Pentecost (2010) The Promise of Pentecost

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    The Promise of Pentecost

    Acts 1: 1 8

    The forty days between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to the right

    hand of the Father must have been strange days indeed. They began with thedisciples behind locked doors in an upper room in Jerusalem, hiding, we may

    assume, for fear of their liveswondering if the same men who had taken Jesus

    would come for them. Then the risen Jesus himself comes to them, but for all

    that he is the same teacher and Lord that they have known for the last several

    years, he is also different. Now he moves through locked doors and seems to

    appear and disappear at will. Now, he is with them not as the constant

    companion and teacher they have known, but rather, sporadically, coming and

    going, leaving them to wonder what the next day may bring.

    But as those 40 days draw to their close, Jesus begins to point his followers tosome of the things that he had taught them in the time before his crucifixion.

    Particularly, he points them to the promises made, possibly in the very same

    room where they had been hiding; promises of a helper; promises of an advocate;

    promises of the Holy Spirit who would come upon them, empowering them to do

    the work of God.

    On one occasion, this was the subject of discussion as they sat at table together.

    Jesus said,

    Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which youhave heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you

    will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1: 4 5)

    Then later, the disciples asked what might have seemed to them like a significant

    theological question.

    Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?(Acts 1: 6)

    But when Jesus replies, he tells them that such things are not really any of their

    concern. Rather, he wants them to focus on something else.

    It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his ownauthority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and

    you will be my witnesses (Acts 1: 7 8)

    And, although these words are spoken at the time of the ascension, this is the

    promise of Pentecost.

    You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you

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    It was Jesus promise to his disciples as he turned his face toward the Fathers

    right hand, and it is his promise to his people even today.

    The thing is, we may not quite grasp what those words would have meant to his

    followers when they were first spoken all those years ago. You see, weve come

    to think of the Holy Spirit like a static forcea foundation which is always therebetween the building and the bedrock; always supporting, always lending its

    strength to the structure; but doing so in a manner so invisible to the eye, that we

    rarely ever stop to think about it. I mean, most of us are probably aware that if

    this building didnt have a strong foundation, you probably wouldnt want to be

    sitting in it (especially the way the wind blows around here), but when was the

    last time you actually thought about it.

    Jesus, though, didnt think of the Spirit in terms of static force. In John 7, Jesus

    spoke of the Holy Spirit as a river of living (moving) watera dynamic force,

    always working, always in motion. Like the wind. As he said himself in John 3:

    The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell

    where it comes from or where it is going... (John 3: 8)

    and more still,

    So it is [not only with the Spirit, but also] with everyone born of the Spirit.

    This was demonstrated time and again in the Old Testament.

    In the days when the Midianites oppressed the people of Israel, the angel of the

    Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash theAbiezrite. Nearby a young man was busy threshing wheat in a winepress to

    prevent the oppressors from seeing it and taking it away. Now I dont know if

    youve ever thought about this, but in those days, the process of threshing

    involved throwing the wheat into the air so that the wind could drive away the

    chaff and only the grain would remain. Thats why threshing floors were

    generally built out in the open in places where the wind was likely to blow so that

    the process would actually work. Now picture a wine press, kind of a big barrel

    thats designed for a completely different task; and hunkered down in this press

    where the wind would never really blow is this young man trying to separate thewheat from the chaff. I picture him trying to hide, but every now and then,

    theres this little poof of seed that shoots up out of the barrel and then falls back

    down in. What a sight!

    And then the angel comes and he speaks to the young Gideon, saying, The Lord

    is with you, mighty warrior.

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    The irony of the situation is not lost on Gideon.13 But sir, Gideon replied, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to

    us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, Did

    not the LORDbring us up out of Egypt? But now the LORD has abandoned us and

    put us into the hand of Midian.14 The LORD turned to him and said, Go in the strength you have and save Israel

    out of Midians hand. Am I not sending you?15 But Lord, Gideon asked, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in

    Manasseh, and I am the least in my family. (Judges 6: 13 15)

    Like Moses, the mighty warrior Gideon replies, Here I am, Lord, send someone

    else

    But God had other plans, because the key to Gideons and ultimately Israels

    success will not be Gideons might or strategic genius; rather, God promises, Iwill be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together. (Judges 6:

    16) And when the time was right, we read that the Spirit of the Lord came upon

    Gideon, and with only 300 soldiers, he defeated the whole Midianite army and

    drove them from the land.

    Samson too. Weve likely pictured him as this burly, muscle-bound, Arnold

    Schwarzenegger-like character (only with Fabios hair-do) but theres not really

    anything in Scripture to indicate such a thing (except for the hair). Instead, what

    we find in Scripture is that when Samson encountered a situation where strength

    was required to deliver either himself of the people of Israel, then the Spirit ofGod came upon him and empowered him to do what needed to be done,

    whether it was slaying a lion with his bare hands or a thousand Philistines with

    the jawbone of a donkey.

    The same for Othniel, and Jephthah, Zechariah, Saul, and David. Their power did

    not lie in their own strength or wisdom or in the strength of their armies. Their

    power was found in the Holy Spirit of God who came upon them to equip them

    for the various tasks to which God had called. And this is the context of Jesus

    promisethe promise of Pentecostand this promisethis idea, You willreceive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you needs to be understood in

    this way.

    The promise of Pentecost was not an easy chair in which to sit, or even a rock on

    which to stand or a pillar on which to lean. The promise of Pentecost was the

    promise of Gods own power, at work by his Holy Spirit in the lives of his people.

    This is how the disciples would have understood it, and this is how we need to

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    understand it; because the task that Jesus before his followers (including

    ourselves) as he ascended to the right hand of the Father was bigger than

    anything ever imagined by Joshua, or Gideon, or Samson, or David.

    Jesus said, Make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the

    Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to do everything that I havecommanded you to do. And how are we going to accomplish this? How are we

    going to change the world? How are we going to prevail against the gates of Hell

    itself? In our own strength? I dont think so. But then, that was never Gods

    intent. He didnt mean for us to persevere in our own strength. He didnt mean

    for us to conquer in our own power. He didnt mean for us to prevail in our own

    wisdom. He meant for us to be filled with his own Holy Spirit. He meant for us to

    receive his own power to do and to endure.

    Even in the context of the great commission Jesus said, I am with you always

    and here, in Acts one, we have his own promise, fulfilled on the day of Pentecost,You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be

    witnesses He promised to be with us and he promised to empower and to

    equip us with his Spirit for the task at hand. This is the promise of Pentecost, and

    in gratitude, may we stand and sing our praise in the words of Hymn number 416,

    stanzas 1 and 3 of For Your Gift of God the Spirit.

    The Promise of Pentecost (part two)

    Acts 1: 1 8

    Pastor and author John Ortberg tells the story of an evening when he was

    walking with some friends in Newport Beach, California. As they walked they

    passed one of the local bars just as a fight spilled out onto the street, like a scene

    from the old west. As they watched, three men proceeded to beat up a single

    opponent, who was already bleeding quite freely.

    Well, they realized that they had to do something, even though they didnt have

    a lot of experience in that sort of thing; in fact, Ortberg writes that breaking up

    drunken brawls was not a strong area of spiritual passion or competence for any

    of them. In spite of that, they went over to speak prophetically to the aggressors,

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    feeling pretty certain that once they intervened, they might easily become the

    next victims.

    But as they began to warn the men to break it up, suddenly the thugs looked up

    with fear in their eyes, let their victim go and turned to walk away. At that point

    he realized that the men had actually been looking over his shoulder, so heturned around and saw what he describes as one of the biggest men he had ever

    seen. Ortberg writes, He stood 6 foot 7 and weighed about 250 pounds or so,

    with perhaps 2 percent body fat. If Hercules had married Xena, the warrior

    princess, this could have been their child. He goes on to say, We called him

    Mongo, but not to his face. And Mongo didnt say a word. He just stood there

    with muscles bulging, looking as if he hoped they would try to take him on. He

    was a bouncer at the bar, and this was an area of massive, breathtaking

    competence for him, Ortberg writes. Breaking up fights was [Mongos]

    spiritual gift.And in that moment when he realized what had happened, John Ortbergs

    attitude was transformed. He was released from anxiety and fear. He was filled

    with boldness and confidence. Youd better not let us catch you hanging around

    here again! he called out after the retreating thugs. And why? Because he

    realized that he was not alone. Mongo had his back. Someone was standing

    beside him who was more than capable of dealing with the situation.

    And isnt this what happened at Pentecost when the promised Holy Spirit cam in

    power? We read in Acts chapter 2 that on that day, Peter stood up with theEleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd (Acts 2: 14). And, yea, Peter.

    You remember him. He was the one who just 53 days before had denied even

    knowing Jesus, cursing, and swearing that he was not one of the disciples

    because he was afraid that there might be a cross with his own name on it lurking

    in the shadows somewhere. The truth is, there was, but on the day of Pentecost,

    it didnt matter anymore, because on that day, his attitude was transformed. He

    was released from anxiety and fear. He was filled with boldness. People of

    Israel, he cried out. Be assured, God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,

    both Lord and Christ. And whats the difference. On Pentecost, Peter realizedthat he was not alone. The Holy Spirit had his back. Someone was standing

    beside him who was more than capable of dealing with the situation.

    Of course, the promise of Pentecost, was not only for those who were there all

    those years ago. Peter said to the crowd, The promise is for you and your

    children and for all who are far offfor all whom the Lord our God will call, (Acts

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    2: 39) which means that the promise is for us too. The power of Pentecost has

    been there ever since for all of the people of God.

    So what is it that fills you with anxiety and fear? What is it that makes you feel

    alone? What is it that makes you feel helpless? Maybe theres a temptation with

    which you struggle and youre just sure that youll never win. Maybe theressome situation at work or at school where you know that you need to take a

    stand for Christ, but youre afraid that youll end up standing all alone. Maybe

    theres some task in the church or in the kingdom of God that you can see needs

    to be done, but youre reaction has always been, Here am I Lord,

    sendsomeone else. Maybe theres some friend or some member of your

    family who you know needs to hear the good news that Jesus did not come into

    this world to condemn the world, but so that the world through him might be

    saved, but youre afraidafraid of being rejectedafraid of being laughed at. It

    could happenit really could. There really was a cross with Peters name, justwaiting in the shadows.

    But it doesnt matter anymore. Jesus said, You will receive power when the

    Holy Spirit comes upon you

    You can overcome that temptation in the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle

    said, Submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you.

    You can use the gifts that Christ has given by his Spirit to serve him and to build

    his kingdom. After all, if a frightened farmer can face down the armies of Midian

    in the power of the Holy Spirit, surely its not such a great thing to serve oncouncil or to teach a Sunday School class.

    You can share the gospel with that friend or family member who needs to hear

    about the love of God. As Jesus told one reluctant evangelist, Go, and tell them

    what great things the Lord has done for you, and later he promised that as they

    did, then his own Spirit would put words in their mouths.

    You can stand for Christ, even if it means standing alone because really, you are

    not alone, and you are not helpless. Theres no need to be afraid. Theres no

    need to be discouraged. God has your back. Someone is standing right beside

    you who is more than capable of dealing with whatever situation you may be

    facing. This is Gods promise for you and I, for those who are far away and those

    who are near, as many as the Lord our God shall call.

    This is the promise of Pentecost.

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