We need the Spirit. WBC 30 May 2004 am Acts 2:1-21
INTRO
Are you aware that John Wesley, himself, had a Pentecost experience?
Wed 24th May 1738. (3 days after Whitsun/Pentecost)
Well discipled in his upbringing. Thoroughly converted in his convictions, commitment, mind. Double professor of Greek & logic at Lincoln College, Oxford.
Had been an ordained Anglican clergyman for many years. Went as a missionary to America to work with the Indians¡Kbut stirred up all kinds of trouble, lawsuits and these and complete lack of fruitfulness made him so despondent. Forced to return to England he wrote, ¡§I went to America to convert the Indians; but, oh, who shall convert me?¡¨
One good thing was- he met Moravian Missionaries. People with a power in their lives
Not unlike the 120 who gathered, frightened, in an upper room to pray. Timid. Rejected. Despondent. Believed in Jesus but ¡¥where was His power?¡¦.
- John¡¦s gospel tells us that prior to this Peter & others had even gone back to fishing
Belief and commitment¡K. But no power
But Wesley¡¦s story continues (round about Pentecost)
¡§In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luthor¡¦s preface to the epistle of the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith- I felt my heart strangely warmed. I FELT I DID trust Christ, Christ alone, for my salvation- and an assurance was given me that He HAD taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.¡¨
Overnight his preaching and effectiveness changed
- April 17th 1739 ¡§ we called on God to confirm His word¡¨- and people sank to their knees as they found Christ!
- Travelled 250,000 miles. 40,000 sermons. Hundreds of thousands saved
Notably- he felt very little that first Pentecost experience. Note that!
- simply ¡¥strangely warmed¡¦ and ¡¥assured¡¦
- later there were subsequent experiences
George Whitfield¡¦s diary,: ’Mon 1st Jan 1739. Had a love-feast with our brethren and spent the whole night in close prayer, psalms and thanksgiving. God supported me without sleep.’ About 3 in the morning it seemed like the day of Pentecost had come again. Wesley recoded in his journal ’ the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many fell to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from awe and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one voice "we praise thee, O God, we acknowledge thee to be the Lord"’
But with Wesley what stood out was not the experience, but the FRUIT
- same with others:
- DL Moody¡¦s testimony. From "The Life of DL Moody"
- 1871. Had largest congregation in Chicago
- - people kept telling him he needed the power of the HS
- His encounter was with a sense of God¡¦s LOVE, and after it he records: ¡§The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you would give me all the world- it would be as the small dust of the balance¡¨
With these people, and everyone else, what happened was evidenced by RESULTS (not always by what they felt)
- it was a change of gear
we need the Spirit!
And I want to talk about our need of Him in the three areas He touched at Pentecost: Witness, Walls and Worship
1 WITNESS
Look at the results in this passage!
- timid 120. Distressed
- > they changed the world! 3000 in one day
- Changed into dynamic evangelists.
- AC 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus
- and I¡¦d add- it¡¦s because they had been filled with the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7)
- Because the HS came at Pentecost to continue Jesus¡¦ work and fruitfulness through God¡¦s people
Prior to that:, like Leslie Puckett of Kentucky who after struggling to start his car, lifted the hood and discovered that someone had stolen the motor
No motor. No power. Little fruit.
We need the Spirit!
To be effective witnesses. Spirit of witness- come!
I could illustrate it with so many examples: touch from God > greater fruitfulness. (Even seen it in my life, Bushey¡K now??)
- but history records every man and woman dramatically used by God as being touched by the Spirit first
Now- how do WE get this?
a) Gotta believe God wants to give His HS! ¡§stop doubting and believe¡¨
- our culture is even worse that here. We make fun of everything genuine or try and find a rational explanation for anything vaguely supernatural
o and in so doing, do ourselves out of a great enduement of power
o He is a PERSON and comes where Hs is welcomed, not ridiculed. He is sensitive
- No, here, something definitely spiritual happened. 2 miracles (speech and hearing). These are not people with a ¡¥roo loose in the top paddock¡¦
- We should stop being over cautious, or critical- and BELIEVE. And so- receive
- ¡§if you know how to give good things HOW MUCH MORE SO will your father give the HS!¡¨
- particularly for witness! (in our daily walk!)
o that¡¦s what Pentecost is all about
o that¡¦s why he lets us stay down here!
o = why he came and died. He wants all men to be saved
Listen to Wesley¡¦s journal: ¡§while I was preaching at Newgate on these words ¡¥He that believeth has everlasting life¡¦, I was insensibly led, without any previous design, to declare strongly and explicitly, that God willeth ¡¥all men to be saved¡¦ (1 tim 2:4)¡K and that if this were true He would bear witness to His word¡¦. Immediately one, then another, and another sunk to the earth; they dropped on every side as thunderstruck¡¨
We need the Spirit. God wants to give Him
b) Stop looking for a particular experience from Him. Seek God and Him.
- there are many experiences of the HS in scripture. It¡¦s not cut and dried in frequency, variety or intensity. Jn 20:22 (before Pentecost!)
- and there are many experiences in History, too. (but all those greatly used have had them)
- Illustr: I feel v little, now- but I KNOW he¡¦s there¡K get on by faith¡K and am praising God for every bit of fruit
Seek God¡¦s face and he will bear His arm.
Wesley¡¦s journal: ¡§Today our Lord answered for Himself. For while I was enforcing these words, ¡¥be still and know that I am God¡¦ He began to bare His arm- not in a close room, neither in private, but in the open air before more than 2000 witnesses. In less than an hour seven persons, wholly unknown to me till that time, were rejoicing and singing and with all their might giving thanks to the God of their salvation¡K later¡K we met at Fetter Lane to humble ourselves before God. In that hour we found God with us as at the first. Some fell prostrate upon the ground. Others burst out as with one consent, into loud praise and thanksgiving¡¦
c) Ask. Receive. Get prayer
- scripture is full of laying on of hands AND spontaneous filling
- if you haven¡¦t received enough spontaneously- then try the other model and get someone to lay hands on you
o if you can¡¦t be bothered to do that¡K then no wonder you don¡¦t receive!
- Illustr: me at LBC. Darrell. Honeymoon- prayed for & change of gear
We need God¡¦s Spirit! To witness
2 WALLS
If you¡¦re not aware- Pentecost is a profound uniting as well as empowering
- in it, God brings together many people into one body- His church
o = the birth of the church
- but not just one group of Jews speaking heb or Aram
- = Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia
In fact the Bible/gospel is a wonderful story of God working to restore the brokenness, barriers and ravages of sin in people¡¦s lives
- sin: Adam & Eve> Cain & Abel (murder! With only 4 people!0
- > Babel. Sin results in scattering/division and people not being able to ACHIEVE
o since then they have been selfishly, individually, been running for gain/money
- but God¡¦s promise of a uniting work comes: new hearts, young and old, slave & free united. Gentiles, Arabs & Jews rushing to ONE point of worship
And at Pentecost- God does it. And the evidence of unity is tongues that all understand. Babel reversed. He bring peoples together and destroys the walls
Friends: We need the Spirit
- without Him we¡¦re prejudiced, territorial, selfish beings: ¡§my needs, my language, my way or worship, my territory!¡¨
- Illustr: me: snobbish, public-school, money-worshipper. Have a long way to go- but have come SO far! Glory to God
Of course- these are walls to witness. No wonder no one believes if we despise others and are divided
Illustr: when the HS comes I expect a drawing together, not a hardening of MY identity
- when did HS ever come and make people Baptists, or RC, or bigots?
o Make them convinced, yes- but divided & insular- no.
„X That¡¦s what PEOPLE do
Phil 2:2 if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose
- ie: if the HS is at work in you- then show it and be united
Friends: we need the Spirit!
- may He come! HS of unity- come!
- People of God- come tonight!
3 WORSHIP
The third manifestation at Pentecost is worship-
- they ¡¥heard them declaring the wonders of God in their tongues¡¦
o ie in a united sense, but in their own way
You see- when the HS comes- He reveals the Father & the Son to you in such a way that MAKES you want to break out in praise
Worship should be work¡K sacrifice¡K but not all the time. It¡¦s like trying to Pump water than let it flow
- remember hearing of a man who looked out of his window and saw in the distance someone pumping water tirelessly, endlessly, tremendously! On and on! Till in the end he went over to him and found it was a wooden, painted, figure attached to the pump handle- but the pump handle was driving him! The pump was attached to an artesian well- and the sheer overflow of the water animated the man (model)
The Holy Spirit animates us in praise to God! Makes it overflow!
- but note it is praise to the F & S. the HS is self-effacing. His job is not to make you love Him more- but Jesus and the Father
- Illustr: maybe you didn¡¦t realise this- and maybe you and the Spirit have been at crossed-purposes a bit! Focussing on Him all the time (with good intentions)- whereas HE wants you to be lost in wonder, love and praise of the F & S, Jesus
Friends- we need the Spirit
- YOU need the Spirit. I need Him
¡K because the only kind of worship that pleases God is in Spirit & truth
- we need THAT kind of worship!
- It can be tongues of many kinds: old songs, new prayers, falling over, quiet, ecstatic
¡K but THIS kind of worship is so attractive!
- look at the crowd that gathered (as I have said: get the cloud you get the crowd- get the presence, you get the people)
- Illustr: Jesus is the only thing that when you are full and satisfied you want more! Come back for more!
- me after a few Sun pm¡¦s ago. Mon am couldn¡¦t stop praising!
Are you distracted in your worshipping life? Distracted in normal devotions? Distracted in work, by work? Distracted here?
- you need the Spirit!. Pentecost Fire!
The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost. Part of the poem says:
Unless the eye catch fire, God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catch fire, God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catch fire, God will not be named.
Unless the Heart catch fire, God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catch fire, God will not be known.
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