In Jesus Holy Name May 20, 2018
Text: Acts 1:8 Pentecost
“Birthdays Are Special”
This past weekend while Colleen and I were at the California Nevada Hawaii District convention we had a special dinner with our son’s family. It was our granddaughter Sydney’s 12 birthday. It was a special weekend… We celebrated at the Cheesecake Factory. We watched Sydney open presents from her parents and us. Then on Saturday Colleen took Sydney shopping for new clothes.. It is now a tradition….grandmother, granddaughter time.
I’m sure you have your own traditions surrounding birthdays. The Church also has a birthday. Some people might think that the birthday of the Church is December 25th. Some have suggested that the birthday of the Church ought to be counted from the 1st Good Friday, that is, from the day Jesus died in our stead and paid the punishment price for our sins. Believe me when I say Good Friday is a day of considerable importance to Christians, but it is not the beginning of the church. Why? Because everybody who could have begun the church on that day were locked away and in hiding.
Others might think that Easter is the birthday of the Church because that is the day Jesus rise from death and the grave. That would work. But one small problem. Even though Jesus had risen from death… the followers of Jesus didn’t get it. The women who visited the empty tomb were confused.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were confused. The disciples in the upper room were still hiding. Disbelief, doubt, skepticism are reasons the Resurrection should not be considered the birthday of the Church.
This is why today, Pentecost Sunday is the birthday of the Church.
Religious Jews came to the Jerusalem Temple to celebrate two festivals. They came on Passover to remember the night the angel of death passed over the Jewish homes and the children of Israel were released from Egyptian slavery. Then they returned 50 days later to celebrate the gift of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. (sermon Ken Klaas May 23, 2010)
The Holy Spirit was given to the disciples in order to tell God’s story of salvation through Jesus.
During His life on earth Jesus was in constant conflict with the powers of Satan. These conflict have not ceased. The enemy we face is not a physical fortress. “We are contending not against flesh and blood but the powers of spiritual darkness which causes mean and women to lead lives of disobedience, giving into selfish passions of the flesh.” (Ephesians 2:2-3) We know there is sin in our world and in our lives. Our tendency might be to seek to cast off a particular sin through sheer will power. But that usually does not work. How long did our New Year’s resolutions last? If we gave up gossip for lent…did that habit come back?
A.W. Tozer wrote these words regarding he Person of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not enthusiasm. He is not courage. He is not energy. He is not the personification of all good qualities, like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather. Actually the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything. He is a Person, the same as you are a person, but not material substance. He has individuality. He is one being and not another. He has will and intelligence. He has hearing. He has knowledge and sympathy and ability to love and see and think. He can hear, speak, desire, grieve and rejoice. He is a Person.” He is God!
In the very beginning in Genesis 1:2 the word of God says… that the earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of god was hovering over its surface.
The Holy Spirit is what enabled the disciples to proclaim the gospel message in different languages on the day of Pentecost. He is the active presence of God in the life of the Church, which is the body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit is not an option in the Christian life. It’s not getting power windows or air conditioning in your car as an option. The Holy Spirit is the power which enables the Christian to live an obedient, productive and fruitful life.
What does the Holy Spirit want to do for you and for me? He wants to give us “power” (Acts 1:8) for what purpose? So that we can tell others about Jesus…everywhere, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
The proclamation of the good news of the resurrection of Jesus was to be the first order of business for the new church in Jerusalem. That remains the first order of business for us today.
The Holy Spirit brought life to disciples who were hiding behind closed doors.
When the disciples saw Jesus hanging on the cross, it was as though their world had shattered. The “gift” of God had been taken away. Then in the wonder of the resurrection, Jesus returns to be with the disciples and they were filled with joy. In the book of Acts Luke writes: “On one occasion, while Jesus was eating with the disciples, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” V. 8 “You will receive power when Holy Spirit comes on you…” for what purpose? “ You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
Today is Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian church. Today’s message is about the activity of the Holy Spirit. Let’s be honest. Lutheran’s are theological giants when it comes to the doctrine of “justification”. We know a lot about Jesus and God….but do you really know anything about the Holy Spirit? Our own Lutheran definition to the third article of the Apostle’s Creed tells us what we need to know? When was the last time you looked at it? Studied it?
“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to him. But the Holy Ghost has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and preserves me in the true faith…. In this Christian church he forgives me all my sins…..and on the last day he will raise me and all the dead…and give me eternal life to all who believe in Christ. This is most certainly true.
The prophet Isaiah wrote: “all of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”
On of the most devastating effects of sin is that it blinds us to our own sin. “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him.” Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes. Only the Holy Spirit can convict us of the depth of our sin, and only he can convince us that we are dying of spiritual thirst. Only he can convince us that we are lost.
In John 16:8 Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit and he says: “When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin.” It is the truth of the Word of God, which is used by the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to our hearts. The Bible tells us “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ”. (Romans 10:17) Apart from this mysterious work of the Holy Spirit we would never clearly see the truth of God nor our lost spiritual state and our personal need for a Savior. (Decision June 1992)
Our own Lutheran creed notes: that we are called by the Gospel. Jesus said: “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” It is the Spirit of the Father who does this work in our hearts. “Luther writes: “in this Christian church the Holy Spirit” daily and abundantly forgives all my sins, and the sins of all believers.” It is the Holy Spirit that enables you and I ….through the ministry of the church, confession and absolution and Holy Communion, to experience in a personal way the work of Christ on the cross. In other words, it is the Spirit that makes forgiveness “real”.
Finally, Luther wrote: “on the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me from the dead”. Did Jesus raise himself on Easter? It was the work of the Father through the Holy Spirit.
Gordon Fee in his book: “Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God” writes: “the coming of the Spirit is God’s promise fulfilled: his presence returned to his people.
The coming of the Holy Spirit means that God is fulfilling his promise to Jeremiah and Ezekiel when he said, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.” (Jer. 31:31) “I will put a new spirit in you.” (Ez 36:26)
In the Old Testament God resided in the tabernacle with the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. Later his presence dwelt in the temple built by Solomon. God ultimately said “enough” and removed his presence from the temple: “then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple.” (Ez 10:18)
In the New Testament Paul writes in I Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple? That God’s Spirit lives in you?” Through the Spirit, God empowers his people in both ordinary and extraordinary ways.
Not only has God’s presence returned, but it is his empowering presence. Jesus said, “Remain in Jerusalem …wait for the gift my Father has promised…..you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.” Gordon Fee writes: “The living God is a God of power; and by the Spirit the power of the living God is present with us and for us.”
That means that in the church today one person may be given wisdom, another knowledge, another the ability to heal, to another the ability to discern spirits, another the gift of serving, another the gift of teaching, or the gift of leadership, or generosity or encouragement. (Romans 12 I Corinthians. 12)
In other words the Spirit is not merely some abstract “force” or “influence” involved in the Creation story. The Spirit is the engaged presence of God revealing himself through believing members of the empowered church.
Maybe the prayer of Moses should be our prayer today. On Mount Sinai Moses prayed: (Exodus 33:15) O Lord, “if your presence doesn’t’ go with us….what else will distinguish your people from all other people on the face of the earth?
