What is the greatest need of Christians today? One pastor, in polling his congregation about their greatest needs—later polling his television audience in the same way, came up with one pronounced need of those he regularly worked with … and it was this: THE POWER TO LIVE THE LIFE THAT JESUS HAS ASKED US TO LIVE! One of his respondents put it this way:
“Please give a message on how to live the abundant life. I’m tired of the struggle and strain! How do I find the freedom and joy of being a Christian?”
And that seems to be a consistent cry of many followers of Jesus Christ today! What I hear many times from people today is agnosticism about the Holy Spirit. Not an outright disbelief, but an aching, “I just don’t know”—and a longing to understand who the Holy Spirit is and how to live in the flow of his power.
In a nutshell, the greatest longing in the church today, stated both directly and indirectly, is the quest for something more than dull religion! People are in need of the intimacy, inspiration, and impelling power of the Holy Spirit! And just like the disciples in the Upper Room (in our story for today), our church too is waiting on the edge of a miracle! Let’s go to today’s scripture; would you join me?
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 (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 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!” – Acts 2:1-13 (NLT)
Pentecost, folks, was a miracle! Someone once described the miracle (Pentecost) this way:
It was the intervention of supernatural power in keeping with a higher spiritual law which supersedes the laws of human nature.
The laws of human nature describe how things usually work. But on that day of Pentecost, a supernatural power entered into the picture, allowing personalities to be transformed—allowing one to think and act beyond their natural abilities… When that happened, a miracle took place. The impossible ceased to exist on that day! And the miracle of a changed personality resulted in individuals with spiritual gifts of intellect, emotional freedom, and a conviction that all things are now possible…
Folks, let me ask you a question today? Are you living the abundant life? Do you know—in your life—the JOY of being a follower of Jesus Christ? Do you have the power to live out the life that God has called each and every one of us to live? I believe that today, just like at the time of the first Pentecost (50 days after the resurrection), we too are waiting on the edge of a miracle!!!! We need God’s Spirit in our lives—fully! The greatest need of the church today is a contemporary Pentecost…
So, I want to begin today with the dynamics of the miracle of that first Pentecost. A summary would be this: Pentecost was all about wind, fire and praise. (A 70s Christian band?) So, let’s begin here: Let’s talk about…
THE DYNAMIC OF WIND. Verse 2 explains: “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.” Anyone experienced that lately? How ‘bout late Thursday this week (a wind storm hit our area between 7-10 PM this past Thursday)?
The wind has been a symbol for the Spirit of God for the Hebrew people (ruach) throughout the generations. In the OT prophecy of Ezekiel (37:9-10, NLT), we read:
“Then he said to me, ‘Speak a prophetic message to the winds, son of man. Speak a prophetic message and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, O breath, from the four winds! Breathe into these dead bodies [the dry bones] so they may live again.’ 10 So I spoke the message as he commanded me, and breath came into their bodies. They all came to life and stood up on their feet—a great army.”
For those in Ezekiel’s day, the dry bones symbolized the defeated, dejected people of Israel who were in exile. They needed the Spirit of Life to come into them again. And Jesus later used the image of the wind for the Spirit when he said to Nicodemus (John 3:7-8, NLT),
“So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
In the Upper Room, the 120 who were there—probably along with Nicodemus—experienced this same wind, as an outward sign of God’s presence, and in such a way that those there would have understood. And what the wind does when it rushes … is exactly what the Holy Spirit was doing in their souls: blowing out the cobwebs of fear, the layered dust of uncertainty. The outward presence of the wind … was soon an inward power of new thought, emotion, and will. God’s people were being stirred back to life, because Christ had come to them again … in Spirit form. So, that’s the wind connection; now, let’s move to the second dynamic of that day…
THE DYNAMIC OF FIRE. Verse 3 goes on to tell us: “Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.” This dynamic was also an outward sign of what was happening to Jesus’ followers inwardly. We need to know that fire and the Spirit of God are as synonymous as wind and Spirit in the Old Testament. And those of Jewish descent knew that! So, with the zeal of an OT prophet, John the Baptist said (Luke 3:16, NLT):
“… ‘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.’”
Then John explained what this fire to come would do (Luke 3:17, NLT):
17 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”
Folks, just as fire would burn out chaff, so too God wants to burn out anything that would cripple us in his service. Why is that important? Because God’s Spirit is given for the continuation of Jesus’ ministry! That’s what we’re supposed to be about; but, we cannot do that on our own. We need the power of the Spirit of God in our lives in this way. Along with ‘burning the chaff,’ God’s Spirit also refines and galvanizes—the only thing being left is what we need to be God’s people, in God’s service. But, the fire of the Holy Spirit does something else, too (and this is so important): He kindles in us … enthusiasm, warmth, and spontaneity like never before! The miracle of Pentecost, folks, was that the followers of Jesus became capable of warm, inclusive love; let me explain…
In John, Chapter 21 (15ff), we see Jesus and the Apostle Peter—the big fisherman—in the midst of a very serious conversation. Let me share with you how this conversation begins…
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
And this question and answer thing continues two more times. What you may not understand here is that Jesus and Peter were really not on the same page. Here’s why:
Agape = God’s Love (absolutely unconditional, free to love others without restraint)
Phileo = Brotherly (human) Love (conditional, restrained)
For us, both words used in translation in John 21 are love; we expect them to mean the same thing, but, they don’t. The Greek is clear here. So, let me read it again…
15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you [agape] me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I [phileo] you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.
They weren’t on the same page, were they? Jesus kept asking Peter if he loved him with the unconditional love of God; Peter wanted to talk about ‘friendship.’ That’s not what Jesus was asking here. But, here’s the rub: Jesus, filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit, was empowered to love with the love of God. Peter had not experienced this infilling of the Holy Spirit yet—not until Pentecost. It was only after Pentecost, when the Power of God’s Spirit could fill him up, that he could experience what Jesus was talking to him about here after his resurrection…
And there’re so many Peters in the Church today. And, these Peters are as well-intentioned as the original Peter, but they’re stuck on Phileo (un-empowered), while Jesus wants them to be about Agape (empowered by His Spirit). We need the Spirit of God in their lives—‘to the full.’ We are all in need of God’s Spirit to convince us that we are loved unqualifiedly … and released to love unreservedly! And, folks, let me tell you something today: The Power of God’s Spirit in your life—to love Jesus’ way, like never before, is available to you today for the asking; all you have to do is receive… And that leads me to the last dynamic of the day:
THE DYNAMIC OF PRAISE (PROCLAMATION). Verse 4 fills in this final dynamic: “And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.” The crowd gathered outside of that Upper Room that day because of the sound of the wind. Peter, then, being full of the Holy Spirit (first time), was empowered to PRAISE God (freed up to do this/unconstrained) and to PROCLAIM the Good News of Jesus to all who were gathered in Jerusalem that day … each hearing the message in their own language … as we read about later. This was the supernatural result of the Holy Spirit in that place and the infilling of God’s Spirit in their lives for the first time…
Folks, the truth is … we cannot do these things (point at the banners—God’s vision for our church) unless we’re empowered to do them. We’re not talking here about John’s baptism (water), but Jesus’ baptism (Holy Spirit and fire). We cannot do what Christ has called us to do on our own; the only way is if we’re filled with the Power of God, just as those disciples were on that first day of Pentecost. Are we too waiting on the edge of a miracle? Let me close in this way…
Are you like that follower of Christ who said, “Please give a message on how to live the abundant life. I’m tired of the struggle and strain! How do I find the freedom and joy of being a Christian?” Is that the way you feel today? Have you been a believer in Christ for quite some time, but still find it impossible to love some people—to know that JOY in your life of being able to love everyone (agape)? If you are, that can change today; all you have to do is ask … and then receive…