Dandelion Christians

Dandelion Christians

Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …

2 Timothy 4:3-4

“The time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

“They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …

Matthew 6:31-33

“Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

(Prayer for help with today’s message)

Please open your Bibles to: Acts 1:8

Does anyone know what this is? (Picture of a dandelion ready to go to seed)

What would happen if you took one of these and tied a little string around it and suspended it in a jar and put it on a shelf where it would never be moved?

And, what if you could even suspend the force of gravity on that little puff ball of a dandelion? What would happen over the years to that dandelion?

Nothing. That’s what would happen. Nothing; that is if it is possible for nothing to happen …

Anyway. Such a thing never happens in nature.

So, what does happen in nature?

A breeze comes by, the seeds are released from the plant, they fly around until they settle to the ground and they hopefully, germinate and grow into other dandelions.

Such is the life of the dandelion. But, without the wind it would just stand there. It needs that irritating wind to rip its seeds off and scatter them across the face of the earth.

Now, last week we took a look at Jesus’ ascension into heaven to be our one and only Mediator and Jesus gives the 11 remaining apostles a couple of final commands.

Let’s look at one of them: Acts 1:8

Jesus says to the disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jerusalem? That is where Jesus was crucified. We don’t want to be there!

Judea? That’s still too close to Jerusalem.

Samaria? We hate those Samaritans!

To the ends of the earth? We don’t want to go there! That’s where all those unclean gentiles live!

We would rather just stay here in this little huddle, hiding inside this upper room … praying.

The disciples in that room were like the dandelion when it is still yellow. They had the potential to be fruitful but had not yet come to the point where they could be scattered like the dandelion seeds.

Then, came two winds …

In Acts 2 we see the wind of the Holy Spirit coming into the room where the disciples were gathered. That was the first wind that was needed.

Acts 2:1-13 tells us …

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 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 languages as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs - we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

After this Peter preaches a bold sermon in the power of the Holy Spirit and about 3,000 were saved that day! 3,000 added to the kingdom of God.

NOW that the wind of the Holy Spirit had blown upon them the disciples had turned from a bunch of yellow dandelions into the white, fluffy dandelions, ready to spread the seeds of the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ.