How many of you have cell phones? Maybe I should ask how many don’t have a cell phone? The average mobile phone user spends 48 minutes/day on their phone. I think that is a conservative estimate. I say that because on any given Sunday morning worship service, I see several of our youth and children and adults on their phones for most of the service. So there goes that 48 minutes / day estimate.
Especially when 8.4 million Americans send texts to respond to polls. 11.1 million use their mobile phone to access maps or get directions, 9.4 million check movie/entertainment listings, 7.6 million access local business directories, 6.6 million traffic reports and 5.4 million financial/banking /stock trading accounts. Now we know why people are always looking down at their phones. Albert Einstein predicted this years ago when he said, ‘I Fear the Day that Technology Will Surpass Our Human Interaction …’
I’ll get back to this in a minute. But the text I use for tonight is Acts 2:33. READ. This takes place right in the middle of Peter’s sermon at Pentecost. This is the same Peter that denied Jesus three times. And now he proclaims God’s truth with boldness. He was describing to them what they had just witnessed with their own eyes. Let’s read Acts 2: 1-8; 11-13.
If you have ever seen the German film Wings of Desire, there’s a scene where angels pass through a library. At first, you are in the presence of angels. People sit close to one another but remain separate. Reading and writing in their own little worlds.
Then the angels descend and pass through the library. As they come near the people, you hear the voices of these people silently reading. Walking with angels brings you closer to people. For a moment, you hear what is on their minds.
In some ways, that scene is a picture of how God works in the world. Jesus came to end the separation between sinners and God. His death opened the kingdom of heaven to us. And His Spirit creates a community of people who live in God’s love.
When Jesus ascended, he told His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were “clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:49)
This power of Jesus, however, was unlike anything the disciples had ever seen. It wasn’t the power of wealth or warriors. It was the power of His Spirit working through His Word. Have you ever experienced the Holy Spirit moving? The Holy Spirit will bring a big, strong man to his knees. I have seen it myself. The Holy Spirit will move the immoveable. The Spirit will soften the hardest of hearts. Don’t ever underestimate the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
On Pentecost, His Word brought life. A few words from a few disciples touched hearts, opened minds, and added thousands to the church. While the Romans governed with armies, God ruled the world through His Word.
Jesus sent His Spirit to bring life, and He still sends that Spirit today. I got to thinking as I was putting this together, why is God leading me to stress the Holy Spirit tonight. I think it’s because He is about to unleash His Holy Spirit upon us. And He wants us to be ready and not surprised. If fact, God is already giving us glimpses of His Spirit as he moves people to come to church, to worship, to accept Christ, to be baptized. Yes, His Spirit is moving.
So just look around you and notice how people sit with one another in common places but don’t interact. Instead, they look intently at their phones. This is what our world calls being connected. So, for those who stare at their phones during our services, you might think you are connected to others, but in reality, you are disconnected from that close face-to-face contact. But more than that, you are disconnected from God. And for those who insist on staring at their phones during worship, I say, just stay home. You’re so disconnected from God that you wouldn’t notice His Spirit if He sat in your lap.
Jesus creates a different kind of connection. And this is the connection that I want. He works through you. Creating community, not just online but in person. Life in the Spirit from the Spirit of life.
So, God encourages us tonight to take time to be present with someone around you today. Put those blasted phones down. Take time to feel the presence of God’s Spirit. With the presence of Jesus and the power of His Spirit, a simple conversation can make a connection and lead to a deeper spiritual life. Especially when you are connected to God.
