WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.740 When my children were very small, they're both grown-up children now, we used to go along to the Pembroke coast, 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:15.000 along that beautiful peninsula, right to the end of that lovely little cathedral city of St. David's. 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:20.019 And because when the children were small, we didn't have a lot of money, and we had a little caravan, 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:26.879 and we used to take it to this site every year where you could just kind of walk down onto the beach. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:32.799 And there were those magnificent views from the top, but the downside of it was the wind. 00:00:33.460 --> 00:00:39.239 Well, my goodness, when that wind came off the sea and you could feel it lift the caravan. 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:44.579 That's quite frightening in the middle of the night to feel the caravan lift and drop, you know, because there's a gale going on. 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:52.280 And an enormous power that, you know, I remember getting up one morning, and every caravan awning had been ripped off was two fields away. 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:55.539 Huge power in the wind. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:01:03.640 It's that sense of power that we sometimes forget when we think about winds. 00:01:04.240 --> 00:01:11.140 Many of you will remember the great gale we had in 1987, you know, the one that came without warning. 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:17.599 And it tore the roof off our garage, and it deposited in the allotments. 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:29.659 You know, that huge sense of power, so powerful that that wind, that storm, ripped the wind meter, the anemometer, off the top of Beachy Head. 00:01:29.659 --> 00:01:34.899 You know, you're talking about wind that bends metal and uproots things. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:42.000 That's the kind of imagery that we're talking about when we talk about the wind at Pentecost. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:44.719 It's a mighty wind that Luke talks about. 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:53.599 And, you know, I make no apology for using again that reading that we heard on Pentecost Sunday, because we're in Pentecost season. 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:59.699 Now, I'm old enough that when I started my ministry, we would have counted the Sundays from Trinity. 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:02.359 You know, so how many am I from Trinity? 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:03.439 How many from Pentecost? 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:09.620 Sometimes we now call it ordinary season, but we know, don't we, there's no ordinary Sunday with God. 00:02:09.959 --> 00:02:13.159 Every Sunday with God is an extraordinary Sunday. 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:22.120 But here we are in this Pentecost season, thinking about the great power that God gives in the life of the church. 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:35.879 And when Luke talks about the experience being not just like wind, but a mighty wind, he's not just saying it was a bit breezy, or it felt a bit drafty. 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:44.240 It's something that will pick you up and shake you about, that great sense of the wind that goes right through you. 00:02:44.579 --> 00:02:47.099 So powerful it is. 00:02:48.799 --> 00:02:52.539 Now, I have to make a confession that I'm awful about holidays. 00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:55.240 I always leave it to the last moment. 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.419 And my wife says to me, have you done anything about the holidays this year? 00:02:58.539 --> 00:03:01.019 And I never have, and it gets later and later. 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:08.300 And one year, I was so bad that I just had to go into the travel agents and said, tell me where I can go. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:10.260 Just book me anywhere. 00:03:11.140 --> 00:03:13.660 And so she said to me, Fuerteventura. 00:03:14.580 --> 00:03:15.640 And I thought, where? 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.420 Now, Fuerteventura is an island in the Canaries. 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:22.900 And I can tell you three things about Fuerteventura. 00:03:22.980 --> 00:03:28.980 It's very, very hot, because the wind comes straight off the Sahara across Fuerteventura. 00:03:28.979 --> 00:03:31.479 Secondly, it's very rugged. 00:03:31.679 --> 00:03:37.699 It's where they tested the Moon Rover vehicles before they sent them into space. 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:46.879 And the third fact, and this is always going to serve you good in the quiz, is that nobody quite knows what the name means. 00:03:46.959 --> 00:03:55.259 Because if you speak a little bit of Spanish, you'll know that Fuerteventura can either mean a mighty wind, because it's so windy, 00:03:55.259 --> 00:03:58.219 but it also in Spanish means a great adventure. 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:03.039 Fuerteventura, a great expedition, great adventure. 00:04:03.479 --> 00:04:08.439 And it just struck me how appropriate, and particularly this morning when we were talking, in fact, 00:04:08.519 --> 00:04:13.579 about the great adventure of walking with God in this season, 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:22.879 that this was such a powerful metaphor for what we so easily underplay and gloss over. 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:32.360 So what was it that the disciples of Jesus were trying to get across when they spoke about the experience of the coming of the Holy Spirit 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:35.080 like wind and like fire? 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:38.180 Because if you look at the Bible, they're not very common images. 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:41.879 Certainly not common images for the Holy Spirit. 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:49.800 More common in the New Testament are those symbols of the dove, that gentle, warm-winged creature 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:56.000 whom we associate with the baptism of Jesus, as we shared at the baptism this morning. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:04.439 The point at which Jesus is affirmed in his walk with God, in his ministry, in his Messiahship. 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:13.759 Just as now, at Pentecost, the apostles are affirmed and empowered to be the new missionary community of the church. 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:21.240 But this imagery is something different, something much closer to images that we find in the Old Testament. 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:26.199 A fire and wind, something very powerful. 00:05:28.779 --> 00:05:32.939 Now, if you imagine what it would have been like in those days to live in a city like Jerusalem. 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:39.660 A very dry city, where the houses would be very close together. 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:44.540 I mean, if you go to somewhere like Morocco or somewhere, and you walk through the narrow alleyways, 00:05:44.920 --> 00:05:47.180 and the houses are made of what's called adobe. 00:05:47.819 --> 00:05:53.540 And it's dried earth mixed with sticks and on a timber frame. 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.439 Now, you imagine what happens if you have a fire somewhere like that. 00:05:57.720 --> 00:05:58.959 That's just terrifying. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:06.459 And when the wind comes and it fans the flames and it draws them through those narrow alleyways, 00:06:06.659 --> 00:06:11.219 that would have been a terrifying experience for people. 00:06:11.939 --> 00:06:19.679 It's more like out-of-control bushfire than a cozy fireside on a winter's night. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:27.100 But, you know, often, so often, we like to keep those biblical images under control. 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:33.340 So that we control them, when the reality is they actually control us. 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:36.079 We don't have the power over them. 00:06:36.340 --> 00:06:39.300 They have the power over us. 00:06:39.300 --> 00:06:43.199 Now, one of the problems today, of course, when you're talking about power, 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:50.720 is the fact that when we use that word, almost always today, we use it in a pejorative sense. 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.560 Unless you're talking about the power of washing power or detergent. 00:06:54.560 --> 00:07:03.160 When people talk about power, they're often talking about something negative, the abuse of power. 00:07:04.540 --> 00:07:10.840 And how power can so easily become a corrupting influence in the lives of people. 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:18.540 You remember that phrase of Lord Acton's, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:26.900 When it's used in a positive sense, so often the word we use today, rather than power, is the word empowerment. 00:07:28.020 --> 00:07:32.420 That's a good example how language changes when we use it. 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:41.200 So at Pentecost, the disciples are empowered by God in the giving of the Holy Spirit. 00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:46.720 Because empowerment is about letting go of power and giving it to someone else. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:52.520 So if I empower you, I let go of the power that I hold and I say, it's yours. 00:07:53.080 --> 00:07:57.180 You take it on. You use it. You be used by it. 00:07:58.440 --> 00:08:04.120 Empowerment is about letting go of power to someone else and trusting them with it. 00:08:04.940 --> 00:08:10.160 It's about recognizing worth and value and potential in people. 00:08:10.640 --> 00:08:15.460 Empowerment is about making people responsible for the world in which they live. 00:08:15.459 --> 00:08:19.739 And the relationships in which they're involved. 00:08:20.479 --> 00:08:22.519 That's what the Magnificat talks about. 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:27.180 When it talks about God lifting up the humble and the meek. 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:30.240 It's talking about how God empowers the poor. 00:08:30.919 --> 00:08:33.120 Empowers the meek. Empowers the weak. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:37.659 Empowerment is about giving the vulnerable and the powerless 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:43.259 what they need to change their lives and the lives of others. 00:08:43.439 --> 00:08:50.159 Now it seems to me that's exactly what the Pentecost story and the Pentecost experience does. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:58.439 It takes a group of frightened followers and it turns them into leaders. 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:05.360 It takes people who were bewildered and disorientated. 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:10.500 And we know that because the New Testament tells us that they were hiding themselves away 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:14.680 in those early days before the Pentecost experience. 00:09:15.180 --> 00:09:18.640 And it gives them a sense of direction and a sense of purpose. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:25.419 And it takes people who have no voice and it gives them the voice to speak out. 00:09:27.100 --> 00:09:32.960 The story of Pentecost is a story that breaks through our security 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:37.360 and what is all too often our complacency. 00:09:38.319 --> 00:09:46.319 And remember that it's a story that takes place in one of the three great festivals of the Jewish year. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:52.620 when Jewish law required the attendance of every male adult Jew at the temple. 00:09:52.760 --> 00:09:57.240 So this isn't something that happens on a quiet weekend in November. 00:09:57.740 --> 00:10:00.300 This happens on a bank holiday 00:10:00.300 --> 00:10:04.980 when the city would have been full of people from all over the known world. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:08.720 You did really well wherever you are with those names. 00:10:09.300 --> 00:10:12.460 You know, lists of names like that are a real pain to get right. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.720 People from all over the known world. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:23.340 When I lived in Cumbria, where Jesus' great commission is to go to the people who are at the very ends of the earth. 00:10:23.640 --> 00:10:25.700 I said in the Roman world that meant you in Cumbria. 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:28.320 That's where the empire ended. 00:10:28.400 --> 00:10:29.120 That's what it meant. 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:32.660 You know, Jesus is speaking entirely to you at that point. 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:38.939 But if the church was going to get maximum exposure, 00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:43.399 then this was the time for people to come out and to speak out. 00:10:43.919 --> 00:10:51.159 And come out and speak out they did because into the marketplace came the followers of Jesus. 00:10:51.339 --> 00:10:55.899 Those same men who in the New Testament, we're told, have been hiding. 00:10:56.539 --> 00:10:57.799 Hiding themselves away. 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:03.539 And they come out, not when there's no one around to hear them, when it's quiet, 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.079 but into a city full of people. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:12.419 Full of the followers of Judaism from all over the known world. 00:11:12.599 --> 00:11:14.339 And with a confident certainty, 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:16.959 a confident certainty, 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:21.320 they began to speak about Jesus, 00:11:21.560 --> 00:11:24.160 the person who had, for the past three years, 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:27.660 lived with them and walked with them and changed them. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:29.040 And by changing them, 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:32.139 had about changed the world by his life, 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:32.740 his death, 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:34.440 and his coming back to life. 00:11:34.519 --> 00:11:35.400 His name, they said, 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:37.740 was Jesus who was called the Christ. 00:11:38.620 --> 00:11:40.759 And they had known him as a man, 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:42.440 as a great preacher and teacher. 00:11:42.440 --> 00:11:45.260 And now they spoke of him also as God. 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:48.440 God taking on human form 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:51.260 and living among his people. 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:54.400 Pointing them by his teaching and his life 00:11:54.400 --> 00:11:55.740 to the kingdom of God. 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:57.020 And as they spoke, 00:11:57.440 --> 00:11:59.860 people were amazed 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:01.340 to hear the story 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:03.420 of how he had healed the sick 00:12:03.420 --> 00:12:04.940 and raised the dead to life. 00:12:05.180 --> 00:12:07.300 How he promised that those who were 00:12:07.300 --> 00:12:09.540 downtrodden and oppressed 00:12:09.540 --> 00:12:11.260 would be set free. 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:13.939 about how those who were least in this world 00:12:13.939 --> 00:12:15.720 would have a special place 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:17.960 in God's coming kingdom. 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.279 And all this, they said, 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:21.700 all this, 00:12:22.700 --> 00:12:24.620 because although now unseen, 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:26.179 God was still with them 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.460 through his spirit. 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:30.939 A spirit who had come to them 00:12:30.939 --> 00:12:32.639 in tongues of fire 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:35.460 and the sound of a mighty wind. 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:37.620 And he'd made them 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:39.860 the recipients 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:41.860 of God's promised gift. 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:43.300 And from that very moment, 00:12:44.060 --> 00:12:44.920 that very moment, 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:47.240 those ordinary people, 00:12:47.780 --> 00:12:49.200 ordinary like you and me, 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.340 had become extraordinary 00:12:51.340 --> 00:12:54.320 because they had been called by God. 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:55.759 And one of the phrases 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:57.800 that my students always used to hear me talk 00:12:57.800 --> 00:12:59.540 when I was teaching 00:12:59.540 --> 00:13:01.300 in theological education 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:03.319 was about the extraordinary 00:13:03.319 --> 00:13:05.319 ordinariness of the people of God. 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:08.519 That's a great phrase. 00:13:09.579 --> 00:13:10.839 They had been called 00:13:10.839 --> 00:13:13.299 into a missionary community 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:15.899 with a message so important, 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:17.359 so powerful, 00:13:17.359 --> 00:13:19.859 that it could not be contained. 00:13:19.860 --> 00:13:22.180 These were people 00:13:22.180 --> 00:13:24.820 who had been empowered. 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.560 And the effect was dramatic enough 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:30.019 to stop people in the street. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:32.419 Whether it was out of curiosity 00:13:32.419 --> 00:13:33.800 or out of interest, 00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:36.060 people stopped what they were doing 00:13:36.060 --> 00:13:37.019 and they listened 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:38.240 and the more they listened 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.500 and the more they were drawn 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:42.360 into what was being said. 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:44.920 St. Luke says 00:13:44.920 --> 00:13:47.320 that they were amazed. 00:13:47.420 --> 00:13:49.639 Now the Greek word means staggered. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:52.080 They were staggered 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:53.419 by what they heard. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:55.080 Both by the message 00:13:55.080 --> 00:13:56.620 and the sheer audacity 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:57.940 and boldness 00:13:57.940 --> 00:13:59.500 of those who had the courage 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:01.180 to stand up in the marketplace 00:14:01.180 --> 00:14:02.620 and speak as they did. 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:03.200 So much so 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:04.000 that some people thought 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:04.779 it was Dutch courage. 00:14:05.180 --> 00:14:05.680 They said 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:07.440 they must have been drinking. 00:14:08.560 --> 00:14:09.620 But they hadn't. 00:14:10.779 --> 00:14:11.600 Here was something 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:12.600 much more powerful. 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.779 It was the courage of conviction. 00:14:16.620 --> 00:14:18.039 The courage of conviction. 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.419 Here were people 00:14:20.419 --> 00:14:22.179 who had been empowered 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:23.659 and who because of that 00:14:23.659 --> 00:14:25.339 had been set free. 00:14:25.659 --> 00:14:26.740 Free from themselves. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:28.599 Free from their anxieties. 00:14:29.079 --> 00:14:30.299 Free from their timidity. 00:14:30.500 --> 00:14:31.279 And above all 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.259 free from their silence. 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:35.919 There was 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.679 a great German theologian 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:38.699 called Karl Barth. 00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:39.480 Do you remember 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:40.579 doing Karl Barth 00:14:40.579 --> 00:14:41.759 when you were in college? 00:14:41.959 --> 00:14:42.299 Great. 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:43.679 Glad you remember him. 00:14:43.679 --> 00:14:44.779 But when he was talking 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:46.500 about the empowerment 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:47.199 of the Spirit 00:14:47.199 --> 00:14:48.179 he says this. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:50.739 It is to have inner ears 00:14:50.739 --> 00:14:53.239 for the word of Christ. 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:54.579 To be thankful 00:14:54.579 --> 00:14:55.899 for his work 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:56.979 and at the same time 00:14:56.979 --> 00:14:58.059 to become responsible 00:14:58.739 --> 00:15:01.199 for the message about him. 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:03.299 It's to take confidence 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:04.259 in people 00:15:04.259 --> 00:15:06.379 for Christ's sake. 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:07.959 And he says 00:15:07.959 --> 00:15:08.679 that's the freedom 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:09.379 we obtain 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:11.459 when Christ breathes on us 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:12.500 and when he sends us 00:15:12.500 --> 00:15:13.620 the Holy Spirit. 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.300 He makes us responsible 00:15:15.300 --> 00:15:16.980 for the world. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:18.680 That's empowerment. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:21.180 So what happens 00:15:21.180 --> 00:15:22.080 at Pentecost 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:22.860 not just 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:23.400 you know 00:15:23.400 --> 00:15:24.440 that one day 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:26.180 but life 00:15:26.180 --> 00:15:27.820 every day 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:28.500 after that. 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:30.100 What happens 00:15:30.100 --> 00:15:30.800 at Pentecost 00:15:30.800 --> 00:15:32.259 is that men and women 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:32.980 you and I 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:33.759 become 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:36.000 irresistibly involved 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:36.800 in the work 00:15:36.800 --> 00:15:37.420 of Christ 00:15:37.420 --> 00:15:38.220 so that 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:39.100 what began 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:40.340 as a mighty wind 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:41.460 becomes 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:42.660 the great adventure. 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:46.240 I wonder 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:46.759 how often 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:47.420 we say that 00:15:47.420 --> 00:15:48.000 to ourselves 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:48.920 in the life 00:15:48.920 --> 00:15:49.660 of the church. 00:15:50.120 --> 00:15:51.160 That we're involved 00:15:51.160 --> 00:15:51.660 in this 00:15:51.660 --> 00:15:53.340 great adventure. 00:15:54.560 --> 00:15:55.480 And it's not just 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:56.460 for a select few 00:15:56.460 --> 00:15:57.940 and that's something 00:15:57.940 --> 00:15:59.200 that Peter makes clear 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:00.780 in his Pentecost sermon. 00:16:00.920 --> 00:16:01.259 He says 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:01.980 this promise 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:03.240 is for you 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:04.860 and for your children 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:06.259 and for all those 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:07.780 who are still far off. 00:16:07.779 --> 00:16:09.980 it was for 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:10.199 sorry 00:16:10.199 --> 00:16:11.000 tell me her name again 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:11.519 who was baptized. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:13.480 Olivia. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.339 It's God's promise 00:16:15.339 --> 00:16:15.839 to Olivia. 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:17.500 Today 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:18.379 she begins 00:16:18.379 --> 00:16:19.639 the great adventure 00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:21.039 of the walk 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:21.360 with God. 00:16:21.459 --> 00:16:21.899 It doesn't mean 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:22.579 that God hasn't 00:16:22.579 --> 00:16:22.939 loved her 00:16:22.939 --> 00:16:23.620 from the moment 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:25.039 she was conceived 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:25.919 in her mum's womb 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:26.399 he has 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:27.139 he's known her 00:16:27.139 --> 00:16:27.679 and loved her 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:28.259 but 00:16:28.259 --> 00:16:29.220 today 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:30.159 he draws her 00:16:30.159 --> 00:16:30.720 into that 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:31.860 great adventure 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:33.339 of the life 00:16:33.339 --> 00:16:34.620 of faith. 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:36.620 it's wrong 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:37.080 to think 00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:37.980 of the Holy Spirit 00:16:37.980 --> 00:16:39.240 as being 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:40.120 something that's 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:41.120 just for a few 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:41.940 within the life 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:42.759 of the church. 00:16:43.060 --> 00:16:44.440 It's about 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:45.840 all of us 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:47.179 being drawn 00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:47.740 into 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:48.840 the work 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:49.560 that God 00:16:49.560 --> 00:16:50.639 has for us 00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:50.860 to do 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:51.220 because what 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:51.799 the Holy Spirit 00:16:51.799 --> 00:16:52.360 does 00:16:52.360 --> 00:16:53.460 is to make 00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:54.759 real in the life 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:55.740 of the church 00:16:55.740 --> 00:16:57.159 the saving work 00:16:57.159 --> 00:16:58.299 of Christ 00:16:58.299 --> 00:17:00.079 and what 00:17:00.079 --> 00:17:00.939 that does 00:17:00.939 --> 00:17:02.120 is to set 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:03.099 people free 00:17:03.099 --> 00:17:04.220 to be 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:04.960 disciples 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:06.419 in community 00:17:06.419 --> 00:17:08.039 and in 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:08.440 mission. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:12.319 That's who 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:12.819 we are. 00:17:14.099 --> 00:17:15.279 We are 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:16.480 a missionary 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:16.960 people. 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:17.339 The word 00:17:17.339 --> 00:17:17.839 missionary 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:18.659 literally means 00:17:18.659 --> 00:17:19.519 a sent 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:20.039 people. 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:21.299 Isn't it 00:17:21.299 --> 00:17:22.079 interesting how 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:22.819 at the beginning 00:17:22.819 --> 00:17:23.740 of the gospels 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:24.379 we hear all 00:17:24.379 --> 00:17:24.779 the come 00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:25.259 words. 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.359 Jesus says 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:26.980 come and 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:27.399 follow me 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:28.080 come and 00:17:28.080 --> 00:17:28.420 see. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:29.360 The end 00:17:29.360 --> 00:17:30.160 of the gospels 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:31.360 it's flipped. 00:17:32.060 --> 00:17:32.560 Jesus says 00:17:32.560 --> 00:17:32.780 go. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:34.280 Now it's 00:17:34.280 --> 00:17:35.019 your turn 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:36.040 to get out 00:17:36.040 --> 00:17:36.420 there. 00:17:36.780 --> 00:17:37.160 There's a 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:38.100 wonderful phrase 00:17:38.100 --> 00:17:38.600 that the 00:17:38.600 --> 00:17:39.720 orthodox use 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.400 about life 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:42.200 they call it 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:42.800 the liturgy 00:17:42.800 --> 00:17:43.300 after the 00:17:43.300 --> 00:17:43.740 liturgy. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:44.580 It's what 00:17:44.580 --> 00:17:45.060 you do 00:17:45.060 --> 00:17:45.500 when the 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:46.100 service has 00:17:46.100 --> 00:17:46.380 ended 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:47.019 and you 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:47.840 go out 00:17:47.840 --> 00:17:48.840 into the 00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:49.259 world. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.040 Out into 00:17:50.040 --> 00:17:50.880 the marketplace. 00:17:51.840 --> 00:17:52.400 Out into 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:53.080 the city. 00:17:54.620 --> 00:17:54.980 And whether 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:55.440 you're an 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:56.420 apostle or a 00:17:56.420 --> 00:17:57.160 sixth former 00:17:57.160 --> 00:17:58.000 or a 00:17:58.000 --> 00:17:58.860 church member 00:17:58.860 --> 00:17:59.400 or a 00:17:59.400 --> 00:17:59.960 student 00:17:59.960 --> 00:18:01.640 that can 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:02.000 be as 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:02.640 frightening 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:03.800 as a 00:18:03.800 --> 00:18:04.120 mighty 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:04.680 wind 00:18:04.680 --> 00:18:05.700 and as 00:18:05.700 --> 00:18:06.420 exciting 00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:07.560 as a 00:18:07.560 --> 00:18:07.820 great 00:18:07.820 --> 00:18:08.320 adventure. 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:10.960 And for 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:11.740 all of us 00:18:11.740 --> 00:18:13.259 there will 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:13.759 come the 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:14.320 time 00:18:14.320 --> 00:18:15.940 when we 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:16.360 can't leave 00:18:16.360 --> 00:18:16.620 it to 00:18:16.620 --> 00:18:16.960 others 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.800 when God 00:18:18.800 --> 00:18:19.700 calls us 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:20.820 to speak 00:18:20.820 --> 00:18:21.420 that word 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:21.960 in season 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:23.680 maybe to 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:24.140 a family 00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:24.480 member 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:24.960 maybe to 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:25.460 a friend 00:18:25.460 --> 00:18:26.299 maybe to 00:18:26.299 --> 00:18:26.860 a stranger 00:18:26.860 --> 00:18:28.720 but God 00:18:28.720 --> 00:18:29.160 will call 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:29.500 us to 00:18:29.500 --> 00:18:30.000 be apostles 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:31.640 and to 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:32.519 speak those 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:33.640 Pentecost 00:18:33.640 --> 00:18:34.279 words 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:36.039 those words 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:36.860 of God 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:37.819 that set 00:18:37.819 --> 00:18:38.880 people free. 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:41.380 But you 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:42.079 know that 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:42.779 is also 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.480 the time 00:18:43.480 --> 00:18:44.340 that we 00:18:44.340 --> 00:18:44.960 will become 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.140 most acutely 00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:47.299 aware that 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:47.960 we are not 00:18:47.960 --> 00:18:49.000 alone and 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:49.460 we're not 00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:50.059 doing that 00:18:50.059 --> 00:18:50.779 in our own 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:51.740 power but 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:52.079 in the 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:52.799 transforming 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:54.119 power of 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:54.579 God 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:55.339 who is 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:55.899 at work 00:18:55.899 --> 00:18:56.619 in us 00:18:56.619 --> 00:18:57.839 like wind 00:18:57.839 --> 00:18:58.720 and like 00:18:58.720 --> 00:18:59.379 fire 00:18:59.379 --> 00:19:01.299 making us 00:19:01.299 --> 00:19:02.180 new people 00:19:02.180 --> 00:19:03.279 giving us 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.019 a boldness 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:04.279 that we 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:05.200 never knew 00:19:05.200 --> 00:19:06.480 never expected 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:06.859 that we 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:07.919 might have. 00:19:09.339 --> 00:19:10.159 So may 00:19:10.159 --> 00:19:10.759 we in 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.240 this season 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:12.919 of Pentecost 00:19:12.919 --> 00:19:13.619 experience 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:14.379 both the 00:19:14.379 --> 00:19:14.839 terror 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:15.720 and the 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:16.319 joy 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:17.279 of that 00:19:17.279 --> 00:19:17.839 new 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:18.659 relationship 00:19:18.659 --> 00:19:19.440 with God 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:20.720 who calls 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.360 and empowers 00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:22.940 us 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:24.640 whose coming 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:25.480 is like 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:26.779 a consuming 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:27.480 fire 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:28.640 and a 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:29.240 devastating 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:29.779 wind 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:30.299 that will 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:31.019 change us 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:31.480 forever 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:33.279 so that 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:33.940 life 00:19:33.940 --> 00:19:35.259 life in 00:19:35.259 --> 00:19:35.700 all its 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:36.079 fullness 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:37.759 becomes 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:39.259 an amazing 00:19:39.259 --> 00:19:40.360 adventure. 00:19:41.360 --> 00:19:42.360 Thanks be to 00:19:42.360 --> 00:19:43.059 God for 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:43.880 his gift 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:44.400 to us. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:46.059 And let's 00:19:46.059 --> 00:19:47.740 just hear 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.660 those words 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:50.400 that Paul 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:51.019 speaks in 00:19:51.019 --> 00:19:51.420 Romans. 00:19:51.540 --> 00:19:51.860 May the 00:19:51.860 --> 00:19:52.259 God of 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:52.720 hope 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:54.259 fill you 00:19:54.259 --> 00:19:55.060 with joy 00:19:55.060 --> 00:19:55.680 and peace 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:56.420 as you 00:19:56.420 --> 00:19:57.160 trust in 00:19:57.160 --> 00:19:57.460 him 00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:58.460 that you 00:19:58.460 --> 00:19:58.840 may 00:19:58.840 --> 00:19:59.820 overflow 00:19:59.820 --> 00:20:01.240 with hope 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:02.380 by the 00:20:02.380 --> 00:20:02.880 power 00:20:02.880 --> 00:20:03.920 of the 00:20:03.920 --> 00:20:04.660 Holy Spirit. 00:20:05.700 --> 00:20:05.960 Amen.