Has The Holy Spirit Shown Up At Your Place

Pentecost 2003 ¡V ¡§Has the Holy Spirit shown up at your place?¡¨

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[1] as the Spirit enabled them.

Want to tell you about the day the Holy Spirit showed up at our place

„X Not long after we first arrived in Buninyong, we decided to have a church social over at our place and part of the activities revolved around a bonfire

„X We had the hardest time getting it lit so we resorted to using the only fuel we had around the place, a can of petrol

„X I had experienced petrol burns before, so I wisely stepped back a few yards while the local CFA volunteer proceeded to douse the whole area with petrol

„X Sometimes even with petrol, fires can sometimes be a little temperamental to light unless you have the right combustion ratio

„X After about three or four unsuccessful attempts people were getting a little frustrated and advice was flowing free and fast

„X Suddenly the sound of a rushing mighty wind was heard coming in the form of a huge explosion, the ¡§whoomph factor¡¨

„X Tongues of fire in the shape of a huge fireball flew out in all directions

„X It was so big, it was seen by one member still traveling in his car to our place

„X The ¡§slain in the spirit¡¨ were lying all over the ground

„X Some were speaking in unknown tongues using words some of us hadn¡¦t heard for years

„X Mothers in our house 100 meters away rushed down to check on their families

„X Fortunately no one was hurt, but I can tell you there was a lot of nervous laughter going on

„X Of course I jest, the Holy Spirit didn¡¦t show up, just a bunch a big kids wanting to play with fire

But as we just read, something very similar happened on that Day of Pentecost ten days after Jesus ascended to heaven

„X the pyrotechnics and the accompanying wind storm was enough to draw a huge crowd

„X there was a ¡§whoomph factor¡¨ when the Holy Spirit showed up that day

„X It was a dramatic event, fire and power and miracles and conversions

„X lives where changed, cowards disciples suddenly became bold and were now willing to give their lives for their Savior

„X This was the birth of the Christian Church and God wanted to make sure people recognized He was in it

„X One of the interesting aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit is that he seems to show up and have a prominent position when it comes to new beginnings

„X Just as the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters at creation for the birth of mankind, so he is right there at the other two prominent births in scripture, the birth of Jesus and the birth of the church

„X we see the third person of the Godhead active in every aspect of the story of salvation

Because of the supernatural events associated with what happened on the day of Pentecost, much is made today about how the Holy Spirit shows up in peoples lives at their baptism

„X some describe experiencing a warm sensation, others drop to the ground, others speak in tongues, while others, probably the majority quietly accept the Holy Spirit into their lives

„X But the question I want to ask is, ¡§What is more important, How the Spirit initially shows up in our lives, or what we allow Him to do after he arrives?¡¨

„X People receive the Holy Spirit, in Luke’s meaning of the term, in different ways. Some people receive the Spirit more or less spontaneously, while for others the response is quite conscious and deliberate; some experience dramatic manifestations of the Spirit, while with others the manifestations are more subdued. The way in which people receive the Spirit will be determined, to some extent, by the situation and by the person (his or her personality type, age, station in life, church environment). More important than the particular way we receive the Spirit, however, is what we do after having received it. It’s like the difference between a big church wedding and a small family wedding. The kind of wedding you have doesn’t determine the kind of marriage you’ll have. What’s

important is how you live out the reality of married life. (Larry Christenson, ’Receiving the Holy Spirit’ in LaVonne Neff et al (eds), Practical Christianity, Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House