Father, we confess that your Church has made texts like this a battleground rather than food,
a place to cast accusations against others rather than a deep truth and a deep mystery to which we should enter into.
We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would do a gentle but powerful work in our midst this morning
and bring this Word from your Word deeply into our lives.
And we give, Father, permission.
In fact, we ask that this Word would not merely enter our lives, but that it would speak to our heart and rule in our heart.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Saviour. Amen.
Please be seated.
Amen.
Thank you.
It's loud and dramatic and creates a fuss and a bother.
And it's like really, really, it's as if like if Hollywood was to do it, there'd be piles of noise and it'd just be very, very, very dramatic.
But the surprising thing is that theologians throughout the centuries have described the Holy Spirit as the shy person of the Trinity.
So for us, it should be a little bit of a shock that the shy person of the Trinity is introduced in such a dramatic fashion.
Each of you probably knows somebody who's quite shy.
So just imagine that you heard that when they, this very, very shy person, you hardly get a word out of them,
that they went to this gathering and they came in in outrageous colors, singing at the top of their lungs and dancing and doing cartwheels.
You'd think, what on earth?
That's just a, that's what happened.
Anyway, so that's what this is.
It's a, it's a remarkable and dramatic miracle that we're going to look at.
In fact, depending how you want to look at it, it's, it's a, it's a, a group of miracles, very dramatic about the shy person of the Trinity and God changing how he deals with humanity.
From that moment to this moment until he comes again.
So let's have a look.
In your Bibles, it's Acts chapter 2.
We're going to be looking at verses 1 to 13.
If you didn't pick up one of these books when you came in, we have these very nice journal Bibles just of the book of Acts.
And if you would like to have one, just ask us.
We'd give it to you for free as a gift.
Allows you to make little notes and everything on one side, your prayers, your observations, maybe your questions.
And so here's how it begins.
Verse 1.
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
Now, I just want to stop here.
Some of you know that I sort of do that.
You know, one of the things I pray for when I'm doing a narrative, especially a narrative like this, is that I would tell the story and that I'd be able to clarify the story and defend the story and connect the story.
But at the end of the day, trust that the one who tells the story, which is God, that he's going to do the work that only he can do.
So just one of the things which is really interesting.
This is on one level.
This story is about this mysterious third person of the Trinity.
And on one level, it's a text that you can meditate upon.
It's a very inward text talking about God's resting in you.
And we're going to sort of open all that up.
But at the same time that it's a miracle, it's also profoundly historical.
So, for instance, when it says here, when the day of Pentecost arrived, it doesn't say once upon a time, when the day of Pentecost arrived.
And Pentecost is sort of how Christians refer to it in the Old Testament.
It's referred to as the Feast of Weeks.
And our Jewish friends would call it Shavuot.
I don't think I pronounced that correctly.
My pardon to my Jewish friends.
Shavuot.
And that's how they would refer to it.
And it's the second of three harvest festivals that happen in the Jewish calendar where you celebrate God's goodness.
But here's the significant thing.
There's so many historical references in this ancient book and in the Gospels, which should really be understood as ancient eyewitness biographies,
that scholars can date when Jesus died on the cross, either one of two dates.
He either died on the 7th of April, the year 30, or the 3rd of April, the year 33 A.D.
And for a variety of reasons, I think the 3rd of April, 33 A.D. is probably the date.
And so what that means is this.
What they're saying is if you go through and you read Luke and you read this and all the different historical references which he has,
it means that on the 3rd of April, 33, Jesus died on the cross.
And on the 5th of April, in the year 33, Jesus rose from the dead.
The grave was empty.
They never found the body.
And at that point in time, he begins to appear alive to show that he's physically, bodily resurrected to a variety of people in a variety of times over 40 days.
And it means that the 14th of May, the year 33, Jesus ascended into heaven.
So that when you're reading the book of Acts, what sort of happens between Acts 1.1 and Acts, you know, about halfway through the book of Acts,
that's taking place between the 5th of April and the 14th of May in the year 33.
And then the text that we looked at last week, that happened sometime between the 15th of May and the 23rd of May in the year 33 A.D.
because on the 24th of May, 33 A.D., this event happened.
That's what Luke is saying.
Luke is saying if you went back in a time machine, if you happen to be a waiter in the house where there's 120 or so people,
you would see these things happen.
If you weren't one of those, but you're outside and you went back in a time machine,
you would see the things which are going to take place in a few moments.
You'd see this.
You'd see it.
So on one hand, it's profoundly historical.
On the other hand, though, of course, it's talking about the very, very deep mysteries of God.
And as we'll see in a moment, the very, very deepest things of the human heart and our very, very deepest needs.
And it's a fourfold miracle.
Let's look at the first aspect of the miracle, verse 2.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind,
and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
So this is a miracle of the ear, of sound.
Now, some of you might, in fact, I was going to mention it.
This is my first Sunday wearing two hearing aids.
And actually, to tell you the truth, it's a little bit disconcerting.
Just because my voice is very loud in my head at the 8 o'clock service,
because my voice is so loud in my head,
I had to ask them just to wave at me if I was speaking too quietly.
But one of the things I discovered three years ago
when I had this rare virus attack my right inner ear
and give me moderate, severe hearing loss,
is that I lost the ability most of the time to identify where a sound was coming from.
So it's very disconcerting.
You're walking along, and you hear somebody, and you keep looking behind you.
And then I realize it's the person in front of me that I'm hearing.
It's very disconcerting.
Anyway, there's over 120 people here,
and most of them don't have severe hearing loss.
So they're able to identify that the sound was coming from up to down,
and the sound is coming from above into the room,
and it's turbulent.
It's noisy.
It's like you're hearing a hurricane.
It's not like a little breeze.
It's a tumultuous, loud, hurricane-like sound which fills the room.
So it's a miracle that the ear can recognize.
And then the next one is for the eye, verse 3.
And divided tongues, as of fire, appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
Now, this is a miracle of the eye.
It's something which they see.
Now, this is a very, very good translation,
but there's something even more profound in the original language.
I know there are many people in the room who speak multiple languages.
I've spoken sometimes in gatherings where I've had to be translated,
and in every one of those, you know, I've been warned,
and you have to try to keep the, you know,
try to have not more than about a dozen words at a time.
Even less is better.
And I try to get into a bit of a rhythm.
You know, you say, da-da-da-da-da-da-da,
and I almost even move my body,
and the next person says, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
And occasionally, if you've ever been in that situation,
I would say, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
I'd say my ten words,
and three paragraphs later, the other person stops speaking.
And it's because, as you know,
sometimes, like, the words in one language
don't fit very, very easily into another.
So when the Bible is translated,
they can't add, at certain times,
three paragraphs when there's six or seven words.
So what's going on in the original language is this,
that there's one fire that comes.
Just one.
So what they're seeing is they see one fire come into the room,
and then out of that one fire,
individual tongues of fire settle and rest on each person.
So in the original text, it's not as if, I don't know,
like Steve gets some blue fire,
and Stella gets some green fire,
and Louise gets yellow fire,
and Victor gets, you know, dark blue fire,
and it looks like we've all gotten different types of Holy Spirit.
No, it's very clear in the original language
that there's just one coming,
and then it divides and separates,
and there's a personal coming of the fire
to rest upon every person in the room.
And that's a miracle of the eye.
But the next miracle is the most significant one
that would make people realize it really is a miracle.
Look what happens in verse 4.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues
as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now, this is a miracle of our inner self.
You might think you had just been,
something was going on,
you hear a weird noise,
and I don't know, it's just a weird noise.
And all of us have maybe seen things
that we know can't,
we just misinterpret it.
I mean, I just,
just the other day,
a fellow that I went to his funeral,
like about six months ago,
for a moment I could have sworn
he was walking across the street.
And I just realized he just looked like him.
And maybe I need glasses,
not for distances.
I use my glasses for reading.
And so maybe you could think that.
But let me tell you,
every single one of you,
if you all of a sudden spoke,
if all of a sudden you started speaking Mongolian,
now that's a miracle.
We're speaking,
not everybody except Steve speaking,
and Anton speaking Russian.
Like, that's a miracle.
And that's something very, very deep
at the level of the mind, the heart,
everything,
that you can all of a sudden
speak another language.
And there's something else
which is in here
which is very, very interesting.
If you notice in verse 4 again,
it says,
as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now, sometimes that can mean
in the original language,
ecstatic speech.
But it's more customary to mean
that this,
it's simple, emphatic speech.
And so what they're getting is
it's not so much that all of a sudden
they're just jumping up and down
and going crazy
and falling all over the place.
Not that there's anything
necessarily wrong with that.
But in this case,
all of a sudden what they're hearing
is simple, clear, emphatic,
declarative, easy-to-understand speech
with a type of power and boldness to it.
And that's the miracle.
We'll get to the fourth aspect
of the miracle later on in the text.
And the Holy Spirit is described
right in these things
in verse 3 and 4
that each individual flame
comes and rests on them
and it's filled.
And the other thing
which is in the original language
and it's only partially there
but it gets teased out
as you read the rest of the book,
that the Holy Spirit
comes upon each one of them
as a permanent possession.
That's why it marks a change
in how God is relating to His people
on His planet, in His creation.
That there's this sense
of it becomes,
the Holy Spirit becomes
a permanent possession.
Up until now,
the Holy Spirit has come upon people
for a moment or a season
but now it comes upon
ordinary people
as a permanent possession.
You see,
what the text is saying
is that
this is all part of God's plan,
that Jesus has sent this,
that
God sends Jesus
to rescue us,
to deliver us
so that our sins
will be forgiven.
And when He dies on the cross
and rises from the dead,
when we put our faith
and trust in Jesus,
our sins are forgiven.
And we are clothed
with the righteousness of Christ,
with all of His goodness
and purity.
We are clothed with that.
And it's not just that,
but we also become
God's children
by adoption and grace
as the Holy Spirit
comes within the believer
and rests or dwells
within ordinary people
like you and me.
And that's what the gospel is.
That's the invitation
to hear what Jesus has done
and what He did it for you.
And we share it
in the hope
that people will hear that
and say,
Lord, take me.
I want to be yours.
There's the news
and there's the hope
that the news
will be responded to
by ordinary people
like you and me.
And there's nobody
so far from God.
There's nobody so broken.
There's that God
will not do it for you.
And there's nobody
so rich and powerful
and successful
that does not need this.
It is a humbling
of us as human beings
to know that this,
what Jesus has done for us
is for us.
And the coming
of the Holy Spirit
is part of that forgiveness
and clothed
with the righteousness
of Christ
and becoming God's child
by adoption and grace.
And the Holy Spirit
comes upon us.
It's for ordinary people
like you and me
when we respond
to the good news.
It's so spectacularly wonderful.
Years ago,
I think it was
in the 1600s,
there was this sort of
odd man named
Blaise Pascal.
He was absolutely brilliant
and people will talk
about how, in a sense,
the beginning of computers
can be traced back to him.
All this brilliance.
But he was also
a very devout Christian.
And he wrote
these little pensées,
these little meditations,
and they didn't realize
he'd been writing them
his whole life
until they died
and they found it hidden.
And they pieced it together
and it's this book
of sayings of his.
And it's very,
very well worth reading.
If you'd like to read
just the part
that's sort of
the most relevant for us,
get Peter Kreeft's version
called
Christianity for Modern Pagans,
which is like,
he gives you the pensée
and he gives you
a little of some comments
to help you to understand.
It's an absolutely
brilliant book.
But one of the things
that Blaise Pascal said,
because he could already
see the cultural despisers
that were very present
in Europe in the 1600s.
And he said that
if you want to share
the gospel with somebody
as an evangelist,
to be an apologist,
there's two types of tasks
that you need
to take upon yourself.
One of them is the fact
that every human being
who's outside of the faith
has reasons
why the Christian faith
cannot possibly be true.
Everybody has them
who's outside of the faith.
And so as an evangelist
or as an apologist,
you need to figure out
how to answer those reasons
why, you know,
Christianity can't be true
because of this.
And so you need
to try to answer it.
But part of his
brilliant insight
was that there's
a deeper issue,
there's a second issue
going on.
And that is,
they don't want it
to be true.
They don't want
the Christian message
to be true.
I mean, that was true
with me before
I became a Christian.
I didn't want it
to be true.
Like, I just did not
want it to be true.
And so Pascal said
then the person
who wants to share
Jesus with others
not only has to think
of ways to answer
the objections
but also to pray
and use the imagination
and creativity
in such a way
that the other person
comes to the point
where they want it
to be true.
That they're not
wanting it to be true
starts to go
that, gosh,
maybe it's true.
God,
like maybe it's
actually true
in a way
that I need
to respond to it.
And that's
the whole thing.
Now, I mention
all of this
because
on one hand,
when we hear
that the Holy Spirit
rests on us
and fills us,
it's touching
on one of the
deepest fears.
I mean,
for those of you
who are outside
the faith
may be watching this,
it's an ongoing
fear for Christians
but it's definitely
for those outside
the faith,
it's a deep fear.
Why?
Because you see,
well, okay,
like I just told you,
give your life to Christ
and the Holy Spirit
rests upon you
and empowers you.
Well, that's sort of cool.
Like, who wouldn't
want to have a superpower?
Who wouldn't want
to have a buddy
with a superpower
that you could just
call them up
and say,
I have this issue?
Who wouldn't want
it that you're driving
and the person's
superpower could move
all the, you know,
the slow drivers
out of the way
so you can get there
on time
or just get you
there on time?
That's sort of cool
to have a superpower.
On the other hand,
many of us,
what we really want
of God is,
whether you're
a follower of Christ
or not,
is that we get
into big trouble
and we'd sort of like
for a moment
for Christ,
for God,
just to come in
and sort it all out,
just to shut this person out,
make this person
realize they're wrong,
you know,
help you get more money
to solve your finances
and we would just like
God to come in
and just fix it,
but if we're honest,
then we'd like him
to go away
so we can get on back
with our life.
Thank you very much.
And,
but the Holy Spirit
is the third person
of the Trinity
and he cannot rest
and fill you
without possessing you.
And that is our deep fear.
The deep longing
of our heart
is to own ourselves.
part of the problem
that we have
in our world
right now
is that love
requires self-surrender
and that's very,
very hard.
And,
you know,
we worship,
in a sense,
I did it my way.
You know,
we worship the idea
of being the captain
of our own soul
and the idea of,
you see,
we talk about
possessing the Holy Spirit,
but really what it,
what happens
is the Holy Spirit
possesses us,
the Holy Spirit
possesses you,
so you can possess
the Holy Spirit
and begin
to possess yourself.
And that's a very,
very deep fear
that we have,
that I am not my own.
Now,
um,
Augustine,
writing around
the year 400,
he has a very helpful line
to help us realize
where this idea
of being possessed
by the Holy Spirit
that makes us worried,
not just possessed
to help us
through this moment
of loneliness,
this trouble
in our life,
but a possession,
an entering in
to make his home
within us
that goes into
all eternity,
that he'll never
let us go
as to why this is good.
Augustine had a very,
very helpful quote.
He said famously
that,
God,
you have made us
for yourself
and our hearts
are restless
till they rest in you.
Others have talked
about how
for we as human beings,
since we were meant
to be connected
to God,
there's actually
a gap within us.
You know,
those of you
who've lost
a loved one
when they die,
it feels as if
there's part of you
that's just,
that's gone.
Those of you
who've experienced
the tragedy
of divorce
where you really
love the other person
you were betrayed,
it's as if you feel
that there's a part of you
that's just been ripped out
and now there's a hole there
and you're not whole.
And Augustine recognizes
that because we've been
created by the triune God
that every,
and we've rebelled
against him
and gone far from him
that every human being
has a part of them
and we try to fill it
with power,
with pride,
with money,
with sex,
with success,
but they never fill
that hole
that only God can fill.
And that's why he said,
Father,
you have made us
for yourself
and our hearts
are restless
until he rests in you.
So if you could put up
the first point,
Claire,
what we see here
in Pentecost
is the Holy Spirit
rests on you
so that your restless heart
can begin to rest
in the one
who made you
for himself.
The Holy Spirit
rests on you
so that your restless heart
can begin to rest
in the one
who made you
for himself.
It's a beginning.
The world,
the flesh,
and the devil
will keep on
getting us distracted
as part of the reason
why we need to gather
and worship
just to remember
these important truths,
to be in God's presence
with others,
to be accepted by others,
to begin to make friends,
to build community,
to make a difference
in the world
and just remind each other,
yeah,
you know,
yeah,
this is what's true.
And
we begin to see this,
that it's not an annihilation,
but it's an answering
of the deepest longing
in our hearts
in a couple of ways
in the rest
of this particular story.
Of course,
it's all the way
through the Bible,
but even within this story,
we begin to see
two particular ways
how what I've just said
is true.
Let's continue
going to verse 5.
Now,
there were dwelling
in Jerusalem Jews,
devout men
from every nation
under heaven,
and at this sound
the multitude
came together
and they were bewildered
because each one
was hearing them
speak in his own language.
Now,
this is just
a very important
small detail
because remember,
Luke is claiming
that this is what
actually happened.
And so,
what he's saying is
because it's one
of the three
major festivals
where Jewish people
would come to Jerusalem,
and they've already
been there
for the first one
which is Passover.
Some have stayed
for the second one
which is now
and then there's
the third one
which is going
to come up.
And so,
the city is crowded
and what they hear
is this profoundly
loud,
destructive,
I mean,
they might worry,
like a hurricane
type noise
and so they gather.
So,
what's not happening,
it's not as if
there's a group
of,
you know,
15 people
in a quiet,
quiet room
and there's a little
bit of incense
and a candle
and maybe
the odd little gong
and everybody's
all meditating
and then,
you know,
after it's all over
they say,
you know,
I just really
had this feeling
as if there was
a noise
and fire
came upon us
and they all said,
oh yeah,
that's what happened.
You know,
I even felt like
I could be,
you know,
speaking other languages,
yeah,
that's what I all
felt like happened.
Well,
nobody saw it,
there's no evidence
for it,
it's just people
all talking like that.
No,
this is part of
the public aspect
of the miracle
that we'll find out
later that over
3,000 people gathered
because the noise
was so loud
and the other thing
about it
is that it helps us
to understand
how
this is all
happening in Jerusalem,
it's happening
50 days,
remember I said
that,
excuse me,
that this is happening
on the 15th,
14th of May,
sorry,
the 24th of May,
33,
and on the 5th
of April,
33,
Jesus rose
from the dead
in Jerusalem
and so,
you know,
nowadays,
there's just
in the paper,
somebody in Oklahoma
got the,
got executed
capital punishment
and it's reported
in the paper
but,
you know,
there's only a couple
of people there
who see it
but when the Romans
crucified people,
they intentionally
did it
in as public
a place as possible
because the terror
and revulsion
was part of the purpose.
The sheer
causing terror
to conquered
populations
into slaves
and low status
individuals
was in fact
not a bug
but a designed
feature
and so,
literally,
thousands of people
saw Jesus die,
literally,
thousands of people
would have known
that the grave
was empty
and,
you know,
this is a challenge
for our skeptical
friends.
Generally speaking,
skeptics don't actually
look at the evidence
for the resurrection.
They just dismiss it
but what else
could account,
we're going to see
in a few moments
that 3,000 people,
over 3,000 people
came to believe
that Jesus died
and rose from the dead.
Like,
what started
the Big Bang?
Right?
It must be true
because I found it
on the internet
when I looked
but according
to the internet,
2.4 billion people
on the planet
call themselves
Christians.
Now,
even if a large number
of those
aren't real Christians,
that's really astounding.
We have this small,
tiny thing
in Jerusalem
of a man
dying on a cross
and then
three days later
we have one woman
say she saw him alive
and then there's more
and then there's thousands
of Christians
and then there's Christians
in Samaria
and then there's Christians
in Asia Minor
and then there's Christians
in Rome
and then there's Christians
in Europe
and then there's Christians
in Africa
and it goes on and on
and on and on
like a Big Bang
that goes from
this one explosion
and what can account
for that
other than
the real resurrection
of Jesus
and the power
of the Holy Spirit?
There is no better
explanation than that.
There is no better
explanation than that.
But what was the small thing
about our hearts
being restless?
Well it's sort of
look at verse 7
it's a small feature
that we might not notice
and they were amazed
and astonished
saying
are not all these
who are speaking
Galileans
and how is it
that we hear
each of us
in our own
native language
and it's going to give
the languages
which I'll read
in a moment.
So here's the thing
what they recognized
so Galileans
by and large
were rural
working class
people
who weren't educated
so when they heard
when the Parthians
and Medes
and all those
were hearing
their local dialects
and local languages
they were hearing
people speak
their language
perfectly
but with a working
class Galilean
accent.
So it would be as if
God gave me
the gift of tongues
to speak French
all of a sudden
and I'm not speaking
Parisian French
maybe I am speaking
Parisian French
but it's very very very
clear that I'm
an Anglophone
I have an Anglophone accent.
So that's one of the things
which is so beautiful
about this
you see as the Holy Spirit
doesn't come
and all of a sudden
try to make these
these Galileans
as if they're very very
well educated
rich
you know Jewish people
who've mastered
these languages
flawlessly
they've mastered
them flawlessly
but they still keep
their working class
sounding accent
when they speak
these languages.
You see the Holy Spirit
when he comes upon us
and fills us
he does not annihilate you
like as I said
the Holy Spirit
possesses us
so that we can possess
the Holy Spirit
and begin to actually
have self-possession
which of course
is one of the great
desires in our age
to have self-possession
we read things
about how to have
self-possession
how to practice
mindfulness
and all sorts of
other types of things
to try to give us
some type of
possession of ourselves
we go to
self-help gurus
who can talk about
how it's really
you know you can control
all sorts of things
but the hardest thing
to control is yourself
the hardest thing to have
is to actually
possess yourself
and that's what
the Holy Spirit does
and it doesn't do it
by annihilating us
but by keeping you
in your individual
in your individuality
and then the second
thing is this
just sort of as we
start to draw to a close
they start to tell
the languages
Parthians and Medes
verse 9
Parthians and Medes
and Elamites
and residents of
Mesopotamia
and just sort of pause
there's the Roman Empire
that goes like this
and then I guess
from your point of view
down here
there's another empire
called the Parthian Empire
basically Iran
and Persia
and so it's the Roman Empire
and this other
neighboring empire
and then the other thing
is that from the point
of view of all these nations
from Jerusalem's point
of view
it's north, south, east
and west
that's sort of how
it's
if you went on the map
and you saw it
that's what they're doing
not in a
you know
like a clock order
but just here
and here
and so
Parthians
verse 9
and Medes
and Elamites
and residents
of Mesopotamia
and Judea
and Cappadocia
and Pontus
and Asia
Phrygia
and Pamphylia
Egypt
and the parts of Libya
belonging to Cyrene
and visitors from Rome
both Jews
and proselytes
Cretans
and Arabians
we hear them telling
in our own tongues
the mighty works
of God
that's what they're hearing
and all were amazed
and perplexed
saying to one another
what does this mean
but others mocking
said they are filled
with new wine
which just goes
to show
by the way
that you can have
the most remarkable event
and the most remarkable
argument
and people can still
be flippant
and it's been that way
for thousands of years
that's sort of
what that means
so what's going on here
is that the wonderful
things of God
well here it is
if you could put up
the final point
that would be very helpful
the Holy Spirit
delivers you
from the crushing
burden
of proud
self-centeredness
to the glorious
liberty and joy
of humbly
praising
the true
and living God
the Holy Spirit
delivers you
from the crushing
burden
of proud
self-centeredness
to the glorious
liberty and joy
of humbly
praising
the true
and living God
see this
our hearts are restless
till they rest in him
and
well
you know
here it is
one of the important
things to learn
in life
and try to figure out
is when you're being
convicted of having
done something wrong
and when the voice
in your head
or the voices around you
are accusatory
voices
accusatory
is different
than being convicted
of doing something wrong
accusatory
is
you know
I'm ugly
I'm never any good
I'm a terrible person
like it
it just
completely
it's like a
a boot
kicking you
and a fist
pushing you down
and it can be hard
sometimes to distinguish them
but there's these
accusatory voices
and some of us
maybe we came here today
experiencing them
some of us
maybe in a long season
of it
all of us have had
at least some seasons
of these accusatory voices
you know
crushing us
and if you've been
in a season
of accusatory voices
or if you've gone
to some counseling
therapy about it
one of the things
that they often try to do
is to try to have you get
you see it's very
self-centered
and what you need
is something
that maybe will
help you to forget
yourself for a bit
and maybe some of us
have experienced this
and maybe it's
you go to a concert
or something
and all of a sudden
the music is just
really glorious
and for a while
you forget about yourself
and you're caught up
in the music
or maybe you go off
into nature
or something
and you realize
for a moment
that just
you've been enjoying
the trees
and the views
and for a brief moment
you've forgotten
about yourself
caught up
outside of yourself
and the accusatory
voices are gone
and you see
one of the things
and a secular counselor
will never tell you this
is that one of the things
that we need
I mean it's very good
of course
to preach to yourself
and say you know
you're loved by God
you're loved by Christ
he's adopted
he'll never let you go
but even more important
is to stop thinking
about yourself
and to praise God
and what we see
in this story
is this profound
self-forgetfulness
where they're caught up
in praising God
the true and living God
and this points
to what the Holy Spirit
is going to do
in our lives
is that not only
do we get comfortable
with the fact
that we really need
to be possessed
by God
and live in Him
and have Him
as our identity
that it's this
profound act of grace
that there's nothing
within us
that He's ever going
to discover
that He didn't already
know when Jesus
died for us
and to begin
to rest in Him
so that our
restless hearts
have rest
and to be taken
out of ourselves
more and more
so that we
not only are able
you see
it's also when you
are able to praise God
and taken out of yourself
that you can also
start to see
the needs of the world
around you
it's a
it seems
counterintuitive
but it's actually
very deeply intuitive
that if you sort of
get yourself out of
navel-gazing all of the time
and praise God
then you actually
also see His world
and you see
everything in the world
that can just
that can be done
to His glory
and honor
and that's this
profound work
of the Holy Spirit
and there's more
I want to say
but I'm going to
stop with that
and there's a
missiological text
which is really there
and it's just so
profoundly
I guess the third
thing about how
He doesn't crush you
to have you
possess you
is the fact that
your heart language
is respected
and that you praise God
in your heart language
it's what should
give us this
impetus
to realize
that what unites us
with other Christians
is our praising
of God
and to seek
to so share
the gospel
with people
and other
of every people
group
because we know
that God
wants people
from every people
group
to praise Him
in their heart
language
let's stand
please stand
just bow our heads
in prayer
Father
later on
in the book
of Acts
you're going to
tell us
that
the early Christians
were learning
to walk
day by day
in the fear
of you
and in the comfort
of the Holy Spirit
trusting you
to do your work
in the world
and use them
and we ask that
for ourselves
Father
if there are any
here or any
watching
who have not yet
given their lives
to Christ
Father we ask
that your Holy Spirit
bring them
to that point
where they call out
to you
that Jesus
would be their Savior
and their Lord
and Father
for us
you know
Jesus is our Savior
and Lord
and you know
how the world
and the flesh
and the devil
are bending ourselves
we're bending ourselves
out of shape
and the world
and the devil
is bending us
out of shape
and the crushing
burden of our pride
and of despair
and you know
Father
those of us
struggling
with shouting
accusation
deep into our hearts
and so Father
we call out to you
and ask Father
that you would
grip us
with this wonderful news
and that your Holy Spirit
Father
would move
in our hearts
so that we might know
that we belong
to you
and that our hearts
might rest in you
and that as our hearts
rest in you
that you will lead us
to this self-effacing
praising of you
and being able
to declare
your wonderful deeds
in the heart language
of all the people
groups in the world
Father
do this wonderful work
within us
and we ask this
in the name of Jesus
your Son
and our Savior
Amen
in the name of Jesus
of God
in the name of Jesus
thank you
and have three
for nosotros
and have
thank you
for their love
and I know
all the time
and the way
Dios
and the you
so I find out
as ours
we ask and
of all the people
to do this
for you
as well
as would
us
before
Gen�