INTRO
I read an interesting story from last summer I thought would be a great lead-in for this morning’s, message. The article’s title reads, “Fireworks Blamed for Church Fire.” The story begins, “Fireworks were blamed for a fire that tore through a church in Brush Prairie, on Monday…. The church's roof collapsed as the fire was burning, but crews were able to get the fire under control. “Samuel Munoz, the pastor of the church, said "(I had) tears coming down. My wife, she touched me on my back and said, 'Honey, it happened. Everything has a purpose. Everything that happens has a purpose.’”
The story reveals an interesting irony. Fireworks sparked a fire that consumed the church’s roof. Satan wanted that church to burn down. Yet, God had other plans; he didn’t allow a natural fire to extinguish their ministry. Instead, I bet that fire acted as a spark — like fireworks from the Holy Spirit —that ignited a renewed passion in them, to the point where I betcha that church is spiritually on fire for God.
You know, a similar thing happened in the early church. Satan thought he won when Jesus hung on the cross. Satan presumed he torched the early Christian movement; but God had other plans. Let’s see how it all began on the day Christ arose from the grave, and how 50 days later on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit lit the church on fire for God.
THE BREATH (AND WIND) OF GOD
Let’s start of our time by quickly turning to the Gospel according to John 20:21-22. READ JOHN 20:21-22.
You know, the disciples had been “born into” — if you will— the Jewish faith, and raised in the synagogue. From an early age, they would have learned the law and the writings of the prophets. It’s like they were “born into the church” as many young children are these days. Like them, many of us were brought into the gathering of believers shortly after we were born, baptized as infants, and later attend Sunday school and confirmation.
The disciples knew what it meant to be a child of God. Then, on top of this, Jesus called them out; and they walked by his side for three years. Yet, something was missing —but they didn’t know it. But, Jesus did. So, to give them that which was missing, Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This receiving, it required action on their part; and it requires action on our part as well.
Imagine, going to church your whole life, but really not knowing God. They’d been good Jews, but they still hadn’t been born again of the Spirit. They were good church going people; yet they weren’t fully alive with God — not until Jesus breathed his Spirit unto them, and gave them new life. They had to be born again, as was said to Nicodemus.
Jesus said to Nicodemus — a Pharisee: one like a super-going, church-type person in his age, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water — [meaning water baptism] — and the Spirit [meaning the baptism in the Holy Spirit]. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:5–8).
What Jesus is saying here, is that we can’t just assume that because we’re church going people who are baptized members of a congregation, that we’re born again. God desires we be fully alive in Christ, but we need to receive his Holy Spirit in order to do so. I dint know what that meant until 1997. (TELL ABIT ABOUT YOUR STORY OF COMING TO FAITH)
You know, I was dead for a long time, even though I thought I was a Christian. I was “born into the church,” baptized, and confirmed; but I still walked away from God and his church. I was baptized in water, but his Spirit hadn’t indwelled within me —not until God got a hold of me. But here’s the kicker. You wanna know when I really came alive? It was about four years ago, yet I’d already been born again. My journey came in steps, as it is for many people.
I have to tell ya, I haven’t been the same since God breathed new life into my bones. When God’s Holy Spirit filled me, he gave me purpose, and he lit me on fire — for him. No longer is my body a valley of dry bones; it’s alive because God breathed his Spirit into me —as God is doing to Israel, as Ezekiel prophesied — as God want to do to us all.
Ezekiel wrote about the last days when God would send his Holy Spirit and breathe new life into Israel. Three times God said to them, “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Hear Ezekiel 37:9–10. God said to the Prophet: “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.”
Get this: the Father said to Ezekiel, prophecy to the breath — meaning, speak words to Holy Spirit. The Father was saying, call upon the Spirit of God to breathe new life into Israel. This breath, these four winds Ezekiel prophesied about, is the very the same that Jesus breathed upon the disciples. This breathe is the very same that Jesus wants to breathe onto the church. He wants to give our dry bones new life by His Spirit, through the four winds of the Gospel. This brings us to the day of Pentecost. Please turn to Acts 2.
LET’S READ TOGETHER ACTS 2:1–4.
So, as we heard last week, Jesus’ followers — all 120 of them —were camped out in the Upper Room and praying. Then, all of a sudden the doors and shutters fly open. A heavenly wind comes in, and whoosh, God’s Holy Spirit comes upon them.
Now, for at least the disciples, Jesus had already breathed upon them on the day he rose from the grave. He gave them his Spirit — they became “born-again” if you will on that day. But this wind, this breath, this Spirit was something new. The Spirit of God came upon them. See, the coming upon and being filled by the Spirit, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, are two different things. Let me explain a bit more.
First, we have to believe that we when acknowledge our sin before God, and confess that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life —and only through Christ Jesus can we come into everlasting salvation— that God will (1) save us; and (2) send his Spirit to live within us and create us anew. That’s being born again. So, a part of being born again means the Spirit of God works within us in order to help us live rightly and walk with God.
However, in order to work in the power of God, we need the Holy Spirit to also come upon us and fill us — continually. That’s what’s going on here. This coming upon is the same thing as being “filled with the Spirit”, or stated another way —being baptized by the Spirit. Of this God says, if you want more of me, just ask, and I will give you more of my Spirit to fill and empower you.
John the Baptist said, in pointing to Jesus, “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him…. ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit’” (John 1:33). This baptizing with the water and with the Spirit, while interrelated, are two different kinds of things. Let’s look at it this way.
After Jesus came out of the water, the Holy Spirit came upon him and baptized him in the Spirit. See, Jesus didn’t need to be sanctified — he was already spotless and without sin. So he didn’t need to be indwelled by the Holy Spirit to help him walk rightly with God, as the Holy Spirit does for you and me. However, Jesus did need to commune with the Father and work in his power.
So the Spirit of God came upon and filled him, and gave him the power to know all things, and to supernaturally do the work of the Father. Know that this same filling is available for us, if we only ask.
Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. How much more will your Father in heaven give — and hear this — the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
This receiving, it’s an invitation to take-in more of God. All we have to do is ask, and the Spirit of God will whoosh upon our lives, just as he did with the early Church on the day of Pentecost. And when he does, he’ll light us on fire and give us the ability to open our mouths and proclaim the Gospel message. Let’s go back to Acts.
TONGUES OF FIRE
LET’S READ TOGETHER VV 4-12. V4 is the hinge-pin, so it bears worth repeating.
I’ll tell ya what it means. It means the disciples began to utter the words given to them by God, supernaturally, in order to proclaim salvation in Jesus Christ. God gave them the supernatural ability to speak in foreign languages. Okay, move your eyes to V.13. Notice how some onlookers thought they were drunk on wine. But they weren’t drunk on wine and all crazy like. No, they were filled in the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18). To the worldly eye, they might have appeared to be whacko — but God doesn’t move in the ordinary, he moves in the extraordinary.
Let me share with you a quick story to illustrate. An acquaintance of ours, Dr. Greg Berglund, an emergency room physician, went to Africa on the medical mission. While there, a local woman — who didn’t speak a lick English — asked him to pray for her, to “the God who answers prayer.” She’s wasn’t a believer, but she heard about the God who answers prayer.
Anyway, Greg prayed that God would heal the woman for that which she asked, but also that she would come to know the God of salvation. After Greg — who’s just an ordinary guy — prayed, the woman said back to him (through the translator), “You spoke my language.” Yet, the good doctor prayed in English. God empowered Greg with the gift of tongues; and because of that, the woman came to faith in the God of wonders and miracles. Isn’t that awesome?
Okay, so getting back to Acts, God empowered the newborn Church to speak with powerful tongues. If we keep reading chapter two, we’ll see how Peter, along with the other eleven, stood up and proclaimed — in the Power of the Holy Spirit — salvation in Jesus Christ. Verse 41 says, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Can you imagine that many in our area coming to faith in one day? Wow! All things are possible with God.
A CHURCH ON FIRE FOR GOD
With this same fire in the belly, the church moved in powerful ways. We see Peter and John preaching Jesus everywhere; they stood-up to the Sanhedrin — without fear. Stephen, and ordinary guy who came to faith stood and preached salvation in Jesus Christ — to the peril of his own mortality. Folks were healed; and daily, the Lord added to the church those who were being saved.” This was possible because the Spirit of God lit the church on fire by baptizing them with fire from above. God gave the church power to extraordinary things; and they impacted the world for all time.
Let us no longer try act like firefighters who douse the flames of the Holy Spirit. Instead, as did the early church, let us dear friends ask Jesus to breathe his Spirit onto us. Let us humble ourselves, seek God, and invite his Holy Spirit to come into our presence, give us new life, set off some fireworks, and to set us on fire for him. Let’s pray.
