Pentecost Sunday
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you...
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you...
Jesus last command in Matthew 28:19-20 was
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
and often we gear our programs to minister to people within our church. We have Sunday School, youth programs, women’s ministry, and LifeLand. We long to see people coming to Jesus, but when was the last time that a conversation opened up to talk to someone about Christ.
We find it very easy to talk about what’s wrong with the weather. We can engage most anybody about our favorite sports teams, especially when they are still in the playoffs, but how do we tell somebody about Jesus.
According to Alpha Canada, 24% of people identify as having no religion and that number is going up while the number of Christians are going down in percentage.
Over the last few years, some very well-known Christians have deconstructed in their faith, while still others have had moral failures. This is alarming, and it is even more alarming if everything depends on us.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus said,
Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
I have heard the question, “Is the church in Canada past the point of no return?” I guess my answer would be whose church are we talking about? If humans are building the church, if it’s up to us, there may be no hope, but It’s not my church that is being constructed.
Jesus said,
Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Today is Pentecost Sunday. This is the day that we celebrate that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood in front of a large crowd in Jerusalem and told of a prophesy found in the book of Joel, that was several hundred years old. This is what it says,
‘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.
And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
As Pentecostals, we believe that this promise is still for today. We believe that God wants to pour out His Spirit on you and on me, but not only us, but on ALL people.
Peter used these verses to explain what was happening in Jerusalem that day. Acts 2:1-4 explains what happened.
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.
The promise, the purpose, and the power of the Holy Spirit is not to hear people speaking in other languages. It is for mission.
Our Statement of Essential Truths says this.
“SPIRIT BAPTISM
On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus poured out the promised Holy Spirit on the church. As his return draws near, Jesus continues to baptize in the Holy Spirit those who are believers. This empowers them to continue his work of proclaiming with speech and action the good news of the arrival and coming of the kingdom of God. This experience is available for everyone, male and female, of every age, status, and ethnicity.
The sign of speaking in tongues indicates that believers have been baptized with the Holy Spirit36 and signifies the nature of Spirit baptism as empowering our communication, to be his witnesses with speech and action as we continue to pray in the Spirit.”
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:4
A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.
When God gives somebody the ability to speak in another language, tongues, it is to be strengthened to go out and do His work. If the only reason to be baptized in the Holy Spirit is to speak in another language or to be strengthened personally, we have missed the whole point of Acts 1:8 and the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20. It should be called the Great Omission if we aren’t doing the work God has called us to.
Acts 1:8 says
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
How do we tell others?
How do we tell others?
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
I came across an Angus Reid survey that was alarming. Here’s what it says,’”
When it comes to religion in Canada, most adults believe Catholics, evangelicals, and Muslims do more harm than good. All three religions had a net negative score when people were asked if their members helped or hurt Canadian society. Evangelical Christians received the lowest scores.”
We might think, “Praise God! Blessed are you when you are persecuted for my sake, Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in Heaven!” Yes, there might be some truth, but I wonder if it’s more about people knowing what we are against rather than what we are for.
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Do everything without complaining and arguing,
so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
Let’s not forget that it is God who works in us. It’s God who convicts. It’s God who transforms lives. It’s God who draws.
What do we do?
What do we do?
We plant and we water.
After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
Maybe some of you will know what I am talking about when I talk about chores. Growing up on a mixed farm, there were lots of small chores: Collecting the eggs, feeding the chickens, watering the foul smelling fowl, pushing the chop down in the bin for the calves, weeding the garden, and the list could go on and on.
Some chores are fun and others aren’t. Climbing up into the bin to push chop down after rats were discovered. Carrying the water to the trough, weeding the garden. Mowing the lawn was more fun than these. Some chores we just tried to get out of, and others, maybe we wanted the credit for doing them.
Sometimes, we get asked to volunteer to be a part of the ministry, maybe it’s spring cleaning at the church, maybe it scares you half to death to invite somebody to church or to a church event. What will they think of me. Maybe it’s going to the Lodge or a hospital to visit, maybe it’s just letting your witness shine out in the community.
It really doesn’t matter who does the planting and who does the watering. One day God will reward you because you were faithful to Him. He will reward you for letting your light shine. He’ll reward you for doing the small things that nobody else wanted to do. He will say, “Well Done! Good job!”
What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you?
What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you?
We as a church are in the process of seeking the Lord to know what He wants to do in our church. This year at our AGM, we started to talk about how we can be more effective in reaching out in our communities. We call this operational planning. We would like you to help us plan for the future.
There are many things that we do as a church, but as your Pastor and our leadership team, we want to invite you to ask the Holy Spirit how to reach out to Lanigan and our surrounding communities?
Will you commit to praying about how to reach our community? Will you commit to asking God what He wants you to do?
When you sense that God is speaking to you, we’d like to hear about it.
Let’s take a few minutes this morning as our worship team leads us to invite the Holy Spirit to move in our lives and to fill us once again. Let’s make a commitment to the Lord to pray and ask God how He wants to work through us.
Let’s pray!
