Reunited In God Series

Reunited in God

Series: ROOTS

Brad Bailey – October 2, 2011

Intro

Begin with video: “Group Rescue of motorcyclist” (Currently on YouTube at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gGphvejKlY)

Following video: Some of you may have seen this event just a couple weeks ago (Monday, Sept. 12, 2011)… 21-year-old Utah State University student Brandon Wright, a motorcycle rider without a helmet, collided with a BMW near campus, and the motorcycle burst into flames alongside the cars engine. The BMW driver quickly escaped from the car, but Wright was trapped under the 4,000-pound sedan. The horrific accident drew an immediate crowd of students and construction workers. The police officer on the scene directed people to do what is normally directed around a car on fire… stay back. But when a woman sees Brandon… the bystanders stop standing by… and they join together. It doesn’t seem possible… but a few more join and with urgency at work… they lift the car and save a life. One of the notable elements of this moment is the diversity of this group of lives. There were campus students and staff… construction workers.. men and women… and even different nations in that moment. For that group included Abbass Sharif - a student from Lebanon…and James Odei, a student from Ghana. And all of this… just one day after the ten year remembrance of the horrific 9/11 events which reflected a world divided. [1]

I believe that what can inspire us in this dramatic moment… is that it reflects something God has set out for us all… to be reunited beyond our differences… by something bigger than ourselves.

Today we are continuing in our series entitled ‘ROOTS’… focused on recapturing the life and work of Jesus in us. We want to hear afresh the real calling that is upon our lives… as individuals and as a community.

Jesus defined his whole and mission in that of ushering in the kingdom of God.

And he called all who would follow to take up nothing less. At the forefront of that preparation, he said that the Spirit is going to come empower them… anoint them for task… as we saw last week…. this was God’s plan from the beginning. His presence and power that once filled the temple would now be poured out into the temples of our lives.

Today he calls us to grasp that with that pouring out of the Spirit upon all… He reuniting the human community in relationship to Himself. [2]

We are hearing again what the day of Pentecost declares to us…

Acts 2:1-8, 12-18

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? …12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

There in the midst arises the question: “What does this mean?”

It means that the manifest presence and power of God is being poured out just as God had planned… reflected in prophecy and signs and wonders… all bringing forth the harvest… the gathering of lives in relationship to God. And that group of lives did indeed go into the world empowered… moving with the wind of God’s Spirit. The Roman Empire… in all it’s power and pride and pagan idolatry… could not stop the world from seeing the life of God in this new community. They were filled with a boldness and power that could not be put out. They also embodied a love for one another that defied the divisions of their time. Something was set forth as they were launched on that Day of Pentecost. On that day, God began reuniting the human community in relationship to Himself.