrote:
Life is not hurrying on to a receding future,
nor hankering after an imagined past.
It is the turning aside like Moses to the miracle of the lit bush,
to a brightness that seemed as transitory as your youth once,
but is the eternity that awaits you.
--R. S. Thomas, Later Poems 1972-1982 (London: Macmillan, 1983), 81.
Our earthly death will get to hold us for a while, but even as it does, eternity will wait. Peter points out that David didn’t ascend right away, and, in fact, is still waiting, just as we are waiting. As Thomas wrote, this life isn’t about hurrying on to death, the “receding future” that he wrote about, but rather about our “turning aside” from this earthly path, and taking the new one that leads to eternity. Moses had to go out of his way to approach the bush, but it was life changing for him and for millions. David turned aside from the flocks that he tended, and the nation of Israel would be positioned for the miracle of all miracles. Simon left his fishing career to follow an itinerant rabbi that he had never met before and knew nothing about, and in doing so, he would become Peter who would preach like no one ever had before him. Saul thought he was on his way to Damascus to persecute a few more of God’s people, but the journey gave him a brand new name and a whole new outlook on the law and what really brings righteousness into our lives!
And the list of those who would make the decision to “turn aside” would go on to include Augustine, and Luther, and Wesley, and billions more people like each of us.
Jesus has become Lord and Christ – the authority and master of our lives, and the Anointed One of God, the Blessed One of Heaven. He promises that he will never abandon us to death, and that in all things he will be with us in this life and beyond. He promises that in his presence, we will have unimaginable hope and joy, regardless of the circumstances that this life brings. And on “that day”, we will be raised up to glory and will be exalted with him in eternity!
And this Lord and Savior and Messiah asks so very little of his subjects - only that they turn away from the path that they are currently on and follow the new one that he has created.
Psalm 8:3-5 once again:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Ever mindful of our lives, and ready in an instant to raise us into glory. Never abandoned, always exalted, constantly blessed, eternally joyful.
And all of this for those who will turn aside from destruction, and into the new way of Jesus Christ. Sounds like a pretty good deal! Have you claimed it?
Last week, we began to look at Peter’s Pentecostal sermon. The scripture ended with his reminding the people of Joel’s prophesy of many miracles, that they would come when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all of the servants of the Lord. Peter told them that the blessing that they had just experienced, the prophesy that was offered in their own languages, was one of those miracles that the prophet had mentioned.
Some people today compare this to the abilities of magicians. From Houdini to Criss Angel, the magicians have had a following that is, in some instances, nearly fanatical. They go to see them disappear from one place and shortly reappear in another. They go to see the amazing, the things that they can’t explain, the things that are borderline to the miraculous.
But Philip Pare, an Anglican priest and author wrote:
Magic is usually a labor-saving device which spares the magician or his client time and trouble, and quite often magic is irrational. Miracles, on the other hand, tend to mean not less but more work for its beneficiaries.
-- Philip Pare,
God Made the Devil, cited in The Harper Religious & Inspirational Quotation Companion (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), 288.
The miracles that were witnessed on that Pentecost day would definitely create new work, if not more, for the disciples, and as more and more people came to Jesus Christ, they, too, would be put to the new work. And Peter’s work that day was just beginning.
Read Acts 2:22-24
Magic amazes and entertains through the skills of humans, but miracles bring about a change that is God inspired. The miracles that had surrounded Jesus’ ministry, and that includes the things that his followers had done in his name, changed lives. People were physically healed from many different ailments; they were freed from demonic possession; they heard teaching that had never been heard before, but which would give them an entirely new outlook on life; they had discovered new life and rebirth and salvation in a way that had never before been offered or imagined.
But Jesus himself was never about the miracles – he was about the result of the miracles. He was about the changed lives, the new birth that replaced the old death, the majestic presence of God Incarnate in human lives. He would be about the love that goes beyond all reason.
Biblical scholar and professor J. Clinton McCann writes
Psalm 8 had the distinction of being the first biblical text to reach the moon, when the Apollo 11 mission left a silicon disc containing messages from 73 nations, including the Vatican, which contributed the text of this psalm. Psalm 8 was clearly an appropriate choice for this cosmic journey, for it is both an eloquent proclamation of the cosmic sovereignty of God and a remarkable affirmation of the exalted status and vocation of the human creature.
-J. Clinton McCann, The Book of Psalms (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 710-711.
Let me read a few of those verses again:
Psalm 8:3-5
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
The miracle isn’t that God could do all of that, but rather that he did do it for you and me! The miracle is that God loved his “created” this much! I once heard that love isn’t about how much you receive – it’s about how much you are willing to give up so that it might exist. How much does God love us? He should have turned his back on the whole lot of us, but instead, he came to earth to be the sacrificial offering for our salvation!
Read Acts 2:25-33
David knew this loving gift when he penned this Psalm 16, and Peter knew this when he spoke of it on that Pentecostal morning. You might think that Almighty God would have more important things to do in his creation than look out for the likes of us, but here it is – “he is at my right hand”, and he is with all of the people of earth, whether saint or sinner or somewhere in between.
Sometimes we like to think that the Lord is only with those who have given their life to him, but the truth is that he is with all – giving each us, at various times and in various ways, those little signs and wonders and miracles, that we might begin to consider just where those things come from, and why they come to us. David writes of a miracle – a revelation – that he received, that he will “live in hope and that he will not be abandoned to the grave”. And yet it seems strange that Peter only focuses on Jesus resurrection, and not on his promise that all who believe will be with him in eternity. But that’s the true miracle, isn’t it? Jesus is God, and resurrection to eternal life isn’t so astounding for him. But mortals? How can we be mortal and yet live an endless life with the Lord? Only as a gift to those who would follow the One who can change the mortal into the immortal! Now there’s a life changing miracle for you!
The miracle is that it’s a gift from God! Even as Jesus is exalted to the right hand of God, he will carry with him those who will follow.
Read Acts 2:34-36
Ronald Thomas, a 20th century Welsh poet, wrote:
Life is not hurrying on to a receding future,
nor hankering after an imagined past.
It is the turning aside like Moses to the miracle of the lit bush,
to a brightness that seemed as transitory as your youth once,
but is the eternity that awaits you.
--R. S. Thomas, Later Poems 1972-1982 (London: Macmillan, 1983), 81.
Our earthly death will get to hold us for a while, but even as it does, eternity will wait. Peter points out that David didn’t ascend right away, and, in fact, is still waiting, just as we are waiting. As Thomas wrote, this life isn’t about hurrying on to death, the “receding future” that he wrote about, but rather about our “turning aside” from this earthly path, and taking the new one that leads to eternity. Moses had to go out of his way to approach the bush, but it was life changing for him and for millions. David turned aside from the flocks that he tended, and the nation of Israel would be positioned for the miracle of all miracles. Simon left his fishing career to follow an itinerant rabbi that he had never met before and knew nothing about, and in doing so, he would become Peter who would preach like no one ever had before him. Saul thought he was on his way to Damascus to persecute a few more of God’s people, but the journey gave him a brand new name and a whole new outlook on the law and what really brings righteousness into our lives!
And the list of those who would make the decision to “turn aside” would go on to include Augustine, and Luther, and Wesley, and billions more people like each of us.
Jesus has become Lord and Christ – the authority and master of our lives, and the Anointed One of God, the Blessed One of Heaven. He promises that he will never abandon us to death, and that in all things he will be with us in this life and beyond. He promises that in his presence, we will have unimaginable hope and joy, regardless of the circumstances that this life brings. And on “that day”, we will be raised up to glory and will be exalted with him in eternity!
And this Lord and Savior and Messiah asks so very little of his subjects - only that they turn away from the path that they are currently on and follow the new one that he has created.
Psalm 8:3-5 once again:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Ever mindful of our lives, and ready in an instant to raise us into glory. Never abandoned, always exalted, constantly blessed, eternally joyful.
And all of this for those who will turn aside from destruction, and into the new way of Jesus Christ. Sounds like a pretty good deal! Have you claimed it?
Sunday, June 12, 2011
“The Spirit at Work in the Open Heart”
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Pentecost is the day when glory came visibly and suddenly and unmistakably into the lives of humanity.
We had known about the Father, but we were scared silly over his call on our lives; we had met Jesus and he seemed to be an amazing guy, but we didn’t quite know what to do about his teachings, and then Jesus tells us that another was going to come and we didn’t have a clue as to what this Spirit – this Counselor – this Advocate – this Comforter was actually going to do for us.
But on this day, it all began to come together for the Church.
Pastor Peter Gomes writes:
The point of the divine encounter with the human is never that we should become divine ourselves, little gods; that was the problem in Eden, remember? The point and achievement of the divine encounter with the human is that the human become fully human, that is, that we become more fully what we are meant to be ...
--Peter Gomes, in a Pentecost sermon, cited by Eugene C. McAfee in The Place Belongs to God (Cambridge: Harvard College, 1995), 69.
There were about 120 of the faithful who were still gathering in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension, waiting to experience this next encounter with the Divine. I imagine that they were continuing to encourage each other, with all waiting expectantly for this Spirit to come into their midst. But how would he arrive? Would he come as an infant, as Jesus had? Would he come as a mighty warrior to overthrow Rome, and the nation believed? What would he look like? What would he do? What will it mean for our lives? How long must we wait?
And then the day came when they would have to wait no longer.
Read Acts 2:1-4
Now before we get into the Spirit’s grand entrance, we need to take a moment to consider “why Pentecost, why this day?” This wasn’t a new celebration for the followers of Jesus - it was a Jewish holiday to celebrate the first harvest – the first fruits of the field – and it was a time to celebrate the Lord’s goodness. People had come to Jerusalem from near and far to offer their sacrifices and gifts to their great Jehovah. It was the beginning of the yearly harvest, and it was important to honor the Lord for his graciousness.
And what better time for the Holy Spirit to break in to our lives?
And break in he did! We’ve heard reports from folks recently who had experienced the rushing wind of a tornado, and the description of the Spirit’s Wind sounds very similar – Young’s Literal Translation tells us that “there came suddenly out of the heaven a sound as of a bearing violent breath”. It was the Breath of God – the Spirit of God – and he had burst onto the world and beared down on us in such a way that no one could ever forget or deny!
And with the Breath came tongues of flame – the Message says it “came like a wildfire that spread through their ranks”. Fire has always been seen as a cleansing – In Isaiah 6:4-8, the prophet proclaims that he is unclean and unworthy to carry the Lord’s word to the nation, and so an angel takes a burning coal from a brassier on the altar and touches his mouth with it, and then Isaiah is told that “his guilt has been taken away”.
The Breath of God would come roaring into our souls to breathe into us a newness of life unlike any other. And the Breath brought a cleansing fire that would prepare all for the new ministries and missions that we would be called to live. And what would come of it?
Read Acts 2:5-13
The Jews who were in the vicinity that day couldn’t help but miss the commotion that was going on in that house. And they recognize the men as Galileans. And if they could see the men who were speaking in this multitude of languages, then the Holy Wind must have moved the entire assembly outside. They could no longer remain sequestered in hiding.
Here is the first work of the Spirit – it refuses to leave you where you are, comfortable and safe inside your personal walls. It takes you to the very place where ministry can happen unobstructed. The point is that ministry does not come to us – we must go to the ministry!
Now, at the beginning of this message, one of the questions that I offered regarding the coming of the Spirit was “What will it mean for our lives?” And the crowd asks that very question, too. They had never experienced, or even heard, of this phenomenon before, and I’m sure that it shook them to the core. They had to be wondering what this incredible happening would mean for them personally.
Of course, there are always the skeptics and jokesters, and on that Pentecostal day, they were there in force. But to be honest, I expect that the accusation of intoxication was due as much to their own personal nervousness as it was to unbelief, but there will always be unbelief!
But the two questions – “what does it mean?”, and “are these guys drunk?” – brings Peter to the fore, and he begins to give them a lesson in faith.
Read Acts 2:14-21
[Some time ago, there was] a news report about an Army veteran who had been receiving benefits from the government - he had been wounded in Vietnam and was now on permanent disability. One day, out of the blue, he received an official notification from the government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock!
The vet wrote the government a letter stating that he was indeed very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The letter did no good. He then tried calling the government. (Have you ever tried to call the government? This required the patience of Job and the persistence of Noah!) The phone calls didn't change the situation either.
Finally, as a last resort, the veteran contacted a local television station, which ran a human-interest story about his situation. During the interview, the reporter asked him, “How do you feel about this whole ordeal?” The veteran chuckled and said, “Well, I feel a little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that you're alive?”
The second work of the Spirit – it is the solid proof that you are truly alive in Christ Jesus. And it’s interesting to note that Peter doesn’t even mention the speaking in tongues as evidence of the Spirit. He speaks of prophesy, and visions, and dreams. He speaks of heavenly wonders, such as the sun becoming dark and the moon turning to blood. And he lets them all know that the miracle that they have just witnessed is a new sign of God’s presence in the world, and he offers them the possibility of one more sign for everyone personally – salvation for all who call on the name of the Lord.
This was, indeed, a revelation to the people that day. Salvation had always been seen as the blessing that would come when you lived as blameless a life as you could, and then offered sacrifices in the temple to care for the sins you had committed. You lived your life in the law, as well as in the interpretations that the learned men handed down to you. Most of these people had never even heard of salvation by faith, but here it was, and the Spirit was beginning to work in their lives.
And here is the third work of the Spirit – it turns the unbelievable into, not just the believable, but the expectant. It isn’t simply that we now believe that something could happen, might happen – we believe that it will happen. And that is the hope of Psalm 42 – that in the midst of our pain and struggle and failure and fear, God is still working in mighty ways.
Read Psalm 42:1-5
Opening our hearts to the working of the Spirit, placing our hopes and dreams and visions in him, trusting that, in faith, all things are possible. That is the promise and hope of God! In last week’s reading, Jesus was telling his disciples that if they would but open their hearts and minds to the hope and promise of new works by God, that nothing would be impossible for them.
The Spirit will never be understood until that day when Jesus returns to make all things new, and even then, we might not completely understand, but we will be able to believe and rejoice without hesitation or doubt.
So why wait? Believe and rejoice in this very moment! Claim the salvation and eternal life that will come by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Discover the glory that is there for all who will keep their eyes set on his cross, and their sails raised to catch every puff of the Holy Wind. Let the Spirit blow through the walls that you have created, and feel the uplifting of his power as he carries you on new wings! Let his Holy Fire touch you and refine you and prepare you and anoint you for the ministry that waits for you this very day.
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And we all know that this beautiful and precious name is Jesus. Call on him today, let him work within you today.
Pentecost is the day when glory came visibly and suddenly and unmistakably into the lives of humanity.
We had known about the Father, but we were scared silly over his call on our lives; we had met Jesus and he seemed to be an amazing guy, but we didn’t quite know what to do about his teachings, and then Jesus tells us that another was going to come and we didn’t have a clue as to what this Spirit – this Counselor – this Advocate – this Comforter was actually going to do for us.
But on this day, it all began to come together for the Church.
Pastor Peter Gomes writes:
The point of the divine encounter with the human is never that we should become divine ourselves, little gods; that was the problem in Eden, remember? The point and achievement of the divine encounter with the human is that the human become fully human, that is, that we become more fully what we are meant to be ...
--Peter Gomes, in a Pentecost sermon, cited by Eugene C. McAfee in The Place Belongs to God (Cambridge: Harvard College, 1995), 69.
There were about 120 of the faithful who were still gathering in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension, waiting to experience this next encounter with the Divine. I imagine that they were continuing to encourage each other, with all waiting expectantly for this Spirit to come into their midst. But how would he arrive? Would he come as an infant, as Jesus had? Would he come as a mighty warrior to overthrow Rome, and the nation believed? What would he look like? What would he do? What will it mean for our lives? How long must we wait?
And then the day came when they would have to wait no longer.
Read Acts 2:1-4
Now before we get into the Spirit’s grand entrance, we need to take a moment to consider “why Pentecost, why this day?” This wasn’t a new celebration for the followers of Jesus - it was a Jewish holiday to celebrate the first harvest – the first fruits of the field – and it was a time to celebrate the Lord’s goodness. People had come to Jerusalem from near and far to offer their sacrifices and gifts to their great Jehovah. It was the beginning of the yearly harvest, and it was important to honor the Lord for his graciousness.
And what better time for the Holy Spirit to break in to our lives?
And break in he did! We’ve heard reports from folks recently who had experienced the rushing wind of a tornado, and the description of the Spirit’s Wind sounds very similar – Young’s Literal Translation tells us that “there came suddenly out of the heaven a sound as of a bearing violent breath”. It was the Breath of God – the Spirit of God – and he had burst onto the world and beared down on us in such a way that no one could ever forget or deny!
And with the Breath came tongues of flame – the Message says it “came like a wildfire that spread through their ranks”. Fire has always been seen as a cleansing – In Isaiah 6:4-8, the prophet proclaims that he is unclean and unworthy to carry the Lord’s word to the nation, and so an angel takes a burning coal from a brassier on the altar and touches his mouth with it, and then Isaiah is told that “his guilt has been taken away”.
The Breath of God would come roaring into our souls to breathe into us a newness of life unlike any other. And the Breath brought a cleansing fire that would prepare all for the new ministries and missions that we would be called to live. And what would come of it?
Read Acts 2:5-13
The Jews who were in the vicinity that day couldn’t help but miss the commotion that was going on in that house. And they recognize the men as Galileans. And if they could see the men who were speaking in this multitude of languages, then the Holy Wind must have moved the entire assembly outside. They could no longer remain sequestered in hiding.
Here is the first work of the Spirit – it refuses to leave you where you are, comfortable and safe inside your personal walls. It takes you to the very place where ministry can happen unobstructed. The point is that ministry does not come to us – we must go to the ministry!
Now, at the beginning of this message, one of the questions that I offered regarding the coming of the Spirit was “What will it mean for our lives?” And the crowd asks that very question, too. They had never experienced, or even heard, of this phenomenon before, and I’m sure that it shook them to the core. They had to be wondering what this incredible happening would mean for them personally.
Of course, there are always the skeptics and jokesters, and on that Pentecostal day, they were there in force. But to be honest, I expect that the accusation of intoxication was due as much to their own personal nervousness as it was to unbelief, but there will always be unbelief!
But the two questions – “what does it mean?”, and “are these guys drunk?” – brings Peter to the fore, and he begins to give them a lesson in faith.
Read Acts 2:14-21
[Some time ago, there was] a news report about an Army veteran who had been receiving benefits from the government - he had been wounded in Vietnam and was now on permanent disability. One day, out of the blue, he received an official notification from the government of his own death. Needless to say, this was quite a shock!
The vet wrote the government a letter stating that he was indeed very much alive and would like to continue receiving his benefits. The letter did no good. He then tried calling the government. (Have you ever tried to call the government? This required the patience of Job and the persistence of Noah!) The phone calls didn't change the situation either.
Finally, as a last resort, the veteran contacted a local television station, which ran a human-interest story about his situation. During the interview, the reporter asked him, “How do you feel about this whole ordeal?” The veteran chuckled and said, “Well, I feel a little frustrated by it. After all, have you ever tried to prove that you're alive?”
The second work of the Spirit – it is the solid proof that you are truly alive in Christ Jesus. And it’s interesting to note that Peter doesn’t even mention the speaking in tongues as evidence of the Spirit. He speaks of prophesy, and visions, and dreams. He speaks of heavenly wonders, such as the sun becoming dark and the moon turning to blood. And he lets them all know that the miracle that they have just witnessed is a new sign of God’s presence in the world, and he offers them the possibility of one more sign for everyone personally – salvation for all who call on the name of the Lord.
This was, indeed, a revelation to the people that day. Salvation had always been seen as the blessing that would come when you lived as blameless a life as you could, and then offered sacrifices in the temple to care for the sins you had committed. You lived your life in the law, as well as in the interpretations that the learned men handed down to you. Most of these people had never even heard of salvation by faith, but here it was, and the Spirit was beginning to work in their lives.
And here is the third work of the Spirit – it turns the unbelievable into, not just the believable, but the expectant. It isn’t simply that we now believe that something could happen, might happen – we believe that it will happen. And that is the hope of Psalm 42 – that in the midst of our pain and struggle and failure and fear, God is still working in mighty ways.
Read Psalm 42:1-5
Opening our hearts to the working of the Spirit, placing our hopes and dreams and visions in him, trusting that, in faith, all things are possible. That is the promise and hope of God! In last week’s reading, Jesus was telling his disciples that if they would but open their hearts and minds to the hope and promise of new works by God, that nothing would be impossible for them.
The Spirit will never be understood until that day when Jesus returns to make all things new, and even then, we might not completely understand, but we will be able to believe and rejoice without hesitation or doubt.
So why wait? Believe and rejoice in this very moment! Claim the salvation and eternal life that will come by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Discover the glory that is there for all who will keep their eyes set on his cross, and their sails raised to catch every puff of the Holy Wind. Let the Spirit blow through the walls that you have created, and feel the uplifting of his power as he carries you on new wings! Let his Holy Fire touch you and refine you and prepare you and anoint you for the ministry that waits for you this very day.
“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And we all know that this beautiful and precious name is Jesus. Call on him today, let him work within you today.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
“Open Our Minds, Too!”
Scripture: Luke 24:44-53
Here is a truth that the world will never quite understand: Jesus’ strength was never in his flesh – it was focused totally in his Spirit. People of the earth are totally different. We are told, and we believe, that while spiritual strength is important to our lives, that we must also be physically and intellectually and mentally prepared to take the steps that are necessary each and every day. But the reality is that while spiritual power will see us through any trial, every other mighty attribute will eventually fail us.
Anglican Bishop John Taylor wrote:
The Holy Spirit is that power which opens eyes that are closed, hearts that are unaware and minds that shrink from too much reality.... Vision and vulnerability go together.
--J. V. Taylor, The Go-Between God, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), 19.
Whether we like it or not, vision and vulnerability are the finest gifts of the Spirit that we will ever receive.
Read Luke 24:44-45
Over and over, Jesus tried to teach the people what God was all about, and few, at best, ever got it. The Pharisees relied on their intelligence to understand God, and it failed them – it was only when the Pharisee Nicodemus let go of his human knowledge that he was able to follow Christ. The Militant sects of Judaism wanted Messiah to be a physically powerful king, and expected him to lead them in a rebellion that would overthrow Rome – and it never happened. Jesus taught that it was the meek who would inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), not the powerful. The early church tried to incorporate philosophy into the faith, to show that Christianity wasn’t just for the low classes, the intellectually inept – and their efforts never discovered the fullness of Christ.
It is only when we let go of all the power of earth, when we open our eyes and hearts and minds to Christ, when we surrender to the working of the Spirit, that we can begin to understand what Jesus would have us know.
And what does he want us to know?
Read Luke 24:46-49
A rabbinical story tells of the moment Adam first opened his eyes. He looked at creation, and he said to God, “This is utterly fantastic!”
“I know”, said God.
“But tell me”, Adam asked, “what is the meaning of it all?”
God, taken aback, replied, “You mean it has to have meaning?”
“Of course”, Adam answered.
And the Lord was heard to say as he sauntered off, “Well, I am sure you will think of something.”
--As told by Herb Miller, Connecting With God: 14 Ways Churches Can Help People Grow Spiritually (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 49.
Isn’t this strange –Jesus “opens the scriptures” to his friends, to help them grasp the meaning of his word for them, and not a word about who God is, not a word about why creation, not a word about the future of earth, not a word about heaven.
But he does give us 3 truths for our lives.
1. “The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” The inclusion of this spiritual truth might seem odd at first, but it is the basis for all that God is and for all that Christ stands for. When our hearts are closed to the trials and tribulations that God endured on our behalf, nothing else will make any sense. It is foolishness, senseless, and useless.
But when we claim this truth as the basis for our salvation,
when we accept that this unselfish act comes straight from the love of God for each of us, when we see this prophesy in the light of reality, it is only then that the truth of God in Jesus Christ can have a purpose in our lives.
2. “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Once we can see who Jesus truly is, we can begin to live out the mission that he has planned for us. And the mission? Leading the world to an understanding of the purpose of Christ – to bring salvation to all who would believe. And please notice that he said will, not should!
But before salvation, there must be forgiveness, and before forgiveness, there must be repentance, and before repentance, a claiming of the power of Christ, and before Christ, an understanding of his power over our sin, and before admitting our sin, we have to accept God’s law and call. Without this in its entirety, his mission becomes one of futility, and our lives can never move beyond this worldly existence.
And the second part of this statement is that it all begins in Jerusalem but t can’t remain there! The mission can never end until the message has been carried to all the nations of earth. And we can see the word “nations” in several lights. It can mean countries, or regions, or people who are related in some way, or areas of thought, or any number of other meanings. The point is that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to be carried to the ears and hearts and minds of every person on earth, and that requires a focused and concerted effort on the part of every Christian.
3. “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 2 more bits of advice – first, the gift of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit, will arrive very soon, and second, you aren’t to begin the mission until you are prepared though the presence of the Spirit in your life. Earlier, Jesus had told his followers that the Counselor would be coming (John 14:15-21), but not until he had left the earth. And without this “Spirit of Truth”, how can we preach Jesus in a way that reflects him in a true sense? The Spirit is coming, and we can do nothing without him.
And what will he bring? Why must we wait? 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Galatians 5:22-25 are 2 prominent passages that speak to the impact of the Spirit on our lives. And I think that 1 Corinthians 12:3 speaks directly to the point – “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” We can do nothing without the Spirit, and no one receives the Spirit except through Jesus Christ.
Read Luke 24:50-53
And he blessed them and left them, and their entire lives turned around. Once when they thought that Jesus had died, they were left in a state of confusion and fear and disarray, But now, with their eyes opened, and hearts aware, and their minds filled with the fullness of God’s plan, they could, at last, rejoice and worship and most importantly, obey.
Christ opened the minds of his closest friends, and the result was that the world would never be the same again. The glory of God would begin to spread from Jerusalem to all of Judea to the known pagan world to the new world, and it continues to spread into all of the cracks and crevices of hearts that have yet to be filled. And the promise would be fulfilled – “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.” (Acts 1:6-9)
And the promise continues to be fulfilled today in all who will believe, but until we accept the charge to be witnesses for Jesus Christ, we are not living out his call on our lives. The disciples lived as witnesses in joy and celebration, regardless of where their witness took them and regardless of what it brought to them in life.
Are we prepared to have our eyes and hearts and minds opened to the glory of God? Are we ready to be his witness wherever that may take us? And are we rejoicing and worshiping as true disciples of the Living God?
Only you can answer the question. Pray “O Lord, open my eyes, too”, and you will answer well.
Here is a truth that the world will never quite understand: Jesus’ strength was never in his flesh – it was focused totally in his Spirit. People of the earth are totally different. We are told, and we believe, that while spiritual strength is important to our lives, that we must also be physically and intellectually and mentally prepared to take the steps that are necessary each and every day. But the reality is that while spiritual power will see us through any trial, every other mighty attribute will eventually fail us.
Anglican Bishop John Taylor wrote:
The Holy Spirit is that power which opens eyes that are closed, hearts that are unaware and minds that shrink from too much reality.... Vision and vulnerability go together.
--J. V. Taylor, The Go-Between God, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), 19.
Whether we like it or not, vision and vulnerability are the finest gifts of the Spirit that we will ever receive.
Read Luke 24:44-45
Over and over, Jesus tried to teach the people what God was all about, and few, at best, ever got it. The Pharisees relied on their intelligence to understand God, and it failed them – it was only when the Pharisee Nicodemus let go of his human knowledge that he was able to follow Christ. The Militant sects of Judaism wanted Messiah to be a physically powerful king, and expected him to lead them in a rebellion that would overthrow Rome – and it never happened. Jesus taught that it was the meek who would inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), not the powerful. The early church tried to incorporate philosophy into the faith, to show that Christianity wasn’t just for the low classes, the intellectually inept – and their efforts never discovered the fullness of Christ.
It is only when we let go of all the power of earth, when we open our eyes and hearts and minds to Christ, when we surrender to the working of the Spirit, that we can begin to understand what Jesus would have us know.
And what does he want us to know?
Read Luke 24:46-49
A rabbinical story tells of the moment Adam first opened his eyes. He looked at creation, and he said to God, “This is utterly fantastic!”
“I know”, said God.
“But tell me”, Adam asked, “what is the meaning of it all?”
God, taken aback, replied, “You mean it has to have meaning?”
“Of course”, Adam answered.
And the Lord was heard to say as he sauntered off, “Well, I am sure you will think of something.”
--As told by Herb Miller, Connecting With God: 14 Ways Churches Can Help People Grow Spiritually (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 49.
Isn’t this strange –Jesus “opens the scriptures” to his friends, to help them grasp the meaning of his word for them, and not a word about who God is, not a word about why creation, not a word about the future of earth, not a word about heaven.
But he does give us 3 truths for our lives.
1. “The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” The inclusion of this spiritual truth might seem odd at first, but it is the basis for all that God is and for all that Christ stands for. When our hearts are closed to the trials and tribulations that God endured on our behalf, nothing else will make any sense. It is foolishness, senseless, and useless.
But when we claim this truth as the basis for our salvation,
when we accept that this unselfish act comes straight from the love of God for each of us, when we see this prophesy in the light of reality, it is only then that the truth of God in Jesus Christ can have a purpose in our lives.
2. “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Once we can see who Jesus truly is, we can begin to live out the mission that he has planned for us. And the mission? Leading the world to an understanding of the purpose of Christ – to bring salvation to all who would believe. And please notice that he said will, not should!
But before salvation, there must be forgiveness, and before forgiveness, there must be repentance, and before repentance, a claiming of the power of Christ, and before Christ, an understanding of his power over our sin, and before admitting our sin, we have to accept God’s law and call. Without this in its entirety, his mission becomes one of futility, and our lives can never move beyond this worldly existence.
And the second part of this statement is that it all begins in Jerusalem but t can’t remain there! The mission can never end until the message has been carried to all the nations of earth. And we can see the word “nations” in several lights. It can mean countries, or regions, or people who are related in some way, or areas of thought, or any number of other meanings. The point is that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to be carried to the ears and hearts and minds of every person on earth, and that requires a focused and concerted effort on the part of every Christian.
3. “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 2 more bits of advice – first, the gift of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit, will arrive very soon, and second, you aren’t to begin the mission until you are prepared though the presence of the Spirit in your life. Earlier, Jesus had told his followers that the Counselor would be coming (John 14:15-21), but not until he had left the earth. And without this “Spirit of Truth”, how can we preach Jesus in a way that reflects him in a true sense? The Spirit is coming, and we can do nothing without him.
And what will he bring? Why must we wait? 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Galatians 5:22-25 are 2 prominent passages that speak to the impact of the Spirit on our lives. And I think that 1 Corinthians 12:3 speaks directly to the point – “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” We can do nothing without the Spirit, and no one receives the Spirit except through Jesus Christ.
Read Luke 24:50-53
And he blessed them and left them, and their entire lives turned around. Once when they thought that Jesus had died, they were left in a state of confusion and fear and disarray, But now, with their eyes opened, and hearts aware, and their minds filled with the fullness of God’s plan, they could, at last, rejoice and worship and most importantly, obey.
Christ opened the minds of his closest friends, and the result was that the world would never be the same again. The glory of God would begin to spread from Jerusalem to all of Judea to the known pagan world to the new world, and it continues to spread into all of the cracks and crevices of hearts that have yet to be filled. And the promise would be fulfilled – “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.” (Acts 1:6-9)
And the promise continues to be fulfilled today in all who will believe, but until we accept the charge to be witnesses for Jesus Christ, we are not living out his call on our lives. The disciples lived as witnesses in joy and celebration, regardless of where their witness took them and regardless of what it brought to them in life.
Are we prepared to have our eyes and hearts and minds opened to the glory of God? Are we ready to be his witness wherever that may take us? And are we rejoicing and worshiping as true disciples of the Living God?
Only you can answer the question. Pray “O Lord, open my eyes, too”, and you will answer well.
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