Sermon for Pentecost Sunday - May 19, 2024
Today is Pentecost Sunday. That might mean a lot to you, or not much at all. If you come from a mainline church background, Anglican or Catholic for example, there was more than likely some celebration of Pentecost Sunday as an important part of the church calendar year.
If you come from more evangelical tradition, there may not have been any mention whatsoever of Pentecost Sunday, although the events and the big idea behind Pentecost Sunday was more than likely acknowledged, or possibly, depending on the denomination, even celebrated in a big way.
I’m Angi-bapti-costal myself, so all of the above applies to me.
Now I just briefly referred to the “church calendar year”. That is also referred to as “The Christian Year“, or the “Liturgical Calendar“. What is that!?! You might reasonably ask.
Well, it’s a helpful way, I think, to imagine the year. This comes from a time when church in general was much more central to people's lives, and when church in general held a much higher status in society than it does now.
And of course that means that it comes from a time when church attendance was generally expected, and people, whether or not they actually have faith in Christ, would attend church out of a sense of social obligation. A very different world from now.
Despite all that, the chis calendar is a thing and what we are looking at today, acknowledging today, as an important part of the liturgical calendar, is, as you already know, Pentecost Sunday.
Why is Pentecost Sunday something to pay attention to? Why is it significant? I’m asking.
It is the time that the church marks the day of its birth, the day the promised Holy Spirit came and empowered the church and its leadership,
the 12 disciples who became the 12 Apostles, and the many other female and male followers of Jesus.
It was a wonderful day, but also kind of a weird day, kind of a peculiar, out of the ordinary moment that was shared by these early believers.
Some of us have had peculiar, out of the ordinary moments with God. Moments where God showed up in unexpected ways. Moments when God was moving and we had no idea that he was moving.
Pentecost Sunday celebrates the moment in history when, in the weeks after the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus,
God sent the Holy Spirit to us in fulfilment of Jesus' promise to the disciples. Jesus foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit in John 14:15 ‘If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 16: 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
John 16:12 ‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.’
So it’s clear that the events of Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit, was part of God‘s plan of redemption all along.
We wisely focus a great deal of our preaching and our worship and our collective thinking as a church on the amazing sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, on the fact that we are loved by God more than we could ever understand through our minds or our hearts. And I think that is actually very good and important to continually be focussing on Jesus, to be continually focusing on the Trinity.
And I want to suggest that it could be argued that all of Jesus' teachings, everything that he revealed to us about God, about living in a way that honours God, about being free can be seen as laying the groundwork for the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower us to live for and through God.
When you think about it, Jesus taught a lot about the problem of sin, and taught against sin.
And to make a quick summary, I think the reason for that is that sin blocks, impedes the power of the Holy Spirit from being released in our lives, from being manifested in our lives, and with that is blocked our experience of the joy of the Lord.
Sin keeps us in a rut, and when we choose to sin, particularly to continue in sin without repenting of it, we are choosing to stay stuck in that rut.
Also Jesus teachings on being a just people, people who care about what is right in God‘s eyes, people who love what God loves and hate what God hates, and all of that is because injustice impedes, slows down, and gets in the way of the work of the Holy Spirit, and with that our experience of the joy of the Lord is blocked.
in our lives, but also, since Jesus came to reconcile all things to himself, injustice can potentially slow down or impede that reconciliation of all things.
Colossians 1:19 says: For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (Jesus), 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Jesus teachings about forgiveness for example, his strong and deep encouragement for us to live as forgivers,
live as people who do not hold onto and bury resentments and bitterness deep in our souls, the reason for that is that unforgiveness blocks the power of the Holy Spirit from manifesting in our lives, and with that is blocked our experience of the joy of the Lord.
So not only did Jesus come into this world he created to teach and reveal the mind and heart of God,
not only did Jesus Offer himself up as the Lamb of God to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, not only did Jesus triumph over death by his resurrection, not only did Jesus ascend to the Father, returning to his eternal dwelling place in the community of the Holy Trinity…
But in addition to all of that, he promised to give us the Holy Spirit, Whom He also referred to as the Advocate, the Spirit of truth.
So then looking at this passage about the sending of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2, we do indeed have the opportunity to enter into the joy of the first disciples as the person of the Holy Spirit filled them,
as God birthed the church, which we should, and this is actually very important, understand ourselves to be an extension of. We are reading about our ancestors in the faith.
Maybe someday people many years from now will read about us and think of us as ancestors in the faith.
So we are seeing, as we contemplate this passage about that first Pentecost Sunday, God’s faithful fulfilment of his promise through Jesus that he would send the Holy Spirit to us.
And then you might ask, why? “What difference does the Holy Spirit actually make?
“Not that it’s all about me, I get that, but when the rubber hits the road, how does knowing this about the Holy Spirit, how does grasping who the Holy Spirit is, have any actual impact in my life?”
Good question! Here’s my answer: God sent the HS to convict the world of sin
John 16:7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
The work of the Spirit is to turn our hearts on. To make us truly alive. The Holy Spirit turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.
How does God do that? How does he get our attention? How does he turn her hearts to the ‘on’ position and make our spirit alive? What is it that turns us from the choice to live without God to the sincere desire to follow Jesus?
The word that John uses of the work of the Spirit is the word elegcho (eleg-ho), translated “convince” by the Revised Standard Version and “prove” in the New International Version.
The word is used for the cross-examination of a witness, or a man on trial, or an opponent in an argument.
It’s the idea of cross-examining a person until they see and admit their errors, or until they acknowledge the force of some argument which they had not yet seen.
That kind of cross-examination can do one of two things--it can convict a person of the crime they have committed or the wrong that they have done; or it can convince one of the weakness of one’s own case and the strength of the case which he has opposed.
In this passage we need both meanings, both convict and convince. So the Spirit of God acts on the spirit of humans in at least 2 ways: by bringing conviction of sin; and by convincing the human heart that God is both right to judge because he is God, and that we are right to surrender our lives to Him.
We are right to acknowledge that we are not God. We are right to acknowledge that God is God and deserves all that God deserves. our confession, our worship, our service, our thankfulness at his goodness for all of our days.
So the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. When you think about it, when the Jews crucified Jesus, they did not believe that they were sinning; they believed, quite genuinely, that they were serving God.
Just like Saul believed quite genuinely that when he persecuted the church after Christ had ascended to heaven, that he was serving God.
It’s entirely possible to be passionately and genuinely wrong while believing we are right. I’ve seen that a lot in recent years.
But you know, some people have no concept of sin. I know before I came to Jesus I had a very fluid and flexible idea about morality. If I got caught, it was wrong.
If I didn’t get caught, it was right. If I didn’t get caught, I slept like a baby. If I got caught, only then did I pause to examine myself.
But even then, it might’ve been 25% self-examination, and 75% scheming to do it smarter so I wouldn’t get caught the next time.
What is it that gives a man or a woman a sense of sin? What is it that makes us see how low we have gone in face of the Cross?
What is it about this symbol (point to cross) that can cause a person who is either full of pride or full of self contempt, two sides of the same coin, to humble themselves?
In an East Indian village a missionary was telling the story of Christ by means of slides projected on the white-washed wall of a village house.
When the picture of the Cross was shown, a man stepped forward, as if he could not help it: "Come down!" he cried. "I should be hanging there not you."
Why should the sight of a man crucified as a criminal in Palestine two thousand years ago tear the hearts of people open throughout the centuries and still today?
What could possibly cause that? It is the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit of God convinces and convicts the human heart that the Only Son of God willingly, and full of love, went by his own choice to the cross, in full coordination with and for the glory of God the Father.
Amazingly, God sent the HS to indwell believers, to empower us for holy living (fruit) Gal 5:22:
First of all, what are the fruit of the Spirit? They are [Show PPT] Love (seeks the highest good of others); joy (gladness that is not based on circumstances);
Peace (Deep contentment, shalom, unity between people); Patience or Forbearance (Slow to speak, slow to anger); Kindness (showing mercy, a sweet tenderness); Goodness (generous and open-hearted);
Faithfulness (dependable, loyal and full of trust); Gentleness, calm, non-threatening); Self-control (Behaving well and in a way that honours God).
What does the Bible mean when it refers to these things as fruit of the Spirit?
Well, they are qualities of Jesus’ own character that emerge and continually increase in the life of a person whose heart is submitted to Christ. They are qualities that reflect what Jesus is like.
The Apostle Paul wrote this about the Holy Spirit because in the life of a Christ-follower, we understand through Scripture, even through our baptismal vows, that as Christians we died with Christ and rose again to life.
A life new and clean, in which the evil things of the old self are gone and the lovely things of the Spirit comes to fruition. In real time, this takes time. But we have the promise of sanctification, of being made holy.
Ephesians 1 says: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.
So as believers, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, working in us to be more and more like Jesus. Our hope is in God IN us, Christ in us, working out His perfect will over time.
God sent the HS to indwell believers, to empower us for ministry in the church and community.
There’s the Fruit of the Spirit, and there are also Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
These are gifts given sovereignly by God to the church to bring glory and honour to God, and to uplift the body of Christ, the church, so that it can function as the body of Christ, gifts such as mercy, service, tongues, hospitality, words of wisdom, administration, prophecy, leadership.
Take away the gifts of the Spirit, and instead of church you have a social club meeting.
The great Revivalist D.L. Moody said: “You might as well try to hear without ears or breathe without lungs, as try to live a Christian life without the Spirit of God in your heart.
With the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers and manifesting His presence in believers, you have an alive, dynamic church that is focussed on the mission of God.
God sent the HS to indwell believers, to empower us to be on mission to testify to Jesus’ love, his life, death, resurrection, ascension and Kingship.
What is the mission of God for the church? It’s expressed a few different ways. Jesus said to “Go and make disciples of all nations”. (Mt 28:19)
That’s one critical part of why you and I are here: to be equipped to make disciples. A disciple is one who believes the gospel, who becomes a student of the way of Jesus.
Another way the mission of God for us is expressed as Jesus says to His disciples in the Upper Room after He rose from the dead: “As the Father sent me, so I send you”.
And we learn what that means in Luke chapter 4 as Jesus says, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” (Lk 4:18-19)
As God sent Jesus to do these things, so Jesus sends you and me as the church to do these things.
That’s the mission of God that we really do need to believe in and attach ourselves to if we are to be in the will of God.
To not believe this can be to wonder: “Why do I go to church?” “Why do I bother praying and reading the Bible”.
Or at least potentially we could find ourselves spinning our wheels in that way if we resist the call of Jesus in our lives.
The Holy Spirit at work in us grows an interest in us to be about the main focus of Jesus Own teachings, which is the Kingdom of God.
Now, the Holy Spirit is HOW we accomplish the mission of God, the will of God, in our lives individually and collectively as His people.
If I can share a personal story: I became a Christian on March 15, 1980. I came to Christ from a background of atheism, of fairly aggressive rejection of the very concept of God and a particular mindset of contempt for people who did believe in God. So I had a lot of baggage. A lot of clutter.
Even though I was convinced of the gospel, and I had genuinely received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour, I genuinely believe the gospel, I had nagging thoughts in my mind that competed with my newfound faith.
I had some questions, some doubts. A lot of that was because I was fairly constantly challenged by my family, that faith in God was false because God is false, in their sincere but mistaken view.
So after about two years, I went to this event where there was a particular focus on the Holy Spirit.
And there was a particular focus on prayer to receive empowerment from the Holy Spirit to live for God, to live wide open to all that God is and all that he wanted to do in my life.
In that gathering, at that event with a few hundred other people, I went forward and received prayer to lay down all of my doubts, every point of resistance, and to fully embrace, as I said, the power of the Holy Spirit.
I did not know what to expect, but I had very sincere faith. The end result of that was that I received some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and from that night on, I ceased to have any doubts whatsoever about the gospel, about the Bible, about the decision to follow Jesus.
That opened up all kinds of doors to really wonderful things in my life, things that I was not in the slightest expecting would be a result of having faith in Jesus.
So that story is simply to illustrate that the power of the Holy Spirit is real, and the work of God through the Holy Spirit is alive and active to this day.
So even as we think about that first Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit first came upon the church, that set of early believers and early leaders, we can think about our own lives.
We can think about what God wants to do in and through us. We can think about leaving behind every point of resistance against God, and what God might want to do in and through us.
In a moment we are going to be celebrating communion. After celebrating communion, we will spend some time in Worship.
If you would like to receive prayer after the service, that the power of the Holy Spirit would be released in your life in a greater way, encourage you to come up to me or Pastor Jonathan and we will pray for you.
May we indeed celebrate the goodness and beauty of God, father son and Holy Spirit, and may our lives increasingly reflect, from day today, the love and faithfulness and goodness and power of God.
