CRCF””5/23/10
Pentecost Sunday
VIDEO””David Copperfield
Robin and I had the opportunity to see David Copperfield this past Thursday night at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. And He is an amazing illusionist! His ability to trick your eyes and pull off incredible illusions is definitely unusual. But he”™s an illusionist! He does tricks! Now, Copperfield won”™t ever tell his secrets, or he”™d lose his means of making a living. But simply put, he”™s a man who has perfected slight of hand and the use of mirrors and controlling the focus of his audience so that the tricks are never figured out!
This morning, we”™re going to talk about real power””no illusions or tricks here! This is power that changes lives! This is the power of God!
The Power of the Church
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
Acts 2:1-24 (NLT)
1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.
7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are””Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.
13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They”™re just drunk, that”™s all!”
14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o”™clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:
17 ”˜In the last days,”™ God says,
”˜I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on my servants””men and women alike””
and they will prophesy.
19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below””
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and glorious day of the LORD arrives.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
will be saved.”™
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.
Acts 2:36-47 (NLT)
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
37 Peter”™s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles””all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day””about 3,000 in all.
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles”™ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord”™s Supper), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord”™s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity””47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
Acts 1:1-2 (The Message)
1-2 Dear Theophilus, in the first volume of this book I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he said good-bye to the apostles, the ones he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.
Acts 2:33 (NIV)
33Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
Today is Pentecost Sunday””when we remember the day that God sent His Holy Spirit to empower His people so that Jesus”™ work could continue. “Pentecost” means “the fiftieth day”””and falls 50 days after Easter; prior to Jesus”™ resurrection, it was to commemorate the giving of the Law to Moses on the 50th day after Israel”™s Exodus from Egyptian slavery.
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
Notice 4 realities about the Holy Spirit that will help us understand what Jesus is doing in and through us:
1. The Holy Spirit loves unity and prayer among Jesus”™ followers.
“they were all with one accord in one place” (NKJV)
Acts 1:14 (NIV)
“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with the brothers.”
Philippians 2:1-4 (The Message)
1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care”” then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
The Holy Spirit loves unity and prayer among Jesus”™ followers.
And it”™s in that context that . . .
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
2. The Holy Spirit lives in EVERY Jesus-follower.
“4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit”
Since Pentecost, all believers have been filled with the Holy Spirit from the time they first trust Jesus.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV)
16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
And yet, we must choose to live in His power!
Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)
18 Don”™t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The trouble is never that we don”™t HAVE the power to do what God”™s called us to do. The problem is that we simply don”™t choose to be controlled by the Holy Spirit!
Wilbur Rees:
“I”™d like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don”™t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick apples with a migrant worker. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I”™d like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. No, no, not the flesh and blood one . . . He will keep me from my appointment with the hair dresser and make me late for the cocktail party. He will soil my linen and break my strand of matched pearls . . . I want no living, breathing Christ.”
(Swindoll, 479-480).
Maybe our lack of surrender is not rebellion or selfishness but simply that we haven”™t known what the Holy Spirit is all about!
HOW can we more consistently live in the Spirit”™s power? Through being in God”™s Word and prayer!
The Holy Spirit lives in EVERY Jesus-follower.
And as we prayerfully depend on Him, . . .
Jesus will continue to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us!
3. The Holy Spirit”™s goal is a powerful communication of the Good News of Jesus.
On the Day of Pentecost, there was both a visual and an audible manifestation of the Holy Spirit””flames of fire and the gift of tongues. It would have been a pretty powerful moment!
But neither of those was the main point! Peter makes the main point a little later:
Acts 2:21-24, 36
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
will be saved.”™
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
There are many different ways the Holy Spirit works in us, according to 1 Corinthians 12. But all of the different manifestations He gives in our lives are intended to point others to Jesus.
John 15:14
He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit”™s goal is a powerful communication of the Good News of Jesus.
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
4. The Holy Spirit”™s power works!
RE-READ verses 37-47
37 Peter”™s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles””all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day””about 3,000 in all.
42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles”™ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord”™s Supper), and to prayer.
43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord”™s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity””47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Jesus is continuing to build His church by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, His followers!
Conclusion
Jesus at work in His people through the Holy Spirit””that”™s REAL power! And it”™s meant to be our everyday, normal way of living!
Is it YOUR normal, everyday experience?
By My Spirit
Sometimes fears can hide your vision
The loss of courage chains you down
Not by might
Not by power
But by My Spirit says the Lord
I can see your heart is tired
And your courage has worn thin
You wonder how long you will have to hang on
But when my love comes in
You”™ll be strong again
Not by might
Not by power
But by My Spirit says the Lord
Celebration of the Lord”™s Supper
This meal is a celebration of the living presence of Jesus in our lives that gives us all of the power we need to show others our Jesus. Will it be a personal celebration for your as you ask Jesus to take over more of your heart/life through the Holy Spirit?