Pentecost Sunday

Well, before I get into a message this morning, we have a really special and wonderful occasion to celebrate today. We have the amazing honor and privilege to dedicate Hallie Jane Werner to God.

Many of you know Frank and Jessica Werner and their daughter Brookie and little Hallie Jane. Before I have them come up here I want to take a few minutes to share some things and then have you come up so we can bless you and lay hands on you and pray for you.

As pastor of this church and in the tradition I grew up in we don’t do what is called Baby Baptism, but rather we do a dedication. And the reason is simply that we believe that baptism is something each person chooses to do because it is a personal expression of dedication and commitment to the Lord. Baby’s and young children can’t do that, make a conscious decision to honor God by publicly declaring that they are a follower of Jesus. That’s not to say that baby baptism is wrong. I don’t think I’m so bold as to say that. It simply means that we take time to focus on our role as a community, and to encourage parents and family and friends, and also to ask God to work in and through all of us around the child, but also in the child to both lead, direct, protect and watch over this precious life.

One of the most common, and most wonderful scriptures in the bible that really takes this idea of dedicating our children to the Lord to the highest level is the story of Hannah and Elkanah. It’s in 1 Samuel 1. Hannah was a young Israelite woman. And she was not able to have children. Every year her and her husband would go to the Tabernacle, which is the temple of God, at a place called Shiloh to worship God and offer sacrifice. One year, after dinner Hannah went off by herself and was praying. She was crying bitterly. In deep anguish, crying desperately to the Lord. She was so beside herself that Eli, the priest at the time thought she had been drinking.

He goes over to her and confronts her and she says, “I haven’t been drinking at all. But I am very discouraged, and am pouring my heart out to the Lord. I have been in deep anguish and sorrow and prayer.” And Eli says to her. “Oh, well in that case, / / May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

Well, she goes home, and sure enough, before the year is through she’s pregnant and gives birth to a little boy and names him Samuel. This is where Hannah is different. She is so grateful to God that she dedicates the life of Samuel to the service of God. So much so that she says to her husband. “I won’t take him to the temple just yet, I will wait until he is weaned, and then bring him and leave him there to serve the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:24-28 says, / / When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three year old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.

And as the story goes on Samuel grows up serving the Lord, serving Eli, the priest, and every year his mother and father come to visit and the bible says Hannah made him a coat and brought it to him.

Now, this is about as extreme as it gets, isn’t it? Literally dedicating the child to the service of God by bringing him to the temple and leaving him there permanently. I am in no way saying this should be done. But there are some really amazing points within this story that as parents we would do well to see and give attention to.

A big, and I would even suggest more important part of dedicating our children to the Lord is looking at what we as parents are also dedicating ourselves to.

Dedicate is an interesting word. It means two different things. First, it means to devote time, effort, or yourself to a particular task or purpose. That is all you. But it also means to devote something to a particular task or purpose. So when we dedicate our children to the Lord what we are essentially saying is this: “I dedicate myself to raising my child in the service of the Lord, and as the one who God gave this child to, I use that parental honor to give my child over to care and purposes of God.”

I am devoting myself, my time, my efforts to the purpose of my child being raised in the ways of God. While also taking my child, and continually handing them over to God, to his care, to his purposes. So, what we can learn from Hannah’s experience is this:

/ / Holding on doesn’t work.

Psalm 127:3 says, / / Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.

If we forget that it is God who gave our children to us, we might think that it is all on us to raise them, all on use to protect them, and all on us to do right by them. And what we can end up doing is holding on too close.

Recognizing that God is the one who gave us this incredible gift reminds us that God is as much, if not even more dedicated to the process of raising our children than we are.

Hannah recognized that Samuel was God’s first, and hers second.

/ / Dedication is key.

Hannah’s response to God giving her a child was to give God her child. Now, like I said, I don’t recommend you bring your children to the church and just drop them off and come see them once a year, but what we can learn from this process is to remind ourselves as often as we can, every day, that we want God involved in our child’s life, and we want our child to be in God’s love, purpose and care.

Hannah says, “I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.”

I think for us this is a simple continually repeated moment. You gave me this child, so I give You this child… You gave, so I give… Not unlike our own life of dedication to God. God gave his son…we give our lives. Jesus gave his life, we give our devotion...

/ / Lifelong commitment to Lord & Child.

The last thing Hannah says is, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life. And then the scripture tells us she goes year after year to see him and bring him a new coat.

This is a lifelong commitment both to our children and to God.

It’s been amazing to have my parents here with us this month, and the reality is, I may be 41, but I still feel their dedication and commitment to me, and how their dedication and commitment to God impacts me. They are a constant source of comfort, reassurance and a model of commitment and dedication to God. As their son I have seen in them over my 41 years a continued growth and relationship and commitment to the Lord in their own lives.

This is by far the greatest impact you will have on your children. And I can’t say this with enough passion or conviction. Honestly, this is so key… / / The greatest impact you will ever have on your children is your own personal dedication to God expressed in front of them.

When they see you honor God.

When they see you dedicate your time, effort, finance, life to God, they learn it works, they see it works. A life modelled is a life given.

Give a preacher a mic, right? Sorry if I’m a little long winded here, but I think it’s important to understand why we do these things and also that there is a real gift here. So, Kelley asked me what date I wanted to do it and I replied, “Doesn’t matter to me.” And she back from talking to Frank and Jessica with May 28th. I don’t know if that was on purpose or not, but I think it’s absolutely amazing that the day that the entire world-wide church is celebrating and focusing on the commitment of God to give us the Holy Spirit is the day we are doing this. Really, God’s dedication of His presence to us, to fill us with the Holy Spirit and with his power and presence, is the day we are saying, “God, would you fill these parents with your wisdom and presence as they love and lead their family and would you watch over, protect, bless and anoint this young life!”

So, why don’t we get mom and dad, and Brookie and any of the family also that wants to come up and stand around them, lay hands on them and bless them with us. And as a congregation I want to invite you to pray and bless this family with us.

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Well, this morning we are also wrapping up our series / / Life After the Cross: lessons to learn between easter and pentecost, and today is Pentecost Sunday.

Like I said, I think it’s absolutely amazing, and maybe God had a bit of a hand in it, that we took time this morning to ask Holy Spirit to watch over and protect and lead little Hallie Jane and her parents on the day that we are celebrating the fulfillment of God’s promise to send us the Holy Spirit to do exactly that for all of us!

So, for the last 6 weeks we’ve been looking at what we need to learn in this critical season of time between Jesus resurrection and his ascension and then through Pentecost. And before Jesus even goes to the cross, he tells the disciples what the end goal of that time period will be - that he is going to send them the Holy Spirit. John 16:5-15 says, and this is Jesus speaking to his disciples, / / “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”

This is such a great promise for the disciples, but also a great explanation as to what the Holy Spirit will do for us.

Remember, we’re talking about two things here, what the disciples needed to learn between easter & pentecost, and what we now learn as we move from living our own way to living as a follower of Jesus. So this promise of the Holy Spirit to come would have been so necessary for the disciples who are about to lose Jesus.

Of course they didn’t get it, right? We know that. When Jesus gets arrested they all scatter. As much as Jesus told them he was going to have to go away, they just didn’t understand it. And then when he comes back, as we saw last week, they are still asking, “Is this when you’re going to set up your Kingdom?”

No, He’s going away, but don’t worry, he is sending the Holy Spirit. And so he says, as we read last week from Acts 1:4-5, / / “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

As we’ll see in a bit, how prophetic was John the Baptist in Luke 3:16 when he says, / / “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am - so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire!”

So, in this promise that Jesus gives in John 16, of the coming Holy Spirit, look at the promise we also can receive in these words:

/ / 1. He is the Advocate

First things first, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate. Or some translations say, the Helper, and others say the Comforter. But the word in the greek text is / / parakletos, translated intercessor or consoler, advocate, comforter - summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid.

Strong’s concordance says, / / parakletos - in the widest sense, a helper, aider, assistant, of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.

Makes sense when you read the end of the conversation… John 16:33, the last verse of the chapter, ends with, / / “...I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

So to know that you’re being given the advocate, or the helper, the one who is meant to aid you through trial and sorrow, should be very encouraging. And remember this. The disciples didn’t get it. But we’re on the other side looking back. You can get this. You can fully embrace this. Jesus Christ went away so that the Holy Spirit could come to us, those who believe, to aid us in this life, to encourage us in this life, to teach us and lead us to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give us divine strength to endure trial and persecution on behalf of God’s Kingdom.

/ / 2. He Convicts

This one can get a little dicey. We don’t have the best relationship with the word convict because in todays terms it almost always means that you’ve been convicted of a crime and there will be due punishment. So when we read scriptures like, “The Holy Spirit will convict of sin, righteousness and judgement” it kinda sounds like, “We have sinned, we are not righteous, we will be judged...” But that’s not what Jesus is saying at all. Not even close.

First of all, that word, yes it means convict, rebuke, tell one’s fault. But why do we think that’s a bad thing?

/ / To correct course you have to know you’re going the wrong way.

We have to destroy this idea that God convicts out of anger. He doesn’t, he does everything he can to ensure that we are able to turn from what is destroying us because of our own decisions to do our own thing and neglect what He’s told us we should do.

2 Peter 3:9 says, / / The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

That word repent means to have a change of mind. So, this is an opportunity to be informed you’re doing it wrong, so that you make a decision to have your mind changed which in turn can change your direction.

Paul says in Romans 2:4, / / Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

His wrath will make you repent....uhhh....nope, his kindness.

His anger will turn you from your evil ways… nooo....wrong again, his kindness.

His judgement and threat of eternal hell fire.... nope, he’s being patient because he doesn’t want ANYONE to be destroyed by their own actions, so he does everything he can, being wonderfully kind toward us so we can see the error of our ways and make the choice to turn toward Him again.

Break up with angry conviction and allow the love of God to convict you in the most kind and patient way so you can move toward a greater and deeper understanding of this glorious gospel and relationship with God who loves you and saves you.

The last two things John 16 says, / / Righteousness is now available because I go to the Father. Judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.

So let me ask you this morning. Are you the ruler of this world? No. Let the judgement of God fall on the enemy of our souls. Let the righteousness of Jesus Christ through the cross become your righteousness. Let the conviction of how we are being led astray and believing wrongly convince us that there is a better way. The Jesus way!

This is the true and deep work of the Holy Spirit as we allow him to work in our lives.

/ / 3. He Leads into Truth

Truth is and will become more important as we move forward in this time.

Isaiah 60:1-3 says, / / “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.”

Now, whether that prophecy has come true, is coming true, or is yet to come at some point down the road in the future. The truth of it remains. As darkness increases, the light has an even greater impact.

John 1:5 says, / / The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

In scripture there is often a connection between light and truth. Light removes darkness. Truth removes lies. Where there is light there can be no darkness. Where there is truth, there can be no deception.

Psalm 43:3 says, / / Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.

And so Jesus says in John 16:13, / / When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

Look at what it says. Not just tell you the truth, but GUIDE you into all truth. But to be guided into something, we have to be listening, and so Jesus goes further to explain...

/ / 4. He Is Speaking

The last thing Jesus really says in John 16 is that the Holy Spirit will directly share with us this truth that he’s talking about. What’s the best way to guide someone? Speaking to them and telling them how to navigate and walk through whatever it is you are trying to guide them through… And Jesus says of the Holy Spirit:

/ / He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.

/ / He will tell you about the future.

/ / He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

And again, Jesus repeats that line immediately, / / All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”

So, all these things that Jesus says about the Holy Spirit are what the disciples are looking forward to and this is what we can look forward to in our experience of the Holy Spirit.

If you are not experiencing these things already, I want to encourage you this morning to begin to pray for and expect these things because this is the truth. Jesus said it. And if Jesus said it, we should expect it, right?

That speaks to our level of faith, doesn’t it? Jesus said, “Hey, when the Holy Spirit comes this is what he’ll do...” And sometimes I’m sitting here saying, “I mean, I hope so...”

I gotta imagine Jesus is sitting in heaven going, “Don’t you trust me? Do you not trust that what I said is true?”

Listen, I get it, we are directed by our own experiences and logic. I have this conversation often with Kaylee. Because she’s 9 years old, but I’m not all that different from her sometimes. She comes to me, asks me a question, I tell her the answer, and she doesn’t believe me. Or she comes to me saying one thing and I have to let her know that what she is saying is not true, but when I give her the truth, she doesn’t believe me.

And sometimes I look at her and say, “Do you trust me? Do you trust that I wouldn’t tell you a lie?”

How much more can we say that of Jesus Christ, who himself said, “I am the truth” And of the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth, that leads in truth, and Numbers 23:19 says,/ / God is not a man, so he does not lie.

Do you trust Jesus? Do you trust that these are the promises of the Holy Spirit given to us?

That he is our advocate, our helper, our aid in time of trouble and the one who leads us deeper into the gospel?

That he is convicting, not to condemn, but to redeem, to lead us toward the right path?

That he is truth, speaks truth, leads in truth?

And that He is speaking to us?

Whatever your experience has been with Holy Spirit, I want you today to increase your expectation as we read the account of Pentecost Sunday.

So, let’s finish up this series by reading from Acts 2, the moment that all of this has been leading up to. Jesus saying it’s better he goes away, for THIS moment. If he doesn’t go away, this moment can not happen. It’s all leading to this.

/ / On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers.

They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, and yet we here them speaking in our own native languages … about the wonderful things God has done!” They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other.

But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!”

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. These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:

‘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. In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants - men and women alike - and they will prophesy...”

Now, that’s not the end of Peter’s speech, nor the end of the story, you can continue reading that on your own time. But, gosh, there is just so much here, but for sake of time I really feel to focus on simply the fact that this is the promise fulfilled, and not just for the disciples 2000 years ago, but for us right here and right now.

You might not have a dramatic experience like this. Windstorm in your house, fire on your head, but I believe that scripture is clear, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit. There are a bunch of scriptures we could read through on that, but Ephesians 1:13-14 says this, / / And now you gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

Now, there has been over the last 2000 years probably an infinite number of ways that Holy Spirit has revealed and moved upon humanity. And I can not presume to understand the why and how of what Holy Spirit does.

Look at what Acts 2 says, / / …there was a sound from heaven like a mighty windstorm... Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.

That’s pretty dramatic!

Acts 4:31 says, / / After [they prayed], the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Another very dramatic example.

And that can sometimes lead us to expect a certain dramatic or definitive moment where the Holy Spirit moves or fills believers, but as you read the book of Acts it mentions being filled with the Holy Spirit many times without any such dramatic moment. Again, the Holy Spirit is God, equal in the trinity to the Father and the Son, and I can’t presume to understand why he does what He does.

In the Old Testament we read in Exodus 19:18 that God reveals himself in fire and smoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai and it says the mountain shook violently, but in 1 Kings, the prophet Elijah is on Mount Sinai, about 600 years after Moses experience there, and scripture says, in 1 Kings 19:11-13, / / And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire, but in the gentle whisper, some translations say, the still, small voice.

I can’t presume to understand why sometimes God shakes the earth and other times he whispers his heart to us.

I can’t begin to imagine why God would reveal himself in fire one day and 2 Timothy says that the writers of scripture were inspired by God through his breath, such a soft and gentle image.

I don’t know why in Acts 2 it says tongues of fire and a mighty rushing wind, and in John 20:22 it says, / / [Jesus] breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

What I do know without a shadow of doubt in my heart and mind is that the Holy Spirit is the promise to those who believe and that Jesus Christ, when he had completed what he needed to complete on this earth, fulfilled what he said in John 16, that it was better that he go away so that the Holy Spirit could come, to lead us, guide us, prepare us, teach us, and fill us with the very presence and love of God.

Whatever your experience has been. Raise your expectation this morning for the reality of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life.

You are meant to receive and be filled with the very presence of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the greatest point to make on Pentecost Sunday. This is not for some believers and not for others. This is not a theological debate. This is the truth. If Jesus goes away, he will send the Holy Spirit. If you believe, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. He is the down payment, the promise of the full inheritance we have in Christ Jesus which we will not receive until we are with him in heaven for eternity. But in this life, we have that promise.

The second thing I want to say to you this morning is: / / The Holy Spirit is not a one time gift or experience! But we have to hold that with a bit of understanding.

We used to sing this song, Come Like You Promised. An absolutely beautiful song by Amber Brooks.

The Chorus was simple. Won’t You come, come like You promised, pour out Your Spirit, pour out Your Spirit. And there was a time where Kelley and I were leading worship, and the pastor of the church asked us not to sing that song because the fact is that the Holy Spirit HAS already come.

I get the sentiment, and I don’t disagree, with that truth. We have received the Holy Spirit when we believed. That is what I believe. It’s what scripture says.

But, we also have to hold this in the tension that the Holy Spirit can not be confined to a single moment.

In Acts chapter 4 Peter and John are brought before a bunch of Jewish religious leaders and reprimanded for teaching that Jesus was the Messiah and people can be saved by believing in his name. They threaten them, and warn them not to use the name of Jesus any more. But, because they had healed a man, the entire city is going to go into an uproar if they are arrested or punished because they’ve just done an incredible miracle the day before, they had healed a man who was lame, or crippled. So they have to let them go.

Peter and John are freed, and they return to the rest of the believers and tell them about what these religious leaders had said. Instead of worrying about what to do, instead of giving in to the fear of these threats by the Jewish leaders, they drop right into prayer. Acts 4:29-31 says that they prayed this, / / “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

What I want you to see here is that being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one time event. There is, what I would call, a duality to the Spirit of God, in that he is both with us, and ever increasing in us.

I think of it this way. When Kelley and I are at home, we are in each others presence. And that’s wonderful. But we can easily be doing our own thing. We can easily be on opposite sides of the room, me on my chair, her on the couch. But then there are moments where we sit together, where we are not just in each other’s presence, but we connect. “Ya, I know we are together, but come here.”

It is the same with Holy Spirit. Yes, God will never leave you or forsake you, that is a promise. Yes, we are in his presence, but I want to experience the person of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, I am near to you, but I want to feel you.

Yes, you are with me. But would you fill me to overflowing again...

Romans 5:5 says that / / ...the love of God is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. But that word poured is not a dainty little dribble but it means to gush out, to run greedily...

So, this morning we are going to end by praying and asking Holy Spirit to come and fill us again. Whether you have recognized that you have received the Holy Spirit or you have wondered if you have or not. I want you to increase your expectation this morning. Allow the truth of God’s word, and the truth of the promise through Jesus Christ to set that expectation. You HAVE received, and you WILL receive.

And regardless of the physical or emotional expression you experience, do not let that hinder, or impact the reality that He is with you, in you and working through you. Maybe God shows himself in the fire. Maybe he shows himself in the still small voice. I won’t put on him the need to conform to my demands. I simply believe. I simply ask. I pray, I worship, I lean into Him when I sense or feel his leading.

salvation...