[0:00] In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The glory of this Sunday, the glory of Pentecost, is not that it is a past event.
[0:22] The glory of Pentecost is that it is an ongoing reality. The same Spirit who descended upon the apostles over 2,000 years ago, is the same Spirit who leads and guides his church today.
[0:45] The same Spirit who brought 3,000 souls to the faith on that first day of Pentecost, is the same Spirit who has brought over a billion more to the faith today.
[1:01] For to deny this is to deny history. To deny this is to deny the existence of every martyr who has laid down his or her life for the faith.
[1:13] Every orphan and widow who has ever benefited from the church's ministry. And every church, hospital, school, food bank, and homeless shelter that has ever been built in Christ's name.
[1:28] Yes, God is still at work in the world. For on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to live and reign in the heart of every believer.
[1:43] And our world, our world has never ever been the same. After all, in the ancient world, who was it who was crying out for justice for the poor and the oppressed?
[2:00] And in the ancient world, who was it who was looking after the orphans and widows in their distress? And in the ancient world, who was it who was encouraging all people to love their enemies and to treat all men with dignity and respect, regardless of their race or social standing, solely because all men were created in the image of God?
[2:29] Who was it who was it who was doing these things? Who was it that was changing the world and for the better? It wasn't the Roman Empire, I can assure you.
[2:43] And it most certainly wasn't any other pagan institution either. No, it was the Christian church.
[2:53] It was the body of Christ. It was the spirit-led believers of every nation, race, tribe, and tongue.
[3:07] Yet people often forget that for the past 2,000 years, practically every positive social reform in the Western world and practically every charitable institution throughout the world all has a Christian origin.
[3:27] For the same spirit of God who hovered over the waters of creation at the beginning is the same spirit of God who descended upon the world on the day of Pentecost and who now leads and guides every baptized believer to bring light to the darkness and order to the chaos.
[3:48] Therefore, we Christians have a job to do. As our Lord Jesus Christ tells us in the Sermon on the Mount, you are the salt of the earth.
[4:04] But if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
[4:15] But you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lampstand and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
[4:32] So let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
[4:44] For that, that is what it truly means to be spirit-led, to follow the example of Christ, regardless of the cost, and to strive to become both salt and light out there in the world.
[5:04] For God, God truly does love the world, which is precisely why the Holy Spirit has come, to transform this world through the actions and deeds of all the faithful of God, starting on the day of Pentecost, and continuing on even today.
[5:32] So let us all strive to follow and obey the Spirit of God in all truth and holiness, which is to say, let us strive to cooperate with God in His grace in order to become both salt and light out there in the world.
[5:52] For both history and Holy Scripture teach us that when the people of God strive to live more and more like the people of God, regardless of the cost, that those blessings of Pentecost upon the world are simply too great to ignore.
[6:16] For our world today is far different than it was before the Holy Spirit descended upon it. So walk in the Spirit. For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
[6:41] All fruits which Christ, our ascended King, wants for this world to enjoy, which again is why the Comforter, that Divine Helper, the Holy Spirit, was sent.
[6:56] For again, the glory of Pentecost is not that it is a past event, but the true glory of Pentecost is that it is ours today.
[7:11] The Spirit has come, and He abides in His church forever. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, of the Holy Ghost.
[7:21] Amen.