“Don’t Let the Fire Go Out?” Sermon Transcript for May 31, 2009 Pentecost Sunday “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them…” Acts 2:3
Prayer of Preparation O Lord, may your Holy Spirit set our own hearts on fire as we listen for your Word of truth and grace. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen. The Message A cynic once remarked that if it were up to most members of modern churches there would be lightning rods instead of crosses on top of churches, in memory of the time when lightning struck the early church and as a protection against it ever happening again. Think about it! After a week when lightning did strike this church, even with lightning rods, I don’t think it really matters. Lightning strikes whenever and wherever the lightning wants! After losing a tree at the parsonage to lightning two weeks ago, I can attest to that fact! Lightning strikes whenever and wherever the lightning wants! It’s the same in the church! Lightning strikes whenever the lightning wants, and on the Day of Pentecost lightning struck! The disciples had gathered in one place when the lightning of the Holy Spirit struck, setting them on fire. They had gathered in an upper room, as Jesus had instructed, to wait for the power of the Spirit to come. It was the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day after the Passover, the day Jews from all over gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest and to remember God’s covenant. Persons from every nation under heaven had come to the feast (Acts 1:3). That’s when, as Luke tells us, the Holy Spirit came, as a “rush of violent wind,” appearing as “tongues of fire,” resting on the disciples’ lips, giving them the ability to speak in other languages (Acts 1:4), allowing everyone else who had come from across the globe the ability to hear and understand one another in their native tongue (Acts 1:5). Suddenly, the whole story of the tower of Babel in Genesis is reversed: now, instead of confusion among the languages of the people, there is communication and cooperation; there is understanding. Suddenly, there is a deep connection between all the different peoples who had come to Jerusalem. That’s how Luke describes it: the Holy Spirit comes and literally lights up the disciples! The Spirit literally fires ‘em up and fills ‘em up with power, passion, and purpose of Christ. There is lots of heat and a great deal of wind – not to mention noise! It’s really quite an extraordinary event. I know we weren’t there, but I think it is safe to say that after Pentecost, the disciples who had gathered, along with those who had arrived in Jerusalem, aren’t the same after the coming of the Holy Spirit. Something happened to change these Galileans into a major force in history: following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, there is a burning desire to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). That’s one of the major themes of Pentecost: there is this burning desire – this fire in the belly – to communicate the gospel in ways people will understand as well as the capacity to hear and comprehend what is being said. That’s one of the roles of the Holy Spirit: the Holy Spirit makes true communication possible. There is a power released that allows us to communicate in ways we didn’t think possible. Pentecost – Noun or Adjective Now, I think this is a good way to approach Pentecost. As you can see, there is a great deal of red around here. It’s the one day of the year we dress the altar in red to remember the fire of the Holy Spirit. Red symbolizes heat and power and passion; it reminds us of our mission as a church to share the gospel with others, as tongues of fire rest on our lips. When we celebrate Pentecost, though, I have a feeling we may have other images on our minds. I have a feeling that there may be some confusion between Pentecost the noun – or, the event – and Pentecostal the adjective – or, the description of a particular type of Christian. Mention the word Pentecostal and all kinds of images run across our brain pads – e.g., speaking in tongues, being slain in the spirit, or shouting in and dancing in isles, rolling in ecstasy (What Methodists used to do!). And so, if I ask you “Are you Pentecostal?” you may already have an image of what Pentecostal is in your mind. Years ago in seminary, my professor of preaching, Fred Craddock, was asked if he was Pentecostal. Dr. Craddock didn’t quite understand the question. After a long exchange, Dr. Craddock ended up telling the student that he wasn’t Pentecostal. Apparently, the student had some specific types of behaviors in mind. Dr. Craddock didn’t fill the description. Perhaps an example may help: When I felt the call into the ministry in high school, I was invited to speak at a revival in my home town. It was to take place in a small church a few blocks from the Ohio River. Apparently, the word had gotten out that I was going into the ministry. Therefore, the organizers of the revival wanted me to come and speak. And so, I did. I accepted the invitation – not knowing what I was getting into! Before the revival, as is customary, there is typically a prayer meeting. The leaders and speakers gather to pray and to share. And that’s what we did. We met, and we began to pray. At first, I thought nothing of it: we prayed, and we shared. But then we began to pray some more and some more and some more; and before I knew it I began to hear people speak in tongues, and I began to hear people pacing the floor, and praying louder and louder. The prayer meeting had truly begun! Two hours later, we finished! I got on my bike and rode across town to speak with my own pastor, Mike Reed. I told Mike what I had just experienced. He laughed. To be sure, it was not like the prayer meetings I had attended in our church! Again, the word is Pentecostal. The fastest growing segment of the church in the world today is Pentecostal, cutting across all denominations, races, ages, classes, and education levels. It is the most explosive movement in the contemporary church. And to ignore it or to cast it aside as something of an aberration or a group of misfits is a huge mistake, especially since it was the Methodists who gave birth to the Pentecostals in the first place! I believe the symbol of the United Methodist Church – the cross and flame are to remind us of that connection – the cross of Christ, the flame of the Spirit. But in a church that has lost over six million people in forty years, I don’t think we are in a position to judge, do you? (In fact, if you want to know what Methodism used to look like you need to look at Pentecostalism.) Personal Reflections Over the last few years I have grown to appreciate the Pentecostal movement. Yes, to be sure, there are excesses, but there are excesses in all churches – some churches are excessively enthusiastic and emotional, some are excessively boring and dull. (I guess it depends on what kind of excess you want!). True renewal, true power, comes through God’s own Spirit bearing witness with our spirit (Romans 8:16), helping us to become more and more like Christ. Thinking that true renewal will come through one more organizational restructuring campaign, or one more media blitz, or one more slogan isn’t the ticket. For, as our passage on Pentecost suggests, the Spirit has everything to do with the creation and mission of the church! No Holy Spirit, no church. No Holy Spirit, no fire in the belly! We need to realize that Jesus didn’t come simply to baptize with water but also with fire (Matthew 3:11). As the prophet Jeremiah knew so well, there has to be passion and fire in our bones to make a difference (Jeremiah 20:9); a change needs to take place in our hearts, lighting up our souls. I can remember a visit our family made to a small Methodist school in England during our renewal leave several years ago. Cliff College is located near Sheffield in Great Britain, and when we were there it has just had some kind of church gathering – a revival, I think. Upon leaving the school, we saw a banner stretched over the road, and on the banner were these words: Did you receive the Holy Spirit? It really got to me thinking about my own church, even my own life: when we leave this place, do we receive the Holy Spirit? Is that an expectation? How would we know? Spirit-filled! I ask those questions because I think sometimes when we begin to speak of being “filled with the Spirit,” or “driven by the Spirit,” or “walking in the Spirit,” we scar people. There is a fear that too much Holy Spirit talk will lead to division – as if we can fall back to our old high school day cheering “We’ve got spirit, yes, we do, we’ve got spirit how bout you?” A few years ago, for instance, I had an experience where one person joined our church because she felt it was “Spirit-filled”; she loved the small groups and the mission projects and the fellowship. Another person, however, left the church because she felt it wasn’t Spirit-filled; there wasn’t enough clapping and shouting, and there weren’t enough altar calls. She needed to find a church where that was the major focus. It raises a basic point: how we understand the Holy Spirit will say a great deal about how we understand the church. The two are intimately related. If you don’t believe the church is God’s creation, or Christ’s own body, for example, then you may see the church as simply one more civic organization or club, as one more place to volunteer. On other the hand, if you see the church as a community of the Holy Spirit, as Christ’s own bride, then you may view the church more in terms of the gifts and graces God gives us to relate and serve, motivating us to share the gospel. And so, if we can return to the event of Pentecost we will see that a truly “Spirit-filled” church is really a church where there is true cooperation and communication among God’s people; there is a deep unity and abiding connection with the power of God’s great love in Christ, where there is passion and purpose to serve and care for others. In a truly Spirit-filled church, there is a sense in which the mission is not so much about us as it is about reaching out. There is a burning desire to find ways to communicate the gospel and to break down barriers. In a truly Spirit-filled church, there is an environment of hospitality and listening as well as excitement and encouragement: the hallways hum, the classes are full, children and youth are meeting, small groups are gathering, people are smiling and laughing, generosity is extravagant, and persons are encountering God in prayer and worship. In a truly Spirit-filled church, the Word of God is preached with enthusiasm and honesty, and the sacraments are practiced with seriousness and joy. The whole church is organized and geared toward mission, as it bears the fruit and shares the gifts of the Spirit, as it offers Christ. A truly Spirit-filled church! Dare I say a truly Pentecostal church? A church of the Pentecost! A church that has been struck by lightning, with the very fire of God’s own Spirit moving through the
Notes:
|