Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you may have noticed an article in the newspaper a few days ago about a British mountain climber David Sharp who collapsed during his descent from Mount Everest due to lack of oxygen.
Such tragic event in itself is not so unusual. The area above 26,000 feet is referred to as the death zone. Oxygen levels are only a fraction of what they are at sea level, and the temperature drops to a hundred below zero, with gale-force winds. A very harsh environment.
What is so shocking about this story is that around forty other climbers walked right by David Sharp on their way to the summit, ignoring him because they didn’t want to jeopardize their own ascent. Only the team of New Zealanders stopped by David to give him some of their own oxygen, but it was too late. Within a short time, David Sharp was dead.
Sir Edmund Hillary who was on the team that first conquered Mt. Everest in 1953, called the report “horrifying.” He comes from an era where a dying climber would be abandoned only when the rescue threatened other lives.
Times have changed. Climbing Mount Everest has become big business. People are paying tens of thousands of dollars for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure and the Sherpa guides are under tremendous pressure to deliver.
What if you were one of those mountain climbers coming upon David Sharp? Would you stop to help a dying man, or would you go on protecting your investment? Some of the climbers who had passed him by later commented that Sharp appeared unprepared for his solo climb. He had limited supply of oxygen, the wrong kind of gloves – well duh! It was his own fault! I am sure they had even more valid excuses, still – I think we expect a greater degree of compassion from our fellow human beings.
The story sounded pretty outrageous, until I realized that I have been doing the same thing. I have been passing by people who have collapsed due to lack of spiritual oxygen. Neighbors, acquaintances, even relatives whom I left behind gasping for air of forgiveness, acceptance, and hope. “But it’s their own fault!” one might say. I mean, there are plenty of churches in town. And they have nice big signs showing times of services. And don’t most churches advertise in every Friday’s paper? And aren’t there television preachers and Joyce Meyer, too? Bookstores have plenty of Bibles on the shelf. So, what’s the problem? If somebody goes to meet their Maker unprepared, it’s their own fault, right? As for me, I have my supply of oxygen, I am on my way to the top. Good for me. Still, others expect a greater degree of compassion for my fellow human beings.
Well, folks, I will be in your face today, and my own too, because today is Pentecost Sunday, a reminder that Jesus does not want us to pass by anybody, but with the Spirit’s help bring them to the fold.
Pentecost Sunday is a day of celebration for all Christians. This is the birthday of the Christian Church. This is the anniversary of the day in Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon a small groups of disciples who proclaimed the Gospel in languages people could understand and identify with. The result? An explosion of growth. 3,000 new believers were added to the membership roll.
When we read the powerful account of this in the second chapter of Acts, we wish things like that happened in today’s times. Well, they are happening in today’s times! Four weeks ago some of us went to hear Jackson Senyonga, a pastor from Uganda, who shared about the spiritual transformation of his country since the days of Idi Amin’s tyranny. Amazing things are happening in Uganda. Brother Jackson started a church with his wife and a few friends. Two weeks later they had 2,000 people at worship! Each week, he said, they had to push out the walls and extend the building to fit in more people. Now they have 20,000 at worship on any given Sunday and most people walk to church, some four hours.
Pastor Senyonga laughingly said that the church has become so packed that he had to ask people not to tell anyone about Jesus for a while because they have no more room. He said, “For once in your life, keep your faith to yourselves! When you go to church, sneak out of your house so that nobody would see you.”
Now the congregation has just leased the soccer stadium and will be able to accommodate 50,000 worshippers on Sunday. Pentecost is still happening today. It is happening in Uganda and it is happening elsewhere. Why not here in Kingman? Why not here in Kingman? Is the power of prayer effective only in Africa? Of course not! Is the Holy Spirit forbidden to descend upon our town and cause a transformation to take place? No! So, what’s the hold up? Could it be that we are still sitting in the “upper room” behind locked doors? It’s time to hit the streets, folks!
People are dying all around us of spiritual famine. They are gasping for spiritual oxygen. According to the demographics revealed during our Strategic Planning process, only about a third of Mohave County residents identify themselves as Christians. Only a third! Are the field white onto harvest or what?
Two Saturdays before Easter, a group of us went into our neighborhood, knocking on doors inviting people to worship with us on Easter Sunday. We were a small group because the vast majority of Christians would rather have root canal work done than talk to strangers about Jesus. Why? Sure, it is a bit uncomfortable in the beginning. Not knowing what to expect brought certain apprehension of being rejected, scoffed at, maybe even verbally abused. But you know, those fears were unjustified. Just about all people we’ve met were very polite. I have only met couple of grouches, but no one chased me off their property. We also met fellow Christians who encouraged us on. And we met people who were starved of spiritual oxygen, and this time we have not passed them by! And you know something? It felt good. It felt good to answer the command of Christ to be His witnesses. It felt good to be where Jesus wanted us to be – right by His side.
I am not sure if any of those people we talked to actually came and worshiped with us on Easter Sunday. We had over 800 people here that day. Maybe they went to Manzanita Baptist or the Praise Chapel instead. That’s all right. We are all part of the same Kingdom. Or, maybe some of those folks need to be invited again. After all, an oxygen-deprived person needs more than one hit to be revived, right? So, we’re gonna do it again. Only this time we want to invite all of you to have the joy of introducing someone to Jesus.
And I will make it easy for you. You won’t even have to go through the whole neighborhood. You may already be acquainted with some of your immediate neighbors. You already know some friends at work or the wellness center or from school. Or, you may see a U-Haul truck in front of the house on your block that just sold. Go over, introduce yourself as a neighbor and tell them, “We go to Grace Lutheran Church and enjoy it very much. It is a very friendly church. We would like to invite you to worship with us.” And give them one of our information pamphlets (they are in the narthex for you).
A simple, non-threatening statement like that can bring somebody to faith in Jesus.
Now, if you want to evangelize the whole neighborhood, I won’t stop you. But all I am asking you as your pastor, is to bring one more to Jesus. Bring one more to church and you will see another Pentecost experience right here, and we will need to push out the walls to make more room. Is it realistic? Of course it is! Isn’t this what Jesus calls us to do? He is ready to welcome them into His fold. The Holy Spirit is ready to swoop down. Now we need to be ready to set our feet in motion and get them lips moving, Amen?
Sometimes people say, “But I am not trained for evangelism!” Folks, I am not asking you to hold soap box derby with cult members or staunch atheists. Just extend an invitation. “Come worship with us; you will like our church.” And when they come, they will hear the Gospel. The Bible says, Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of Christ. Your invitation will lead people to what they desperately need in their lives – Jesus. For just like no one can reach the top of Mount Everest without a supply of oxygen, they cannot stand before God’s judgement throne without the Savior.
Everybody – every human being, young and old, rich or poor, sophisticated or simple, everybody is searching for three things in life: healing and forgiveness for yesterday, acceptance for today, and hope for tomorrow.
But self-help books can’t provide it; Dr. Phil or other TV gurus can’t provide it, only Jesus can provide it and He does! Healing for yesterday, acceptance for today, and hope for tomorrow.
I don’t care who you are, we all have some skeletons in our closets, things we are ashamed of, things we would like to erase for our memory. Jesus has the power to wipe our slate clean. He suffered and died for everyone of our sins. When we come to Him in faith, He removes our sin-stained rags and places on us the robe of His righteousness, to stand clean and blameless, freed from the shame, guilt, mistakes, and failures of yesterday.
The next thing people are desperately looking for is acceptance. A place to belong. Gangs thrive on that need. Well, I think the church has something better to offer than what gangs have – a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a membership in the family of God, and a sense of something bigger than ourselves. When people come to church, we welcome them and help them to assimilate, to connect with others in our church family. That’s where our small groups ministry comes in. Yes, we are already doing this; we just need to be more intentional about it.
The third basic spiritual need is to have hope for tomorrow. Having been healed and forgiven for our past, having found a place to belong, we want to know we will be alright in the future. This is the living hope that God provides in His faithful and powerful promises. The assurance that our lives are in the palm of His hand, that our place in eternity is secure, and that He is always near us to help. This is where prayer comes in, our lifeline to God, and learning from the Word of our Risen Savior.
This is the spiritual oxygen that every human being so desperately needs to successfully complete the journey of life. Without it, they will collapse. And they are collapsing all around us. You know it. What will you do? Will you pass them by or stop to help? Who will be in heaven because of you?
Bring one more to Jesus within one year. That is the challenge I am placing before all of us on this Pentecost Sunday. One day made the difference in the history of the Christian Church. Let’s see what difference one year makes in the history of our congregation. Between this Pentecost and the next, invite someone to church. Bring one more to Jesus. Amen!
