The Gift of the Spirit and the Birth of the Church
In the old traditional culture, the word of God was passed on to the next generation from parents to children through the telling of stories. These stories were told to ensure the important messages from God did not die with the older generations. This is how the word of God was kept alive. So, in honor of that old Jewish tradition…..
Once upon a time there was a seemingly ordinary man. He wasn’t a wealthy man. He wasn’t an exceptionally brilliant man and he certainly wasn’t an exceptionally strong man
Although he never won a bass tournament, he was an avid fisherman. But he did eke out a living for his family fishing in the waters of The Sea of Galilee. You might have guessed by now that I am talking about the man named Simon. The man who became the Apostle Peter after he met Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
There was nothing really special about Peter. Like many of us, he occasionally thought higher of himself than he should.
At times, his ego got the better of him and he would brag. He especially liked brag about his love for Jesus. He bragged about his faith in Jesus. He even bragged that he was more humble than the rest of the Apostles.
That happened when Jesus wanted to wash his feet. Jesus had been washing the other disciple’s feet but when Jesus got to Peter, Peter balked at allowing Jesus to wash his dirty feet trying to show that he was unworthy to have Jesus wash his feet. That was true but it was not the right time to do that after Jesus had just washed the other men's feet. When Jesus explained that if he did not allow Jesus to wash his feet, he could have no part in Jesus, Peter quickly told Jesus to wash his head and the rest of his body too.
Peter was bit pretentious at times. He often said thing he shouldn’t have and said things he didn’t really mean when it came time for the rubber hit the road; when it was time to prove his rhetoric.
He boasted about his will power especially when it concerned his devotion to Jesus. He thought that he should be seated at the right hand of Jesus, a place of honor. He desired things he didn’t deserve from Jesus.
It was this braggard who, in fear for own his life, denied knowing Jesus after earlier telling him that he would give up his own life for Jesus.
There was nothing really special about Peter, yet Peter was one of the 12 original men that Jesus chose to have follow Him for three years. Jesus often chastised him for his lack of faith and understanding. One time said to him “Get behind Me Satan”; not because he thought Peter was Satan but because he was being used by Satan to deter Jesus from the work He came to do.
Many of us here this morning think we need to be strong before God can use us. We feel that we need to know more and live more righteously before God can use us.
We think that it may be okay if we make some little mistakes, but we don’t just make little mistakes. We make some doozies.
But, Peter didn’t just make little mistakes. One time he cut off a man’s ear. He cut off a man’s ear after watching Jesus lovingly minister to people for three years.
Peter didn’t always do the right thing, but Jesus still chose him to follow Him, saying “follow me and I will make you a fisher of men.”
Once upon a time there was a man named Peter and there was
• nothing very special about Peter financially. HE wasn’t wealthy and wise like Solomon.
• nothing very amazing about Peter intellectually, He wasn’t a biblical scholar like the Apostle Paul.
• nothing very powerful about Peter physically. He didn’t have the strength of Samson.
He was just a fisherman who acted foolishly at times, but he did meet and follow Jesus. He did respond to Jesus’ call and He did come to love Jesus even though he did deny knowing Jesus just before He was crucified.
But then one day a miracle happened. Peter received Jesus’ promised gift of the HOLY SPIRIT and something changed. That miraculous gift gave this not very special man, this not very amazing man, this foolish acting man, a transformation no one would have expected, especially those who knew him best.
Turn with me to Acts 2:1-21 (NRSV) and we’ll read about how God used this ordinary man to make a huge difference in the lives of so many people.
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 22 Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. 25 David said this about Him: “I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also rests in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. 29 Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on His throne. 31 Seeing what was to come He spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God had raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Acts 2:36-38 36 Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this: God had made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? 38 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.
No one knows what the Apostles were saying when before Peter was moved by the Holy Spirit to stand up and reveal the power of God in each word he spoke.
This was the same man who was used to putting his foot in his mouth; often regretting the words he spoke because those words would come back and prove his lack of faith and foolishness.
In those days someone should have told Peter it is often best to keep quiet and let people think you are foolish than to open it and prove that you are a fool.
But that was then. On this day, He was speaking boldly with the power of God that inspired the spirit of others to awaken to the realization that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, the Savior sent by God..
Verse 5 says Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
The men of Jewish heritage that gathered around the apostles that day were very religious men; devout in the strict acts of piety called for in the Judean religion. To me, this clearly shows that there was something different about what Peter was saying even though he was using scripture from their Jewish religion; scripture they had most likely heard all of their lives as, scripture that had been passed on from generation to generation.
But there was something very revealing that these men got out of Peter’s message of Christ that they had not gotten out of these scriptures before; indeed, that they had not gotten from their pious religious efforts before this moment.
Before this moment, they had always felt like they were struggling to reach God. This day, through the words of Peter, they felt God reaching out to them.
It started when they heard the sound of the violent wind and they were drawn to the place that the apostles were speaking in different languages. It continued as they heard the apostles speaking and it caused them to question what was happening when each of them heard the apostles speaking in their own language.
This was something they had never seen or heard before. It was something no one had ever seen or heard before and it opened the door for a once brash and foolish fisherman to speak powerfully, using scripture they each were familiar with, about God sending the person of Jesus to them to save them from their sin; to save them from the wages of their sin, death.
There are over one hundred religions in the world, but it is only through Christ that God reaches out to us offering us salvation from and eternity in hell.
In other words, there are over 100 ways for you to reach out for God. In every single one of those religions including Judaism, you have to work your way to God. In each one of them, you have to prove your love for God before God responds to you.
There is only one way that God reaches out for you, it’s through a loving relationship with Jesus as the Holy Spirit invites and inspires you to put your faith in Him as the savior who died on the cross to pay the wage of your sins; to pay the ransom freeing you from the chains of eternal life in Hell, the second death.
God sent Jesus Christ to die for your sin to prove that He already loves you and God is now asking you to respond to His love by you simply putting your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
The burden of your Christian faith is easy in comparison to the burdens of the world’s religions. Just accept God’s personified love as your Savior.
There are over 100 religions that demand you prove your devout love for God through hard work before your God responds to you. They each demand you become a better person before God will respond to your acts of devotion. Some of them offer crazy rewards like 5 virgins waiting for you in heaven, if you die killing other human beings for God. Killing others is how you prove your love for God in at least one of those world religions.
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was and is God reaching out for you. When Jesus died on the cross, it was God dying to prove His love for you.
That was the basic yet powerful message that Peter preached to those devout religious men on the Day of Pentecost. It was the Holy Spirit that inspired every word Peter preached and it was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that raised the curiosity of these devout religious men and drew them to Peter as he shared the gospel message of Jesus life death and resurrection.
Through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit the Christian church was born that day. Christianity is the story of God reaching out for you to prove His love for you before you ever did or do a thing to prove your worth to God. Your faith and repentance is the start of your response to God’s proven love for you.
Peter was never someone, his friends and acquaintances would have expected to deliver such a powerful message. But the promised gift from God; the gift of the Holy Spirit changed all of that not only on the Day of Pentecost; the day the church was given birth, but the rest of Peter’s life there was a new and different man born that day.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the brash and foolish man had died, and a new man sprang forth that day; a man who spoke with a divine wisdom. He was now a man who spoke fearlessly of God’s personified love from the depths of his heart because he knew he had been forgiven of all of his sins, including denying that he even knew his friend and Lord the night he was being falsely accused before they hung Him on the Cross.
• Peter knew he had been forgiven even though he did not deserve to be forgiven.
• Peter knew that God loved him even though he was a lost and scared wimpy sinner who couldn’t even stand up for Jesus when it really counted.
• Peter knew God loved him even though he couldn’t even admit that he knew Jesus that sad but fateful night.
• Peter knew God loved him because Jesus died for him too.
This day, Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit to become a new man for God, not because God demanded it of Him, but because of God’s gracious and forgiving love. Peter knew that Jesus died for his sins too.
I recent read something by author and pastor, Charley Reeb. I want to share it with you today. He basically said that the only way to the mountain top was by going through the valley.”
Peter had certainly been through many valleys to get to this mountain top experience.
You may be in a valley in your life today, but with God by your side you can be experiencing the joy of the mountaintop before you know it.
You may be a sinner of great proportion, but God died for you too.
• Jesus died for you even though you don’t deserve forgiveness.
• Jesus died for you even though you may be a lost scared wimpy sinner like most of us here today.
• Jesus died for you to prove that God loved you long before you ever do anything to prove you love God.
But you can’t go on not responding to God’s love. You can’t go on not accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Because if you don’t respond to God’s love, you will never receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
• You will never be inspired to let that old sinner die.
• You will never be inspired to allow the new man or woman to spring forth.
• You will never be empowered to share the gospel story of Jesus Christ.
• You will never be inspired to lovingly allow God to use you to save others from hell.
• You will never be inspired to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to other lost scared wimpy sinners.
• You will never be a part or God’s church.
• You will never make it through the valleys to the mountaintop.
• You will never make it to heaven.
The Holy Spirit can resurrect the spirit within you;
• the spirit within you that seeks the heart and the love of God
• the same spirit that you have been starving from God’s amazing love and presence in your life
• The spirit that your sin is slowly killing and will continue to starve to death until you turn to God’s personified love, Jesus, for salvation.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can revive your spirit and resurrect the life God intended you to live.
When you answer God’s call to put your faith in Jesus, God empowers you to do something that you can’t do on your own- overcome your sin.
It’s not that hard to be nearer to the heart of God. God has done the work; your burden is light, and the work is easy when you are yoked with the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
It is just one step of faith to believe that Jesus died so you could be forgiven of your sins. From there the Holy Spirit will guide and empower you to become heaven bound.
Today Jesus is calling you like the day he called Peter.
• Come follow me, not only will I save you, but I will make you fishers of men.
• Come follow me and you will be nearer to the heart of God.
• Come follow me and I will lead you through the valleys.
• Come follow me and heaven will be your eternal home.
Following Jesus means that you become a part of His church that was born on that Pentecost Day.
• The purpose of the church is to share the love of God that has been highlighted by the sacrificial death He offered for the forgiveness of our sins.
• The purpose of the church is to give praise to God for His grace.
• The purpose of the church is to give honor to God’s all-encompassing power to overcome even death and restore eternal life as revealed in the resurrection of Jesus.
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior,
• today is the day to come to the altar and receive his forgiveness
• today is the day to allow the blood he shed on the cross to wash your sins away.
• Today is the day, you can escape eternal death and become bound for heaven.
• There is not a good enough reason to wait.
• The Holy Spirit is calling you today. You feel the tug. Answer the call to follow Jesus all the way to heaven.
• Come to the altar as we sing this last song of worship today and respond to God’s love for you.
Let’s pray together.
