Pentecost

Auto-generated from the audio — may contain errors.

0:00 We all have callings on our lives, and when we are able to understand them and live inside of them well, we get longer, more sustained glimpses of the life and the spirit that Christ brought for us on the cross. That life called scribes is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, and hope to own the callings that we have in our lives and live simply in them. Ask the question,

0:31 how am I fulfilling these callings well, and leave the rest of it up to God, and we are able to get longer, more sustained glimpses of the life that Christ brought for us on the cross. We are going to use this Sunday, the Pentecost Sunday, to start us down that road for the next several weeks. And so to get us into that, I just want to look quickly at the Pentecost story. It's in Luke's account of the actual apostles, if you want to look there with me, Acts chapter 2.

1:02 Acts is right after the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, verses, I regret the answer towards the back of the copy of the other paper copy of the scriptures. And I mentioned that it's Luke's account because we are sure that the same one that wrote Luke, the gospel, according to Luke, also wrote the actual apostles. If you want like, you're trying to, like this summer you're saying, I'm going to read more scripture.

1:33 The actual apostles was a really cool book to read. It reads like a really compelling story. It's told in the first verse in a lot because we're sure that Luke, the author, was there with Paul for period of time as they walked around Asia minor, that he's the first-hand account of this early stage of the church. And so he records in Acts chapter 2, the heading that my publisher gives it is the coming of the Holy Spirit,

2:09 read from the beginning of chapter 2 verse 1. When the day of Pentecost arrived, remember that Pentecost for us means the church holiday. At the time it was a festival of first fruits. So a lot of people had made their way up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. It's worth remembering, we've talked about it before, but the feast days in Jerusalem were really cool days. I think it was Ellie who's asking me about Mardi Gras. I don't know why the other day she's asking me about Mardi Gras.

2:40 What is Mardi Gras and where do they celebrate it and is it a good thing and where does it come from and why don't we celebrate it. So I was talking about Mardi Gras in New Orleans and how people come to the city to celebrate this thing. But you can imagine a version of that almost, maybe without all the crazy ways. But the idea that people come from all over the place to one city and they pack out the city.

3:11 And they're therefore, they come for the high few stays. And Pentecost might be a particularly celebratory one because it's a first fruit. So people are bringing in sections of their harvest. And we know like from that early story in the life of Jesus that they come in big family groups. Because they walk together and the roads are not safe so it would be more safe if you came with a big crowd. So you can imagine you've got a wagon with your first fruits of harvest that you're taking up to thank the God for the great harvest that he gave you this year.

3:47 And you're with all of the families and some of them have had not as good harvest and maybe they are offering their first fruits hoping that it gets better. But they all are together in this family unit. When we think that maybe they used to songs during this time where they sing the songs together as they're walking up to Jerusalem. So that the season of Pentecost is this great celebratory period where people are in town from all over the place. There's hopes and encouragement. There's some fears about the future.

4:19 But we are all in it together. And we come together to the temple and bring the thing that we have. When Luke says it was the season of Pentecost the readers would know what was happening. And the mood that the people came to the city with. And when the day of Pentecost had arrived they were all gathered together in one place. And suddenly they came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind. And it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

4:49 I think about I've never been through a tornado but you think about when people hear a tornado come and say sounds of a train coming right. Can you imagine like I don't know where that original spirit of God had been held up and back for generations. I mean this is the spirit of God that covered over the waters the beginning. The creative life-giving force of the God of the universe.

5:23 This is the spirit of God that was breathed into humanity at the beginning and had free reign through the world. But has been held up and released only in certain moments to come upon little sections on a few people here and there. The Holy Spirit came upon David for his word or Nathan or Deborah or Gideon or Samson.

5:54 Like the Holy Spirit came out on a few people for just to announce them just for a specific job. But at this moment at this kind of celebratory first fruits of the harvest. As the resurrected incarnated God ascends into heaven and takes his seat. He together with God the Father releases the great spirit of God that's been bent up for generations. And says go and enliven humanity again.

6:27 Can you imagine the sound of the Russian wind of that primordial life-giving spirit coming out for the first time again. Like it is an unbelievable moment that God would do that again. That something new would happen again. That the spirit would be set free. A tornado, the sound of a tornado must be nothing compared to the releasing of the spirit God of the earth.

7:01 I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it. So it says it was the sound of a mighty Russian wind. When David Pentecost had arrived they had all together in one place and suddenly they came from heaven a sound like a mighty Russian wind that had filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as fire appeared and rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak together in tongues as the spirit gave in utterance.

7:32 And now there were dwelling in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at the 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 Eomites. And residents of Bessithetania and Judea and Cappadocia and Cauchus and Asia and Beardah and Cacophilia.

8:07 Egypt and parts of Libya belong to Cyrene and visitors of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, creeks and Arabians. We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and perplexed and say unto one another, what does this mean? But others, Matthew and said they are filled with new wine. I wish Peter had taken the time to write down the things they were saying.

8:41 They were into nothing in their own tongues, the mighty works of God. The Partians and the Radians and the Cretians. I wonder what folks from the Island of Crete associate as the mighty works of God. Have you ever had that moment where someone, maybe you go to someone you ask them to pray for you?

9:17 Or you go into a conversation with someone and it seems like they know something about you that there is no way they can know about you. We used to have a guy at the church I went to in college and it became almost a game for me because it was so fascinating to me. But the church we went to in college was like very high church. They do incense and they could find someone that would wave a sensor around and they had mailers you'd kneel.

9:49 So we did, they call it the Upras, we did communion every Sunday and we did the same prayers in the 1920 book and common prayer in King James English every week. I stayed because I loved the people and thought the past was amazing and after five years I learned the love and liturgy. But I went for the first four years, eight years, eight years. But one of the things is so compelling besides the pastor was a friend and I loved them still too. After the communion they would have the side rail over here and they would have like three or four people there and you could go and get prayer if you needed it.

10:27 You just go and kneel that. And it was a place where people like to receive, have people pray for them. And so they had the practice of you don't take the time to tell them a prayer request because it would take too long. You just kneel and they pray for you and then they bless you and then you go on. You don't take the time to talk about it because it will take too long. And this, there's this one old dude, his name is Jack and Jack was a retired Baptist preacher at this high end of the church with the 1920 book and common prayer.

11:00 And he had the perfect radio voice. He's like a contemporary of Billy Graham, the new Billy Graham before Billy Graham started his ministry. And he had the perfect deep radio voice. So they always had to read the gospel because it's just like in the King James English Jack reading the gospel. He carried a big book out and reading the mill in the church like they do in the high church. Jack was over there. I didn't care what was going on that week. I didn't even care that week. And I was hoping, you know, you never got to pick who you got to.

11:31 It was when you were in line, there'd be three of them, whoever opened up and you were next in line. So I would go and just hope that I'd get Jack. And Jack had this way of praying where he'd speak in the first person, right? Like four God to you. With this like deep voice. And I'm telling you, every time Jack knew what was in my heart. And the words that he spoke like were so encouraging because of because only the same spirit of God that was in me was in Jack.

12:11 The only way Jack would know what I was coming for that day. Because the same spirit that was in me is in him. And when he closed his eyes and was sensitive to that spirit and spoke on behalf of God, the spirit drew what I needed to hear. I wish I knew when those preteens and Persians came together and heard in their own language the mighty works of God.

12:41 What mighty works caught their heart. Like if there's some little cave in the island of Crete that inspires all that God is telling them how he made it, the mighty works of God. If he's describing to them what it was like when he defeated the Persians for the first time through his army. Like I want to know what the mighty works of God, what mighty works of God would capture your heart.

13:14 What have you seen and experienced that only God could accomplish that you would love to hear him tell you about doing it? When I get there I'm going to run a little down and ask him what the mighty works of God were that they were talking about. All were amazed and perplexed and saying to one another what does this mean?

13:46 But the others, Machin said they are filled with new wine. Verse 14, but Peter standing with the eleven lifted up his voice and addressed the crowd. Man of Judea and all with well and Jerusalem let this be known to you and give your to my words. But these men are not drunk as you suppose. So instead is only the third hour of the day given some time. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel. And in the last days it shall be the players, God the players that I would pour out my spirit on all flesh.

14:18 And your sons and daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall come in dreams. And even on male servants and female servants in those days I would pour out my spirit and they would prophesy and I would show wonders in the heavens above and the signs on the earth below. And blood, fire and vapor and smoke and the sun shall return to darkness or moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes and the great and magnificent day and it shall come to pass. Remember that at the cross the sun will fly to the earth split open remember.

14:51 And the sun will splatter out. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Peter says, hey they're not drunk. This is what God has been saying we would do. The least the spirit of God is that. Out on indestrimently. Young and old men and women. Everybody gets the spirit of God.

15:21 And we want you not to miss it. He wants you not to miss it. Now the Old Testament reading that they give us today is a kind of a famous story. It's in Genesis chapter three if you want to look there because it kind of ties in for us the death of what's happening here at Pentecost. And I have known that they connect this Old Testament reading to the day of Pentecost because they always do.

15:52 And I always thought it was a little bit of a trite connection. I was like not impressed with this connection. Which is reveals my arrogance that I would be unimpressed by the lineage of the church. Like I would know better somehow. And today I got well when I looked at this I got taught about it. And Genesis chapter 11 is a story of Babel.

16:26 And Genesis is another book that is worth reading if you're trying to read some of it. It's like one story after another of beauty. And just to get you caught up at where we are in the story in that at Babel. God has made the whole world though nobody asked him to put humanity into it out of his own creation. And that they never would need and they're sure he's holding back on them. And so they try and take the position of God and make decisions for themselves and step out of under his tear.

16:59 The way that that responsibility crushes them and enters them into a life that starts to decay. He removes them from the tree of life and takes them out of the garden in order that they don't live forever in that fall state. They might rescue again for them the life they were made for. But now they're separating with God and they'll walk with them every evening and they begin to forget that the garden exists. And they begin to live as low as God doesn't exist. Generation after generation starts to get worse than where finally he says every desire of their heart was all evil all the time.

17:30 They were only thinking about themselves. They were sure they were their own gods. They were manipulating and using everything around them just to satisfy their whims and desires. I've got to start over. And so he calls one dude and says, I'm going to kill them all. I'm going to start over with your family. And so he does. He floods the whole earth, saves Noah and his family. And he starts again and Noah makes them alter when they land. And so within a few generations we get to the story of the Tower of Battle.

18:02 Just a few generations after Noah. A couple chapters. And then look at where we are in Genesis chapter 11. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. That's why I thought it was tracked. Because I thought, oh they're just making the connection because of the languages. But the language thing is a symbol of something deeper that's happening. A symbolic thing that's deeper in the time that I didn't catch before. Now the whole earth had one language in the same words.

18:35 And as people migrated from the east they found a plane in the land of Shinnar and settled there. And they said to another, hey come let's make some bricks and burn them. And they had brick for stone and beat them in for mortar. And then they said, come let us build ourselves a city with a tower with its top in the heavens. And let's make a name for ourselves. Let's maybe disperse over the face of the whole earth. The impetus here is to let people know all over the world, people and whoever else, animals are.

19:11 That we are it. We're going to walk up to the heavens. We are it. We're going to walk up to the heavens. We don't need anybody else. And the Lord came down to see the tower at which the children man had built. The emphasis in the Hebrew here is another one of the Hebrew words that I remember from that professor that did the vocabulary for us all the time.

19:41 Because it's so literal it gets more literal than usually they do. Because he said it's like God gets way down. God came down there to look at their tower. The emphasis in the Greek is like God got all the way down there just to see what they were working on. This is communicated in the original Hebrew. God got all the way down there to look and see. Come let us go all the way down there. And the Lord came down to the city and the tower which the children man had built.

20:11 Oh behold. Oh and the Lord said behold they are one people and they all have one language. And this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they purposed to do now would be impossible for them. They're going to make a mess of things. That's what I said. It's so foolish. They think they're going to build a tower to heaven and solve their problems. They are separated from me and destined for death.

20:41 They are motivated by compulsion and fear and self-interest. They're going to make a mess of things. And once they get down to this tower they're going to build something else that's going to be apparent. And no one's ever going to find the life they were made for. They're going to completely forget about the garden. They're going to make a mess of things. And nothing they purposed or purposed to do when I'll be impossible for them. Come let us go down there and confuse their language so they may not understand one another's speech.

21:13 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth and they left off building the city. And therefore the name was called battle because the Lord confused the language of all. And then he said over the face of the earth spread them out over all the face of the earth right after here. So he's like, okay, we're going to separate them all and mess up their languages. And then right after he says, and now I'm going to take one group of people. And we'll develop a special relation. I'm going to move a little bit closer to these ones.

21:43 And we'll lay out what makes some promises to them. And I'm going to lay out for them what life the life they were made for and looks like. This is when he sets up Israel. This is when he calls Abram right after battle. He says, I'm not going to try and deal with all of them and hope that they remember me. I'm going to move closer to a few of them and they'll be the emblem where people will look at them and they'll be reminded of the life that they were made for. And the whole sort of Israel moves from that point of battle until Jesus comes.

22:18 And in the person, Jesus, the calling of Israel is fulfilled. We don't have time to go through all of them right now, but believe me, Jesus accomplishes everything Israel was called to do. So that now Jesus is the fullest example of what life of God looks like in the way Israel was intended to be. So that when he gets up, sit it at the right hand of God, releasing again that primordial spirit of God, he sets the thing back and says, it is now like I can deal with all of them.

22:52 I'm not going through Israel to get to the whole world. I went through Christ and now the whole world is open. And I'll do it different this time. I'll put my spirit not on a temple or a tabernacle, but right out of your midst amongst all of them. We don't have to go through Israel anymore. We're going back to three Babel days where you all can speak the same language because you carry the same spirit inside of you.

23:28 Jesus said they would do it. This is our last text. Sorry. It's a good week. I am Marking John, John chapter 14, verse 23. Jesus in this section of John, Jesus is in just finished up, washing the disciples feet, told them that they will deny him and then said that he's going to manifest himself to them. And then Jesus, not the spirit, says to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, not the world.

24:01 In verse 23 of chapter 14, Jesus answered him and said, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our home. And whoever does not love him, it's not my words. And the word that you hear is not my name, but the father who sent me verse 25. These things I have spoken to you while I am with you, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to you remembrance all that I have said to you.

24:31 Peace. I live with you. My peace I live to not as the world gives to my gift to you, but not your hearts be troubled when you don't let them be afraid. Jesus gives you a Holy Spirit in order that you would have peace and be able to live. According to his commandments, is the code way of saying the life you were made for.

25:09 Jesus says, I'm going to the father and he is going to send you the spirit and when the Holy Spirit, the helper comes, you'll be able to do all things. You'll be able to go back to what I intended, pre-babble. You'll be able to glimpse the garden. The closest you can get to the life you were made for, this side of the garden is possible now because I'm sending you the Holy Spirit. And that's for you all. In the age of the church with the spirit and dwelling, you have everything you need to live the life you were made for now.

25:46 To its fullest, this is what the church has been waiting for. This age is what the church has been waiting for since we got out since that flaming sword went between us in the garden being here. At Pentecost, God did something we did not know was possible. That we could again commune with our God, unmediated presence of God in your midst.

26:23 That means you can be image bearer or God again in the world. You can mimic his creativity in the world again. You can serve selflessly again. You can work meaningfully again. You can love substantially again. You can live again in the life you were made for.

26:54 Because you have that spirit of God. Let me pray that we could be people who believe it and take him up on that gift. Anymore, thank you for your great spirit of life. Thank you. Thank you. To each us again what it means that we have access to you like that.

27:31 And let us live with you today. In Jesus name we pray.