Preached by: Rev. Larry C. Brincefield on May 30, 2004
at Belleview Church of the Nazarene
Title: Controlled Chaos: The Story of Pentecost
Text: Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:1-21
Introduction
1. Chaos Theory is a mathematical theorem…
• Math was never my forte…
• But let me attempt a very simplistic definition…
• Chaos theory was first developed by Edward Lorenz in the 1960’s…
• He was a MIT Meteorologist…
• And he was trying to predict weather patterns.
• And ultimately described something called “the Butterfly Affect”.
• Which you may have heard, whereby a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil…
• And through, an indeterminate number of sequences…
• Causes a tornado in Texas.
• And it became known as Chaos Theory.
2. It has also been illustrated by this little poem attributed to Benjamin Franklin:
"For want of a nail, the shoe was lost;
For want of a shoe, the horse was lost;
For want of a horse, the rider was lost;
For want of a rider, a message was lost;
For want of a message the battle was lost;
For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost!
All for the want of a horseshoe nail"
• In other words, because of a lost nail in a horse shoe…
• the kingdom was lost
3. Our world seems to be a place of chaos…
• war…
• terror…
• crime…
• pain…
• deteriorating health…
• surgery…
• catastrophic weather…
• erosion…
• decay…
• rust…
• illness…
• death…
• as we look at the world around us, we begin to see chaos everywhere…
4. But this morning, I subscribe to a different theory, let me tell you about it..
• I call it “controlled chaos”.
• At first, controlled chaos seems like an oxymoron…
• How can chaos be controlled?
• And if chaos is controlled…then it no longer meets the definition of chaos….
• Well, that’s what I want for us to explore this morning…
Read Text: Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:1-21
1. Chaos in the beginning…
A. Scripture says that before the creation everything…
• The world was “without form and void”
• The Message Bible says, “Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness.”
• The Living Bible says, “the earth was a shapeless, chaotic mass
• The world was in chaos…
• There was no form…
• There was no control…
• There was nothing of substance…
• You couldn’t stand on it…
• It was disorganized…
• It was a mess…
• It was confusion…
• It was a complete and utter turmoil.
B. And, if left alone…
• Our world would still be like that.
• But something happened that changed everything…
• Something happened to bring a measure of control to the chaos…
• And we find that something is actually a “Someone” Who we read about in Genesis 1:2…
• the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
• The Holy Spirit settled upon the chaos…
• And God began His creative word in our world…
• First of all, He created light…
• And separated it from the darkness…
• And suddenly, the chaotic mess wasn’t quite as chaotic…
• Then God separated the disorganized mess some more…
• By separating the sky from the water…
• And then, He created dry ground separated from the water…
• And, by the time God was done…
• He had taken what was once a chaotic, disorganized mess…
• And brought order.
• He brought harmony…
• He brought tidiness…
• Controlled chaos.
• Now, if the story ended there…
• I’m sure I wouldn’t be standing here…
• And I certainly wouldn’t be sharing a sermon on this topic…
C. But we know that Sin entered that perfect utopia…
• And sin is the embodiment of chaos…
• And, as sin began to spread from one person to the next…
• Our world began to slowly deteriorate little by little…
• And after a period of time, it became a rampant, disorderly, chaotic mess.
• And God intervened again in Noah’s day…
• And cleaned up the mess…
• And restored a sense of orderliness...
• Controlled chaos.
2. Chaos at Pentecost
A. Prior to the events In Acts chapter 2, we see some very peculiar things…
• Everything had seemed to be coming together…
• Jesus, God in the flesh, came to earth…
• And began to bring order…
• Out of the chaos of our lives.
• His teachings were powerful…
• They were moving…
• They were life-changing…
• But then, sinful men killed Jesus…
• And, even though Jesus rose again…
• And we see chaos begin to reign…
• We see fear…
• We see lives spinning out of control.
B. And just when the world seemed to be on its last legs, spiritually speaking…
• Something incredible happened…
• The Spirit moved again!
• Just like during creation…
• When God’s Spirit moved and brought control out of the chaos…
• God’s Spirit moved again, and brought control to people’s lives who were living in chaos.
• I find it interesting that when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost…
• We have the rushing mighty wind…
• We have the flames of fire…
• Because with wind and fire we see the principles of chaos and control.
• Wind under control, produces electricity from a windmill..
• And cools our face with a fan.
• But wind OUT of control, is a tornado…destroying everything in its path.
• Fire under control provides heat to warm us…and a candle to light our way…
• Fire out of control is a raging wildfire destroying everything in its path.
C. On the day of Pentecost…
• The Holy Spirit comes on the scene…
• And it SEEMS pretty wild…
• It seems to be pretty crazy, and chaotic…
• The winds are blowing and the flames are burning…
• But it is under the control of the Holy Spirit…
• And disciples who were losing control…
• And living in fear…
• Suddenly were gaining control, by the power of the Holy Spirit…
• And they were bold, excited, on fire for God…
• Such a change!
D. I’m sure it still seemed chaotic…
• The change in people’s lives…
• Speaking in other languages…
• Thousands of people getting saved from their sins…
• In fact, some of the people thought they were drunk on wine…
• And in a way, it was chaos…
• But it was controlled chaos…
• Chaos, under the control of the Holy Spirit.
• Based on this passage of Scripture, I’ve named my Sunday School Class, “C3—Controlled Chaos Club”.
• As a class, we are going to have a wild, wonderful, chaotic time…
• But, under control of the Holy Spirit…
• Controlled chaos.
3. Today is Pentecost Sunday…
A. This is the day when we look back upon that first Pentecost…
• But it is also a day when we remember that the Holy Spirit is still active!
• God’s Spirit is still in the business of bringing control to the chaos of our lives.
• Sin is still at work in our world…
• And, while we realize that Christ achieved victory over sin when He rose from the dead…
• We are still faced with the effects of sin;
• At least until Christ comes again…
• And the final battle is won once and for all eternity.
B. Sometimes, we feel like our lives are in chaos…
• Perhaps it’s the chaos of sin…
• Sexual sin, which destroys family relationships…
• Greed, which creates desire within us for more and more material things…but the desire is never satisfied…
• Selfishness, always looking out for what WE want…
• And not giving consideration to anyone else…
• And the results of these sins and all sin…
• Is chaos…
• Turmoil…
• Messy family relationships…
• Messy lives…
• Messy homes…
• And ultimately death.
C. But maybe you’re here this morning, thinking to yourself:
• “but preacher, I’m already a Christian…
• I’ve invited Jesus into my heart…
• But my life is still in chaos”
• The good news is, that’s the exact same position the disciples were in…
• They were followers of Jesus Christ….
• But their lives were still lacking something…
• Chaos still overwhelmed them…
• But when the Holy Spirit came…
• The chaos came under control…
• And today, the Holy Spirit will do the same for you…
• If you feel like your life is out of control…
• And you are governed by chaos…
• And fear…
• And temptation…
• And lust…
• And anger…
• And prejudice…
• And pride…
• And envy…
• The Holy Spirit will come and bring control to your life.
• All you have to do is ask…
• All you have to do is pray…
• “Lord, I’ve tried to follow you, but my life is still a struggle…
• My life is still in turmoil…
• And it seems that the more I try…
• The harder it is…
• But, I turn control of my life to You…
• I give you the chaos and turmoil in my heart…
• And ask you to come in and bring peace and contentment”
• The amazing thing is, when you pray a prayer like that…
• He does just that…
• And yes, it is just that easy.
D. Does that mean that there will never be anymore chaotic moments in our lives?
• No…but what it does mean…
• Is that it is controlled chaos…
• Fear may come, but it doesn’t overwhelm us…
• Because the Holy Spirit lives within and He says, “Don’t be afraid”…
• Our health may deteriorate…
• Our loved ones may get sick…
• Perhaps you’ve even had a loved one pass away…
• But the Holy Spirit is there…
• Residing within our hearts…
• Providing control in the midst of the chaos.
Conclusion
1. Chaos theory is a fascinating theory…
• Mathematically, I can see how seeming similar minor incidents…
• Can lead to wildly different outcomes…
• A thrown horseshoe could have effects that are more far reaching then we could ever realize.
• And, in fact, we see chaos in our world…
• But it is under the control of the Holy Spirit…
• God’s Spirit brought control out of the quagmire…
• And created a beautiful world…
• And this world has never been the same.
• God’s Spirit came at Pentecost…
• And brought control to a disheveled group of disciples…
• And this world has never been the same.
2. God’s Spirit is here today…
• And He is ready to bring control to the chaos of your life.
• All you have to do is ask Him…
• And He will come in…
• And you will never be the same again!
Close with: “Come, Holy Spirit”
