Pentecost
2003
Power
to the (Flawed) People
Acts
2:29-47
June
01, 2003
Jesus
always keeps his promises. The blind
will receive their sight. The lame
will walk. Those who mourn shall be
comforted. The poor will be provided
for. The proud will be humbled.
The humble will be lifted up. Jesus
always keeps his promises.
Before
he was crucified, Jesus promised his disciples that they would do great things
because the Holy Spirit would be in them (John
Our
story this morning is another example of Jesus keeping his promise.
Once upon a time, on a hilltop far, far away, Jesus told his closest
followers to wait and pray for in a few days God would pour out his Holy Spirit
on them. The Holy Spirit—the very
presence of Jesus himself—would empower them to go to the ends of the earth
teaching and modeling his way of life, God’s Kingdom way.
Today we celebrate the day that the Holy Spirit came upon God’s people.
There
is some debate as to how many followers of Jesus were together when the Holy
Spirit came. Some suggest it was
just the eleven plus the new disciple, Matthias, who replaced Judas.
Others put the number much higher suggesting as many as 200.
Regardless,
the fact is that for several days following Jesus ascent to heaven, a group of
His followers spent day and night together waiting, praying and worshipping God
in anticipation of what the Holy Spirit would do.
Then
it happened: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly
a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole
house where they were sitting. They
saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of
them. All of them were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled
them” (Acts 2:1-4).
This
was quite a scene. I bet it would be
very difficult, if not impossible, to compare anything to what those people
experienced that day: fire, wind, foreign languages all in a miraculous display
of God’s power.
What
came next is as awesome. Then Peter,
one of the followers of Jesus, stood up and preached the gospel to the large
crowd that had gathered to see what this miraculous thing was.
So strange was this that some in the crowd thought the disciples were
drunk! Peter corrected them by
reminding them that what they’ve just witnessed was what God had promised all
along: that he would indeed pour out His Spirit on all people.
Peter
then walked the crowd through the story of Jesus: That He came to earth as God
in the flesh to showed how to live God’s way, died for the sin of the world,
rose to life victorious over death, returned to heaven, then poured out his Holy
Spirit on his followers to continue his work on earth, under his power and for
His glory.
Our
story says that when the people heard what Peter taught and saw the power of
God’s Spirit, they were “cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’
Peter
replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…’” (Acts
Then
look what happens next: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts
By
now you’re no doubt familiar with what happened next: “(Those who were
baptized and became followers of Jesus) devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Everyone marveled at the things God did through his Holy Spirit, the
wonders and miraculous healing. All
the believers were together and had everything in common.
Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
Daily they met together to worship God, enjoying a good standing in the
neighborhood. As they did these
things, God increased his church through them” (Acts
All
Together Now…
This
passage depicts the first community of faith, the New Testament church.
Each time I reflect on this passage of scripture, I seem to come to a new
insight.
As
I reflected this week, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the fact that there’s
a common thread before and after the Holy Spirit came.
Both before and after, the followers of Christ were together.
Before, it was the few closest followers waiting, seeking and praying.
After, it was the birth of church, the community of faith.
Before
the Holy Spirit came, what brought the people together was the common longing
after Jesus’ promise of his holy power. After,
it was the common identity as Christians living together through God’s power
for God’s glory and fame in the world.
What
the text doesn’t really describe, however, is that these people—before and
after the Holy Spirit of Jesus came upon them—were not perfect saints.
They didn’t have it all together. They
were flawed, sinful people who, like anyone living in community, offended one
another, rubbed each other the wrong way, made selfish decisions and got on each
other’s nerves. Before the Holy
Spirit came, they were together praying, worshiping and waiting.
After, they devoted their lives to knowing and serving God together.
What seemed to raise above all the human warts and flaws, what seemed to
distinguish these people, was a hunger to know and obey God and follow
Jesus…together.
Two
years ago, you called me as your pastor. I
wonder how long it took for you to realize I wasn’t the perfect pastor you
thought you called! (For those of
you who still think I am perfect, just tune out for a minute and don’t talk to
anyone after the service!) I know
some here I’ve offended or annoyed. There
are probably more that I don’t know, thanks be to God.
I’ll
let you in on a secret: you’re not the perfect congregation I thought I was
being called to! But here’s the
thing…What endeared you to me two years ago is the same thing that I love
about you today: you love God and desire to know him more.
God put us together because, by gum, I love God and want to know him
more, too! So, because God did this,
bringing us together, one could conclude that he’s got some plans for us!
Over
the last two years, we’ve seen some of God’s plans revealed: deeper worship,
and a deeper knowledge of what it means to be a biblical community, to name just
two.
Over
the next several months there are going to be moments where our hearts are
exposed. Our personal feelings are
going to come out and we’ll grow in our knowledge of one another.
As we begin talking about worship and making plans to renovate the
sanctuary, it will become clear that there are differences of opinion and
preference. We may disagree with and
even offend one another. And the
choice we’ll need to make is what will we be identified by, our flaws, or our
common longing to know and follow God’s purpose?
In
the new church described in Acts 42-47, there are more than ten plural words or
phrases describing their community. Words
like, “together”, “they devoted themselves”, “all the believers”,
“they gave to anyone as he had need”…
This
community of faith was known for their unity.
And their unity came from a common love of the Holy Spirit.
(Just
in case you’re wondering there are examples of bad communities of faith in the
Bible: Corinthians or the churches in
The
point I’m trying to make is this. We
will always have our flaws. There
will never be a day here on this side of heaven when the potential to offend or
hurt one another doesn’t exist. Conflict
will always be a potential hazard inherent in close community—just look at
Jesus’ disciples and the early church leaders.
It’s
not in trying to avoid offense and conflict that will deepen our love for one
another and our obedience to God. Rather
it will be the way in which we handle offense and conflict.
Three
Identifying Marks: Cross, Baptism, Spirit
To
deal well with conflict and differences of opinion means starting by remembering
our identity.
While
Peter preached to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, he was asked by someone in
the crowd, “What shall we do with this news?”
Peter replies, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter
points out the three identifying marks of a follower of Christ: the cross, our
baptism, and the Holy Spirit.
Peter
says repent, or turn from sin, because now we can.
At the cross we’re reminded
that we are sinners but that we no longer are known to God by our sin.
Because
of what Jesus did on the cross, we can be forgiven.
Therefore, since God no longer identifies is by our offenses, neither
should we identify one another by them. The
cross makes level the playing field. I’m
a sinner, yes. But I’m a sinner
saved by the miraculous grace of the cross.
And so are you if you’ve acknowledged a belief in Jesus as savior.
Peter
says, be baptized.
Baptism identifies us with the person of Jesus Christ.
As Jesus was baptized so must we be baptized.
And, like a wedding ring reminds us of our wedding vow, baptism reminds
us of our salvation and adoption into the family of Christ.
Peter
promises the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit sets us apart as ones who are being shaped by God for his
glory and fame in the world. It is
not our culture or our appetites, or selfish desires that shape us, we are being
transformed by the Holy Spirit to live and love differently in the world.
The
Communion Table
This
morning we’re coming to the communion table.
As you prepare to come, consider the cross, consider baptism, consider
the Holy Spirit. Are you known by these?
As
you prepare to come to the communion table, consider your brothers and sisters
in this community of faith. How do
you see them? As sinners,
annoyances, people who’ve offended? Or
do you see them as God does: flawed, yet forgiven?
The
communion table is open to all who believe in the name of Jesus and call him
Lord. This is a sacred act, one that
is vital to the life of the church. Therefore,
if the Holy Spirit has brought to mind things that you need to seek forgiveness
for, please don’t let this time go by without seeking forgiveness.
Perhaps
there is someone here in this room that you need to seek reconciliation with.
Please. Don’t put it off. You
and I are known by the cross of Jesus and because of the cross we need not carry
the burden of being at odds. So
before you come to the table, go and make things right, and then come together
as reconciled brothers and sisters.
Let’s
pray…
Great
and glorious God, we praise you for your grace to us.
We thank you for your forgiveness through the cross, our baptism that
physically marks us as yours, and your Holy Spirit that shapes us into your
people.
Holy
Spirit, do a deep work in our hearts today.
Grant courage where there is fear, healing where there is hurt and
division, and joy where there is sorrow.
(If
you’ve never made the decision to follow Jesus for your life and you feel that
today you have been called to become a follower of Jesus, as our heads are bowed
and eyes closed, would you simply raise your hand so that I can lead you in
prayer…?)
Those
of you who have indicated you’d like to become a follower of Jesus today,
would you pray with me…
Lord
Jesus, though I can’t fully comprehend all you did, and all that your death on
the cross means, I know I’m a sinner and I believe that you died to forgive me
from my sin. Thank you that you know
me not by what I’ve done wrong, but that you know me as forgiven child of
yours. Today it is my desire to commit my life to serving and following you.
I ask that you transform my life by the power of your Holy Spirit, and
help me to grow in my love for you. Thank
you, Jesus, for being my savior. Amen.
As we prepare for communion, I’d invite those serving with me to join me… In the next minute or two, if you’ve been urged by the Holy Spirit to make amends with someone, or ask God’s forgiveness, why not do it now, before you come to the table?
(c) Shaun Dyer
Zion Baptist Church