SPIRIT FILD TXT FRM GOD

A sermon preached by The Rev. Scott D. Nowack on May 27, 2012

at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.

SPIRIT FILD TXT FRM GOD

Acts 2:1-21

            Our spirit filled text from God this morning is from the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 1-21.  This is Luke's narrative on the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church during the Jewish festival of Pentecost.  Pentecost is the 50 days after the Passover and Easter.  In the Jewish tradition, it celebrates the new life the Israelites received through the giving of the Ten Commandments by God through Moses at Mt. Sinai.  It was celebrated each year in Jerusalem.  Jews from far and wide would descend upon Jerusalem for this very loud and large festival.

            And this is where we find Jesus' disciples and many other followers.          

When Peter and the others woke up that morning, I would be willing to wager they did not expect to experience such a life-altering, game-changing, history-making event with flames like tongues of fire over their heads and powerful winds blowing through their house.  Our narrator, Luke, captures our attention and imagination with an array of stunning images that take our breath away.

            Have you ever experienced a moment when you experienced the unexpected?  Perhaps you met up with a friend for dinner only to find all your good friends and family are there with streamers and noisemakers screaming "Surprise!  Happy Birthday".  Or perhaps it was the unexpected death of someone you love and cherish very much, or the discovery of your spouse's infidelity, or witnessing your baby's first steps or receiving an "A+" on an exam you thought you completely failed.  And these unexpected events are ones you never forget, although in some cases you wish you could.
            What happened on Pentecost in that room filled with Jesus' disciples is no ordinary event.  Something special is happening here.  The wind, speech and spirit are signs of new life.  New life is the subject here.  It is the Spirit of God that gives new life; new life that is abrupt, unmerited, and irresistible.  Pentecost is a wondrous explosion of unexpected and unprecedented new life.  In biological terms, it is the moment when the gestation period ceases and the birthing period occurs.  It is both an end and a beginning, the leaving behind of that which is past, the launching forth into that which is only now beginning to take shape.  The Spirit of God is moving us forward into new dimensions of being, whose basic forms are clear, but whose fulfillment has yet to be realized.

            To celebrate and remember Pentecost is to revive and renew our hope for new life: new life for the church, new life for us as individuals within the church and new life through the Spirit of God for all creation.

            The new life we need for the church begins in our time of worship.  Without the Spirit of God, the church ceases to be the church.  And with no church, there is no worship of the Living God.  Without the Spirit of God, the church is like any other institution or organization of kind-hearted, caring people who like to be together and socialize, engage in intellectual discussions, take trips and participate in fun activities, and help people in need.  Do you know any churches like that?

            The worship of God is the central, unifying act of the church and it is the Holy Spirit that makes it happen.  Worship takes center stage in our corporate life.  If worship is just one thing we do of many, then everything becomes mundane, stale and dull.  But if worship is the one central thing we do, with the help of the Spirit of God, everything takes on a holy, eternal significance.  The heart of worship for any church is empowered by the Holy Spirit and it enables the congregation to offer praise and thanksgiving to God.  The rejuvenation of any church can only come from a complete reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit.  No exceptions!

            The new life of the Spirit we need as believers in Jesus Christ within the church comes through obedience to the call God has on each of our lives. 

            Obedience to God does not take away our independence or our freedom.  Independence from God is separation from God.

            Minister and teacher Oswald Chambers describes it like this, "Whenever God touches sin it is independence that is touched, and that awakens resentment in the human heart.  Independence must be blasted clean out, there must be no such thing left, only freedom, which is very different.  Freedom is the ability not to insist on MY rights, but to see that God gets his."  The Bible says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom".  It is the Spirit of God that frees us from ourselves and our own vain ambitions and desires.  Through the Spirit of God we are free to follow the call God has on our lives.  We must not stifle the Spirit...When it moves and stirs in you, be obedient; but do not go beyond, nor add to it, nor take from it.  The new life of the Spirit frees us to obey the call God has on our lives.

            We think we know what is best for us, but only God can see and know that.  We come up with our big plans and goals for our lives: make a lot of money, have a successful career, exercise daily, quit smoking, or drinking or abusing drugs, get married and have 2.6 children or owning your own home.  All these are worthy goals to set and work towards.  But we can't do any of these by ourselves.  We gotta have help!  That help is the Holy Spirit.

            A glove can do all sorts of things—pick up a book, keep a hand warm, wave good-bye, scratch my head and more.  However, this glove can do nothing if I take my hand out of it.  All it does is lie there. I can yell at it, get mad at it, try to teach it lessons, but to no avail. It can do nothing on its own. It could set big, audacious goals for itself, but without my hand inside, the glove is nothing more than ordinary material stitched together in the shape of a glove.  On my own I can do nothing. But with the Spirit of God within me, I can be who God calls me to be and can do what God wants me to do.  

            Remember who after the whole tongues of fire and wind incident speaks to the masses of people gathered outside.  It was Peter.  Simon-Peter: the former fisherman turned disciple who had no idea what was going on when Jesus was alive and three times denies knowing Jesus at all.  And here he is standing before thousands of people from all around the world speaking so that everyone could understand in their own language.  He spoke with a strength he had never seen and a courage he had never known.  With the Spirit of God within him, Peter could be who God was calling him to be and could do what God was calling him to do.   

            The life-giving power and presence of the Spirit is a gift— unsolicited, unexpected, undeserved.  And it's a gift available to everyone. 

            The Spirit of God gives life.  It transforms us into new people, new creations.  The old life is gone, a new life begins.  For Peter and the disciples, it happened in a upper room.  For someone here today, it may take place right here in a pew during worship, or on the drive home today, or working in your yard this afternoon or at your desk Monday morning.  For someone here, it may take place sitting alongside a hospital bed.  For someone here, it may take place at an AA meeting.  For someone here, it may take place at a soup kitchen, the food bank or some other mission project.  For someone here, it may take place at a graduation ceremony.  For someone here, it may take place in a cheap motel room when you realize that your marriage and your children and your reputation are too important to throw away for some illicit affair.  The life-giving power and presence of the Holy Spirit can change lives; transform us into new people, new creations.  The old life is gone, a new life can begin.

            I want to share with you a letter written by a young pastor in Zimbabwe sharing and proclaiming the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in his life.  He was later martyred for his faith.  He writes:

            "I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made—I’m a disciple of his. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

            I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power.

            My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

            I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must keep going until he comes, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until he stops me. And, when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear."

            May the hope of new life given to us by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost two thousand years ago rest upon each of us and dwell within each of us right here, right now.  May you trust this same Spirit to lead you in the way you are called to go, so that when your time has come, God will have no problem recognizing you.  May your banner be clear.