"Pentecost" W/Pastor Paula

At Pentecost in Acts 2, the Spirit of God comes with power, transforming fearful disciples into bold witnesses and forming a new community marked by worship, fellowship, and global mission. Today's powerful message explores how the same Spirit still fills and sends the church today!

Transcript

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So come with me to Jerusalem. So imagine it is Pentecost day, and the streets are just so crowded, overflowing with people from all over the known world back then. Pilgrims coming for this feast, for this celebration, fifty days after the Passover. So imagine with me that it's really busy, even if it's early in the morning. And it's noisy too. And what you're hearing are all different kinds of accents, all different kinds of languages that you're hearing. Because there are different cultures. People coming from the Jewish diaspora from all over, different cultural expressions. You know, it kind of reminds me when I read that part. It reminds me when Grand Rapids has the summer festival and different cultures, and they have their tents with boots and food and singing and all of that. But just imagine all of those cultures on one day, one day gathered together. And there are thousands of people. Thousands of people there from all over the region, all over the known world, thousands of people there from at least sixteen, sixteen nations, if we would count it, represented. He poured out the spirit. God desiring to show his wonders using the disciples to draw others to himself. The disciples were tucked away in a room. And you would think sometimes it's just 11, but it's almost like I read that commentary. It's it's about 120 disciples who were gathered. And we can imagine Peter is there. Peter who had confessed loyalty to Jesus and then denied him three times and then restored in his relationship with Jesus again. He's there, and maybe there's some flashback of shame. Who knows? Thomas is there, and maybe he still has a reputation of being one who's always doubting Jesus, maybe even doubting the promise. Matthew is there, and Matthew, as you know, he's a tax collector who exploited so many of his own people. Whether he still had any trust at all. We can imagine Mary Jesus' mother being there. Men and women, young and old, they're all there gathered, waiting, waiting for the promise. And Pastor Brad read just now in the promise, too, from Acts 1. Wait, wait, wait, for you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be witnesses of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and throughout the whole world. Wait for the promise, wait for the gift. And so they were there waiting. Now we could think that that waiting is this kind of a special holy moment. I imagine that. That they were there quietly in prayer, waiting. But waiting could have been very much as human as we make waiting today. Waiting, yes, some fervently praying, but some may be pacing the floor up and down. Hello? Somebody might be looking through the window. Somebody might have been asking the question. Well, what are we waiting for? I can see Thomas asking that question. What are we waiting for? And somebody saying, Well, I don't know. Or somebody asking is today, today. And somebody replied, Well, we don't know. All Jesus said was, wait, it's a few days. We don't know if it's today. All he said to do was to wait. And that tells us about waiting. Now when God gives us a promise, sometimes we just don't know exactly when he's going to fulfill his promise. We just have to wait in the Lord and trust that he will fulfill his promise. He's that kind of God. He's an on-time God. He's a God who says yes to his promises. He's an unchanging God. So they're waiting, being obedient. And that's another thing with being waiting, with being obedient to for God to fulfill his promise. They were obedient at that time. And God requires obedience in order to fulfill his will, to accomplish his promises. Are we waiting on God? Are we being obedient to his word? When he tells us to go, do we go? When he tells us to stay, do we stay? When he tells us to just simply be in my presence, are you doing this? Are we be obedient to God, following his promptings as he wants to draw others to himself? So they're there waiting, being obedient. He wants to draw people to himself, but looking out really, if we imagine again, there are people from all different nations, and maybe they're perhaps gathered side by side in the temple. They're standing up shoulder to shoulder. But yet, yet, can you imagine the Parthians on one side, the Egyptians on another side, the people from Mesopotamia on another section? All this seemingly coming together, they are physically divided, even mentally divided, because some still held some suspicion against someone who's from a different culture. The cultural differences created this suspicion and the prejudices that they had because some of them were in rivalry against each other. And we read some of that in the history of the of the nations. So all of this is going on, and God wants to draw the people together. No wonder he has to show these great wonders. He wants to bring the nations that weren't even speaking to each other because they couldn't understand each other. He wants them now to become a community that's a spirit-filled, a community of believers. He wants to grow his church. He wants the church to give birth to the church, which will spread out and see so much more disciples coming to faith as they go back out into their homelands. So they were divided mentally, even geographically. And we could think even today that's honestly that's how we are sometimes. Even today. We see neighborhoods divided. We see families divided. And sadly enough, even in some churches, we see division. Sit in the sanctuary and not feel like they belong, or not feel that they've been seen at all. You know, I think of some situations where someone has come in, a stranger perhaps, and we're so much into our circles of friends, so much connected with the people that we know that we miss seeing the stranger who's standing alone. Or we we we have somebody else coming in, a visitor coming in, and we say, Yeah, we're so glad to see you. But that same person is not invited into a real real relationship. And why is that? Because somehow we're living in this society that has that has us living with all these prejudices, which has us making these sort of racial and social profiles of people, that we immediately, when we see people, make some judgments based on appearance, based on language, based on how they speak. And mind you, that the disciples who were gathered there, they were so ordinary people, so much so that they didn't have any polished language. They were not of any great stature. They were people of great means, of great mouth, just ordinary people that God poured out his spirit upon them. What are we doing with the spirit? Power in us to draw others who are different. On Pentecost, the disciples were gathered there. And we read the text suddenly, this mighty, mighty strong wind. Recently we had some strong winds, and I can tell you I had to run down to the basement, and and and that was not perhaps even 80 miles per hour. But I just imagine this strong wind, how startled they would have been. A strong wind. And we read about the wind and the spirit, even in the Old Testament. We know about the wind too, as we read of the Hebrew word ruak, meaning wind. And Jesus talked about the wind. When he spoke to Nicodemus, he said that if you're born again by the wind and by the spirit, the spirit, sorry, the wind moves wherever it pleases. But you're born again by water and by the spirit. He used the wind there. Jesus used that word wind, meaning that it's unpredictable, meaning it's not something that we can control. So the strong wind that had them startled and amazed, could you imagine the strong wind? And then the fire came and landed on them, each tongues of fire. And again, we know the fire connected with the Holy Spirit even back in the Old Testament. Fire for purification. So the Spirit came in a way that they did not expect at all. Unpredictable. Suddenly, all of this happened to them. And by the way, the Holy Spirit is not an it. The Holy Spirit is not religious energy. The Holy Spirit is not emotionalism, is not all that excitement. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God. The very presence of God that came to dwell within the disciples. Within Peter. And not just Peter. Not just the apostles. Not just those who were spiritually confident. Not just those who were there. Hanging out, perhaps. The Holy Spirit presence. Even in those who were former doubters, former failures, even upon the men, even upon the women, the Holy Spirit fell upon each one of them, came to dwell inside each one of them. And something amazing happened, and we'll talk about that just now. But the spirit that came upon them is the same spirit that hovered at the time of Genesis over the earth. It's the same spirit that was there present when the creation happened, when there was beauty, when there was joy. It's the same spirit that was present when the Israelites were moving through the wilderness, a cloud by day, fire by night. It's the same spirit that was present also with David, with with Solomon, with the prophets. It's the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. It's the same spirit that is transformed, transformed Peter, that's transforming us today, that removes from us all the suspicion and prejudice and all the bias and all the hate and all the things that hinder the work from the spirit working through us to bring others to himself. It's the same spirit that dwells in us today, the same spirit that we just sang about, that allowed us to sing, the same spirit that unites us. It's the same spirit that brought you here today. It's the spirit of God. The same spirit is here right now. The miracle was not just that the disciples spoke a different language. The miracle is that the people began to hear God through each other, hear the spirit through each other, hear each other when before they could not even connect, when before they could not even communicate with each other. Now they're listening to each other. And can you imagine the Egyptian man suddenly hearing some Galilean speaking the language of his spirit, seeking, speaking something that speaks of the wonders of God? Could you imagine the woman from Rome, the visitor from Rome, suddenly hearing somebody speaking in in Latin the splendors of God, the greatness of God? Could you imagine what they were hearing? All of a sudden, maybe they say the praises of God. Blessed be the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Blessed be the God, our maker, our creator. Blessed be the God who has redeemed us. Blessed be the God who raised Christ from the dead. Blessed be the God who has separated us from the sinful, from our sins, who has forgiven us, sorry, from our sins. Blessed be the God Almighty, whose love and mercy endures forever. Could you imagine them singing the praises of God, singing hallelujah? Could you imagine even the testimonies that came out of their mouth because they were praising God? Could you imagine that they were saying, God has saved me, God has redeemed me, God has helped me, God has protected me, God has guided me, God has met my needs, God is with me. Can you imagine all the praises of God coming from their mouth? Could you imagine? Could you imagine that they were so amazed? And it wasn't a matter of well, where are you from? It was a matter of what is God doing in our midst. What is this God doing? Do you feel his presence? Do you hear about his glory? The miracle is that they were speaking words that they understood by the Spirit. And perhaps those very words were speaking to their personal lives that brought them into the big divine story of a God who cares, of a God who loves them. It brought a sense of belonging. You know, Paul talks about biblical unity where the divided becomes one. But that biblical unity starts with a sense of belonging. Speaking or dignifying an ethnic identity helps create a sense of belonging. Yes. I'm hearing my language. Yes, I could relate with that person, but more than that, it's more, it's more than the ethnicity. I'm connected to a great God. We're connected to a great God. That He began creating the sense of belonging because they knew about the God of Abraham. They knew about the God of Jacob and Isaac. They knew about God who's the creator of the universe. And they were hearing the praises of this God. But they're also too brought to believe when later Peter stood up and preached a gospel message about Jesus Christ and 3,000 people were saved. The miracle at Pentecost was not just that the language was spoken, it was not just that there was this sense of belonging. It was also, too, that they were brought into community, that they came to understand God, the reality of a God who was speaking through the disciples. I hope I'm making sense. That he was creating, he created a sense of belonging. And then Peter got up and preached the word people believed. Belonging, leading to believing. So same application for us. Are we creating that sense of belonging for people? Are you using whatever, wherever you are, to be influence, to be an influence in the lives of others, regardless of ethnicity, pointing them to Christ. It doesn't have to be any dramatic speaking in tongues, any big alt burst like that that happened. But you know what Pentecost is for us today. Pentecost was when, for example, Christy last week ran and prayed with a man who lost his son. Run and she said, We care, we grieve with you, brother. Pentecost showing the wonders of the kindness of God, the compassion of God, the reality of the God that we served. Pentecost is for the stranger who comes in and somebody goes to him or to her and invites them over and embraces them, brings them into a really authentic relation, getting to know them. That's Pentecost. Doesn't have to be that traumatic wonder. That's a wonder as well, because that stranger who was treated so kindly couldn't possibly leave that dinner or whatever, not thinking that person, that the person the host cared. The Pentecost also is for the immigrant family coming in and they have broken English. But somebody takes the time and has the patience to listen, to get to know their names, to help them to navigate life, and they leave knowing or feeling we belong here. Pentecost is for the teenager, also showing the wonders, teenagers who don't want to be given any lecture, but we're taking our time and sitting with them, walking with them, praying with them, encouraging them and supporting them in the best way we can in the way of the Lord. So that they don't feel like they need to give up on life. Same thing too for the for the recovered addict who quickly thinks that people would judge him or or her and wouldn't feel accepted. But we're showing love, we're showing the grace because we too receive grace, and so they feel that they could be in our midst, Pentecost, showing the wonders of God in different ways, different from the world, different from the world so that people would see really the God that we serve. It's telling somebody or hearing, I love you, I care for you. You forgive me, I forgive you. I'm not gonna criticize you, I'm going to walk with you, I'm gonna help you. I want to learn from you, you learn from me. Let us serve the Lord God together. Pentecost, let's show the wonders of God. God didn't erase ethnicity, not about sameness, it was showing unity in the midst of diversity, and that's what God wants to see today in the church and and Madison South Hill family. I can tell you, from the time I walked through the doors here a couple years ago, I feel so welcome. Thank you, Pastor Brandon, for all of you. The smiles that I get. I stand, I sit sometimes on this side and I look across. I see Esther and she waves, and I see my African sister and her family, and I just see more diversity here. God is doing something, church. I don't know if you see it. God is doing something. But let's be mindful that this unity that Paul talks about, we got to be completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit. He fills us, yes, but he's doing that work to help us to really live out as believers, live out the kingdom life, the life that Christ has called us to live, loving one another, caring for one another. We got to be surrendered to the Holy Spirit as He works in us and through us, in us and through us to bring more into the family of God. That's Pentecost church, allowing God to work in us and through us to show his wonders, to show his glory, so that more and more people will say, Isn't God an awesome God? Isn't he a mighty God? Isn't he a faithful God? Isn't he a true God? Isn't he a God of compassion? Isn't he a God who cares? Isn't he a God who can make a way where there doesn't seem to be any way? Isn't he a God who can settle all discord, who can remove, break down the walls, all the barriers, and help us to be built up as a mighty house of a family of faith for his kingdom and for his glory. Amen.