Acts 2:1-21 or
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Romans 8:22-27 or
(Pentecost Sunday)
He was a young Lutheran preacher. Throughout the community he was admired and loved...by both his people and the other people in the community. He began visiting around with the various groups in worship and prayer. While in a Pentecostal meeting he experienced the Holy Spirit. There was a child in his church at the point of death. Members of the family called the preacher and asked him to go to the hospital and pray for the child. He did. The child was miraculously healed. This about blew the young preacher away. Other miraculous happenings occurred in his life. Before long people from though out the community were seeking his prayers. For some reason he began to feel the power was coming from within himself. Thinking himself powerful he began to feel responsible for the lives of the members of his congregation. Then when he discovered he could not eradicate the pain, and sin of everyone he became despondent and depressed. He wound up in a mental institution. This event greatly shaped my thoughts on the Holy Spirit. It was 35 years later that my father shared with me that the man had had previous emotional problems, and the Spirit could not be blamed. However, the harm had been done, and an opinion formed. Couple such stories as this with the emotional fever and noise, plus claims of miracles usually associated with the Holy Spirit, and one can understand why many are Leary of Pentecost, or the Holy Spirit. In fact when the words ... Pentecost, or "Filled with the Spirit" are heard most mainline Christians close their ears, lock their minds, and beat a hasty retreat. They are afraid, or at the least confused. The Institutional Church has aided their apprehension by down playing Pentecost, and the importance of the Holy Spirit.An example exists in our own United Methodist Church ...IE. Pentecost was once celebrated as one of the important seasons of the Church Year. Today one Sunday is given for this celebration.
Strange that Jesus said there was only one unforgivable sin ..."blaspheming the Holy Spirit". Blasphemy is held by many to deny the Spirit the opportunity to work in one's life.
Remember: Without the Holy Spirit we can not believe that Jesus was the Christ. Without the Holy Spirit the church would be without workers, power, or gifts with which to function.The scripture lesson of the morning is the story of this fact of faith. Jesus had taught the disciples for three years. They had spent considerable time with Him. He was crucified, and raised from the dead. After his resurrection the disciples had seen him, talked with him and had eaten with him. Yet, if their actions are any indication they did not realize ...Who Jesus really was. They did not believe Him to be the Christ.
Maybe it was because he was so much like other normal human beings.
Maybe it was due to the fact he never really claimed anything different. The Synoptic Gospels seem to point this way.
For whatever reason up to Pentecost they never believed him to be the Christ.
Then they were overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit ... they believed. It came like a tornado ...the sound of a mighty rushing of wind. It came like static electricity ... flames of fire dancing over their heads. They believed! Peter went into the streets and began to proclaim his new faith, telling the story of Jesus. Others heard and believed and there was great growth in the number of believers.
BELIEVING THAT JESUS WAS THE CHRIST CHANGED THEIR WHOLE LIVES!
N
OW THEY WERE ABLE TO FOLLOW HIM OPENLY DISREGARDING THEIR FEARS.One of the most blessed of experiences in ministry is to have a person who has been in church for years ...served as an officer, came to Sunday School to study the Bible and worship Sunday after Sunday and then one day have a SPIRITUAL AWAKENING and SUDDENLY EVERYTHING TAKES UPON ITSELF A NEW LIFE AND A NEW SIGNIFICANCE.
These people were Christian. However, the new experience opened their ears and eyes of faith. They are now hearing and seeing things differently. What the preacher says ...finally makes sense. The Bible does have something to say. It is important! There's a freshness in this person's out look on life. There's a new love for the church. There's a new commitment to the program of the church. They want everyone to belong to the church.
In my opinion Pentecost was the spiritual awakening for the disciples. In such experiences unusual occurrences are normal. How one explains it depends on their life experience.
About twenty five years ago I went to a Growth Group Experience at Duke Divinity School. It was intense group therapy which lasted for a week. As we sat there talking we became very trustful of each other. A strange feeling of community developed. Most of us let our guards down and feelings we never knew existed began to surface. As we dealt with them strange things happened our lives began to change.
Attitudes which were hidden deep down within my subconscious of which I was not aware came to the surface. I tried to deal with them.
Right behind those discoveries came the most wonderful encounter with God I've ever had. I felt I loved everyone ... everyone loved me. It was a different love than I had ever experienced. It was pure, wholesome and totally non-sensual.
I knew what it was. It had slipped up on me ...IT WAS THE SPIRIT OF GOD. I announced to the group that I had been sanctified. I began to act strangely. I had never been a hugger, but now I could hug others. The leaders took me to Duke Hospital and two Psychologist spent several hours talking with me. They said I was alright. I just needed a good night's rest.
After that experience a great deal of my life went through a period of adjustment.
In this period of wrestling with what I had discovered about myself. I discovered the pull between the unhealthy and healthy expressions of religious experience. It was the pull between tripping out on the light fantastic, and\or allowing the spirit to go through my stuff and heal my inner person.
One was the pull toward fantasy and the other toward total reality.
I remember making the choice for reality. My whole level of self-esteem changed, and the way I viewed life changed. The way I related to people changed, even the way I dressed. From that moment I began to see the positive potential in people, and the churches I served. Potential I had never realized before. The positive world is truly amazing. I could see where God was at work every where and that most people wanted to contribute "who they were" to the church. All I had to do was give them the opportunity. From that moment on I never had a problem finding workers, or leaders in any church I served.
Then I ran head long into the reality of working toward the positive ... success. Was I surprised to learn that many church members do not want people, or the church to grow. They will do almost anything to stop it. This brings up why many churches can not experience the Spirit within them. "They were of one accord". ...so says the scriptures immediately before the Spirit came.
These facts are important to this lesson!
1. They were of one accord ... one
mind
2. The spirit came upon them all in a
like manner.
3. They spoke in a language
intelligible to everyone there.
4. They believed that Jesus was the
Christ.
5. They received courage to be about
the task of building the church.
One of the important ingredients in the Pentecost happening is the opening statement left out of most recent translations ... "They were of the same mind."
The Spirit can not, or will not work in a group that is filled with disagreements, and power struggles.
Many people live in a reasoned, structured world. Some are controlled by a self centeredness. They must control the church as well as everything else around them. Living positive in such a negative environment of self centeredness requires a lot of strength. It is possible only by the constant empowering of the Spirit.
I have seen hundreds of people become positive in their lives empowered by this same Spirit. When it happened in the church there was a surge in membership, attendance and giving. New people were accepted with love. People grew in their love of God, self and others. The Holy Spirit was at work. It expressed itself as a group of wholesome, happy people having a good time. In this environment all of us grew.
I am convinced that when the Holy Spirit works in a church it will grow. I know of no place where this is impossible. However, at the same time I realize that where fear, and defeat reign supreme it will not happen. I do not know why the Holy Spirit overwhelmed the early church and empowered it to act. I do not know why it seems to be unwilling to do so today.
I do know the Holy Spirit has a good gift for everyone of us.
I do know that the Holy Spirit is the missing component in our dying denominations.
I do know that when the Spirit is active health of every nature abounds, and real love permeates the community of faith.
I do know that God through the Spirit wishes for you and me the very best!
How about you? Are you filled with fear and anxiety about life? How about you as a congregation ... are you afraid to allow the Holy Spirit work in our midst? Are you afraid to allow the Spirit to work anew in your midst?
Are you willing for the Spirit to have a say in your life?
This day we celebrate what God did to that little congregation 2,000 years ago. It was no different than any such group today. Somewhere today it might happen again? Maybe today is our day!