2011 06 12 Only By The Spirit
Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Have you ever just known? That might sound like a loaded question, but I am asking you if you have ever faced a tremendous issue in your life and the answer seemed to come out of nowhere? I can look back and see a lot of times in my life, good and bad, where that has happened to me.
I remember my freshman year at Ohio State. My best friend had talked me into going there, but by spring quarter he had dropped all his classes and returned home. I was sharing a room with two other guys, who didn’t really like me all that much. I felt very much alone. We lived on the 23rd floor of Morrill Tower. I can’t remember what, if anything had happened, but one evening I wanted to throw a chair out my window, and follow it to the ground. But I couldn’t. Something just kept nagging at me. I wasn’t a praying man, a Christian, or even a remotely religious person at that time, but I can see now, that God was at hand. That wasn’t the first or only time that God saved my life.
About seven years later, my life was a disaster. I was in a nowhere job, living a nowhere lifestyle. My health, finances, and everything was going…nowhere, fast. I have shared much of my testimony with you before, but in my mind, God performed a miracle in my life. As a result, I wanted to see if there was still anything left in this Church thing I had known as a child. Going back to Church for the first time in 12-13 years, God as working on me again. God was making me aware of my sins, and how they were killing me…literally and figuratively. On the third Sunday back in church, I was drawn. It was almost like a dream. When the pastor opened up the altar for any who wanted to pray, it was ME going forward. Like I said, in my mind God had already performed a miracle. Now, he wanted to perform one in my heart. I gave my sins, my heart, and my life to Jesus Christ.
My life took off…good things. Fast forward again, about two and a half years…I had already been a youth and children’s pastor for fifteen months, and had now been on the campus of Asbury Seminary for about two months. I was at a jewelry store in Nicholasville, KY. My first day at Asbury, I met some gal from Illinois named Jennifer Tucker. We really liked each other. In fact, we were in love. One Sunday night, I left her house thinking, I want to marry her. The next day, I went to look for a ring. After finding the ring I wanted to buy, I realized something. Had I talked to God about this? If I buy the ring, I’m going to ask her to marry me. If she says yes, we will get married. BUT…is this what I am supposed to do? I can’t just get married and THEN ask God to bless what I have decided. I need to know…is this what HE wants for my life and hers?
I asked the lady at the counter if I could have a few minutes to go outside and pray. She attended a local Methodist church and knew about us Asbury students. But as I knelt and prayed outside in the parking lot, there was no bolt of lightning, no parting of the skies, no voice calling from heaven. There was a peace…a peace like no other. Without a word, I know that God had let me know that this was what he wanted for me…for her…for us. When I asked Jen to marry me a week and a half later, it did not even occur to me that she could say no. That’s how great God’s peace was in that decision. (By the way…she said yes on the spot.)
Now what is the one thing that ties these three events together? What is the common factor in these three stories? Pentecost. Some of you might be scratching your heads at this, but my answer is the same: Pentecost. Throughout the Old Testament, we see times and events where God’s Spirit was poured upon certain people, and in this spirit, they carried out God’s commandments. But in the New Testament, we have Pentecost.
Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they (the disciples) were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. They began to speak in all the languages of the people at that time. The people gathered heard the wonders of God spoken in the native tongues. 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."
Peter stood up. With courage and with power never before seen in Peter, he began to tell the crowds the prophecies foretold by the prophet Joel. 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to earth. Not only did the Spirit come to the disciples as they preached, but it came to all people. It is through the Holy Spirit that God’s grace is made known to us. As Methodists, we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit because it is through the Holy Spirit that God seeks us out, speaks to us, and changes our lives. Perhaps you remember from your confirmation and membership classes or even from sermons, John Wesley had names for the types of grace that the Spirit makes known to us. Prevenient grace is the grace of God. The Holy Spirit working in us before we even know him. When I decided in college not to take a 23 story swan dive…that was prevenient grace. God was calling to me before I had ever called to him. Justifying grace is when we realize that our sins are more than we can bear, and we give them to Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, and our lives are made anew. The slate has been wiped clean. We are in a right relationship with God. When I went forward to the altar at church years ago, the Holy Spirit gave me a new start through God’s justifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the Holy Spirit working in us, to make us more like Jesus. Although Jesus wasn’t married, it was the Holy Spirit calling me to be married. Sanctifying grace is us becoming more obedient and more loving…over time
It is Pentecost that has changed my life and the life of every person on earth. The grace, power, and salvation of the Lord is not made available to just a few, but to all men, women, and children. That is why Pentecost is so important…especially to me. God saved my life. He gave me a new life. He joined my life with another…all by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now, I think that some people have a skewed idea of the Holy Spirit. They feel like we can do whatever we like, then ask God to bless our mistakes and sins afterward. The Holy Spirit is not The Force…we cannot make it obey commands. (AD LIB?) We cannot make the Holy Spirit obey our commands and our desires. Nor will it give blessing to our sins. Quite the contrary. It is the Holy Spirit though which God lives in us in order that we might truly live.
Because many of us were raised to be strong and independent, we feel like we don’t need anyone or anything We think we make it on our own, but we cannot. Each of us needs God, but we don’t need him on a far off throne. We need God here and now, and that is what the Holy Spirit is for us.
Only by the Spirit can we…
1. Pray. In the Old Testament, the only people who could speak to God were the priests and prophets. Through the Holy Spirit, we have a conduit to God. We can speak to him, even when we don’t know what to say. That is the Holy Spirit. When our hearts are too broken for words, the Spirit conveys our prayers to the Father.But not only does the Spirit allow us to talk to God, but we can also hear his replies. Not everyone listens to him. Look throughout the Old and New Testaments, or even look at people you know. There are plenty of examples of where God is talking, but no one is listening. The lights are on, but nobody’s home. When we listen for God’s voice, the Holy Spirit will bring the message. When you pray, make sure you’re listening as much as you talk.
2. Read the scriptures. Reading the Bible without the Holy Spirit is like having a GPS without a power cord. You have it. You can see it. It’s there. But you can’t make any sense of it, and it is not of much use to you. This is why cynics and skeptics can never figure out what the Bible says. They’re too busy telling the Bible what it means, not the other way around. When we open our hearts to the Spirit, the words ring a new each time with a fresh message and new poer for the reader. PRAY FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT to guide your reading of the Bible.
3. Know God. We cannot even perceive even the merest hint of God’s existence without the Spirit. Our hearts and minds are so fouled up, so fallen. We cannot believe in what we do not know, and we cannot know what we do not believe. This is where the prevenient grace of God is made known through the Spirit. We cannot know God without God’s help. The Holy Spirit is God, and its task is making God known.
4. Stay in line with his will. We can’t. The power of this world is too strong to fend off. Temptation is real and powerful, and to think that I am strong enough on my own…is to put a big old target on your back. The devil will come for a visit the moment we think we don’t need the Holy Spirit. God has a plan for each of us, and while it won’t always be easy, it will be good. We need the Holy Spirit to help us stay on the path that God has for us.
5. Move forward…the power to move. The power to act. 1 Cor. 12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
You have a gift. You have God-given abilities that God wants you to share in his service. Teaching, wisdom, prayer, faith, healing, speaking…you name it. God wants you to use your abilities. You need the Holy Spirit to make it happen. You need the Spirit to activate, empower, and encourage you in whatever ministry he calls you to. And he is calling us all to serve.
Phil. 2:12 tells us to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
We are all called from darkness to shine like stars, but we need the Holy Spirit to set us ablaze, to give fuel to the fire, and to fan the flames. Come, Holy Spirit, come.
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