The Power of Pentecost

Acts 2:38

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

23. Why Must the Redeemer Be Truly God?

That because of his divine nature his obedience and suffering would be perfect and effective; and also that he would be able to bear the righteous anger of God against sin and yet overcome death.

For further study, click here.

Acts 2

• Why is it that secular holidays command the church's schedule?

  • What of Pentecost Sunday?

• Pentecost is the birth of the church

  • My history of Pentecostalism

    • Good/Bad

• WHAT IS PENTECOST?

  • The church of acts is captivating, and cannot be built by human efforts

  • Today, we still need that power

    • God never changed

      • Psalm 33:11, Hebrews 13:8

  • We need the Holy Spirit, not for miracles, as miracles don't save people

    • Romans 9:18, Matt. 22:2-14

• POWER IN PENTECOST

  • δύναμις (Dunamis) power

    • Luke 5:17, Matt. 22:29, Matt. 24:30

  • Not our power, but his

    • John 15:5, Acts 1:8, 1st Cor. 1:22-24, 2nd Peter 1:3

• POWER TO SPEAK THE UNSPEAKABLE

  • What of when we don't know what to ask?

    • Romans 8:26, Job 37:19, Ephesians 6:18, Romans 8:22

  • People don't need our words; they need Him!

  • "For the heights and depths no words can reach, God has given us his very Spirit, the soul's own speech."

  • Drunkenness'

    • "Won't people think I'm weird?" Definitely

      • 2nd Timothy 4:3, John 15:20

• POWER TO SHAKE THE UNSHAKABLE

  • Peter, Rome, our modern world

    • These are all things which only God can transform

  • Joel 2:28-32

    • The last days true nature

  • The world needs a better picture... from the Holy Spirit

• POWER TO VISUALIZE THE INVISIBLE

  • More than heaven; the Kingdom here and now

  • Life only happens when God breathes on us

  • In the Spirit, we see that beautiful future, seemingly invisible.

• Let go of the reins in your life. Let the powerful breath of God sweep you away.

"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled with new wine."

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

"'And in the last days it shall be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams;

even on my male servants and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

And I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;

the sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon

the name of the Lord shall be saved.'

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

"'I saw the Lord always before me,

for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;

therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;

my flesh also will dwell in hope.

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,

or let your Holy One see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will make me full of gladness with your presence.'

"Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

"'The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool."'

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

-Acts 2:1–47 (ESV)

Given that we're in the middle of our study through Revelation, a diversion into Acts might seem confusing. But I feel it is important that we briefly divert our attention to focus on this beautiful day. It always struck me as odd to see most churches beholden to secular holidays, paying little attention to Christian moments worth remembering and celebrating. We take time for mothers, fathers, veterans, independence, valentines, etc. But what of Christian holidays?

It drives me up the wall seeing the church broadly ignorant of their distinctive celebrations. True, virtually no believer would ever dream of going one year without acknowledging Easter or Christmas! Perish the thought! Could you fathom going a year without observing these two most important Christian holidays? But what of Good Friday, Lent, Ascension Sunday, and to the point, Pentecost Sunday?

If I were to tell you that this church no longer observed the day when Christ, the only one capable of bearing our sins, was born as a gift to humanity, what would you say? Or what if I told you we were no longer going to observe Easter, that most holy of days where we commemorate his triumph over death and the grave? You'd all think I was a lunatic!

But, were I to tell you we've ceased observing Pentecost Sunday, I'd venture that your only question in response would be, "What?" "I didn't realize that was a thing churches did." Perhaps you'd even shrug your shoulders, "so what?"

The "so what" boils down to the true significance of this day; Whether you realize it or not, Pentecost Sunday, while certainly not in the same billing as Christmas or Easter, is equally as paramount to our comprehension of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to belong to the church. And it's a travesty that the latter two holidays command much hustle and bustle while we largely overlook Pentecost Sunday. Many don't celebrate this event, and even fewer know it exists. What then is a young, brash, devilishly debonair, semi-reckless, sorta-reformed sorta-pentecostal sorta-baptist sorta-presbyterian sorta-confused pastor to do?

Preach this message, obviously.

The account of Acts two is at the heart of Pentecost Sunday. We're celebrating the epoch-making event for the church when the Holy Spirit was poured out on Christians, miraculously equipping and enabling them to carry on Jesus' ministry. Before this outpouring and indwelling, the Holy Spirit was a rare gift given to a select few, and generally for only a short timespan. Yet, on Pentecost, God poured out the Holy Spirit on all believers in Christ, and he was there to stay. This marked a significant shift in the working of the Holy Spirit, which persists today.

Now, I was only being slightly facetious when I joked about being a "sorta-pentecostal." I grew up under pentecostal theology, and it continues to mold my thinking today. Thus, my relationship with this particular Christian holiday is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I believe that scripture decries the stifling (or quenching, if you prefer) of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Equally, I'm confident that the earnest zeal with which Pentecostals pursue the Lord and his kingdom here on earth is a powerful example of vibrancy many churches don't experience, hampered by overt religiosity, perhaps. Honestly, the one thing you can't accuse Pentecostals of is that they aren't running their spiritual races, throwing off that sin that so easily entangles (Hebrews 12:1)

However, there are specific teachings and flawed understandings of scripture that are less than laudable. In the Pentecostal faith, the continuation of apostolic miracles (such as tongues, healings, and so forth) is not a matter for debate. They contend that God absolutely must still move this way, lest our faith be uncompelling. This is ironically the same argument strict cessationists hold to, albeit from a different side of the coin. I take issues with both stances, as they both attempt to force God into boxes, a theological blunder, to be sure.

Additionally, most Pentecostals contend for a second indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a sign of true faith, manifesting in the gift of tongues in every believer. Without these, you cannot be confirmed as an authentic Christian. Both concepts are blatantly unfounded scripturally, as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and salvation is a simultaneous event (See First Corinthians 12:12–13 or Romans 6:1–4 to clarify that particular point), and the gift of tongues, if they manifest today, will do so in a manner consistent with the scripture; not the feckless indiscernible babbling of many believers in one discord. Such babbling is a far cry from what we see in Acts two verse eight, where each person heard and understood in their own language.

If miracles happen today, they will do so in accordance with scripture. They will be logically verifiable and serve only for the glory of God and the betterment of the saints. Under such scrutiny, many so-called "miracles" in the church today fall woefully short. Feverish hype, unprovable claims of the miraculous, confusing babbling, and so forth are the experiential assertions of Pentecostals. I favor universal truth over personal experience, as the latter often lies. More to the point, the wise believer considers their experiences in light of scripture, not interpreting scripture in light of their experiences.

Modern tongues, for example, if interpreted according to scripture, are not at all what we see in Acts. In the New Testament, the primary usage of tongues was to communicate in foreign languages that you didn't know yourself. What a valuable tool for efficacious missionary work in the 1st century! When Christians used tongues, they always used them with clarity (one person speaking at a time), and they interpreted them for the congregation's benefit. If the gifts of tongues continue, these must be the standards to which they're held to without fail.

By now, you probably think I've nothing but negative things to say about my time in the Pentecostal church and that the direction of this message is going down south on RJ's complain train. Let me assure you that I hold many things in the Christian walk strictly because of my upbringing. I learned how to cry out to God with all my heart in lengthy prayer services. I learned to anticipate God doing something in our world. I remember praying for the sick and some actually recovering; some tumors which got swept away, hearts that got supernaturally mended, and so forth. So while I criticize experience over substance and believe we need to be grounded in the word far more than we need an experiential "revival," I can't be overly critical. I believe in a living, breathing God, and pentecostalism is primarily to thank for that mindset.

But there were also some super heretical and wicked teachings in our church; they preached the Word of Faith and Prosperity Gospel each week. So, if you didn't experience healing or blessing, then you obviously weren't tithing enough, praying hard enough, or had some unconfessed sin. Can lackadaisical prayers and unconfessed sin be obstacles to answered prayers? Certainly! But not if the prayers don't align with God's will for your life.

As I understood scripture and the scales fell from my eyes, I swung hard in cessationism; "Miracles don't happen today! It's all farcical because God doesn't do that anymore!" However, remember that this is making the same mistake as the hardcore belief that miracles must always happen (that it's always God's will to heal and bless). Resultantly, my prayer life got hit hard; the vibrancy of who God was to me was adversely affected. And part of my journey over the past few years sees me coming back to a sort of theological middle ground, if you will. A place where God's ways are knowable (as he's the same yesterday, today, and forever), yet he can also surprise me.

Let the knowledge of his word never ferry you or me to the point where we dare attempt to put God in a box, unwilling or unable to be surprised by the almighty. We clarify this conviction in our statement of faith:

"[Our] position on [the] gifts is 'open but cautious.'

Our heavenly Father is unquestionably powerful enough to work miracles in our midst today, and there is no irrefutable Scripture proof that these gifts have ever ceased. However, we must never allow ourselves to become fixated on desiring gifts more than the Giver. Furthermore, the widespread persistence of counterfeit miracles leads us to be wary in accepting the legitimacy of many modern 'miracles.'

We understand that you may have strong sentiments one way or another and welcome your convictions within our church. Let God's children never value being 'right' over loving one another, as we all remain open to the awe of His miraculous works transforming each of us."

We are open to the idea of supernatural healings, blessings, prophecies, etc. Why wouldn't we be receptive to the notion of God doing fantastic miraculous work as he is living and active? But our openness cannot precede caution. When people say that the dead are being raised to life, that it is God's will that he would heal you no matter what, we've moved into misunderstanding scripture. (That's a lengthy subject for another sermon) Bear in mind that I've changed my views on this before and am open to doing so in the future. My policy towards theology is an open mind and an even more open heart. For matters not made explicit in scripture, what do I have to gain by being needlessly harsh?

WHAT IS PENTECOST?

Tangent aside (yes, that was just the preamble! You're stuck with me forever, hahaha!), we now look at Pentecost Sunday, this most beautiful day in the church's history. Pentecost, critically, marks the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In this, we, as God's creation, are empowered to do the works of the kingdom. We're talking about ultimate perspective as we go through Revelation, about how ultimately it's meant to give you a better picture of the future, reality, and the world. And also understanding that you and I, every single Christian out there, have not been called to an idle sort of faith but have instead been called to active work in the kingdom.

Of utmost importance is the knowledge that our own efforts do not fashion this kingdom work. It is not by our natural means we're meant to save the world. It is not by our own resources that we will build the church. Dr. King often referred to this idea of a "beloved community," a dream echoed in scripture of gorgeous multi-ethnic, multi-generational belonging. How can we usher such a beloved community into the world without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? Not by our means. We cannot build it. The only way this will happen is if we have embraced and moved under the power and conviction of Pentecost; surrendered to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I find it helps to consider Pentecost the following way; If Christmas marks the birth of Jesus, Pentecost marks the church's birth. If Easter marks the day Jesus was raised from the dead, Pentecost marks the day that the church comes alive, as the message of Jesus begins to branch out to the world suddenly and miraculously.

The church I read about in Acts and the church in the New Testament is quite a captivating church, one I long to witness. Why can't we see that today? After all, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is for every Christian today; that is something we believe. From our own statement of faith, we say

"The Holy Spirit is the divine Spirit of God. In the past, as the Divine Teacher, He inspired mankind to compose the Holy Scriptures. In the present, as we explore God's Word, He enlightens our minds and transforms our hearts.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, drawing sinners to the Savior and uniting us to Christ. Christ baptizes all believers through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit resides within and among us, given so that we'd walk in faithfulness.

The Holy Spirit enables Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which Christians serve God through His church. The believers and the church worship, evangelize, and act as God's ambassadors by His illumination and enablement.

The Holy Spirit is the seal by whom the Father assures the salvation of believers unto the day of redemption. His presence in the Christian guarantees they will progressively be filled with the fullness of God, conscious of and yielded to God's presence, strength, care for others, spiritual authority, moral excellence, and character."

While it got a great many things right, the Protestant Reformation has often been self-maligned by a lack of focus on Pentecost. This is a shame because it was one of the things that, as we got out from under the influence of the Vatican, the Pope, and the papacy, the aim was to get out from under the thumb of dead writings, dead liturgy, and dead laws. How blisteringly ironic it is that we're now here in the 21st century, and yet, much of us operate as if we were listening to dead writings, casually obeying dead laws, and observing uncompelling liturgy. Pentecost set us free from such things, as Reformer Martin Luther himself said in his own sermon on Pentecost:

"Observe here, the Holy Spirit descends and fills the hearts of the disciples sitting in fear and sorrow. He renders their tongues fiery and cloven, and inflames them with love unto boldness in preaching Christ--unto free and fearless utterance. Plainly, then, it is not the office of the Spirit to write books or to institute laws. He writes in the hearts of men, creating a new heart, so that man may rejoice before God, filled with love for him and ready, in consequence, to serve his fellows gladly."

I contend that one does not truly serve as a Christian until one serves in the power of the Holy Spirit. I maintain that we do not love as Christians until we love under the power of the Holy Spirit. I contend that when God is pouring out his Spirit upon all people, you and I are counted among those people. Understanding that radically shifts how you look at the world.

There's power in Pentecost! As we sang in that song this weekend, "When did he lose his power? When did his mercy change? Never has, never will,, my God is still the same!" Similarly, we see in scripture:

"The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations."

-Psalm 33:11 (ESV)

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

-Hebrews 13:8 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit has not lost his luster, nor is he any less potent than when he first kickstarted the church. While we can have all sorts of interesting discussions about the level in which the gifts are active (whether they've subsided, aren't as prevalent, or the work of the Holy Spirit is simply different nowadays), we must agree that the Holy Spirit is indeed still active and necessary to bring people to Christ. Furthermore, however extraordinary miracles are, we must agree that they aren't what convinces sinners to believe.

You heard me right. Miracles are not what ultimately bring people to Jesus. Now, we already understand the theology that God calls whomever he will call:

"So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills."

-Romans 9:18 (ESV)

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast."' But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."

-Matthew 22:2–14 (ESV)

We've already wrestled with the theology of God's choosing, so we'll set that aside for now. If you'd like to discuss it later, I'm more than happy to do so. Consider, though, that the people of Israel were miraculously provided for over and over again, and they still rejected God. Consider that Jesus did crazy miracles in front of non-believers, and they were not compelled to follow him. Consider the reality that they wanted to put him to death. Consider the fact that no matter how many times God has miraculously provided in our own lives, it was never enough to compel salvation. Why? Miracles don't change a heart. The Holy Spirit is the only one that can do that.

That's why the contention that we need miracles to set people free or that we need the so-called "demonstration" of the Holy Spirit for people to come to the cross is a misunderstanding of scripture. It's a misunderstanding of God. Because what happens when the miracle has come, when the blessing manifests, the healing occurs, the mountain moves, and yet the heart remains unmoved? The soul remains unconvinced? What then?

Pentecost isn't about mere miracles. It's about the power of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, drawing sinners to the Savior and uniting us to Christ. It's about the Holy Spirit enabling Christian character, comforting believers, and bestowing the spiritual gifts by which Christians serve God through his church. The believers and the church worship, evangelize, and act as God's ambassadors by the Spirit's illumination and enablement.

POWER IN PENTECOST

Second tangent aside (I'm on a roll today), it becomes increasingly clear there must be a power in Christian life to see God's works in the Christian life. I am sure each of you has thought at one point, "What can I do for the kingdom?" And it's partially our fault as the western church that we've put an overemphasis on the calling of ministry instead of the vocation of each and every Christian. Such emphasis leaves many people going, "Well, I'm not called to be a pastor. So I guess I'm just going to go to church, occasionally tithe, read my bible and pray, and maybe evangelize a little bit, and that's really all I do, right?" Wrong. You and you, and you, and you, and you, every person in this room has a call on their life to be a beacon of light in the darkness; To, with the power of the Holy Spirit, go forth into a dark world and display his mighty works before man.

We call this δύναμις (dunamis) power.

Dunamis is not just any power. It's often referred to as "miraculous power" or "marvelous works."

"On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the dunamis of the Lord was with him to heal."

-Luke 5:17 (ESV)

"But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the dunamis of God."

-Matthew 22:29 (ESV)

These are all examples of dunamis power, which refers to inherent power or power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature or which a person or thing exerts force. In other words, the Lord has inherent power residing in himself.

"Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with dunamis and great glory."

-Matthew 24:30 (ESV)

Dunamis is part of God's inherent nature. We do not live our Christian lives out of our own power (Thank goodness; we would fail), but we live through God's. It is God's ability that compels us that pushes us forward. If we're ever of a mind to accomplish anything of value for the kingdom–to see the mighty hand of God working through us–we must first and foremost understand that, apart from him, we can do nothing.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

-John 15:5 (ESV)

"But you will receive dunamis when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

-Acts 1:8 (ESV)

"For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the dunamis of God and the wisdom of God."

-1 Corinthians 1:22–24 (ESV)

"His divine dunamis has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence."

-2 Peter 1:3 (ESV)

I've only used a smattering of verses that refer to this type of power, but it weaves itself throughout scripture. There is clearly something here for us today. I am not convinced that the Holy Spirit's work is done, and I don't think any of you are either.

Again, I don't want us to race away going, "I've got the power!" Instead, we leave knowing that the same power which caused the church to explode dwells in me and empowers the works of God in my life. Without the Holy Spirit breathing and moving today, will we be who God called us to be?

To that end, I have three things here that the power of Pentecost does in our lives. This power, I believe, is still working among us and in us today, not just for us as individuals but for us as a church. It is my full conviction that without a prayerful, powerful expression of the Holy Spirit, this church will not get its legs out underneath it. And that's not just a call for me as the pastor. It's a call for each one of you.

POWER TO SPEAK THE UNSPEAKABLE

Understanding that the Holy Spirit still moves today, The first thing we see is that there is the power to speak the unspeakable. There will come a time and a place when we do not know what to say. We do not know what to pray for, and we do not know how to address the needs of our city or our acquaintances or our friends, or our families. Yet, while there will come many times when you do not know what to ask, the Holy Spirit will always know:

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."

-Romans 8:26 (ESV)

"Teach us what we shall say to him; we cannot draw up our case because of darkness."

-Job 37:19 (ESV)

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people."

-Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

"For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now."

-Romans 8:22 (ESV)

I included that last verse from Romans eight to bring up how the Spirit's groaning too deep for words parallels creation's groaning; that there's a desperate longing for something, for this world to be out under the thumb of sin and decay. So it is understood that the Holy Spirit is there when we don't know what to ask.

What do we do when we don't know what to say? We have all discussed places and times when we did not know what to say to people. The right words eluded our lips, the perfectly logical apologia blanked in our minds, or the evangelistic tenacity evaded our grasp. In such moments, we need the Holy Spirit to step in. I cannot tell you how often I've been talking to somebody, found myself at a loss for words, and just said that silent prayer– "Holy Spirit, I need to know what to say. Give me the right words to say." I would then say something and then move on with my life. Three or four months later, the person would come back and say, "Hey, remember you said this? It totally changed the trajectory of my life!" My reaction is, nine times out of ten, "I said that? I mean, I'm glad you've changed, and I'm glad it was good because I have no knowledge or recollection of what I said."

That's the Holy Spirit, and I believe that same power lives in you. It's not magic. It's just how God works. Do you have the ability to change a heart? No, you can't even change your own heart. But the Holy Spirit can do that miraculous work. The Holy Spirit can move through you and give you the words to say.

If only we are open to it. Open to an idea that says, "I am not in control. I don't know what to say, and I'm okay with that. God, I'm okay with that. I'm okay with all my eloquent words being useless. I'm okay with all of my arguments, my theology, and so forth, I'm okay with it being nothing in your hands, Lord. Because they don't need theology, they don't need my thick library of understanding. They need you. They don't need a word from RJ. They need you."

That's a prayer I pray a lot because when I try to take the reins, bad things happen. I wasn't built for it. My words aren't going to change your heart. If we could do away with anything RJ says and just say, "Hey, listen to the Holy Spirit!" Well, that would undoubtedly make weekly sermon prep a lot easier.

But seriously, what could I possibly say that would rival the teaching, inspiration, motivation, etc., of the Holy Spirit? I'm not capable of transforming your heart, but he is. If you've ever come out of this church and left transformed, left with a little bit more knowledge, left with something in your heart, stirring and active, left with inspiration, left with conviction, none of that is me. It's the Holy Spirit. That's what the Holy Spirit does. In his power to speak the unspeakable.

There's a quote that says, "Where everything else falls short, for the heights and depths no words can reach, God has given us his very Spirit, the soul's own speech." I read the story of Pentecost, observing this gathering of believers infused with the Holy Spirit and speaking in their own tongues, yet they're able to understand all that's being said. I'm reminded of this quote: "for the heights and depths no words can reach, God has given us his very Spirit, the soul's own speech."

That's what we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday. That, over every conceivable obstacle, thousands of people heard the message of the gospel loud and clear. And they received it with joy. Who were so desperate to see their God move that they saw amazing things and received them with joyful exuberance.

It was so joyful and raucous that what the apostles were saying sounded like the words of people who had too much to drink. So much so that Peter has to assure the gathering onlookers, "No, no. We aren't drunk. It's only 9:00 in the morning!" Or course, I go, "Uh, so? It's called a mimosa Peter, like… Day drinkers are a thing."

But what does this moment teach us today? Perhaps to let go of our inhibitions and self-consciousness? NT Wright had a great quote about this moment:

"...again and again in the work of the church, to this day, there are always plenty who declare that we are wasting our time and talking incomprehensible nonsense. Equally, some Christians have been so concerned to keep up safe appearances and to make sure they are looking like ordinary, normal people that they would never, under any circumstances, have been accused of being drunk."

Part of the biggest challenge to evangelism is overcoming the hurdle of self-consciousness. Is getting over the encumbrance of "people are going to think I'm weird. People are going to think that I'm bigoted. People are going to think that I'm [insert your thing here]." Whatever it is, whatever your reasons you've chosen not to be bold about the things of God and operate in step with the Holy Spirit ultimately is irrelevant. Can I spoil the reactions of others? They're going to think negatively, or they're going to respond positively, and that's ultimately all up to the Holy Spirit. It has nothing to do with you.

Just this past week, I engaged with a deluded fellow who reinterpreted the parable of the wedding feast as queer-affirming theology. I was laughed at, mocked, accused of zealotry, bigotry, narrow-mindedness, etc. And that's, frankly, a badge of honor. In fact, this is the very thing scripture assures us will occur:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions."

-2 Timothy 4:3 (ESV)

"Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."

-John 15:20 (ESV)

And there are brothers and sisters in Christ who endure much worse than a few negative Facebook comments. I'm sure we can do more for the kingdom. They'll label us as whatever they'll label us, and that doesn't matter. My identity is found in the Lord.

Do people know that the wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing here at Awaken Liberty Church? Do people know us as a congregation stepping in this transformative dunamis power? Are we doing this life with such enthusiasm, walking in the gospel with such exuberance, that people comment or think, "These people are drunk. They're full of the new wine." Because if we don't operate in the Holy Spirit, it's all empty words. It's all meaningless singing. It's all vacuous gestures. But if the Spirit of God undergirds it, we rise above all the jumbled noise of the world with a message of love and hope for all people.

And it's my conviction that the book of Acts, that Pentecost, is not a one-time thing. That these scriptures stand as a powerful testimony that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit leads to ongoing movement, not one-and-done salvation if that makes sense? It's the conviction that nothing can change this world but an intrusion by a power greater than anything the world itself contains. When I don't know what that looks like or how to pray for that reality to manifest, I turn to the Holy Spirit's guidance.

For the heights and depths no words can reach, God has given us his very Spirit, the soul's own speech.

POWER TO SHAKE THE UNSHAKABLE

The second thing that the power of Pentecost does is shake the unshakable.

How is it that Peter, who was frightened, cowering amid his master's suffering, is now standing up in this crowd and preaching the first message that the Church of Christ will ever hear? How does that happen? How is it that Rome goes from a pagan society, mainly ignoring this Christian Revolution, then persecuting the Christian Revolution, then Christianity becoming the state religion over the course of two hundred years? How does that happen? How does Christianity, a small rebellious sect out of this diminutive, unassuming nation, blossom and branch across the expanse of the world? How does that happen?

The Holy Spirit shakes that which seems unshakable.

You don't peg Peter as the guy to kickstart this revolution with a sermon. Peter is not your first choice. Peter is reckless with scripture. Peter is brazen with his sword and his speech. If I chose elders in this church, Peter would not be my first, second, or even third choice. This is the same Peter who, 53 days earlier, said about Jesus, "I never knew him!" Yet the same Peter had nothing to say about Jesus when someone asked directly if he was one of the followers of Jesus, on the day of Pentecost, he stood before a crowd of people he once feared and boldly declared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Standing before many of the same people who shouted, "crucify Christ!" Peter proclaimed in no uncertain terms that the man they crucified was, in fact, the Son of God.

How does he go from being frightened to fearless? How does he go from being cowardly to courageous? How does he go from denying Jesus to defending Jesus? I tell you, he didn't change his mind. He was changed. Something happened to Peter, to these believers. Something happened to these 3,000 to set them on fire for Jesus Christ. And of these churches, they would say, "These people have turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6)

This is what it means by "the last days." The last days, as we understand, are not the end times or this lofty weird concept we are used to hearing, like, "Oh, the apocalypse is coming! The world is burning! Everybody run cause it's all going to hell!" We understand that the last days are merely the period between Christ's first coming and his second coming. That's it. And we'll get more into that as we go through Revelation, but I really want you to understand that there's a focus to the "last days." We see this spoken of in Acts 2:17-21, verses that pull from Joel's prophecies:

"And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

-Joel 2:28–32 (ESV)

This is not vague future fortune-telling; it's happening now! When Christ died, Christ inaugurated the kingdom! Something is happening in the church, that global body of believers, and we're invited to participate. Do you want to be part of the change taking place? And it's not going to be because we change; it's going to be because God changes us.

I'm going to be frank, maybe a little too frank. It's okay, you can deal with it later. Sometimes it feels like I am preaching every week, and nothing shakes. Like there's a rock in my way, and I'm just pounding away with all my heart, and I get nothing from the effort. Save some bloody fists. It's aggravating. It makes me clutch my head sunday night as if I'm a failure. Do I do things wrong? Should I be preaching different messages? Should I be not preaching at all?

At the end of the day, I have to remind myself (actually, Laura has to remind me) that it's not my power or words doing the work. If you are changed, it's not RJ that changed you but the Holy Spirit. The only power to shake the unshakable is the Holy Spirit.

There is a sense in which we must be willing. There is a sense in which we must ultimately say, "Yes, Lord, not my will but yours be done." We believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but there's a very great sense that we get in the way of what God wants to do in our lives more often than not. Remember, we are told not to quench the Spirit.

What happens if we let God loose in our lives? If we're open to what happened at Pentecost happening today? If we dare to dream that we can experience the Holy Spirit's transforming strength in our lives, communities, and small worlds. Can we? Because people are desperate for something more than ordinary religion. People are desperate for something more than what the church has to offer. People are desperate for the power and intimacy of the Holy Spirit, as we were created for union and communion with God. In this, the greatest need for society, culture, and the world today is for the church to pursue contemporary Pentecost. To be disciples praying and ready for a miracle of supernatural endowment. To return to that Martin Luther quote (with emphasis):

"Observe here, the Holy Spirit descends and fills the hearts of the disciples sitting in fear and sorrow. He renders their tongues fiery and cloven, and inflames them with love unto boldness in preaching Christ–unto free and fearless utterance. Plainly, then, it is not the office of the Spirit to write books or to institute laws. He writes in the hearts of men, creating a new heart, so that man may rejoice before God, filled with love for him and ready, in consequence, to serve his fellows gladly."

POWER TO VISUALIZE THE INVISIBLE

The third thing, my briefest thing, is that the power of Pentecost is the power to visualize the invisible. As we continue our study of Revelation, I will be expressing more what I mean by "giving the world a better vision, or a better hope for the future." So be patient with me. It's coming.

There is a vision of a glorious future that we sort of gloss over when we preach the kingdom or Christ crucified. We simply talk about individual salvation and rescuing from hell. This is a good thing to preach, don't get me wrong. But it's a beautiful two-sided coin when it comes to the gospel. It's not just, "Hey, follow Christ to get your free ticket out of hell!" Compelling of a message as that may be, we must preach the flip side; "Hey, did you know that you, as God's creation, were made to glorify him as a steward of his creation? That the creative mind he endowed you with is meant to be used to partner with him in the stewardship of the earth? That's your intended design?"

That's a beautiful message! To invite people back into that partnership, invite people into the Christian Revolution. Not merely, "Hey, come join us to get away from going to hell. And then, you know, make sure you tithe and pray and read your bible." It's much more! Yes. Do all these things. Please do all these things. The church needs all these things. But there's something more! Help them visualize the invisible Holy Spirit!

NT Wright writes:

"And with all this we lift up our eyes and realize that when the New Testament tells us the meaning of the cross, it gives us not a system, but a story; not a theory, but a meal and an act of humble service; not a celestial mechanism for punishing sin and taking people to heaven, but an earthly story of a human Messiah who embodies and incarnates Israel's God and who unveils his glory in bringing his kingdom to earth as in heaven."

He also states:

"According to the book of Revelation, Jesus died in order to make us not rescued nonentities, but restored human beings with a vocation to play a vital part in God's purposes for the world."

By the way, this book I've been quoting is The Day the Revolution Began. If you're in the mood for a weighty theological treatise on the meaning of the cross and have the stomach for a bit of academic jargon, NT. Wright is quite a good writer. There are many things I disagree with in his book. But he also helps believers reframe so much of what we think. We're set free by Christ's blood for heaven and work on earth. And how is that work enabled? By the breath of the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember when God made Adam from the dust of the Earth in Genesis two? Nothing happened until God breathed into Adam. Remember the bones in Ezekiel thirty-seven? They did not move until God breathed upon them; until the Holy Spirit blew over those bones. And the same thing is true of the church and every Christian. No matter what, we will never function to our greatest capacity unless the Holy Spirit blows over us.

There is a vision of hope and a future within every Christian. True, it's admittingly hard to see this beautiful picture of new Heavens and new Earth when we look around us. We may not watch the news for the sake of our mental well-being, but other people do. We may not engage in social media for our soul's health and thereby stay happy, but other people do. And there's nothing but garbage. It's nothing but doom and gloom. I ask you, can we give a better picture? Can we deliver a better vision?

I believe we can. A vision of true diversity. Not just this crap where everybody gets their own holiday and some token reparations, but a true picture of people of every color hand-in-hand worshiping God and stewarding creation. A vision where we are not equal because of arbitrary legal guidelines or whatever people think will change the world. No, we are equal because we were made in the image of God. It's a vision for the future, and it's a beautiful one. One where we champion true wholeness and proper solutions for the poor, the sick, the needy, for the abused. Not just weak efforts of occasional policy changes, but that we have a remedy in the darkness. That we have more than just thoughts and prayers or policy and change; we have life-giving love and acts.

Is the pressure on every single one of us to present this vision? Yes. Is the pressure on all of us to do it by ourselves? No. We have a congregation to do it together.

The power of Pentecost, to bring this all together, is this:

• Speaking of the unspeakable

• Shaking of the unshakable

• Visualizing of the invisible.

We are moving where the spirit tells us to move, praying as the Spirit compels us to pray, and speaking as the spirit compels us to speak. The most fantastic news is that we are not doing it alone, but other believers are willing to walk side-by-side with us. That same fire burns within them.

I've told you guys this before; I'm not interested in a dull routine version of Christian belief. I'm not interested in the same trite, religious motions. I'm not interested in filling your minds but leaving your souls unmoved. I couldn't care less what knowledge you possess if that knowledge does not lead you to walk in your worlds in power.

And so, I'm open to the idea of the Spirit doing things that will surprise us. I'm open to prophecy. I'm open to healing. I'm open to tongues, even. I'm open to the notion that the Holy Spirit, that God, can surprise us. That we are not done because God is not done. The second coming of Christ has yet to happen, so there still must be work that the church must do. That's us!

I know it might be scary. I know it might not feel like what you're equipped to do. It might not feel like what you were designed to do. You might look at yourself and go, "God… me?! I'm the one?!" Yes, you! For such a time as for such a place as this, you! I can't pretend like I even get it. But what I can say is when I released my iron grip on the reins and started living a little bolder, when I began turning over my control to God, when I began relinquishing the petty freedoms that allowed me to ignore the pulling of the Spirit, when I no longer held a death grip on my little world, and when I stopped caring how people looked at me and how people thought of me… It's been a wild journey, but I haven't regretted a moment of it.

And I believe the best is still to come. I believe the best is still to come for this church. I believe the best is still to come for your lives. I hope that all of you, under the sound of my voice, will be willing to pursue Pentecost with me prayerfully; ready to press in a little more into your bibles and your prayers; that you'll be glad to open up your mouth and say those words, "Holy Spirit, have your way."

Let us pray.