Today we celebrate Pentecost – often called the birthday of
the church, as it was the day when God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his
followers...
We are told in the reading from Acts (2:1-21) that the
disciples of Jesus were together in one place – they had been told to wait for
the gift God had promised – that gift that would empower them to be the
church... And what an incredible display it was when it came. There was a sound
like the blowing of a violent wind. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire
that separated and came to rest on each of them and all of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit
enabled them.
And immediately they went out using God’s gift – and people
were amazed, so amazed at the joy that these people seemed to have.
It’s interesting that some of the people who were passing by
reached the conclusion that the apostles were drunk, because that tells us
something of the spirit of excitement & joy that prevailed on that day… I like
the story of 3 gold diggers who found a rich vein of gold in California during
the gold rush days. They realized that they had made a great discovery - one
that would make them very rich. But of course they didn’t want anyone else to
find out so they each took a vow to keep it secret.
They then headed for town to file their claims and get the
equipment necessary to mine the gold. True to their vows, they didn’t say a
word to anybody. They filed their claim, bought the equipment and headed back
to their mine. But when they did, a crowd of people followed them. They were puzzled
by this and questioned the people who followed them. Apparently, despite their
silence their faces gave away their excitement… People knew that something was
going on and wanted to be part of it!
It’s hard to keep a sense of joy to yourself isn’t it? And
what’s more it’s catching !
At Pentecost the Bible tells us that the early Christians
discovered unspeakable joy - a joy that stayed with them despite all the
persecution they would later face.
Pentecost itself was a once-in-history event, when the Church
was born. It was life changing for all those present, but today the Spirit of
God is still active and life changing for the Church and for the world so, this
morning just a few thoughts about Pentecost and the Church.
Firstly the Church WAS CREATED BY GOD… From the beginning of
time, before the foundation of the world, God had in His mind the Church, maybe
not the exact model we see today, but a fellowship, a family of Christians,
united in worship, in love, in service and in proclamation of the good news.
That Church, inspired by the Spirit of God became a reality on the Day of
Pentecost.
And because the church was created by God we can also assume
that it is God’s church and it is his message and not ours that we must be
sharing and celebrating.
And moving on from that point brings us to a second thought
on this Day of Pentecost… The PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH IS TO COMMUNICATE THE LOVE
OF GOD to the world.
The theme of Pentecost is really a theme of communication. It
is really a shame that the whole idea of speaking in tongues has become such a
controversial issue. When you read about Pentecost, the truth that comes to the
surface is that God gave the gift of tongues to the apostles for one purpose
and that was for the purpose of communication.
They had a problem with communication because people had come
from many different nations. And when you read the long list of nations, you
realize that a language barrier existed.
Because God wanted each of them to hear the message in his
own language, He performed a miracle, and He gave the apostles the gift of
tongues so that they could communicate His message to people of different
languages and different nations.
Many people get nervous about that, but the point is that we
do what we can. We share the Gospel in our own way. We just need to be
ourselves and let the joy of being a Christian show for others to see. As I
said it’s hard to hide it when you‘re joyful….assuming of course that being a
Christian is a joyful thing for you….but that’s another sermon I suspect! If we
are part of His Church God expects us to do the best we can to communicate that
message to this lost and dying world.
That is after all the whole purpose of the Church. Emil
Bruner famously said, ‘The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.’
And thirdly THE GOAL OF THE CHURCH is to establish a
fellowship that is unique.
Can you imagine those early Christians when they first heard
the good news about Jesus? On the Day of Pentecost there were thousands of new
converts, and they suddenly shared something that has never been shared before.
All of them know that they are guilty, that they are each responsible in their
own way, as are we, for Jesus’ crucifixion. But now they have repented of their
wrongs. They have asked for forgiveness. They’ve asked to be baptized. And here
at Pentecost they’ve been given the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Suddenly, they are part of something new, exciting, radical.
They’ve come out of a world of slavery and superstition; out of a world of
selfishness and greed and dishonesty. Now they’re part of a new fellowship…
They are excited and joyful…
And what’s more the Church must always be like that. A family
that is excited and joyful, and a family that’s attractive because of its love,
compassion and joy.
We are to be a family sharing God’s peace - an oasis in the
midst of a desert, a shady tree on a summer day, a cup of cool water when you
are thirsty, a place to come and to know that you won’t be rejected. Church
should be where you are accepted and loved as brothers and sisters and children
of God. Church should be where you come and know that you are loved and amongst
family...
The world changed after Pentecost because of the Church’s
influence on that world. And it ought to be the same today. The love and mercy
of God is something to be excited about, something to be joyful about,
something to be shared… We can come to church without pretending to be someone
or something that we are not. We can just be ourselves with all of our problems
and faults and failings…
And so may we pray that God will fill each one of us with his
Holy Spirit, that our lives and his church will constantly be renewed and
refreshed as we grow in love for him and for each other. AMEN
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