ACQUIRE THE FIRE
Acts 2.1-4
S: Change
C: Holy Spirit
Th: Choose the Fire
Pr: WELCOME THE INTERRUPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Type: Narrative, Inductive
I. PENTECOST (1)
II. TOGETHER (1)
III. SOUND AND FLAME (2-3)
IV. FILLED (4)
V. COMMUNICATION (4)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Welcome Him – don’t fight Him.
• Realize His Presence, and live it.
• Listen to His conviction, and respond.
• Be used, and communicate the good news.
Version: ESV
RMBC 25 May 08 AM
INTRODUCTION:
In the year 2000, Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt starred in a film called Cast Away. As a couple, they were separated for four years when Chuck Noland (played by Hanks), a Federal Express engineer and troubleshooter, is stranded on a desert island when his FedEx plane crashes. Now, he must adjust to a new life far from e-mail, fax machines, and hectic schedules.
In just a moment, we are going to show you a film clip.
But it is not from the movie itself.
Instead, it is a humorous commercial clip based on that film that was shown during Super Bowl XXXVII.
Here it is…
ILL Holy Spirit (H) YouTube video
Alternate intro if the film clip is unavailable…
ILL Holy Spirit (H)
During Superbowl 37, FedEx ran a commercial that spoofed the movie Cast Away, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Looking like the bedraggled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.
When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her. She gives a simple, "Thank you."
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?"
She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds."
The whole time he was alone on the island, he had what he needed to survive and escape.
He did not know it.
He did not use it.
Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth, strength, and survival are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them.
But…
1. Are you taking advantage of your resources?
God has provided tremendous resource through the Holy Spirit.
He guides.
He comforts.
He empowers us.
He comes alongside of us.
Our core values will be published in their final form for the Annual Meeting, a week from Wednesday.
And…
2. Our core values begin with…
“Empowered by the Holy Spirit through prayer…”
…then there are five statements that begin with “we will…”
As you know, over the past year and a half, we have been giving concerted attention about the health and direction of our church.
But let’s realize this…
Any attempt to grow the church apart from the Holy Spirit will end up a disaster.
We can have the most clever programs conceivable.
We can have the most motivating promotions.
We can have the best music.
We can have the most well-prepared sermons.
But…without the work of the Holy Spirit, our efforts will be in vain.
This is the final message of our theme called…
3. “Choose the fire” (Matthew 3.11).
John the Baptist equated the Holy Spirit with fire when he spoke about Jesus…
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
When we choose the fire, we are choosing the difference God wants to make in us.
And we have learned in this series that…
He wants us choosing to listen to Him.
He wants us choosing to follow Him.
He wants us choosing the truth about ourselves.
He wants us choosing His power, available to us through the Spirit.
Let’s engage our text…
OUR STUDY:
(1) When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. (2) And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (3) And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
I. PENTECOST (1)
Pentecost is a Greek word that means fiftieth.
It came to designate the 50th day after Passover.
4. The giving of Torah is celebrated at Pentecost.
Though it was not so celebrated by the Jewish community at the time of Acts, it would happen later.
Just the same, it strikes some interesting parallels.
You may remember this slide of Mt. Sinai that we used two months ago.
It was here that there was a powerful storm, and a dense cloud.
There was a blast from a ram’s horn.
The whole mountain was covered with smoke like from a furnace, because the Lord was there in fire.
The mountain shook violently, the sound grew louder, and finally the Lord’s voice was heard from the midst.
The glorious presence of the Lord appeared on Mt. Sinai in full force, revealing to His people His power and purity.
At this Pentecost, God would once again appear in a strange and unexpected way, revealing to His people His power and purity.
At Pentecost, God was going to write His law on their hearts.
He did it, I believe, because they were obeying the words of Jesus.
They were waiting for the Spirit.
And they were waiting…
II. TOGETHER (1)
We know that they had been following their instructions, and…
5. Prayer was a priority (cf. 1.14).
The disciples had been spending much time in prayer.
They were seeking God’s presence since Jesus had left.
They knew something wonderful was coming their way.
They did not know when.
They did not know where.
They did not know what was going to happen.
But they were sticking close together, because they were meant to experience it together.
And so they did, by…
III. SOUND AND FLAME (2-3)
You may remember when we had the King’s Brass here this past December.
If there was ever a time that the sound filled the room, it was that day.
It was loud.
There was no way to escape that big brass sound on that Sunday morning.
I think the experience of that morning may have been a taste of what the disciples experienced on that day.
For…
6. The place sounded like wind.
The whole house was filled with this noise of wind.
There was no escaping it.
What is interesting here is that it was not windy.
But the sound of wind was everywhere.
What is intentional here is that breath, spirit and wind are all the same word in both Hebrew and Greek.
So the wind certainly was the Holy Spirit coming into the place.
He was coming as the breath of life, ready to fill these believers with Himself.
Then…
7. They were on fire.
The slide here shows a Marionite icon of this event.
Flames appeared above each head in the shape of a tongue.
Again, as we noted earlier what John the Baptist said, the Holy Spirit was equated with fire.
So, at this moment, a people are born.
The people of God, the church, comes to life.
And note this…
When you combine wind and fire, you have a blaze.
Just as we sang earlier…
Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire!
And so they were…
IV. FILLED (4)
8. All became possessors of God.
There is an upgrade from what happened at Mt. Sinai.
The fire on Mt. Sinai was only for Moses.
Everyone else stood at a distance.
Only Moses got the fire of God in His life.
Only Moses got God’s power.
Only Moses understood God’s presence.
But not anymore.
Now, since the Acts 2 Pentecost, God’s power, God’s purity, and God’s presence are for all believers.
The Spirit has taken up residence in your heart as a believer.
The Spirit doesn’t just show up occasionally as the need arises.
Rather, the Spirit abides in your inner being.
In everyone…not just for the so-called professionals.
But there is a reason that we must note.
It is…
V. COMMUNICATION (4)
9. The result of the Holy Spirit is to speak good news.
But not only is the good news to be spoken, it is to be understood!
It is really a shame that the whole idea of speaking in tongues has become such a controversial issue.
When you read about Pentecost, the truth that comes to the surface is that God gave the gift of tongues to the apostles for one purpose.
That was for the purpose of communication.
There was a problem with communication because people had come to Jerusalem from many different nations.
When you read the long list of nations, you realize that a language barrier certainly existed.
God wanted each of them to hear the message in his own language.
So He performed a miracle.
He gave the apostles the gift of tongues so that they could communicate His message.
They spoke in living languages, in order to be understood.
Paul would continue this line of thought when he says in I Corinthians 14 that gift of tongues was a sign to unbelievers.
CHALLENGE:
As believers in Jesus, we are to experience the Holy Spirit.
The belief and experience go together.
So, how do we get that experience?
First, I believe we need to prepare our hearts for it through prayer.
We spend time with God, talking and listening.
Second, allow God to be in control.
State it.
Set your mind to it.
Even will it.
And then…
10. WELCOME THE INTERRUPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Let’s go back to the story for a moment.
These disciples, both men and women alike, were coming to the Lord in prayer.
But what happened was totally unplanned.
It’s not like they made an appointment to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
They had no category for what was about to happen.
It’s not like the disciples woke up on Pentecost Day and said, “I feel like speaking other languages today.”
Peter didn’t spend twenty hours of time preparing a sermon.
And they certainly didn’t make any provisions for a baptism service.
But when the Holy Spirit came, they welcomed Him.
When He came to them, they did not fight Him.
When the Holy Spirit came, they welcomed His Presence, even though it brought a lot of change.
So…
11. Realize His Presence, and live it (Ephesians 2.22).
You see, God has come to reside in us.
Paul describes it in many ways.
In his letter to the Ephesians, he says it this way…
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is an Indweller.
He comes inside of us when by faith, we believe in Jesus.
It is a supernatural moment, not a mechanical one.
ILL Holy Spirit (S)
Dondra and I have been taking dancing lessons. It is more exciting for Dondra, because she grew up in an environment that said all dancing was wrong all the time. But we have been enjoying ourselves as we ready ourselves for JJ and Natalie’s wedding and reception, and get more adept on the dance floor.
Now suppose that I did not want to take dance lessons and I told Dondra that we can learn by going to the bookstore and buy a “how-to” book. I take it home and start reading. I carefully do everything it says. When the instructions say sway, I sway. When the instructions say lean, I lean. When the instructions say spin, I spin. I even cut out paper footprints and arrange them on the family room floor so we will know exactly where to step.
At last, when I think I have it down pat, I call Dondra and say, "Honey, watch!" With book in hand and reading aloud so she’ll know I’ve done my homework, I follow the instructions step by step. It says, "Take one step with your right foot." So I take one step with my right foot. Then it says, "Turn slowly to the left." I turn slowly to the left." I keep it up, reading and then dancing, reading and dancing, through the whole thing.
Then I collapse on the sofa and say to Dondra, "What do you think? I executed it perfectly!"
To which she replies, "You executed it all right."
It occurs to me at this point that we did not use the word execute in the same way.
Dondra sighs, “You forgot the most important part – the music!"
Max Lucado observes: "We Christians are prone to follow the book while ignoring the music. We master the doctrine, outline the chapters, memorize the dispensations, debate the rules, and stiffly step down the dance floor of life with no music in our hearts.”
Max Lucado goes on to say, in A Gentle Thunder, that the Holy Spirit is that music in our lives.
He is the One that makes life delightful as we are aware of His Presence, and as He gives us direction of how to live.
A Gentle Thunder by Max Lucado. Word Publishing, 1995. Pages 67-68.
And He does give us direction.
He directs our heart toward the good things of life.
He says, “Go this way!”
Often, though, He directs us in the way not to go.
“Don’t go there!”
So, we need to…
12. Listen to His conviction, and respond (John 16.8).
Jesus, when talking about the Holy Spirit, said…
And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…
Jesus, often names the Holy Spirit as the Comforter.
But, when the Holy Spirit convicts us, He is more like a Disturber.
So when we are sitting comfortably in our pew, when God moves in us, we don’t always welcome such an interruption.
I know what that is like.
I know what it is like to feel the Holy Spirit’s conviction and fight the change He needs to bring to me.
He is a Disturber of the peace – my peace.
But the good news here is that God cares enough about us to say, “Don’t go there!”
When He disturbs us, it is for our own good!
Welcome the interruption.
Because we need the help!
We live in a sophisticated complex world that is not satisfied with the superficial answers that Christians too often give.
So…
13. Be used, and communicate transforming truth.
Jesus said…
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
We have been given truth that is meant to and designed to change lives.
It is good news that transforms us into what we have been created to be.
It is good news that gives us purpose.
It is good news that directs us away from cheap, ordinary and insignificant lives.
It is good news that witnesses to the power of God, the love of Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s presence.
So, welcome the interruption, even daily, and enjoy the life God gives.
For Further Study: Exodus 19.16-20; Ezekiel 1.4; Joel 2.28-29; John 3.8; Acts 1.8; I Corinthians 12.13; Ephesians 2.13-14, 5.18; I Thessalonians 5.19
BENEDICTION:
Notice
Spring Concert
VBS
Prayer for Myanmar – Karen people – one of the few people groups in Burma that is Christian – aid is being denied
Pray for China – 8 out of 10 people in Amherst would be dead or missing; ambassador says he had a vital work going on there; area that the church has been particularly prosperous
Pray for Ryan Sharpe in Iraq and other soldiers you know.
And always remember the cost of freedom.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Atwood, Brian The Individual Most Essential for Church Growth
Batterson, Mark Seeking 101
Cook, Pat Fire Inside
Newland, Melvin It’s Pentecost
Trent, Kenneth Pentecost
Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 2000.
Calvin, John. Calvin’s Commentaries. 22 vols, ed. The Calvin Translation Society. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1843.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. 5 vols, ed. James Orr, vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1955.
Stern, David H. The Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc., 1992.
Wiersbe, Warren. The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament. Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004.
