Pentecost and the Gift of the Holy Spirit

Mercurial: subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind

Good morning. Welcome online folks at 9. Happy Memorial day weekend. Memorial day is a time to remember and reflect on lives that were sacrificed for our country. We have different days and holidays that help us remember the story of what’s happened in our history. Some holidays are about people who have sacrificed for our freedom and rights, for justice. And other holidays celebrate certain groups of people, like Mother’s day and Father’s day. We also have days that remind us of our history as Christ followers like Christmas and Easter. We can also take a look at how certain days remind us of the story of the Bible, the story of God’s incredible love and rescue for us and how our history informs our posture as followers of Jesus today. Today we’re wrapping up our empowered series and talking about Pentecost, the first personal encounter followers of Jesus had with the Holy Spirit that ultimately leads to Christianity bringing hope and healing to a world that desperately needs it.

Pentecost was actually a thing before it was the thing we know it as today. Pentecost was a Jewish festival where lots of people came to Jerusalem from all over the world to offer their first harvest and to ask God to bless the rest of the harvest season. A bunch of people from a bunch of different places were all together in one place.

Jesus’s followers were there in Jerusalem as well. They’d seen Jesus after he rose from the dead, and he told them he was going back to heaven but that he’d give them a helper. He told them to stay together and wait. So, they were waiting. And 10 days later, on Pentecost, they were together in a room and they heard this crazy wind sound. Then they saw fire that came to rest on each of them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and started speaking in languages they didn’t know. If we actually pause to imagine this scene, it seems pretty wild and intense, yeah?

Today is Pentecost Sunday. The wind sound and the fire and the speaking in lots of different languages thing… so what? Why do we care? Why should talk about Pentecost Sunday, why does it matter?

The story of Pentecost Sunday is the day the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to all of God’s people. And that gift is a gigantic deal. The Holy Spirit enables us to encounter God with our senses, invite others into a personal relationship with him and because of our own transformation, revolutionize the world.

Pentecost helps us understand why the world changed when followers of Jesus received the Holy Spirit in a powerful way that caused a ragtag group of random people to ultimately become an incredible movement that fundamentally transformed the world.

Something powerful happens when we gather together in the name of Jesus and expect him to show up. What Jesus’s followers saw, experienced and said is what we get to see, experience and say today. Remembering Pentecost, knowing what happened and what changed for followers of Jesus shows us that every Sunday can be Pentecost Sunday.

Let’s pray.

To understand what the Holy Spirit did on Pentecost and why it matters to us today, we need to understand the context of that day. So, let’s back up a few days. After Jesus died and rose from the dead, he was hanging out with his followers and was about to head back to heaven. His friends were getting anxious about him leaving, about what they’d do without him, and he said this to them in Acts 1:4-5.

Acts 1:4–5 NIV

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, 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.”

Jesus was very clear. Don’t leave, wait for a gift you’ve heard me talk about, be baptized in the Holy Spirit. These humans had seen and experienced incredible things being with Jesus, watching him preach, heal, stand up to authorities and turn their ideas of right and wrong, good and bad, pride and humility upside down. When Jesus tells them to do something, their relationship and experiences with him have taught them that they should listen and obey. So, they stayed where they were and waited.

A few days later, on Pentecost, Jesus’s followers had a sudden and powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. What we learn from Pentecost is that....

1. We experience the Holy Spirit with our senses.

Acts 2:2

Acts 2:2 NIV

Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

The first word in this verse is suddenly. Even though this group had been waiting for 10 days, they had an unexpected encounter. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come but didn’t hand them a manual with step by step instructions about what it would be like.‌

Imagine sitting with your friends, talking about Jesus, wondering when the Holy Spirit is gonna come and then wham. Loud wind sounds. A ball of fire, it’s described as what looks like tongue of fire, whatever that is, and then it splits off and bits of the fire rests on everyone and somehow no one starts on fire. Then, everyone starts speaking a bunch of words in different languages. Hear, see, do. The presence of the Holy Spirit engages their senses.

‌Jesus’s friends knew in their minds that Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit, and now they were actually experiencing the Holy Spirit. Something happens when we move from head knowledge to having an actual experience. Lake Superior. You can look at pictures of it, read books about it, watch videos of it, you can know everything there is about the largest freshwater lake in the world. And until you’ve gone to the shore, watched the waves crash, dipped your foot into it, and lost all feeling in the frigid water… you haven’t actually experienced Lake Superior. So many of us have had a powerful experience with Lake Superior. I was talking to someone earlier this week who said she moved away and came back because the lake just kept calling her.

Something real happens when what we know becomes what we feel, smell, taste, see and hear. The Holy Spirit isn’t a concept we’re supposed to learn about or a theory we consider. It’s a personal and intimate encounter with the living God.

Story: The first time I remember experiencing the Holy Spirit in a way I knew something was happening was at a young adult festival back in Ohio. I’d been attending a Vineyard there and I’d heard about the Holy Spirit, was watching people pray and receive prayer and I remember wondering if it was all true. I can’t remember what I wanted prayer for, why I had my hand in the air during ministry time, but I remember my whole body feeling like it had the chills but I wasn’t cold. At first I was surprised and unsure, but those not so chilly chills came with what I can only describe as feeling like my body was being injected with love and peace. I remember someone praying for me at some point but what I most remember is the feeling and surprise. I don’t know why the Holy Spirit showed up in that way and at that time, but it is something I will never forget.

Experiencing the Holy Spirit can be powerful. And, it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, friends. These Jesus nerds have an incredible encounter and people respond in different ways. Acts 2:5-13 “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? … we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”” ​

Amazed AND perplexed. It wasn’t just like everyone saw and said wow, this has to be God. Some people were like, hey I’ve seen people act like this before, this obviously has an explanation, they must be drunk. We look for logical explanations for the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Encountering the Holy Spirit means we might look or act weird. Which is a word I hate by the way, who decides what weird is? Maybe it’s not weird but it’s just that it can’t be explained by our rational, natural minds. And that can make us uncomfortable.

Have you felt filled with unexpected joy or peace or love when it didn’t make sense? I was talking with someone earlier this week who described seeing a flower and being so overcome with it’s beauty that he started crying. Have you ever been in worship and been moved to tears? Guys, that’s the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to apologize for those moments. We’re so uncomfortable with tears, aren’t we? I wanna challenge us to become more comfortable with our own tears and the tears of others and consider that those unexpected tears, those unexpected moments where we’re overwhelmed by the majesty of Lake Superior might actually be the experience of the Holy Spirit.

Some of us experience the Holy Spirit in this way on a regular basis. Speak up and speak out, friends. We learn from those who have gone before us, those who have had powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit can teach us how to be on the lookout ourselves. Let’s consider being ready for sudden interruptions. Let’s invite God to interrupt our lives and ignite our senses. And, let’s talk about what we experience.

Pentecost was when followers of Jesus got to experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in a personal and miraculous way. And that experience leads to action. The Holy Spirit empowers us to share the good news of Jesus.

2. God’s presence empowers us to share the good news of Jesus

Here’s what Jesus said about the impact of the Holy Spirit coming into the lives of his followers. Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NIV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

And here they are, a few days later, sharing the gospel in Jerusalem in different languages to people from all over the ends of the earth. Remember Pentecost was a festival of first fruits. A new kind of harvest was beginning. The day of Pentecost foreshadows what will happen as the good news of Jesus blows up throughout the Roman world over the next couple hundred years.

Peter gets up, tells the crowd that these humans aren’t drunk but filled with the Holy Spirit, preaches the gospel message and what happens? Acts 2:41

Acts 2:41 NIV

Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

An encounter with the Holy Spirit moves Peter to share the good news about Jesus. Charles Spurgeon said this about sharing the good news of Jesus. It’s “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

Peter. He was a fisherman. And let’s be clear about this, that means he was tough, rough around the edges and probably swore a lot. He was always putting his foot in his mouth. Jesus even called him Satan one time. He talked out of both sides of his mouth. He said he’d die for Jesus and then on the day Jesus actually died, this guy denied even knowing Jesus THREE times. Peter is a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. Peter isn’t better or worse than any of us. If Peter and his under-qualified resume can share the good news about Jesus, we can too.

We don’t have to have a sermon prepared and written down and when the moment hits, pull it up and go for it. Peter didn’t spend hours and hours and days and days preparing this message. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he just got up and preached his first ever sermon. Which, as a pastor who tries to be intentional about what I say is something I kinda find annoying. Even for what I’m talking to you about today, I prepare, I read the Bible and commentaries, listen to podcasts, and look at what other pastors have written about this topic. And while doing those things aren’t bad, (it’s really good actually so I don’t tell you guys a bunch of ridiculous things I interpret myself about the Bible), that’s not the only way God works in spreading his message of love, acceptance and care to the world.

Peter gets up, says a few things and 3,000 people come to Christ. Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit and does what he’s empowered to do. It’s not about Peter, it’s not about me getting up here and saying the things I’ve written down to say: God is doing it and the results are up to him.

I wonder how many of us are held back because we don’t know what to say. We don’t wanna mess it up, or screw up someone’s chance to encounter God, so we just don’t say anything. Nothing is better than the wrong thing, right?

Or, we think it’s too personal, we wanna keep our religion to ourselves, we don’t think we know enough about the Bible, we over-spiritualize it because God hasn’t specifically told us to do it, it’s a taboo thing we don’t talk about because it causes a fight at the Thanksgiving dinner table with Uncle Bob. When was the last time you shared the story of Jesus with someone? Have you ever felt so filled with the Holy Spirit that you couldn’t help but talk about God’s amazing love? If not, what’s holding us back?

For some of us, this feels like Holy Spirit 101 and maybe you’re wondering where the master class stuff is. We’ve experienced all of this and we want more. What if it’s your chance to offer your knowledge and experience to a younger generation? What if you are the teacher of the master class? As I’ve been praying for our time together this week, I think there is something God is wanting to offer to our younger generations from those of us who have been around the Vineyard for a while. I invite us to teach someone, bring someone along with us. Ephesians 4:12 Train and equip the saints.

The Holy Spirit shows up, they encounter him, they share about him. What if this first experience of the Holy Spirit is actually deeper and more personal than we’d imagine? ’Each of us, as we encounter the Holy Spirit, as we share the story of the gospel, are being transformed. And that transformation, revolutionizes the world.

3. Our Transformation Revolutionizes the World

Prior to Pentecost, people would experience God in a place. In the Old Testament it might be on a mountain, like Moses experienced on Mt Sinai, in a tabernacle or tent, or the Ark of the Covenant, or in a temple. There were priests who had to wear certain things, bathe a certain way, and offer sacrifices of specific animals to approach God’s presence. Because of our sin and brokenness, we humans couldn’t be around the perfect presence of God.

We need to go back even farther, to the very beginning of the Bible. God made the world, he made animals, grass, land, stars, sun, moon, mosquitos, he made everything. Maybe not mosquitos, those can’t be from God. He made us, he made people to be friends with him. And he made rules so we wouldn’t hurt ourselves. Think like a speed limit sign or guard rails when you’re at a go kart track. Ever bang into one of those guard rails? It’s chaotic and fantastic and it ensures you stay on the track and don’t end up in the pool filled with animals you get to feed when you’re done on the racetrack.

Guardrails. When we don’t obey God and live the way he’s invited us to live, that’s sin. And that keeps us away from a friendship and relationship with God. Because God is perfect and hasn’t done anything wrong, he’s holy. We’re too stuck in our sin to have a relationship with God and yet, God wanted to have a relationship with us. Even when we try to do good things and try to make up for it, it’ll never be enough. So God, in huge love for us, sent Jesus to live a perfect life the way only God’s son could, to rescue us from our sin. Jesus told people how much God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them. Jesus taught people to be kind, to care for the sick and needy, to recognize our own deep need for healing. Jesus was holy the way God himself is holy. While many lives were changed, there were lots of powerful people and religious leaders who didn’t like what Jesus was doing and decided to crucify him on a cross. Jesus told people that God loved them so much that he sent Jesus, himself, to die for them.

God made a way for us to access him personally by sending Jesus to be our ultimate atonement, which is a word that means God sent Jesus to reconcile and repair our relationship with him. And because of that, we get to have a personal interaction with God through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Because of what Jesus did, God now lives in those of us who have surrendered our lives to Jesus. Each of us are now like little individual temples. We don’t have to go to a place and wear certain things and sacrifice certain animals and bathe a certain way to meet Jesus. You don’t even have to come here to the Vineyard to have a powerful experience with Jesus.

Some of us think we have to show up a certain way for God, put on our quote unquote “Sunday best” and offer the best version of ourselves when we’re either in a building like this or maybe in a small group or with people we know from church. Those who choose to trust and follow Jesus have the same helper who came in wind and fire on the day of Pentecost living inside and helping each of us. And that changes everything, that transforms us and from that, the world.

Tim Keller, a pastor in New York City, says this: “The way you know that the Spirit of God has come down upon you is not that you now just have lots of wonderful feelings, but you change your whole attitude toward your money, toward yourself, toward your identify, toward your culture, and you were sent out into the world in humble service to people who before you never would have had anything to do with.”

We think Jesus came to bring us to heaven one day. We think Jesus went back up into the clouds to his heavenly penthouse and was like see ya later disciple friends, one day (as long as you make really good choices and confess your sins and do all the right things), one day… you’ll be here with me, so just keeping checking your sundial and be on the lookout for me to come back. What we experience with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit is heaven on earth here and now.

We don’t earn this by cleaning ourselves up, trying harder to do good things and acting the best we can when we think people are watching us. We think we need to do the right things to earn our way into heaven one day. The Holy Spirit brings heaven to us. It’s not about us trying to get into heaven one day, the Holy Spirit’s presence is about heaven getting into us right now.

I love this quote from the Bible project. “People will meet with God not in a geographic place or constructed space but in connection with those who choose to trust and follow Jesus. God’s fire shines with power and harms nobody, and it ignites a cosmic revolution, the Church. The story tells us that God now dwells within the community of Jesus followers. The living temple is made of people who operate like Jesus, ending fear and oppression with love and peacefully teaching humanity how to love and bless one another. In this sense, Pentecost marks the beginning of a new world.”

Jesus even tells us that our transformation will transform the world!

John 14:12–14 NIV

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

W‌e’ll do greater things than Jesus did. And. Some of us have settled. We’ve been transformed by the Holy Spirit and we’ve stalled out. We’ve seen the world, we complain about it and say and think if only someone would do something, this world wouldn’t be just falling apart around us. Your transformation is what the world needs. What if your complaints could actually lead to revolution? What if, instead of looking down our noses on the world around us, we opened up our hands, repented for our judgment and invited God to do his transformational work in and through us?

Looking back at the story of Pentecost, these followers of Jesus begin speaking in a bunch of different languages and hinting at what God’s power is going to do: it’s going to reach the nations. And sometimes he uses the most unexpected people.

A few years back, right before the pandemic, I went to a kids pastors conference in Ohio. And at our last session, they announced that there was a team of kids who were practicing prophetic ministry and listening to the Holy Spirit and that they would be praying for us. Even as those words came out of the leader’s mouth, I was undone. In a way I don’t fully understand. And then, after a few minutes of soaking in the presence of the Holy Spirit, this tiny brown haired girl who couldn’t have been more than 7 years old came over to me. She tapped me on the arm and handed me a picture. It was on blue construction paper and had a sun in the sky, green grass and a picture of me dancing in a field. that’s all she said, this is you dancing with Jesus. After she gave me that picture, I was so uncontrollably crying that I could tell this girl was alarmed so I told her they were happy tears and thanked her for the picture.

He can use anyone you guys, no matter how old or young, how much you swear or don’t, whether you believe in Jesus or not. And one of my most powerful encounters with God’s presence was when a small girl drew a picture God inspired her to draw and handed it to me. I’ve experienced a joy and freedom from that moment that I know isn’t about me, it’s about a deep transformational work of the Holy Spirit and a 7 year old girl taking a chance and practicing hearing God’s voice. It really is for all of us.

Why should we care about Pentecost? When followers of Jesus received the Holy Spirit for the very first time, they had a personal encounter with the God of all creation. And their transformation, revolutionized the world in the name of Jesus.

I wanna end with this clip from the movie Jesus Revolution. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d encourage you to check it out. It’s the story the Jesus Movement in the late 1960’s. I wanted to share this clip with us because there is something powerful here that God is inviting us into as we head into ministry time this morning. This is during a service where Lonnie Frisbee, who helped John Wimber start the Vineyard movement, is preaching and he’s interrupted by the Holy Spirit. Let’s watch together.

The people of the Jesus movement were hungry, they were on the lookout. Friends, we’re hungry and on the lookout too. Something powerful happens when we gather together in the name of Jesus and expect him to show up. What Jesus’s followers on Pentecost saw, experienced and said is what we get to see, experience and say today. So, let’s see what the Holy Spirit is up to this morning. Let’s see how we might be interrupted today.

Invite up team.

As we head into ministry time, I think it’s important to identify that there is nothing about our pray ministry team that means they have greater access to the power of the Holy Spirit. To pray for someone is really simple, ask what someone needs prayer for, pray what you hear from the Holy Spirit and check in about what happened.

Praying for the younger generation. If you’re 25 or younger, would you come up for prayer?

Communion

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