The Church of Pentecost

Scripture Passage

Acts 2:1–21 NLT

1 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. 5 At that time there were devout Jews from every nation living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard the loud noise, everyone came running, and they were bewildered to hear their own languages being spoken by the believers. 7 They were completely amazed. “How can this be?” they exclaimed. “These people are all from Galilee, 8 and yet we hear them speaking in our own native languages! 9 Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!” 12 They stood there amazed and perplexed. “What can this mean?” they asked each other. 13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” 14 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. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. 16 No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘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. 18 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. 19 And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. 21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Focus Statement

With the gift of God’s Spirit,

we are learning to live into God’s divine purpose,

just like the Church of Pentecost.

Point of Relation

There are a few of real-life scenarios that happened in my life that I want to share with you:

First. Years ago, there was a time I had to have a difficult conversation with someone I knew over behavior that was, let’s say, less than Christian.

Have you ever had to hold someone accountable before…someone you love and respect deeply, but who will end up NOT wanting to receive the words they need to hear?

Well, I had the conversation with that person…lovingly and respectfully…but the person was not willing to receive the words…they were not going to listen to anything other than what they believed…and they became defensive and, ultimately, they cut ties with me.

Second. I remember the time I had lost my job as a Software Engineer and was searching and searching and searching for a job.

In all that time, I had come back to Christ and become a member of Vernon United Methodist Church in Vernon, NJ.

God spoke to me while at that church.

My pastor asked me if I was sure that God wanted to me to have a job in that moment, or the types of jobs I was seeking out.

The reason that was asked of me was because I was stressing that in order to answer my call to Christ...

I HAD to earn money to pay for all the schooling required.

In that moment, I had to decide, was I going to listen to my own logic…or was I going to listen to the voice of God…

speaking to me through my pastor and wife at the time.

Finally, I remember all through elementary school…and high school...

thinking that I would never be smart enough to get anywhere.

Sure. I had my dreams and aspirations...

From wanting to be a pastor as a really young boy…to wanting to be an astronoaut...

to wanting to be a deep sea explorer...

to wanting to be a ROCK STAR…I mean c’mon mate!!! Yeah!!!

to wanting to be a Software Engineer…among others.

Honestly though...

Engineer…software or otherwise…I was horrible at math. How could that be possible.

A Rock Star. I mean, I can play guitar and other instruments…I can sing…but yeah, what are the changes, right?

And Astronaut? Again, science…athletics…etc.. NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

And the same with the deep sea gig. Fun to watch in the movie The Abyss...

But this body in a tin\y claustrophobic vessel going to where no person has gone before in the depths of the sea...

Yeah..........No.

A Pastor....well....at the time, I wasn’t truly sure what I believed and I was sure the church was not for me.

Yet, all of those dreams have come true to some degree.

Okay, I mean I may not have traveled to the moon or to the depths of the sea, but I have soared with people in their joys and celebrations...

and I have journeyed with them to the depths of chaos and the bowls of hell.

In fact, in my own personal life, I have experienced both realities.

I was, as it turns out, a software engineer.

You see, as it turned out, you didn’t have to know how to solve equations…that’s what computer operating systems do...

I just needed to know how to set them up properly. That was never an issue for me…so I became a software engineer.

I may not have become a literal rock star…but come on now… I am THE ROCKIN’ REVEREND!!! You know it!

And, as it turns out, that impossible dream of being a pastor in my innocence...

God saw that BABY into reality…amen?!?!?

Things to Consider

Pastors sometimes use the phrase “divine purpose.”

That can mean different things for different people at different times.

Maybe sometimes you sense a message that you just must share.

Maybe sometimes it is about listening and discerning God’s plans for our lives.

Maybe sometimes we have a passion that just cannot be ignored

even if we face obstacles in following that passion.

What Scripture Says

When the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit comes to those gathered at Pentecost and the disciples are waiting for what will come next,

Peter presents Joel’s prophecy (Joel 2: 28-32) to explain what is happening in this moment.

Joel 2:28–32 NLT

28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. 30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. 32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.

What is taking place seems impossible, like a dream.

Yet, together, those gathered vision and discern, or listen, for what was next –

the next steps of that early, just being born, church.

Through the Holy Spirit’s gifts in this time of prophecy, dreaming and visioning, the impossible becomes possible.

So, let’s look at the role of Prophecy (communicating the message of God) in our passage today:

In Acts 2:17, Peter, quoting Joel, talks about how God’s Spirit empowers people to prophesy,

or share the divinely inspired message of God.

Prophecy is about seeing with the eyes of faith and speaking with the voice of faith

in and to the present moment.

Through scripture, prophets are consistently shown calling people back to God

and to a higher standard of justice and faithfulness.

These messages are hard to hear and are often resisted by the communities to which they are proclaimed.

Messages such as “Hey, Pharoah, the Lord God, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, says let my people go!”

That was obviously Moses in Exodus.

Messages such as “Woe to Pharisees and Scribes, you hypocrites, for you cross land and sea to search for a single convert and turn him into twice the son of hell you yourselves are. You blind guides! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled with dead people’s bones and decay on the inside!”

That was Jesus in Matthew 23:15, 27

Messages such as, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! And so I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man! Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”

That was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the night before he was assassinated.

In our world, there are many voices claiming to speak on behalf of God and the church...

that are not plugged into the Spirit-filled community that is the church.

It is easy to hear only what we want to hear or only what confirms the status quo or our current beliefs.

That is exactly why prophets need to speak up and call us out…because we easily get complacent or worse in our comfort.

But, as the church, we have the opportunity to listen to and discern carefully

the message that the Holy Spirit has for us and for the world in the present moment.

And, we are empowered to speak that message to the world with the prophetic voice of God’s Spirit.

Let us now look at the role of Vision (hearing the voice of God and discerning or listening):

Visioning is not just about adopting a new strategy to move ahead.

To vision or envision is to opening ourselves to seeing and hearing God’s words

and implementing them into our future/...

or following God’s direction to fulfil internal or external needs for the future.

When the church is not implementing a vision, it is like a boat without a rudder.

Everyone is pulling in different directions and there is no movement forward.

However, when the Holy Spirit is your rudder, you can row your boat ahead into the future God has planned.

Let’s look at dreaming (a goal that seemed impossible or passion that can’t be ignored):

Much like a child when dreaming,

the possibilities are limitless when we align ourselves with the God who is also limitless.

Dreaming is larger than visioning,

as it is about realizing that God lives and moves outside the box that we have a tendency to put God in.

Pentecost shows that God refuses to be put in a box and does not let us stay in our own box either.

Consider the type of community that can come to life (e.g., Acts 2:43-47)

when we are not constrained by the status quo

but when we let God inspire our dreams and when we get on board with making the dream come true.

What This Means for You

Much like the early church,

God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit

to participate in God’s divine purpose to bring about a future beyond our human imaginations.

I would like to encourage you to reflect on the ways

God is calling you beyond the status quo

through the “nudgings” of the Holy Spirit.

What might be getting in the way of living into God’s future (e.g., other voices, focus on self, need help/to work with others to move a project or idea forward)?

How can you take a step towards God’s divine purpose this week?

What This Means for Us

For a long time now, we have lived constrained by circumstances (e.g., around the pandemic)

and focused purely on survival.

Imagine what it would be like for us to Spring forward back into vibrant ministry...

Imagine a church filled with children running around, parents and other adults fellowshipping in small groups and in other mission-related ministries.

Imagine people as diverse as our town is growing to be worshiping God, serving the community and growing in their faith…all here at First UMC of Newton.

Imagine a church where most people joyfully stepped up, giving of themselves wherever their is a need.

Imagine a church where people find hope, healing, and wholeness…so much so…they have to share that good news with friends and family!!!

We have been and can be that church again…

the time is now for us to rise up out of the pandemic and other circumstances and be the church of Pentecost…

the church God called us to be! Amen? Amen.