"It Can Happen Here Today"
Acts 2:1-21, 36-41
They had been with Jesus for approximately 3 years.
They never quite understood Him, but they believed He was the "Messiah;" the next "King of the Jews."
Of course, they had been thinking in terms of an "earthly King."
They had watched as Jesus healed the demon possessed, ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, religious leaders, lepers and all manner of sinners.
They had witnessed Jesus as He raised the dead, walked on water and fed 5,000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fish.
They had left everything to follow Him.
He had loved them, and shown them love like no other.
And yet, on the night He was arrested everyone of them abandoned Him.
Peter, arguably His closest friend, denied even knowing Him 3 times--out of fear, in order to save his own skin.
After Jesus' Resurrection from the dead, the apostles knew that something great and miraculous had happened.
But they still didn't understand it.
And right before Jesus ascended back to heaven, Jesus instructed them: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
Then He said, "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After Jesus said these things and was "taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight."...
... "they returned to Jerusalem."
We are told that "They all joined together constantly in prayer..."
And, "When the day of Pentecost came" so came the promised Holy Spirit!!!
And they finally understood what Jesus had been talking about.
And the Scriptures finally made sense to them.
They were filled with confidence and they were able to communicate with all the people in ways everyone could understand.
Then Peter...Peter the one who had earlier been so afraid, Peter--now filled with God's Holy Spirit got up and spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit--with the words that the Holy Spirit gave him to speak.
The Holy Spirit of God used Peter as God's mouthpiece as Peter, "raised his voice and addressed the crowd: Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say."
Peter stood and spoke boldly even to the very people who had put Christ to death--Peter spoke boldly to the very people he had cowered before and denied Christ to just weeks before.
The Holy Spirit spoke through His willing vessel, Peter, as Peter preached the first sermon of the Christian Church: "Jesus of Nazareth...was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead...Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
And the Holy Spirit convicted those listening to the Holy Spirit's Words.
We are told that they were "cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, '...what shall we do?'
Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...
...with many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'"
And we are told that on that very first day, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number..."
And it was all done through and at the prompting of the Holy Spirit of God.
And this same Holy Spirit is available to us today.
We are called, to go out, and by the power of the same Holy Spirit, proclaim the message the Holy Spirit gives us.
Yes, we have access to the same Spirit of God.
There is no reason why what happened on Pentecost cannot happen right here in East Ridge today!!!
It is the Holy Spirit's doing.
It is the Holy Spirit Who does the convicting.
It is the Holy Spirit Who gives the understanding.
It is the Holy Spirit Who provides the confidence.
It is the Holy Spirit Who provides the message.
Are we willing vessels or conduits?
It can happen today!!!
There is no reason why it shouldn't be happening right now!!!
This church should be full to overflowing.
We should have to be having this worship service outside at Camp Jordan due to the number of folks who should be flocking to hear what God is doing and has in plan for the human race!!!
Let's face it; this world is a mess!!!
I was speaking with a Kindergarten teacher the other day; she was telling me about the horrid conditions in which her students live.
She said that one child told her that his arms were itching.
She thought that maybe he had gotten poison ivy or something out on the playground.
"No," the child said.
"It's the bugs that bite me in my bed. My bed is full of bugs."
Another child talks about a big hole in the floor of their trailer.
She said that everyone in her family have to be careful not to fall into the hole.
Other children share about their fear of their mother's boyfriends who treat them badly.
We both agreed that we are in great need of a revival!!!
And that Jesus Christ is the only answer to the problems we face!!!
And it can happen; again, we have the same Holy Spirit available to us as the folks at the first Pentecost some 2,000 years ago.
Much of the problem in our society is systemic.
It comes from problems with addiction--addiction to alcohol; addiction to meth.
This kindergarten teacher told me that many of the parents of her students are addicted to meth.
She can see the tell-tale signs on their faces: the open sores, the dead eyes, the madness.
There was a similar problem in England during the time that has been called "the Great Awakening."
The working poor would spend their paychecks, if they had one on alcohol.
And their families would pay the price.
The movement of the Holy Spirit at that time derived much of its inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley--the founder of Methodism.
The Methodist Movement originated as a revival within the 18th Century Church of England and became a worldwide movement of the Holy Spirit.
It is estimated that throughout the world today, there are 70 million people whose churches; whether the names of those churches are Methodist, United Methodist, Nazarene, Wesleyan or some other--originated from the Methodist Movement.
It was started by the Holy Spirit warming the heart of a young Anglican Priest who was part of a church establishment that had become relatively ineffective and lacked vitality--thus, leaving the common people without a meaningful Christian experience.
The Holy Spirit led John Wesley out into the places where the commoners, the blue collar types, the working poor lived.
He became engaged in something called "field preaching."
This was something he hated doing, but which the Spirit led him to do.
Wesley wrote in his journal: "What marvel the devil does not love field preaching! Neither do I; I love a commodious room, a soft cushion, a handsome pulpit."
But, in his first month of field preaching, it is estimated that Wesley preached to a total of 47,500 people!!!
And the crowds kept coming.
But it wasn't just preaching that Wesley and the early Methodists did.
They established hospitals, universities, orphanages, soup kitchens.
They were characterized as people who loved and helped the poor and the average person.
And any history textbook worth its salt will credit the Methodist Movement for staving off a bloody revolution at this time.
Alcoholics changed their ways.
Families were reunited.
Companies sought to hire Methodists because they were dependable, honest and hard working.
And the economy, along with the people were saved!!!
And again, the same Holy Spirit at work on the first Pentecost was at work in the Great Awakening.
And the same Holy Spirit is here and available to us now.
We have the same God, the same Gospel message, the same Risen Lord!!!
Are we willing to pray to God to be filled with, baptized by His Spirit in order to go out and be used to save this lost, broken world?
It can happen today!!!
This past week the Today Show ran a segment about the newest generation of people who are now graduating from college.
And one statistic about this millennial generation they cited caught my attention.
They said that 25% of them have no religion.
That is a huge number of people, especially given the fact that the millennial generation is the largest generational group of people in the history of the world.
That is millions upon millions of young people who know nothing about how a relationship with Jesus Christ changes ones' life.
And since the kids have no religion, it goes without saying that a large percentage of their parents and other family members have no religion either.
That's a lot of folks.
And Jesus Christ is the Only Hope we have in this world.
It is only through Jesus Christ that human beings are able to come to know what true, unconditional love is.
It is only through Jesus Christ that people can be saved from their sins, and from the consequences of sin--which is death and hell.
Does this make you want to get "out of your element," perhaps become a bit uncomfortable...not unlike Wesley who hated field preaching...in order to spread the Good News?
A Christian woman involved in a ministry which serves those in need by giving food and clothing and meeting other basic needs wrote the following devotion in the Upper Room for this past Wednesday:
"One Saturday as my husband and I were on our way to a business associate's company picnic, my cell phone rang.
[Someone] told me, weeping, that she had absolutely nothing to feed her children."
The author continues, "My first reaction was, 'This is my day off, and I want to enjoy it with my husband.'
But then the Lord reminded me I am a Christian all the time, not just when it is convenient.
I jotted down the woman's address, and we headed to the food pantry.
We also stopped by our house to get some meat for the family.
When we arrived at the [home], two of her children ran out to greet us with loving hugs.
As we brought sacks of groceries into the kitchen, the young mother stood crying and gave both of us a thank-you hug as well."
She finishes by writing, "Sometimes I am tempted not to respond to a call from God that is inconvenient or unpleasant."
I can relate to that statement; how about you?
Taking up the Cross and following Christ is often not pleasant and convenient, but it is what God calls us to do...
...and it does give us a peace and satisfaction unmatched by anything else in this world!!!
It couldn't have been pleasant or convenient for Peter to stand up in front of a crowd of people, and proclaim: "God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
I mean, talk about taking your life in your hands!!!
But Peter believed, Peter cared, and Peter allowed the Holy Spirit to have full reign!!!
And in doing so, the people who heard this were "cut to the heart."
They repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.
They, themselves received the gift of the Holy Spirit...
There were "about three thousand" people who did this on that day.
It's interesting to note that about an average of 3,000 people a day were coming to hear John Wesley preach in the fields some 1,700 years after the first Pentecost.
When we leave this building, what uncomfortable or not so pleasant places is the Holy Spirit calling us to preach?
Rather than waiting for people to find their way into the church, field preaching moved the preaching of the Gospel out to where the people were.
This had the effect of catching attention, of meeting people on their home turf.
It was missional.
Sounds a lot like the first Pentecost.
And it can happen here.
It can start with us!!!
May it be so!!!
Amen.
