WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.940 Let's pray. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:11.160 Holy Spirit, thank you that you've already been talking to each of us as we've sung, as we've prayed, as we've interacted with one another this morning. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:12.000 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.439 Chatting to him, and he started sharing some of his struggles, his life kind of catching up with him. 00:00:37.179 --> 00:00:40.519 And midway through the conversation, he discovers I'm a vicar. 00:00:41.140 --> 00:00:44.380 Now, I've never seen the man's face look so shocked and surprised. 00:00:44.460 --> 00:00:51.179 And I don't know what his concept or experience, prior experience of a vicar was, but I wasn't that. 00:00:52.659 --> 00:00:59.840 And as he spoke, I could see that his perception, he was like, oh, my perception is changing about what church is like. 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:06.319 And so I asked him whether faith was part of his life. 00:01:06.700 --> 00:01:12.640 Now, if you listened to me a couple of weeks ago, you'll note that that is an improvement on some of my faith sharing that I've done before. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.280 I managed to ask a good question. 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:20.000 And indeed, he did squirm a bit, but the conversation got deeper. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:28.060 And I was able to share something of the hope that he could have in Jesus for his situation and for his life. 00:01:28.060 --> 00:01:32.540 And he seemed to receive that well, if still slightly surprised. 00:01:32.540 --> 00:01:48.520 But it struck me, as I reflected on that conversation, that there are many people out there, and perhaps in here, that a connection with God is hindered because of the packaging. 00:01:48.519 --> 00:02:02.920 The practices and traditions that have grown up around the Christian faith, rather than being sometimes windows onto God, they can be more like a concrete container. 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:08.060 Seemingly impenetrable, baffling, off-putting. 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:17.759 And I'm afraid we Anglicans and Methodists have been experts in this, especially when you mix it up with colonialism. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:25.280 We've transformed our norms, our ways of doing things, and forced them onto other cultures. 00:02:26.019 --> 00:02:32.639 And so there is often a disconnection and a distortion in the representation of God. 00:02:32.780 --> 00:02:35.239 There's barriers that we have put up. 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:43.439 Now, perhaps this feels familiar to you at some point in your life, or you've got friends or family who you know that to be true. 00:02:44.200 --> 00:02:48.580 There are these barriers to God that you know aren't really God. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:57.060 It may be that there are Christians that you or they have met, clergy that they have met, that have put them off, put you off, 00:02:57.060 --> 00:03:04.860 and they've given an unattractive, an unauthentic picture of what God and what faith is like. 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:12.319 Or it may be, a little bit like the chap I was talking to, that perhaps because of the things that have happened to you, 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:16.640 maybe some of the choices you've made, maybe the things that have just happened to you and aren't even your fault, 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:21.039 you're left thinking, well, God, God can't be for me. 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:26.479 God remains distant, confusing, irrelevant. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:35.479 Well, if that is you, or thinking of friends and family, perhaps you're listening to this later, 00:03:37.019 --> 00:03:39.780 Pentecost is great news for you. 00:03:40.500 --> 00:03:44.019 Pentecost, the message of Pentecost is good news. 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:50.239 And to help me explain why it's such good news, we're going to do something slightly interesting. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:55.439 We're going to go back in the Bible to give a little bit of context, if you like, 00:03:55.719 --> 00:04:02.780 paint out the sort of bad news first before we can find out why Pentecost is such good news. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:10.140 And we're going to go back, all the way back to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 11. 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:18.259 Now, at this point in the history as the Bible portrays it, the world speaks only one language. 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:30.039 And this group of people get together, they find a plane, and they say, let's bake bricks together, and let's build a city. 00:04:30.659 --> 00:04:38.120 And in that city, we'll build a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we can make a name for ourselves. 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:47.379 Now, across the ancient Near East, archaeologists will tell you, there are these towers within cities, ancient cities, called ziggurats. 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:51.360 And they literally are shaped as if they have steps to heaven. 00:04:51.699 --> 00:04:57.660 So people can climb up, they can make their sacrifices at the top as they reach for their gods. 00:04:57.660 --> 00:05:09.860 And we're told in Genesis 11 that as God sees this happening, this endeavour, he puts a stop to it. 00:05:10.460 --> 00:05:15.920 And he does so by confusing their languages and scattering them. 00:05:17.140 --> 00:05:20.440 Now, you might think, why did God do that? That's very divisive. 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:30.319 Well, it's because Babel, as it's come to know, the Tower of Babel, is a working illustration of human pride. 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:33.220 Let's make a name for ourselves. 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:36.019 Let's reach the heavens. 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:46.240 And Genesis 11 is just another step in a downward spiral from when humans began thinking like that for themselves in the Garden of Eden. 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:48.800 Let's do this the way I want to do it. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:50.379 Let's ignore what God says. 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:53.300 Let's do things my way. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:06:03.780 And as many of you will know, that meant banishment from the garden that God had created for humanity to work and to enjoy fellowship with him. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:08.300 And as you go through those early chapters of Genesis, as I say, it's this downward spiral. 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:16.020 As people rebel, as people ignore further and further, the world gets more violent and there's increasing distrust. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:22.160 And it heads almost backwards from creation where you had order being made out of chaos. 00:06:22.280 --> 00:06:24.740 It starts going more chaotic again. 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:30.560 Because humans are putting themselves in the place of God. 00:06:33.960 --> 00:06:36.680 Religion is actually not that different. 00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.939 If we do this, we feel we'll get closer to God. 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:43.540 If we perform well, we will reach heaven. 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:47.400 If I pray more, I surely will earn the respect of heaven. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:49.900 If I do good things, I will receive the smile of God. 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:50.340 Surely. 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:57.939 If you peel it back amongst often quite a lot of goodwill and sometimes unintention, 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:01.980 at its heart, that attitude has pride. 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:09.340 And it's a human endeavor to work our way up those steps to God. 00:07:10.860 --> 00:07:18.740 And so it's no wonder we have so many religions because, in some sense, God has had to scatter such willful human instincts. 00:07:18.740 --> 00:07:23.079 There is, and it continues to be, as we well know, a confusion of languages. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.540 Not just, you know, that we need a different phrasebook everywhere we go, 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:32.840 but actually, as we know, there are ethnic and cultural tensions, conflicts. 00:07:32.980 --> 00:07:37.280 We've already been praying around some of those big ones in our world today. 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.000 Nations are at odds with one another. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:42.279 Ethnicity is divided. 00:07:43.740 --> 00:07:53.600 And so now our world is full of Babel-like organizations and institutions and nations and lives. 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:55.420 Because let's get personal now. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:01.680 How much effort do we put into our lives to bolstering our reputations? 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:06.160 You know, whether it's through the career that we build up for ourselves, 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:12.140 even through family, which is a good thing, but we can really try and make it something that God didn't intend it to be. 00:08:12.200 --> 00:08:15.000 Come, let us build. Let's elevate ourselves. 00:08:15.960 --> 00:08:19.940 That is the human heart of pride speaking. 00:08:23.840 --> 00:08:27.700 But at the very next chapter, as Genesis 11 moves to 12, 00:08:28.140 --> 00:08:32.320 we see that God is beginning to plant a seed, 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:37.640 a seed of a kingdom that is going to put things right. 00:08:38.740 --> 00:08:40.840 I'm not going to try and run through the whole Bible, 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:42.920 but I'll just give a little bit of a taste. 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:45.740 We get Abraham being called. 00:08:46.520 --> 00:08:50.000 We get the people of Israel becoming formed and established. 00:08:51.060 --> 00:08:54.020 We eventually see them move into the promised land, 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.080 and the city of Jerusalem comes to being. 00:08:56.180 --> 00:08:58.500 And at the heart of Jerusalem is the temple, 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:02.000 the place where God promises to dwell with his people. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:05.379 And as we read through the Old Testament, 00:09:05.580 --> 00:09:08.720 we see that actually Israel is supposed to model to the world 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:14.360 what it looks like for the true God to come and be among his people. 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:19.440 On God's terms, not on humanity's terms. 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:26.660 And I'm telling you all this because wind forward several thousand years later 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:31.699 to the event that our reading was about today. 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:36.399 We find that the Jewish people are gathering in Jerusalem 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:39.899 for the festival of Shavuot or Pentecost. 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.039 And that's 40 days after the festival of Passover. 00:09:45.439 --> 00:09:47.059 It's about 30 AD. 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:52.679 And at this stage, the people of Israel are, as we heard, 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:54.559 scattered across the known world. 00:09:55.359 --> 00:09:59.459 They are living in various countries and regions. 00:10:00.059 --> 00:10:01.779 They're living in different cultures. 00:10:02.199 --> 00:10:03.619 They're speaking different languages. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:06.659 But this major festival, 00:10:07.459 --> 00:10:10.399 many of them returned to Jerusalem to celebrate. 00:10:10.919 --> 00:10:11.979 There were two things they celebrated, 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:13.059 that Shavuot or Pentecost. 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:13.739 Pentecost. 00:10:14.099 --> 00:10:16.179 It was the first of the wheat harvest, 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.279 a celebration, a bringing in of the harvest. 00:10:19.719 --> 00:10:23.359 And also it celebrated the giving of the law at Mount Sinai 00:10:23.359 --> 00:10:26.039 when Moses received the Ten Commandments, etc. 00:10:26.239 --> 00:10:29.599 So people come back to Jerusalem for this occasion. 00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:31.319 And there's no coincidence. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:37.619 Why is this occasion that the Lord chooses to pour out his spirit? 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:40.939 Because, of course, let's just backtrack 40 days before, 00:10:40.940 --> 00:10:42.140 at that Passover, 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:47.740 Jesus came to be the sort of, 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.300 to culminate the model of what it was like 00:10:51.300 --> 00:10:53.540 for God to dwell with his people, 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.000 to embody what it was, 00:10:57.100 --> 00:10:58.700 for God to come in his own terms, 00:10:59.060 --> 00:11:00.160 to dwell with his people, 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:02.480 and to live among them. 00:11:03.420 --> 00:11:05.340 And he lived, 00:11:06.540 --> 00:11:07.620 he died, 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:09.320 he rose again, 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:11.920 and before he ascended to heaven, 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:12.760 what did he do? 00:11:12.820 --> 00:11:13.800 We did this a couple of weeks ago. 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:15.700 He gathered 11 of his disciples 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:17.080 and said, 00:11:17.260 --> 00:11:17.520 wait, 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:20.160 until helper comes, 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:21.620 to the one I send. 00:11:22.520 --> 00:11:23.620 And so here we are, 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:25.320 with that handful of followers, 00:11:25.580 --> 00:11:26.720 maybe others, I expect, 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:30.300 gathered with their fellow Jews in Jerusalem, 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:31.440 but they are in a home. 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:32.379 They're waiting, 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:34.120 in a house, 00:11:35.380 --> 00:11:35.720 together. 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:35.779 together. 00:11:37.779 --> 00:11:39.100 And suddenly, 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.100 a sound, 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:44.399 like the blowing of a violent wind, 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:46.240 came from heaven, 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:48.660 and filled the whole house. 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:51.860 And then, 00:11:52.660 --> 00:11:53.700 what appeared, 00:11:53.940 --> 00:11:56.399 what seemed to be like tongues of fire, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:58.480 separating and coming to rest, 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:00.820 on each of them. 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:04.400 And they were filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:06.720 and began to speak, 00:12:07.060 --> 00:12:07.940 in other tongues, 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:09.820 as that Spirit enabled them. 00:12:12.340 --> 00:12:12.940 Wow. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:15.760 Quite the commotion. 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:17.160 And in fact, 00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:18.440 those around them, 00:12:19.100 --> 00:12:20.160 these scattered Jews, 00:12:20.300 --> 00:12:21.360 now living in different nations, 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:21.840 they come, 00:12:21.900 --> 00:12:23.080 and they begin to hear, 00:12:23.260 --> 00:12:25.480 their own languages being spoken. 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:27.500 And they hear, 00:12:27.639 --> 00:12:28.779 each of those people, 00:12:28.920 --> 00:12:29.139 they're all, 00:12:29.379 --> 00:12:30.379 a lot of them are from Galilee. 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:31.399 What are these Galileans doing? 00:12:31.420 --> 00:12:32.580 And they're speaking my language. 00:12:32.779 --> 00:12:33.139 Wow. 00:12:33.659 --> 00:12:34.500 And they hear them, 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:36.200 declaring the wonders of God, 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:38.060 in their own tongues. 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:39.840 Amazed, 00:12:40.139 --> 00:12:40.940 and perplexed, 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:41.420 we're told, 00:12:41.920 --> 00:12:42.879 they ask one another, 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:44.539 what does this mean? 00:12:45.420 --> 00:12:46.259 Great question. 00:12:46.420 --> 00:12:47.240 What does it mean? 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:49.360 But I wonder, 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:50.600 having explored, 00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:52.860 that story of the Tower of Babel, 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:54.080 we might be in a good position, 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:55.180 to see a little bit, 00:12:55.420 --> 00:12:56.600 about what it means. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:12:59.480 So Pentecost, 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:01.139 which we now, 00:13:01.680 --> 00:13:02.780 celebrate annually, 00:13:03.160 --> 00:13:04.320 of this pouring out the Spirit, 00:13:04.420 --> 00:13:05.960 amongst these early followers of Jesus, 00:13:06.800 --> 00:13:08.280 Pentecost is often described, 00:13:08.280 --> 00:13:09.740 as the reversal, 00:13:10.300 --> 00:13:11.060 of Babel. 00:13:12.560 --> 00:13:14.300 So instead of humans, 00:13:14.420 --> 00:13:15.700 making their way up to heaven, 00:13:16.420 --> 00:13:17.000 the Spirit, 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:18.280 comes down. 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:20.620 Humans become, 00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:21.540 rather than, 00:13:22.040 --> 00:13:23.180 fragmented and scattered, 00:13:23.179 --> 00:13:24.599 they become united, 00:13:24.599 --> 00:13:26.839 by the Spirit of God. 00:13:28.919 --> 00:13:30.539 And it puts the end, 00:13:31.019 --> 00:13:32.559 of this downward spiral, 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:33.339 into chaos, 00:13:33.359 --> 00:13:34.659 made by human pride. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:36.979 And not that it's a sort of, 00:13:37.339 --> 00:13:38.439 return to the Garden, 00:13:38.519 --> 00:13:39.000 and Eden, 00:13:39.599 --> 00:13:40.159 but actually, 00:13:40.819 --> 00:13:42.239 it starts a new thing, 00:13:42.599 --> 00:13:43.639 in that it makes us, 00:13:44.239 --> 00:13:44.779 gives us, 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.359 the helper we need, 00:13:46.739 --> 00:13:47.979 to move towards, 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:49.659 the Garden City. 00:13:49.659 --> 00:13:51.819 And I say that, 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:52.679 quite pointedly, 00:13:52.740 --> 00:13:53.839 because if you read, 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:54.759 the last book of the Bible, 00:13:54.839 --> 00:13:55.139 I told you, 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:56.199 we're getting all over the place today, 00:13:56.259 --> 00:13:57.419 in the last book of Revelation, 00:13:58.299 --> 00:13:59.679 where he describes, 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:00.759 well first of all, 00:14:00.839 --> 00:14:01.980 countless tribes, 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:03.319 of every tongue, 00:14:03.439 --> 00:14:03.639 tribe, 00:14:03.699 --> 00:14:04.079 and nation, 00:14:04.319 --> 00:14:04.679 gathering, 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:06.159 to worship God. 00:14:06.319 --> 00:14:07.439 And it also describes, 00:14:07.579 --> 00:14:08.779 this new Jerusalem, 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:09.919 coming, 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.299 from heaven, 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:11.980 to unite, 00:14:12.459 --> 00:14:13.199 with earth. 00:14:13.820 --> 00:14:15.520 And in this city, 00:14:15.920 --> 00:14:17.660 are these living waters flowing, 00:14:18.020 --> 00:14:19.620 there are trees of life growing, 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:20.560 which are for the healing, 00:14:20.560 --> 00:14:21.280 of the nations. 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:22.620 And we have this, 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:23.379 what we call it, 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:24.500 a garden city, 00:14:24.900 --> 00:14:26.240 being described. 00:14:27.020 --> 00:14:27.700 So it's like, 00:14:27.800 --> 00:14:28.600 the Garden of Eden, 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:29.780 but with, 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:30.700 a community, 00:14:30.840 --> 00:14:31.560 and a civilization, 00:14:32.200 --> 00:14:33.840 as God intended it to be. 00:14:34.440 --> 00:14:35.780 That is our, 00:14:35.900 --> 00:14:36.980 ultimate hope, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:37.540 and our sort of, 00:14:37.540 --> 00:14:38.600 destination folks. 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:41.020 And so, 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:41.700 it's not like, 00:14:41.920 --> 00:14:42.759 the spirit comes, 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:43.340 and suddenly, 00:14:43.439 --> 00:14:44.279 everyone starts speaking, 00:14:44.439 --> 00:14:45.580 one language. 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:46.559 Do you notice, 00:14:46.659 --> 00:14:47.240 that doesn't happen. 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:48.840 It's not uniformity, 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:50.819 it becomes unity, 00:14:50.819 --> 00:14:51.779 in diversity. 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:53.840 It's better, 00:14:54.039 --> 00:14:54.899 than it was before. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:57.419 So Babel, 00:14:57.419 --> 00:14:58.740 isn't so much reversed, 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:01.000 as it's redeemed. 00:15:02.279 --> 00:15:03.480 And that's what God does, 00:15:03.539 --> 00:15:03.860 isn't it? 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:04.980 He redeems stuff, 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:06.259 even the broken stuff, 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:07.439 even the scattered, 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:09.179 messy stuff, 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:10.620 he redeems it, 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:11.460 for his glory. 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:12.740 And we know, 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:13.240 he does that, 00:15:13.300 --> 00:15:14.200 because that's what he did, 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:14.639 with Jesus. 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:17.019 Because when Jesus died, 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:18.060 and he conquered, 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:19.900 the powers of evil, 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:20.740 he defeated, 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:21.840 the grip of sin, 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:23.019 in our world, 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:23.879 and in our lives. 00:15:24.360 --> 00:15:25.460 He didn't just sort of, 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:26.600 make him alive, 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:27.240 again, 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:28.740 in the same way, 00:15:28.780 --> 00:15:29.420 that he was. 00:15:29.680 --> 00:15:31.019 He makes him alive again, 00:15:31.660 --> 00:15:32.820 in the power of the resurrection. 00:15:34.740 --> 00:15:36.139 It's like life plus. 00:15:36.139 --> 00:15:38.220 And so, 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:38.840 even, 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:39.860 as we know, 00:15:39.939 --> 00:15:40.799 the nail marks, 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:41.580 that were used, 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:42.659 to pin him to the cross, 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:43.960 they find their way, 00:15:44.319 --> 00:15:46.199 into this resurrection life. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:48.419 Even the worst of stuff, 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:49.500 is found, 00:15:49.580 --> 00:15:50.620 and it's swept up, 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:51.759 it is redeemed, 00:15:52.299 --> 00:15:53.059 by God, 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:54.659 and used for good, 00:15:54.740 --> 00:15:56.259 in this kingdom, 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:57.819 that God is building. 00:15:57.820 --> 00:16:01.860 And this is such great news. 00:16:02.980 --> 00:16:03.360 Because, 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:04.740 no matter what we've done, 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:06.480 even if we've spent, 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:07.760 our whole lives, 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:09.480 kind of like Babel, 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:11.120 you know, 00:16:11.280 --> 00:16:13.020 building for ourselves, 00:16:13.680 --> 00:16:15.080 a structure, 00:16:15.760 --> 00:16:16.780 to support ourselves, 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:18.200 and to make sure, 00:16:18.300 --> 00:16:19.660 that we are of good repute. 00:16:20.140 --> 00:16:21.320 And even if that tower, 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:22.560 is standing, 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:23.980 whether it's tottering, 00:16:24.160 --> 00:16:25.660 or whether it's completely collapsed, 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:27.360 God can still, 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:28.340 use it. 00:16:28.560 --> 00:16:29.340 He can forgive, 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:30.919 he can rebuild, 00:16:31.379 --> 00:16:32.379 he can redeem. 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.139 Because he wants to dwell with us. 00:16:36.539 --> 00:16:37.840 He wants to be with us. 00:16:40.100 --> 00:16:41.779 And this pouring out of the spirit, 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:42.519 at Pentecost, 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:43.820 God is, 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:45.519 in his story of salvation, 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:46.960 bringing the next stage, 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:47.440 of that, 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:48.519 kind of, 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:50.000 making his home with us, 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:51.240 dwelling with us. 00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:52.240 And as I say, 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:53.460 that is the pattern, 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:55.379 that in the church, 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:56.500 and as we move towards, 00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:57.539 that new creation, 00:16:57.980 --> 00:16:58.879 he's continuing, 00:16:59.200 --> 00:16:59.980 to want to do, 00:17:00.539 --> 00:17:01.460 dwell with us, 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:02.899 make his home with us, 00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:04.359 come amongst us. 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:10.559 So when the spirit comes, 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:11.900 God's people, 00:17:12.299 --> 00:17:13.180 get a sense of being, 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:14.660 both truly at home, 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.900 and truly in heaven. 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:18.500 We feel what it's like, 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:19.980 to be at home, 00:17:19.980 --> 00:17:21.259 and yet also, 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:22.740 in heaven, 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:24.000 where God is. 00:17:25.259 --> 00:17:26.279 And a mark of that, 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:28.120 is that when the spirit of God comes, 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:30.140 people hear the wonders of God, 00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:32.400 in their own language. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:36.220 That, I believe, 00:17:36.700 --> 00:17:38.660 is at the heart of the gift of Pentecost, 00:17:38.759 --> 00:17:39.500 for us today. 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.299 We hear the wonders of God, 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:43.420 in our own language. 00:17:43.420 --> 00:17:46.200 See, 00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:47.460 I've already mentioned, 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:48.480 that, 00:17:48.820 --> 00:17:49.820 for whatever reason, 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:51.000 God may be feeling distant, 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:51.720 to you, 00:17:52.340 --> 00:17:53.320 may be confusing, 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:55.140 may feel like, 00:17:55.500 --> 00:17:56.200 he's irrelevant, 00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:56.860 to you. 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:00.019 But the message of Pentecost, 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:00.460 is, 00:18:00.860 --> 00:18:02.200 that God wants to come down, 00:18:02.340 --> 00:18:02.700 to you, 00:18:02.940 --> 00:18:04.160 to draw near, 00:18:04.660 --> 00:18:06.100 to make himself known, 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:07.480 and to speak, 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:08.480 your language. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:10.660 See, 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:11.800 churchianity, 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:13.240 may or may not be, 00:18:13.240 --> 00:18:13.559 something, 00:18:14.079 --> 00:18:15.399 that you like. 00:18:16.639 --> 00:18:17.559 But God, 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:18.299 really, 00:18:18.819 --> 00:18:19.220 is, 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:19.839 something, 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:20.799 that you will like. 00:18:22.919 --> 00:18:23.819 This packaging, 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:24.599 whatever it is, 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:25.180 that we have, 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:26.359 may or may not help you, 00:18:26.399 --> 00:18:27.379 know what's going on. 00:18:28.639 --> 00:18:30.319 But the promise of Pentecost, 00:18:30.639 --> 00:18:32.059 is that God's Holy Spirit, 00:18:32.180 --> 00:18:33.159 wants to speak to you, 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:33.680 directly, 00:18:34.119 --> 00:18:34.639 in ways, 00:18:34.639 --> 00:18:35.700 that you really, 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:36.539 understand. 00:18:40.419 --> 00:18:41.220 How many of you, 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:42.039 here are familiar, 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:43.000 with this phrase, 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.120 love languages. 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:45.700 Anyone heard about this? 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:45.960 Maybe, 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:46.799 if you're getting married. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:49.660 Just looking at Dan there, 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:50.460 getting married to Emily, 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:50.920 this Friday, 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:51.600 very exciting. 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:53.160 Love language. 00:18:53.360 --> 00:18:54.180 Gary Chapman came up, 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:54.480 with these, 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:55.200 well he didn't come up, 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:55.380 with these, 00:18:55.579 --> 00:18:58.100 he organized them, 00:18:58.200 --> 00:18:59.220 in the 1990s, 00:18:59.240 --> 00:18:59.620 I believe. 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:00.660 And there's this idea, 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:01.640 that we all have, 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:02.799 this kind of five, 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:03.759 main love languages, 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:04.660 that help us, 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:05.640 when we try to relate, 00:19:05.860 --> 00:19:06.640 to one another. 00:19:07.259 --> 00:19:07.839 They are, 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:08.900 words of affirmation, 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:10.580 quality time, 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:12.420 receiving gifts, 00:19:13.280 --> 00:19:14.580 acts of service, 00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:16.620 and physical touch. 00:19:19.180 --> 00:19:21.040 For the past 26 years, 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:22.240 I've been trying to tell Amy, 00:19:22.320 --> 00:19:23.100 that I love her, 00:19:23.320 --> 00:19:24.180 by washing up, 00:19:24.320 --> 00:19:25.220 and vacuuming the floor. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:27.940 That is my language. 00:19:28.540 --> 00:19:29.080 But to Amy, 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:29.580 that's like, 00:19:29.620 --> 00:19:30.700 I might as well be speaking Japanese. 00:19:31.180 --> 00:19:32.040 She gets a sense, 00:19:32.040 --> 00:19:33.120 of kind of what I'm doing, 00:19:33.280 --> 00:19:34.200 but it's not really, 00:19:34.300 --> 00:19:35.160 it's not really, 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:36.060 speaking to her. 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:37.480 If only, 00:19:37.660 --> 00:19:38.180 I would, 00:19:38.860 --> 00:19:39.880 spend a little time, 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:41.140 giving more thoughtful gifts, 00:19:41.560 --> 00:19:42.880 or speak a little bit, 00:19:42.980 --> 00:19:43.880 more affirmingly, 00:19:44.019 --> 00:19:44.820 then there might be, 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:45.340 a bit more, 00:19:45.620 --> 00:19:46.120 there might certainly be, 00:19:46.340 --> 00:19:46.920 less heartache, 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:47.940 and miscommunications, 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:49.900 over the years. 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:51.980 I won't go into any, 00:19:52.040 --> 00:19:52.380 right now. 00:19:54.580 --> 00:19:55.759 God knows, 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:57.680 your love language. 00:19:59.380 --> 00:20:00.380 He knows, 00:20:00.500 --> 00:20:01.460 how you need, 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:02.220 to be communicated. 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:03.100 Not just what, 00:20:03.099 --> 00:20:03.779 but how, 00:20:04.679 --> 00:20:06.039 he needs, 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:06.959 to meet with you. 00:20:07.899 --> 00:20:08.459 He knows, 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:09.500 how to let you know, 00:20:09.619 --> 00:20:10.480 that he is here, 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:11.899 and that he cares. 00:20:13.159 --> 00:20:14.179 So when we invite, 00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:14.899 the Holy Spirit, 00:20:15.219 --> 00:20:15.779 to come, 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:16.539 as we will do, 00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:18.599 when I come to an end here, 00:20:18.939 --> 00:20:19.659 that is what we're, 00:20:19.719 --> 00:20:20.759 inviting him to do. 00:20:21.219 --> 00:20:22.439 To meet with us, 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:23.839 and speak with us, 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:25.819 in our own language. 00:20:27.199 --> 00:20:28.119 Do we need comfort? 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:30.279 He will speak words of comfort. 00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:31.219 Do we need encouragement? 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:32.599 He will encourage. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:34.419 Do we need challenge? 00:20:35.379 --> 00:20:36.299 He will challenge us. 00:20:37.199 --> 00:20:38.559 Is it a quiet whisper, 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:39.199 that we need? 00:20:39.500 --> 00:20:40.899 Or is it a loud shout, 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:42.359 amidst the pain, 00:20:42.419 --> 00:20:43.139 that we're going through? 00:20:44.500 --> 00:20:46.019 Is it the younger part, 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:46.519 of us, 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:47.439 that needs, 00:20:47.439 --> 00:20:48.659 that reassurance? 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.240 Or is it, 00:20:50.399 --> 00:20:51.299 the frail parts, 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:51.759 of us, 00:20:51.899 --> 00:20:53.199 that need confidence? 00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:58.660 God wants to meet us, 00:20:58.660 --> 00:20:59.819 to meet us where we're at. 00:21:00.180 --> 00:21:01.340 And when we allow him, 00:21:01.340 --> 00:21:03.299 to meet us on his terms, 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:05.980 we can stop acting ourselves, 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.259 like concrete containers. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:09.519 And we can find, 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:10.460 that we can become, 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:12.299 vessels of beauty. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:14.100 We can sing, 00:21:14.600 --> 00:21:15.720 the wonders of God, 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:17.960 in tongues that make sense to us, 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:18.500 in a language, 00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:19.519 that makes sense to us, 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:20.619 in our acts of service, 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:23.119 in our time that we spend, 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:23.839 in our ways, 00:21:23.900 --> 00:21:25.000 of pouring ourselves out, 00:21:25.079 --> 00:21:25.940 in different ways. 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:30.420 As I've looked at this, 00:21:30.660 --> 00:21:31.599 I've thought again, 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:32.339 about Pentecost, 00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:33.240 it's realized that, 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:33.720 actually, 00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:34.940 there's a real danger for me, 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:36.299 stepping into a new place, 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:37.220 is that I become, 00:21:37.220 --> 00:21:38.119 overly concerned, 00:21:38.159 --> 00:21:39.259 about my reputation. 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:40.180 Oh, 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:41.220 is this going to be good Simon? 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:42.119 Is this going to make you, 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:43.399 you know, 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:44.659 give you a good repute? 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:45.180 No, 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:45.319 no, 00:21:45.379 --> 00:21:45.619 no. 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:46.759 That, 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:47.960 this speaks completely, 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:50.039 against that kind of attitude. 00:21:51.639 --> 00:21:53.220 I need to open myself, 00:21:53.940 --> 00:21:55.639 to allow the spirit to blow, 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:56.960 where the spirit wants to blow. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:58.599 And as your leader, 00:22:00.019 --> 00:22:01.779 help facilitate that amongst us. 00:22:01.799 --> 00:22:02.680 And it starts with me. 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:05.340 So I'm not going to be, 00:22:05.340 --> 00:22:06.519 so concerned with building, 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:07.820 my reputation here, 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:08.779 in ministry, 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:11.019 but allowing the wonders of God, 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:12.799 to be known amongst us. 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:15.920 And then for all of us, 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:16.320 I wonder, 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:17.480 particularly, 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:18.480 as I've just mentioned, 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:19.600 that as we consider, 00:22:19.720 --> 00:22:20.460 what it might look like, 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:22.140 to be increasingly inspired, 00:22:22.600 --> 00:22:23.900 that is God breathed, 00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:25.820 to allow spiritual renewal, 00:22:26.060 --> 00:22:27.960 to take place amongst us. 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:31.660 Then this really is an invitation, 00:22:31.840 --> 00:22:32.100 isn't it? 00:22:32.099 --> 00:22:33.519 How might we know, 00:22:33.639 --> 00:22:34.539 that this is happening, 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:35.740 amongst us? 00:22:36.439 --> 00:22:36.839 Well, 00:22:36.939 --> 00:22:37.980 our passage tells us, 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:38.899 two things. 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:40.240 If we're, 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:41.139 if the spirit of God, 00:22:41.219 --> 00:22:42.459 is allowed to blow amongst us, 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:43.500 and he does that in different ways, 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:43.939 I'm not saying, 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.179 he's going to necessarily come, 00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:46.419 with tongues of fire. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:47.879 Sometimes it is, 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:49.019 in gentler, 00:22:49.639 --> 00:22:51.039 and more subtle ways. 00:22:51.659 --> 00:22:52.939 How do we know though, 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:55.000 that God is amongst us, 00:22:55.039 --> 00:22:55.459 doing that? 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:56.699 Two things. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:58.599 There is increased curiosity, 00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:02.179 and there is increased ridicule. 00:23:03.299 --> 00:23:03.459 Okay? 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:05.699 Increased curiosity, 00:23:05.919 --> 00:23:06.539 more people, 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:08.219 as they watch your lives, 00:23:08.259 --> 00:23:09.179 and hear you, 00:23:09.939 --> 00:23:11.319 talk about what you love, 00:23:11.679 --> 00:23:12.779 and share what you love, 00:23:12.980 --> 00:23:13.759 they're going to be asking, 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:14.779 what is going on? 00:23:15.819 --> 00:23:16.659 What does this mean? 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:18.000 Brilliant. 00:23:18.459 --> 00:23:19.939 Curiosity will increase, 00:23:19.939 --> 00:23:21.759 when the spirit of God, 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:22.659 is moving amongst us. 00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:23.320 And I believe, 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:24.220 that we will experience, 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:26.420 increased unity in diversity. 00:23:27.640 --> 00:23:28.600 We will expect, 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:29.900 more people from, 00:23:30.180 --> 00:23:31.100 all different backgrounds, 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:32.100 ethnicities, 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:33.480 ages and stages, 00:23:33.680 --> 00:23:34.580 to be amongst us. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:36.060 Completely united, 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:38.300 but able to express themselves, 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:40.100 more freely, 00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:41.380 with who they are. 00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:42.380 I don't want to hear anyone say, 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:43.460 I have to leave part of me, 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.900 behind the door, 00:23:45.540 --> 00:23:46.259 when I walk, 00:23:46.800 --> 00:23:47.820 and worship together. 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:51.060 People will be feeling attracted, 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:52.899 to this heavenly home, 00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:53.740 here on earth. 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:55.980 Where healing begins to flow, 00:23:56.099 --> 00:23:56.720 and barriers, 00:23:57.059 --> 00:23:58.399 begin to be broken down. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:00.440 So there's, 00:24:00.639 --> 00:24:02.000 if we allow the spirit to move, 00:24:02.299 --> 00:24:03.539 there will be increased curiosity, 00:24:03.779 --> 00:24:04.579 but there will also be, 00:24:04.579 --> 00:24:06.619 increased ridicule. 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:08.819 We read, 00:24:08.919 --> 00:24:09.220 don't we, 00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:10.039 that at Pentecost, 00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:10.779 that first Pentecost, 00:24:10.879 --> 00:24:11.819 people made fun of them, 00:24:11.879 --> 00:24:13.379 they thought they'd had too much wine, 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:15.259 even on a Sunday morning. 00:24:15.859 --> 00:24:16.539 I often think about, 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:17.279 as I share communion. 00:24:19.819 --> 00:24:20.980 When the spirit blows, 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.619 there will be some people, 00:24:22.720 --> 00:24:23.480 who think we're crazy. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:25.119 Though it's all a bit, 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:26.119 too heavenly minded. 00:24:29.399 --> 00:24:30.519 A spirit filled church, 00:24:30.579 --> 00:24:31.259 is not perhaps, 00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:31.960 as predictable, 00:24:32.619 --> 00:24:34.000 as a concrete container. 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.519 But it will, 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:38.119 allow us to flow, 00:24:38.240 --> 00:24:38.879 in the spirit. 00:24:39.339 --> 00:24:39.779 And actually, 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:40.819 that will be a sign, 00:24:40.919 --> 00:24:41.440 that a church, 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:42.299 is being filled, 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:42.679 with the spirit. 00:24:42.779 --> 00:24:44.119 And please don't quote me, 00:24:44.220 --> 00:24:45.240 to the bishop on this. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:46.240 But, 00:24:46.399 --> 00:24:47.039 I believe, 00:24:47.200 --> 00:24:48.339 if the more spirit filled, 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:48.779 we are, 00:24:49.339 --> 00:24:50.339 the more like a pub, 00:24:50.539 --> 00:24:51.220 we will become. 00:24:51.899 --> 00:24:52.159 Okay? 00:24:52.439 --> 00:24:53.399 Let me explain what I mean, 00:24:53.639 --> 00:24:54.419 so you don't quote me, 00:24:54.419 --> 00:24:54.980 straight away. 00:24:55.980 --> 00:24:56.679 There will be voices, 00:24:56.859 --> 00:24:57.379 raised, 00:24:57.740 --> 00:24:58.339 in worship. 00:24:59.319 --> 00:24:59.939 There will be sounds, 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:00.619 of laughter, 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:02.119 because of joy. 00:25:02.959 --> 00:25:03.339 There will be, 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:04.759 lowered inhibitions, 00:25:05.199 --> 00:25:06.379 not because of wine, 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:07.959 but because of the security, 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:09.679 we have in Jesus. 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:10.679 I'm not worried, 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:11.579 about our reputations. 00:25:12.679 --> 00:25:13.399 There will be a place, 00:25:13.399 --> 00:25:13.959 of fellowship, 00:25:14.179 --> 00:25:15.159 a place of food, 00:25:15.500 --> 00:25:16.279 a place to talk, 00:25:16.279 --> 00:25:17.279 and share our joys, 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:18.079 and sorrows. 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:20.279 Not increasingly, 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:21.559 controlled by alcohol, 00:25:22.359 --> 00:25:22.740 no, 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:24.139 but controlled, 00:25:24.259 --> 00:25:25.279 by the spirit of God. 00:25:26.299 --> 00:25:26.980 Love this verse, 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:28.180 in Ephesians 5, 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:28.460 says, 00:25:28.579 --> 00:25:29.980 do not get drunk on wine, 00:25:30.359 --> 00:25:31.660 which leads to debauchery. 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:32.740 Instead, 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:33.920 be filled, 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:34.819 with the spirit, 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:36.660 speaking to one another, 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:37.480 with psalms, 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:37.879 hymns, 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:38.420 and songs, 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:39.200 from the spirit. 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:40.220 Sing, 00:25:40.259 --> 00:25:40.799 and make music, 00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:41.740 from your heart, 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:42.299 to the Lord, 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:43.599 always giving thanks, 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:44.299 to God the Father, 00:25:44.399 --> 00:25:45.059 for everything, 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:46.500 in the name, 00:25:46.539 --> 00:25:47.879 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:25:49.679 --> 00:25:50.579 Be filled, 00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:51.240 with the spirit. 00:25:54.679 --> 00:25:55.299 I don't think, 00:25:55.339 --> 00:25:56.099 I need to say any more. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:57.940 I think already, 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:00.279 something of what I've shared, 00:26:00.639 --> 00:26:01.859 has become attractive, 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:02.339 to you. 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:04.019 Maybe that sense, 00:26:04.179 --> 00:26:05.119 of wanting to feel, 00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:06.019 at home. 00:26:07.659 --> 00:26:08.079 That sense, 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:08.440 of being, 00:26:08.779 --> 00:26:09.440 who you are, 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:10.200 in your own skin, 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:10.879 before God. 00:26:10.940 --> 00:26:11.200 And maybe, 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:11.919 there has been, 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:12.980 times of, 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.200 sort of pretense, 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:15.000 masks, 00:26:15.059 --> 00:26:15.700 that we put on, 00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:16.420 before God. 00:26:17.299 --> 00:26:17.960 Because we feel, 00:26:18.059 --> 00:26:18.500 we have to, 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.279 to fit in, 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:19.980 or that's what God, 00:26:19.980 --> 00:26:20.720 expects of us. 00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:21.059 No. 00:26:21.340 --> 00:26:22.600 The message of Pentecost is, 00:26:23.580 --> 00:26:24.460 I'll come to you, 00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:25.120 says God. 00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:26.400 I will pour out, 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:27.319 my spirit on you. 00:26:27.779 --> 00:26:28.660 And whatever mess, 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:29.559 whatever fractures, 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:30.580 and scattering, 00:26:30.700 --> 00:26:31.220 has happened, 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:32.880 I will redeem it, 00:26:33.259 --> 00:26:34.039 and I will make it, 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:34.559 beautiful. 00:26:41.019 --> 00:26:41.420 Come, 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:42.580 Holy Spirit. 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:45.140 Thank you that you are, 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:46.059 already in our midst. 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:49.539 We ask now, 00:26:49.620 --> 00:26:51.160 that you would pour yourself out, 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:56.860 and that you would open us, 00:26:57.200 --> 00:26:58.319 that we would open ourselves, 00:26:58.559 --> 00:27:00.360 to more of you, 00:27:00.860 --> 00:27:01.680 amongst us. 00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:31.660 Thank you.