WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:15.300 Well, good morning. It's great to be with you. I come bearing warm Pentecost greetings from our rector, Dan Clare, at Church of the Resurrection and on behalf of the whole church, really. 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:27.560 So it's a pleasure to be with you this morning as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. We're going to be in that Acts chapter two passage. So if you have a Bible, turn there. Acts chapter two, verses one to twenty one. 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:47.480 One of the most amazing things about Christianity is that there is a Christianity at all. It's astounding that this group of mostly poor, uneducated and marginalized people in a backwater Roman colony went on to change the course of world history. 00:00:47.479 --> 00:01:02.259 It's difficult to see how they could do it. So how did they do it? It's a question we especially might be interested in answering here in Washington, D.C. 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:10.560 See, so many of us have come to this city with a fire in our belly. We want to change the world. We want to change the country. We want to do good. 00:01:11.299 --> 00:01:19.280 And yet before too long, we grow cynical. We realize we don't even have the power to change ourselves. We burn out. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:25.379 If only we knew the secret, the power source of these early Christians. 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:34.519 Well, this passage in Acts chapter two, it tells us that secret. It tells us the source of their power. 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:36.959 And it is called Pentecost. 00:01:38.979 --> 00:01:42.079 It's what we celebrate today. What is Pentecost? 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:46.579 Pentecost starts in the Old Testament, Leviticus chapter 23. 00:01:46.739 --> 00:01:49.500 It's first given there and it's not called Pentecost. 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:53.519 It's called the Feast of Firstfruits, Shavuot. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:00.840 And every year as the harvest would start coming in, the people in this agrarian society, in this Jewish culture, 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:08.879 would bring the first fruits of their harvest in the late spring and they would eat them before God as an offering of thanksgiving. 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:15.960 But as they celebrated this year after year, the Jewish people noticed something. 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:23.659 They noticed that the first fruits came about 50 days after Passover. 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:26.939 And then they noticed something else. 00:02:27.140 --> 00:02:36.280 It wasn't lost on them that 50 days after Passover in the story of the Old Testament is when God gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai. 00:02:38.200 --> 00:02:43.760 And so they started calling this feast Pentecost, which just means 50. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:47.079 Pentecost had this double meaning. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.199 First fruits and the giving of the divine law. 00:02:50.579 --> 00:02:51.979 And these things go together. 00:02:52.459 --> 00:03:01.939 Pentecost was a celebration of the power to flourish in the land and the power to flourish in God and to do those things together. 00:03:03.259 --> 00:03:09.979 So with that background in mind, I want you to notice what Luke says in Acts chapter 2 verse 1. 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:11.719 This is how he starts. 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:14.699 He says, when the day of Pentecost arrived. 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:22.319 More literal rendition of that would be when the day of Pentecost had fully come. 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:32.620 What he's saying is we are about to see the true Pentecost, the true power to flourish before God. 00:03:33.099 --> 00:03:36.360 We're going to see the fulfillment of this feast. 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:41.360 See, in the Old Testament, Moses ascended to Mount Sinai and he received the law. 00:03:41.740 --> 00:03:45.060 And as Dan said, this made the people of Israel into a nation. 00:03:45.440 --> 00:03:47.380 So I want to look together at this passage in Acts. 00:03:47.440 --> 00:03:51.620 I want to show you three ways that the Spirit works his power in our lives. 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:54.800 Number one, he brings us into the presence of God. 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:58.940 Two, he gathers us together across boundaries. 00:03:58.939 --> 00:04:02.319 And three, he sends us out on mission. 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:04.539 Before we get into it, let me pray. 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:13.840 Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:16.300 Oh, Lord, our rock and our redeemer. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:23.019 Send your spirit upon our flesh and make us alive as we hear your word. 00:04:23.099 --> 00:04:23.920 In Jesus name. 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:24.439 Amen. 00:04:25.939 --> 00:04:26.459 Amen. 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:29.379 Here's the first thing the Spirit does. 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:30.039 I want you to see. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:34.599 The Holy Spirit brings you into the presence of God. 00:04:34.979 --> 00:04:38.419 He brings you an experience of transcendent meaning. 00:04:39.139 --> 00:04:42.959 He fills your life with awe and wonder and repentance. 00:04:43.959 --> 00:04:53.159 Some of the great modern thinkers like Freud and Marx and Nietzsche predicted that as humanity would progress and become more scientific, 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:59.040 that we would outgrow the need for religion, that we would cease longing for transcendence. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.420 Nothing could have been further from the truth. 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:09.460 This week I heard an interview with the author Michael Pollan. 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:18.680 He said he's always been a committed philosophical materialist, very scientifically minded, skeptical. 00:05:18.680 --> 00:05:26.139 And yet he realized that this left him unable to confront some of the most basic questions in his life. 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:28.920 Facing meaning and mortality. 00:05:29.420 --> 00:05:32.019 He says he was trapped in negative self-talk. 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:36.040 He was trapped in himself, unable to break out of the stories he tells himself. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:43.920 And he wanted to overcome these things and discover a sense of awe in the world again. 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:46.120 So what did he do? 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:47.800 He's written this book. 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:52.699 He started looking into the potential of psychedelic drugs to help him do that. 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:58.879 He talks about going on a trip where he sees that each of the plants in his garden has a spirit. 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:02.920 Or another one where he's trapped inside of his laptop. 00:06:05.900 --> 00:06:08.939 He seems to know what he's seeing is an illusion. 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:12.300 And yet he says he finds it therapeutic. 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:13.460 He needs it. 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:20.959 And I mention him because he's emblematic of the conundrum of modernity. 00:06:21.099 --> 00:06:25.199 And so many people in our culture, we say there's nothing transcendent. 00:06:25.419 --> 00:06:27.560 And yet we're seeking it everywhere. 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:30.819 We're seeking Pentecost. 00:06:31.459 --> 00:06:33.060 An encounter with the living God. 00:06:33.060 --> 00:06:34.759 We just don't know it. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:44.439 Look at what happens on Pentecost as the earliest disciples gather in prayer and wait for the promised Holy Spirit. 00:06:44.519 --> 00:06:46.980 It's there in verses 2 and 3. 00:06:46.980 --> 00:06:53.080 There's something ineffable that happens. 00:06:53.079 --> 00:06:56.899 Luke says he almost can't describe it. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:00.539 He says it's something like a mighty rushing wind. 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:03.240 It's something like fiery flames. 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:05.339 What's going on here? 00:07:06.419 --> 00:07:11.939 Wind and fire are telltale signs of the presence of God in the Bible. 00:07:11.939 --> 00:07:14.819 Think of Job in the Old Testament. 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:18.300 God comes and he speaks to him from the whirlwind. 00:07:19.360 --> 00:07:23.860 Think of Moses as he encounters God for the first time in the desert. 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:25.920 In a fiery bush. 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:26.800 A shrub. 00:07:27.980 --> 00:07:32.860 Or think of that first Pentecost on Mount Sinai. 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:36.860 When God comes down, he comes in a windstorm and fire. 00:07:36.860 --> 00:07:42.259 And every time he does so, he radically changes things. 00:07:42.620 --> 00:07:43.680 He frees people. 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:44.960 He brings liberation. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:49.480 People fall down before him in reverent worship. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.000 They experience transcendence. 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:53.720 They're broken out of themselves. 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:57.840 And that's what's happening here in Acts 2. 00:07:57.939 --> 00:08:05.100 The Spirit is the living God coming down to dwell with and in his people in a new way. 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:07.939 He's a consuming fire. 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:10.020 He's a powerful force. 00:08:11.260 --> 00:08:12.939 He changes things. 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:16.740 See, God is not just some idea. 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:18.100 This is what Pentecost tells us. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:19.720 God is not some idea. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.680 Christianity is not a philosophy about life. 00:08:23.200 --> 00:08:27.260 It is real encounter with God through the person of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:28.580 --> 00:08:31.520 And you see this in the lives of these first followers of Jesus. 00:08:32.420 --> 00:08:34.139 They are put in motion. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:38.460 They cannot help but to speak and to praise God. 00:08:39.220 --> 00:08:40.639 And to live a life of worship. 00:08:40.759 --> 00:08:46.919 They're energized in a way that, as we'll see, it overflows into their lives, into their city and the world. 00:08:48.500 --> 00:08:49.620 Wind and fire. 00:08:49.620 --> 00:08:58.419 Now, does this mean that you're not really experiencing the presence of God if you're not experiencing wind and fire? 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:05.720 Does being filled with the Holy Spirit really mean something this strange and radical is what happens here? 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:08.820 Yes and no. 00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:15.660 Yes, being filled with the Spirit should bring wind and fire. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:17.920 It should have a real effect on your life. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.899 As he comes close to us and he fills us, we will tremble before God. 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:29.699 We will fall down before Jesus with this biblical mix of fear and love and wonder. 00:09:29.700 --> 00:09:33.040 We will hate our sin. 00:09:33.040 --> 00:09:35.420 So yes, there should be wind and fire. 00:09:35.960 --> 00:09:37.480 And we should seek that. 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:41.360 But in another sense, no. 00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:44.980 We shouldn't focus on the pyrotechnics. 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.340 See, in this story, God is kicking off a new age. 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.879 He's breaking down the door between heaven and earth. 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:57.039 It's a coming out party for the Holy Spirit. 00:09:58.659 --> 00:10:02.799 But if you go on and you read through the book of Acts and through Paul's epistles, 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.740 you'll see other instances of people being filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:10:07.320 --> 00:10:09.939 Sometimes there's pyrotechnics. 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:12.059 And sometimes there isn't. 00:10:12.059 --> 00:10:23.479 But what is always the case is that it always produces the same effects of awe-filled, repentant, and empowered worship of Jesus. 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:25.119 New life. 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:35.319 I think we need to make sure we avoid two temptations with regard to the Holy Spirit. 00:10:36.319 --> 00:10:39.619 One I would think of as more the reformed temptation. 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:44.519 For those of you from a Protestant background. 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:51.679 And that is that we are tempted to tell the Spirit how He can't show up. 00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:54.639 That He can't do certain things. 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:58.360 That what He does must fit in the box of what we understand. 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:01.560 It can't be too weird or unexplainable. 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:05.659 That's one error we want to avoid. 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:07.659 But we also want to avoid this other error. 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:10.199 Call it a charismatic error. 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:14.919 And that's that we tell the Spirit how He has to show up. 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:21.639 That if certain pyrotechnics aren't present, that we aren't experiencing the Holy Spirit. 00:11:21.639 --> 00:11:27.360 No, what we want to do is we want to be genuinely open to the Holy Spirit. 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:29.879 Because He's not an inert force. 00:11:29.939 --> 00:11:30.659 He's a person. 00:11:33.419 --> 00:11:35.059 We want to seek His filling. 00:11:35.699 --> 00:11:38.120 Knowing that He will come with His fiery presence. 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:40.419 And fill us with worship. 00:11:40.500 --> 00:11:41.259 And transform us. 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:42.919 That's the first thing the Holy Spirit does. 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:44.559 He brings us into the presence of God. 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:48.339 A transformative experiential relationship with God. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:50.479 And it's always oriented towards Jesus. 00:11:50.899 --> 00:11:51.779 Towards the gospel. 00:11:53.779 --> 00:11:55.019 Here's the second thing. 00:11:56.239 --> 00:11:58.599 He gathers us together in difference. 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:01.479 He unites us to Jesus. 00:12:02.019 --> 00:12:04.039 And therefore to one another. 00:12:04.599 --> 00:12:06.619 He breaks down barriers. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:09.399 And He brings genuine reconciliation. 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:13.840 Notice what happens in verses 5 to 11. 00:12:15.179 --> 00:12:20.819 There are pious Jews and Jewish converts gathered from all over the world, Luke tells us. 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:27.299 Many of these people would have made a once in a lifetime pilgrimage to the Holy Land. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:31.899 They would have stayed for both Passover and the Feast of Pentecost. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:34.679 And they speak Greek, most of them. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:37.379 But they also bring with them their native languages. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:45.240 And look what happens as the Holy Spirit comes upon these Galilean disciples who are gathered in Jerusalem. 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:53.360 They go out into the city and they proclaim the praises of God in those native tongues. 00:12:54.179 --> 00:12:55.279 It's a miracle. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:01.600 But I want you to see what I think is Luke's bigger point here. 00:13:01.860 --> 00:13:04.860 And that is found in verses 9 to 11. 00:13:04.860 --> 00:13:09.320 And Luke goes out of his way to tell us where these pilgrims had come from. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:10.700 He gives us a list. 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:16.139 Places, some of which we know and others we may have never heard of. 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:24.480 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.659 Parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene and visitors from Rome. 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:31.039 Everyone's here. 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:42.659 And if you look closely at this list, Bible scholars tell us that it is an updated version of the first list of nations in the Bible in Genesis chapter 10. 00:13:42.659 --> 00:13:52.079 And if you know the story in Genesis, the nations are listed and then we come right to the story of the Tower of Babel. 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.379 Where all the nations come together and then God scatters them. 00:13:57.879 --> 00:13:58.959 What's happening here? 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:00.439 Why is Luke doing this? 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:10.300 In the story of Babel, as the people come together to build a tower to heaven, what they're doing is they're trying to create a homogenous empire. 00:14:10.960 --> 00:14:14.700 To achieve unity through the force of sameness. 00:14:14.700 --> 00:14:21.420 And the only way they can see to protect themselves from fragmentation is to abolish difference. 00:14:23.300 --> 00:14:28.040 They want to overcome the effects of sin through brute force. 00:14:28.140 --> 00:14:29.120 It's idolatry. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:31.080 It's a false and idolatrous unity. 00:14:32.340 --> 00:14:37.900 And God descends upon them in punishment to divide them and to divide their languages and to send them out. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.300 It's a punishment that's also mercy. 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:46.859 So we're seeing in some sense here the reversal of that. 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:49.079 But notice the difference. 00:14:49.620 --> 00:14:52.899 God descends here on the people not to divide them. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:55.479 But to unite them. 00:14:55.939 --> 00:14:57.339 And it's a true unity. 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:03.019 Because this unity that the Spirit brings doesn't abolish difference. 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:07.120 It's rooted in the transcendent God. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:11.879 And it's a unity that can tolerate and even celebrate difference. 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:13.519 It's a unity of grace. 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:17.340 God doesn't abolish harmony here. 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:18.139 He brings it. 00:15:18.220 --> 00:15:19.240 He doesn't abolish difference. 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:20.379 He brings it into harmony. 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:21.500 Think about this. 00:15:21.560 --> 00:15:24.100 The first worship service that we're witnessing here. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.320 It's the first worship service of the new age. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:29.379 What language is it in? 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:32.080 It's in all of them. 00:15:34.039 --> 00:15:41.340 God is breaking down barriers and bringing unity that can tolerate and even celebrate difference. 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:43.059 What does this mean for us? 00:15:43.100 --> 00:15:46.299 How does the Holy Spirit break down barriers among us? 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:51.240 Our natural tendency is to fragment. 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:56.159 We seek naturally to be around people who are like us. 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:57.720 We form tribes. 00:15:57.720 --> 00:16:02.960 When there's difference, we want to fix it by making other people more like us. 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:06.759 Getting them to see things exactly the way we do. 00:16:08.180 --> 00:16:15.440 The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to us as the church to overcome that tendency. 00:16:17.259 --> 00:16:21.879 When we come into the presence of God who transcends all of us and all of our cultures, 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:24.759 we see that we're all in the wrong before God. 00:16:24.860 --> 00:16:25.899 Before a holy God. 00:16:25.899 --> 00:16:30.720 But we also see that we are all recipients of His grace. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:41.579 That all of our individuality and our cultures can be pointers to a different aspect of who God is. 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:52.740 When Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit, broken out of themselves in a transcendent life of Christianity, 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:56.600 their sense of nationalism starts to erode. 00:16:57.379 --> 00:17:04.380 Their natural tendency towards racism or classism, it starts to fall away. 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:07.320 It's all relativized by the gospel. 00:17:08.800 --> 00:17:10.480 Barriers are broken down. 00:17:11.280 --> 00:17:14.600 This is one of the hallmarks of revival. 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:18.700 When it comes upon us, when the Spirit comes and does a new work, 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.900 we see this change happening in ourselves and in our church. 00:17:22.900 --> 00:17:29.040 As you here well know, our national motto is, 00:17:29.240 --> 00:17:30.300 E Pluribus Unum. 00:17:30.940 --> 00:17:32.220 From the many one. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:34.500 I was thinking about that this week. 00:17:34.540 --> 00:17:39.280 It's a great ideal, but the history of our nation so often belies it. 00:17:39.380 --> 00:17:41.840 Slavery, racism, identity politics. 00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:49.459 Try as we may through laws and slogans and awareness campaigns. 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:55.859 We cannot exercise these demons from ourselves without a work of the Holy Spirit of God 00:17:55.859 --> 00:17:59.679 coming upon the church and bringing revival. 00:18:01.939 --> 00:18:04.439 So the Spirit gathers us together in difference. 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.720 He brings true unity in diversity. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:08.980 He overcomes barriers. 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:10.919 That's the second thing. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:12.519 There's one more. 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.359 The Holy Spirit sends us out on mission. 00:18:18.579 --> 00:18:23.839 He equips us for good works that anticipate new creation. 00:18:24.919 --> 00:18:30.699 He brings about through us the first fruits of His kingdom harvest. 00:18:30.699 --> 00:18:31.839 He sends us out. 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:36.279 Just because of time and attention spans, 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:39.159 we only read through verse 21 this morning. 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:41.580 But really this passage, 00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:45.019 this story of Pentecost goes all the way through verse 41. 00:18:47.120 --> 00:18:51.519 And you see that the result that the Spirit's filling aims at, 00:18:51.580 --> 00:18:53.000 the outcome of it, 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:55.140 as people are brought into the presence of God 00:18:55.140 --> 00:18:56.340 and united across barriers, 00:18:56.940 --> 00:19:00.380 is this long sermon that Peter gives. 00:19:00.380 --> 00:19:03.760 Peter preaches a sermon about Jesus. 00:19:03.760 --> 00:19:08.880 And it starts in our passage with him quoting from the book of Joel. 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:10.460 And he says, 00:19:10.460 --> 00:19:12.380 And in the last days it shall be. 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:16.280 God declares that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. 00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:18.680 And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. 00:19:18.820 --> 00:19:20.340 And your young men shall see visions. 00:19:20.620 --> 00:19:22.600 And your old men shall dream dreams. 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:25.440 And then he closes in verse 21. 00:19:25.560 --> 00:19:30.400 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:35.080 As Peter preaches this sermon to the outside world, 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:37.340 that new creation is a possibility. 00:19:38.360 --> 00:19:40.100 He goes out with a message. 00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.860 He tells them that they too can call on the name of the Lord and be saved. 00:19:44.859 --> 00:19:50.299 He tells them the last days have come when God is renewing the world. 00:19:51.859 --> 00:19:55.779 You see here, as the Spirit comes through Peter, 00:19:55.859 --> 00:19:57.659 the people are impelled to mission, 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:00.899 to a message, to proclamation about new creation. 00:20:01.299 --> 00:20:02.719 The Spirit sends them out. 00:20:04.399 --> 00:20:07.939 And we see at the end of the passage, which we didn't read, 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:10.019 there's a great harvest of first fruits. 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:15.099 Now, if you read this passage in just a simplistic way, 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:19.460 you might think the Holy Spirit's only interested in preaching and evangelism. 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:23.039 And that's an error we might fall into. 00:20:23.139 --> 00:20:27.099 We think the Spirit's only interested in these things that happen in church. 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:30.200 And it's true that the kingdom of God 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:33.740 advances through a powerful message of proclamation 00:20:33.740 --> 00:20:37.379 that the Christian life and the church can never be divorced 00:20:37.379 --> 00:20:39.160 from the proclamation of God's Word. 00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:44.900 But that doesn't mean that we all have our role in the harvest as preachers. 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:49.920 Peter's functioning here as a representative of the mission of the church. 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:55.160 This story is showing us that the goal that the Spirit is working towards 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:59.900 is to manifest new creation and to bring it into reality in the world. 00:21:02.279 --> 00:21:07.339 The message is important, but the Spirit manifests new creation in a myriad of ways. 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:13.240 There are, throughout Paul's epistles, several lists of gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:16.659 In Romans 12, we see a list. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.379 In 1 Corinthians 12, in Ephesians 4, 00:21:20.159 --> 00:21:21.879 the Spirit is mentioned. 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:25.019 And Paul talks about the different ways in which He works. 00:21:25.639 --> 00:21:28.439 There are gifts ranging from prophecy and speaking 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:34.740 to generosity and showing mercy and even administration. 00:21:35.860 --> 00:21:39.100 Even administration, Deborah and Liz. 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:43.980 But here's the thing to notice too. 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:46.620 None of the lists in the Bible are the same. 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:49.100 They've got different things. 00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:53.579 They seem to overlap and to have things that don't match up. 00:21:54.459 --> 00:21:59.019 And I think what we're supposed to see is not that we somehow can make a comprehensive list 00:21:59.019 --> 00:22:02.879 of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the way that He works and empowers us in our lives. 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:06.159 We're supposed to see that there is no comprehensive list. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:15.600 We're supposed to see that the Spirit provides innumerable empowerments or gifts or charismata 00:22:15.600 --> 00:22:19.500 to the people of God so that they can manifest creation. 00:22:20.080 --> 00:22:22.500 Not only in the context of church activities, 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:26.980 but manifest new creation in every area of their lives. 00:22:29.340 --> 00:22:30.820 Let me tell you what this means. 00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:36.220 This means the Holy Spirit comes into your life to transform the ordinary. 00:22:36.639 --> 00:22:38.759 To transform what you think of as ordinary. 00:22:39.439 --> 00:22:42.099 That He wants to be working through you in the mundane. 00:22:43.399 --> 00:22:48.059 Accomplishing little works of new creation wherever God has placed you. 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:49.519 Martin Luther put it this way. 00:22:50.839 --> 00:22:57.059 All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government. 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:00.220 To what does it all amount before God? 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:02.140 Except child's play. 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:08.900 By means of which God is pleased to give His gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere. 00:23:09.839 --> 00:23:12.360 These are the masks of the Lord our God, 00:23:12.860 --> 00:23:16.880 behind which He wants to be hidden and to do all things. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.700 What He's saying is all the tasks that we face, 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:25.920 many of which are not chosen upon us, but press themselves on us, 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:28.160 that they can be masks of God. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:33.720 Places where we partner with God in manifesting something of new creation. 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:40.800 And the way we enter into that reality each day is by being filled with the Spirit. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:46.599 seeking His vision and His empowerment for our daily lives. 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:54.440 This is easy for some of you who have jobs that you feel are important, that you love. 00:23:54.440 --> 00:23:59.740 But what about those of us who are struggling to find employment, 00:23:59.820 --> 00:24:01.600 or have jobs that we hate, or are cynical? 00:24:02.600 --> 00:24:07.279 I hope this is especially encouraging to you to seek the filling of the Spirit, 00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:11.840 to let the ordinary and the mundane be transformed. 00:24:11.839 --> 00:24:16.579 As God comes in and shows you, gives you a vision for how some, 00:24:16.959 --> 00:24:19.980 in some way you can be part of manifesting new creation, 00:24:20.439 --> 00:24:21.619 where He's put you now. 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.939 It doesn't matter if you're a lawyer, or a janitor, a nanny. 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:31.039 God wants to do good works through you. 00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:33.619 He sends us out on mission. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:37.339 He equips us for work that anticipates new creation. 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:41.419 He brings about the first fruits of that coming kingdom 00:24:41.419 --> 00:24:44.959 through the things we do each day as we walk in the Spirit. 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:49.419 So that's what the Spirit wants to do. 00:24:50.199 --> 00:24:53.959 That's the power He has to bring us into the presence of God, 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:56.359 to gather us together and to send us out. 00:24:58.019 --> 00:25:00.419 There might be someone here who is a seeker, 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:06.720 someone who desperately realizes they need transcendent meaning in their lives. 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:10.240 If you're here, you're wondering, well, what should I do? 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:14.619 They asked Peter that when he preached his sermon. 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:16.439 And I'll leave you Peter's answer. 00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:22.619 He says, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:28.559 and you will receive the promise Holy Spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:34.980 If that's you, I know that Dan, Victor, Deborah, one of the pastors or leaders here 00:25:34.980 --> 00:25:38.559 would love to talk to you about next steps in knowing Christ 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:41.639 and finding out what life is really about. 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:47.200 If you're a Christian, good news, you have been baptized in the Spirit. 00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:49.679 That happened when you became a believer. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:53.720 As you were baptized with water, the Spirit comes into your life. 00:25:53.720 --> 00:25:58.000 But now you need to seek to be filled again and again, 00:25:59.019 --> 00:26:03.240 constantly seeking a fresh filling and empowerment from Him. 00:26:04.140 --> 00:26:06.620 And the way to be filled is to empty yourself. 00:26:07.500 --> 00:26:09.960 Every time as you're looking throughout Scripture 00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:11.680 and people are filled with the Holy Spirit, 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:17.120 it seems to be in the context of them coming to God in prayer and asking for it. 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:22.019 And Jesus tells us if we ask for the Holy Spirit, 00:26:22.419 --> 00:26:28.639 God our Father will not, not ignore that prayer. 00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:32.979 So our posture needs to be like that of the first Christians 00:26:32.979 --> 00:26:36.139 to seek the filling of the Spirit, to ask for it. 00:26:36.140 --> 00:26:41.100 As we prepare to come to the table now, let's pray. 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:45.320 Let's pray that God fills us with His Holy Spirit 00:26:45.320 --> 00:26:48.440 and makes the Gospel more real to us 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:52.280 and brings a new power into our lives this Pentecost. 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:54.540 Will you bow and pray with me? 00:26:54.539 --> 00:27:06.879 Come, Holy Spirit, Creator, come from Thy bright heavenly throne. 00:27:07.659 --> 00:27:13.139 Come, take possession of our souls and make them all Thine own. 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:18.680 Lord, bring us into Your presence in new and powerful ways. 00:27:19.899 --> 00:27:24.099 Break us out and liberate us from ourselves and the stories we tell ourselves. 00:27:25.019 --> 00:27:28.720 Give us joy and delight in Your presence. 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:34.000 Bring us together, humble us before You and unite us across differences. 00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:38.379 We pray for the unity of the church this day, 00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:42.779 that You would make us one as Jesus is one. 00:27:43.879 --> 00:27:47.319 And Lord, we ask that You would send us out on mission, 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:51.759 give us wisdom and discernment in the places You've called us. 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:55.720 In Jesus' name, Amen.