THE WINDOW
Bible Teaching Ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
a fellowship of faith, family & friendships
July 25, 2004
The late Dr. A. W. Tozer, author and pastor, said, "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference." [1]
Pentecost was the event that followed 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus; it was only 10 days after the ascension of Jesus to the Father in Heaven. The disciples did what they were instructed, waited in an upper room for power from on high. That power came in a person – the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.
Once the power came, that small band of people who formed the first church turned the world on its’ ear. Christ is the most controversial figure in history. We keep calendars based upon before and after His time on earth. Wars have been fought in and against His name. Lawsuits, Supreme Courts and politicians try to keep him in, out or off of public property.
Even the first sermon preached was to people who thought the followers of Jesus were drunk. They were drunk, but it was a different kind of Spirit that intoxicated that group.
And so, today we take a look at the church at Pentecost; we note the conditions which characterized their lives, and glean a sense of what we should be about in our lives that the Holy Spirit might be powerful in our midst as well. What was it about that early church that invited God’s Holy Spirit to come in their midst and change the world?
THEY HAD A CONCRETE CONVICTION OF LORDSHIP
1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2Until the day in which he was taken up,
after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
Acts 1:3 (KJV)
One certain conviction shared by those first disciples was that Jesus Christ was the Lord! Now, in our culture we have trouble bowing the knee to anyone, no matter how important or powerful. The disciples had seen enough of the power of God to know better. They were committed.
There is a classic phrase which comes out of American history. During the Civil war it was said that "General Longstreet’s forces are not yet committed to battle,"[2] One reason that many churches are impotent in the war for souls is that we have not yet committed to following as the upper room group. We need a concrete conviction of Jesus’ lordship over our lives, families, personal space and wallets before the Holy Spirit will darken the doorstep!
THEY HAD A LASTING LOYALTY TO LEADERSHIP
In these first two chapters of Acts Peter quickly becomes the leader that Jesus said he would be. There are two recorded messages…one to the disciples, and then his sermon to the lost:
15And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Acts 1:15 (KJV)
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea,
and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: Acts 2:14 (KJV)
Emboldened by the Holy Spirit of God, Peter became a man of God who used the Word of God to do the work of God. Folks, there is always a lot of good-natured kidding that preachers take about sermons – especially the length of the sermon. One publication had the congregation’s remarks to the preacher at the front door:
Oh, Pastor, you always manage to find something to say that fills up all that time.
You know, preacher, if I’d a-known you were goin’ t’ be good this morning I would’a invited my neighbor.
…and my favorite…
Preacher, I don’t care what they say…I like your sermons.
Most of us preachers deserve at least some of those remarks, but we must be careful to understand that our very lifeblood as a church depends upon the reception of, and repetition of that Word of God.
Loyalty to leadership means that they understood Peter was the first to step-out in faith to win souls to the Lord. Their loyalty was expressed in stepping-out right behind him to win souls.
As your pastor I have to make the direct connection. When it comes to the Holy Spirit, and the task of the church, we are no different than that first group. Peter was their pastor, I have that responsibility here. I will be here at 6:45pm this Tuesday night to step-out on outreach visitation to try to win souls…will you be right with me?
THEY HAD AN UNBREAKABLE UNITY OF FELLOWSHIP
There is repetition in the first and second chapters:
14These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Acts 1:14 (KJV)
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord in one place.
Acts 2:1 (KJV)
They were all in one accord. After praying they chose, under the Spirit’s direction, a replacement for Judas. That was their Nominating Committee. They were single-minded when there was a small group like ours; they stayed that way even after the number topped 3000.
That meant two things – the Spirit of God was there, and the people made room for anyone new who came into the family. Now, that can only mean one thing – when God’s people act like the Spirit of God is in them, revival is on the way!
There was PERSONAL REVIVAL
God’s Holy Spirit is the unseen, but center ingredient when it comes to revival. Without Him there is no revival. The Greek word “pneuma” is used interchangeably for wind and spirit. The folks in the upper room needed revival…they had lost Jesus on the cross, found him again after the resurrection, and then lost him in the clouds.
They needed a fresh wind like the bones in Ezekiel’s valley[3] . Do you recall Ezekiel’s vision – God showed him a great valley filled with dry bones, very dry bones! God said to speak to the bones; Ezekiel did, and they came back together. Then God’s Spirit entered them and they walked and spoke! Now, about that time I would have been “out-a-there”! Bones rattling and talking scare me.
But God was showing Ezekiel that His Spirit can bring life where death has reigned. His Spirit can bring renewal and revival to even dead Baptists or Episcopalians. The Spirit of God raises up even a people who have lost hope!
The Spirit of God brings personal revival! And when that happens you can count on…
There was PUBLIC REVIVAL
Miracles were happening in the days following…
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship,
and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. Acts 2:41-43 (KJV)
In all that was happening, the growing group stayed close:
46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Acts 2:46
There is a reason why that was so. It had to do with the uniting force of one central purpose and heart – Jesus! There is a story about a general under the emperor Cyrus. While he was away, his wife was accused of treason and sentenced to die. The general returned before the sentence was carried out. He pleaded with Cyrus to let him die in his wife’s place.
Cyrus was touched. "Love like that must not be spoiled by death," Cyrus said. He pardoned the wife.
And as they left the palace, the husband said, "Did you notice how kindly the king looked at us when he gave you a free pardon?" She said, "No. I had no eyes for the king. I saw only the man who was willing to die for me." [4]
That is our legacy, if we will have it. If we are ready to keep our eyes on Jesus, pattern our lives after Jesus, being ready to give ourselves to this community in the name of Jesus, we will not only stay together, we will become the body of Christ to this community. Let the church say, Amen!
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ENDNOTES
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1] Alan Redpath in "Christian Life" magazine. Christianity Today, Vol. 29, no. 18.
2] Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997)
3] Ezekiel 37
4] Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
