The Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
"The Spirit Within, the Spirit Without"
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. And they were amazed and wondered, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine." But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ’And in the last days it shall 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; yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day. And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’" Acts 2:1-21, RSV.
"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."" John 20:19-23, RSV.
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the risen Christ. Amen
Yes, we are welcomed again to the Pentecost event in the Year 2004!!
"It is a time to open up to the mind-blowing, heart-warming,
life-changing power of God.
The power of God can invade the body, inflate the mind,
swell the soul, lift the Spirit and make us more than we ever imagined.
It’ll make you young when you’re old,
and it’ll make you live even when you die.
The power and presence of the Spirit will disturb, delight,
deliver and lift.
When God sends forth the Spirit,
"the whole face of the earth is renewed."
When God sends forth the Spirit
chaos is changed into creation
the Red Sea opens up to a highway of freedom.
When God sends forth the Spirit:
A young woman says "Yes".
Jesus is born and
life is never the same.
When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen:
barriers are broken,
communities are formed,
opposites are reconciled,
unity is established,
disease is cured,
addiction is broken,
cities are renewed,
races are reconciled,
hope is established,
people are blessed,
and church happens.
Today the Spirit of God is present
and we’re gonna have church.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks ’fees up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up...1
Can you feel the excitement in the air. Today is a festival, today a birth is celebrated, today, the power of God comes to our Spirit, today the Holy Spirit comes to earth.
Today we celebrate Pentecost. It is one of the major festivals of the church year, on the same par with Easter and Christmas. But there are no Christmas trees, no Easter bunnies, no presents, no family gatherings, no hurrying to get things done.
Today is Pentecost and for most people it feels just like any other Sunday.
But it is not just any otter Sunday.
Today is the day that the Spirit which Jesus promised His disciples last Sunday comes to earth. Not just to earth, but to our hearts and souls.
It has been 10 days since the Ascension and the disciples were waiting in the upper room. Can you imagine the conversations which were going on? Some probably wanted to leave, others were going to wait to see what would happen. Some might have doubted anything would happen, others remembering Jesus’ appearance before had the faith to wait.
Then out of the blue with no announcement, no fanfare, no warning, the Holy spirit, the Spirit of Jesus comes into that room. The Spirit came disciples as they were probably going about their daily tasks. Some were praying, some where eating, some were cooking, some were just resting, but it happened.
And what does it do?
Does it hang around the ceiling? Does it sit at the table on the chairs?
No, the Spirit of Jesus comes and combines with our Spirit, with the Spirit of God which is inside of us all. The holy Spirits comes and swells with our Spirit. it mingles with our unique Spirit.
Just imagine, the festival we celebrate today is the fact and the belief that God’s Spirit, comes to each of us and lives inside of us.
Think about this. The Spirit of the Master, the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came and entered the souls of those people on Pentecost and collided with their own spirits. We all have our own spirit within us, it is the spirit in us which drives us, empowers us, embarrasses us, frighten us, causes trouble for us, a spirit which wants only what is good for me, myself and I. We have a spirit which is defiant, which takes pride in itself, which wants to be in control, which wants to be independent, which wants to control the self.
It is the Spirit within us that the Holy Spirit comes to and wants to change.
it is the holy Spirit which comes to our Spirit and brings us the promise of salvation, the promise of forgiveness, the power to reconcile us to the master.
This is no ordinary Sunday. This is the Sunday when we celebrate the changes that can be made in each of us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Remember what we said at the beginning of this sermon.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks ’fees up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
As our text from Acts tells us that once the Spirit descended upon the disciples, they went outside of the upper room and Peter began to preach. He and the other disciples began to speak in languages other than their own. People from all different lands could hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And then Peter made this statement: 21 And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
The Spirit within Peter allowed him to preach and the Spirit without allowed for those to hear his words of good news the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The first words uttered in the first sermon given was about the gospel.
And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. We call upon the name of the Lord each Sunday as we begin our worship, ’In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. amen
We call upon his name and then through the sacrament and the word we receive the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, to mingle with our Spirit today and each day.
And it is that Spirit which mingles with our Spirit which allows us as Paul says to cry out ’Abba Father". It is that spirit that mingles with our Spirit that gives us comfort in the time of sorrow, that gives us courage in the time of suffering, it is that Spirit which mingles with our spirit which gives us hope as we face all the brokenness of life.
A closing story by D. L. Moody says this:
Some old divine has pictured Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost. A man pushed his way through the crowd, and said: "Peter, do you think there is hope for me? I am the man who made that crown of thorns and placed them upon Christ’s brow; do you think he will save me?"
"Yes," said Peter," ’whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall b e saved.’ You are a ’whosoever’; if you call he will hear your cry. He will answer your prayer and save you." The man might have cried then and there, and the Lord saved him.
Another man pushed his way up and said to Peter, "I’m the man who took that reed out of his hand, and drove it down upon that cruel crown of thorns, sending it into his brow: Do you think he will save me?"
"Yes," said Peter, ’’he told us to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and he did not mean you to be left out; salvation is for you. He did not come to condemn men; he came to get his arm under the vilest sinner and lift him up toward heaven."
Another man, elbowing his way through the crowd, pushed up to Peter and said, "I am the Roman soldier who took the spear and drove it to his heart, when there came out blood and water; do you think there is hope for me?"
"Yes," said Peter, "there’s a nearer way of reaching his heart than that: ’Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ " And the Roman soldier might have cried then and there, and might have obtained forgiveness and salvation.
If the Lord heard the cry of those Jerusalem sinners whose hands were dripping with the blood of the Son of God -- if he heard their cry and saved them, do you think he will hear your cry and save you?
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks ’fees up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
barriers are broken,
communities are formed,
opposites are reconciled,
unity is established,
disease is cured,
addiction is broken,
cities are renewed,
races are reconciled,
hope is established,
people are blessed,
and church happens.
Hallelujah come Holy Spirit, come.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale May 9, 2005
1Rick Kirchoff, Germantown United Methodist Church, Opening remarks to the Memphis Annual Conference
