Do We Have Pigeon Religion?

DO WE HAVE PIGEON RELIGION?

John 1:29-33

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A doctor went out and bought a brand new Ferrari GTO, that can top out at 250 mph. He took it out for a spin and stopped at a red light.

2. An old man on a moped pulled up next to him. He asked, “What kind of car ya got there, sonny?” “A Ferrari GTO. It cost half a million dollars!”

3. “Mind if I take a look inside?” “No problem,” replied the doctor. The old man leaned in and said, “That’s a pretty nice car, but I’ll stick with my moped!”

4. When the light changed, the doctor decided to show the old man what his car could do. He floored it, and within 30 seconds, the speedometer read 150 mph.

5. Suddenly, he noticed, in his rear view mirror, the old man on the moped! WHOOOSH! He passed him! The doctor took the Ferrari to 175 mph, and the old man passed him again! This happened twice more.

6. At last the doctor decided to stop and the old man collided with his car. He jumped out to assist the old man, “Oh my gosh! Is there anything I can do for you?” The old man whispered, “Unhook my suspenders from your side mirror.”

B. TEXT

“29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him. 33 And I myself did not know Him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ John 1:29,33; Mt. 3:16; Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22.

C. WHAT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT LIKE?

1. Today we’re talking about the nature of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sensitive; He gets His feelings hurt easily. He has been compared to a Dove. My thesis is that this is an all-important clue to understanding and working with the Spirit.

2. People often say that doves and pigeons are identical. Let’s take a few minutes to look at that. What are the characteristics of doves and pigeons?

3. The title of tonight’s message is, “Do We Have Pigeon Religion?”

I. HOW DOVES & PIGEONS ARE ALIKE, UNLIKE

A. HOW THEY ARE SIMILAR

Most ornithologists will tell you that doves and pigeons are really the same birds. They are part of the same bird family, Columbidae. They are anatomically the same. But for close observers, there are many differences.

B. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE BIRDS

1. There are physical differences. The Dove is smaller in size and is white, gray, or tan. Pigeons are a range of darker colors and are larger, but that’s where the similarity ends.

2. 12 Bible verses distinguish between doves and pigeons. God Himself declares there’s a difference. (Ge. 15:9; Lev. 1:14; 5:7,11; 12:6,8; 14:22,30; 15:14,29; Num. 6:10; Lk. 2:24).

II. THE N.T. MAJOR DESCRIPTION OF THE H.S.

A. CLUE TO THE SPIRIT’S PERSONALITY

1. God gives us a very important clue to the personality of the Holy Spirit. He is described as a dove, and NOT like a pigeon.

John said, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on Him.” All four Gospel-writers recorded this important description (John 1:33 Mt. 3:16; Mk. 1:10; Lk. 3:22).

2. So why is this picture so important? The H.S. is compared, in Scripture, to water (John 7:38-39), to oil (1 Sam. 16:13), to fire (Acts 2:3), to wind (John 3:8) – but so far as I know, this is the only living creature that is compared to the H.S., so the dove must have special similarities to the Spirit that are not found in most other creatures.

3. Now remember that John DIDN’T SAY, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a PIGEON and remain on Him.” Although the two birds are physically similar, their natures are surprisingly different.

B. 8 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DOVES & PIGEONS

DOVES PIGEONS

1. Peaceful Boisterous

2. Solitary Like Crowds, go in flocks

3. Shy Social/Outgoing

4. Gentle, sensitive Scrappy – will steal food

5. Easily driven away Not sensitive

6. Likes Quiet Impressed by Noise

7. Can’t Train/Manipulate Can train/ Manipulate

8. Stays close to Home Suited to long distance flight

C. EXAMPLE OF THIS DIFFERENCE

1. In big cities, people sit in parks and feed pigeons. The pigeons crowd around and fight for the seed thrown. Doves wouldn’t go there at all because a. they don’t like crowds; b. they’re too shy to enter into strife for seed.