Just the Beginning

It is always interesting the conversations people have with you when they find out that you are a pastor. Perhaps some of them would have happened regardless of my calling, but there are definitely some that have only happened becuase the person I talked to either knew already or found out that I was a pastor. I was talking to someone who wanted to ‘talk to the pastor’. So sure enough we met in my office and chatted. Like many of these kinds of conversations I honestly had no idea what we were going to talk about or where it would lead. I found out his name was John and that John lived not too far from the church but in a somewhat unpopulated area. John shared with me that he lived alone and that he read the Bible and that he ‘got saved’ a number of years ago. I asked him where he went to church and he told me he didn’t go to church anymore. So I asked him if he did a Bible study with any other Christians and he didn’t do that either. He just read the Bible by himself. Then I asked if he watched anyone on TV or listened to the radio. And he answered ‘no’.

So I asked him what it was exactly that he did as a Christian. He then very adamantly reiterated what he told me. He was already saved and now he reads his Bible by himself. Then he added one more line that really explained to me everything else he told me. This is what he said, “Since I am saved I am just waiting until I return home to God where I can start the new life that God intended for me.” John had this sense of faith that salvation meant that he was now saved and that this is not the life a Christian, a child of God was meant for, but that we were meant for the life to come. We were meant to be in heaven and this life was just a temporary place we had to be until we finally got to go home. I am probably oversimplifying it, but that is the gist of what he was saying and what he believed about the Bible and salvation.

If that is the case then what was the point of everything Jesus said when he ascended into heaven which we talked about last week? Jesus entire conversation with them was about opening their minds and telling them to go out into the world to proclaim the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus after they receive the promise of God. Well today the disciples receive that promise. The Holy Spirit comes to them and the are filled with the Spirit and it basically drives them out of the place they were staying so that they could share the Good News with all the people from the different parts of the world who were gathered there for the day of Pentecost. The very first thing the Spirit does is give the disciples the ability to speak in other languages.

If the intent of our lives was to go to heaven once we believed, I very much doubt that the very first act of the Spirit coming into the world would be to give each of the disciples the ability to speak in different kinds of languages. Even if the point is simply to go to heaven, how is even that message supposed to happen if we don’t do anything? The simple fact is that the message wouldn’t spread, and we likely wouldn’t be here today. Which is why this idea that being saved is the goal and nothing else is not the response to God’s great love for us. The answer is to go out into the streets and proclaim the radical love of God.

We see that being done by Peter in his speech to the residents and pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. And what he does is he quotes the prophet Joel. There are two things that I want to point out about this quote. First, we see that twice in Joel’s prophecy that God through Joel is being inclusive in his calling people back. We see that in the opening line when he tells them that God will pour out God’s spirit on all flesh. Not only is it significant that the Spirit is being mentioned, but also the fact that God says that the spirit will be poured out on all flesh. God is making the spirit available to all people. Then he goes on to show just how extensive that list is, including those people who find themselves in slavery. Basically meaning that there is no distinction between people when it comes to sharing God’s spirit with the world. Including all those people from all the nations of the world that are listening to Peter speak right now. Then God says again that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Once again making it clear that this inclusion into God’s family is available to anyone and everyone.

Second is that all of this is happening now and that all of it was a part of God’s plan. When Peter quotes Joel’s prophecy we are seeing the fulfillment of scripture being played out. More importantly the crowds that gathered there to hear these people talking in tongues are hearing their own scripture being used to show them that it is in fact being fulfilled. That these days that they are living in are the days that God has been moving toward for a long time. Even though Peter calls them the last days, what he is actually talking about is that the final part of God’s plan for this world is now happening. That final part of God’s plan includes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the giving of the Holy Spirit to all flesh which is happening now on Pentecost, and our living into that gift and the calling to share the good news with all nations. So last days doesn’t specify some doom and gloom, but the eternal reign of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That is why this is not the end, this is not the time to just sit back and wait for heaven to appear, but it is time to get out into the world and declare the love of God as found in Christ Jesus. My friends this is just the beginning of what God has planned for all of us and God’s world.

Now we only get half of Peter’s speech today and even at half of the scripture we can assume that Peter probably preached a lot longer than I am today. That being said, when Peter finishes his speech and quoting scripture multiple times we hear that many of the people listening had those word cut to their very heart and asked Peter what they should then do. He responds that they should change their hearts and lives and be baptized. And on that day of Pentecost about 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus message about God. And again, despite this great and glorious day, it too was just the beginning.

We need to understand and truly believe that the Spirit of God is active and alive in our lives too. That we too are full of the Spirit and that we too have been called to share the good new of Jesus with those that we meet. And to know that the same change that happened to all those people that day, the same baptism they received is the same that we have on the days that we believed and were baptized. Which will be the same for generations to come. Which is exactly what Peter says at the end of his sermon, “39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him” This message is for you and for me and for all people. And even though it is 2,000 years later, it may very well be just the beginning and we are blessed to be a part of God’s great mission and plan to show the world how much God loves it and wants us to be a part of this wonderful family. Amen.