Pentecost Sunday, 2024
John 14:15-18,25-26; 15:26; 16:5-15

Today is Pentecost Sunday. It is the third biggest day on the Christian calendar after Easter and Christmas. But it doesn’t get anywhere near the attention as those two celebrations do. How often, for instance, are you asked if you are going anywhere for Pentecost this year? Or, what you are having for Pentecost dinner?  Doing anything special for Pentecost this next week? 

For one of the big three major Christian festivals, it seems to come in a rather distant third. Perhaps it is because we have always been a bit perplexed about just who the Holy Spirit is and what the Spirit does. The birth of Jesus and his resurrection of the dead are concrete events that we can imagine. But what is the coming of the Spirit? The word ‘spirit’ means breath or wind, and it is God’s breath coming upon us. But how do we portray that? The Spriit of God is referred to early in John’s Gospel by John the Baptist as ‘descending upon Jesus like a dove.’  And so we often use the image of a dove to portray the Spirit. And in Acts 2 the Spirit is said to have descended on the followers of Jesus like tongues of fire. So we sometimes use the image of a flame to portray the Holy Spirit.  But while images of doves and flames give us some useful symbols, they do not tell us much about what the Spirit does. When asked that question, we have to think hard. It is not an easy question for us. And perhaps that is why this important celebration seems a bit subdued compared to Easter and Christmas. How do you celebrate that which cannot be seen – that which cannot be easily understood?

Jesus knew that his disciples would find the coming of the Holy Spirit not just overwhelming, but difficult to understand. We have read the account to that day in Jerusalem, just 10 days after Jesus ascended to the Father, that the Spirit came upon them. It was quite an event. It was a day that none of the disciples could have imagined. And it was a day never to be repeated. Though its impact would echo through the centuries. They disciples were all proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus to the crowds in the city that had gathered from all over the world. And in a literal reversal of the story of the Tower of Babel, everyone suddenly understood them and were convinced they were speaking their own language. It was like something out of science-fiction. Like the Babel fish of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or the Universal Translator of the Star Trek series. Except there was no science fiction back then. So even in their wildest imaginations the disciples could not conceive just what was happening.

That is why Jesus tells them about the Holy Spirit before he leaves them. They are the words John records in the today’s Gospel reading. So when on the day of Pentecost the Spirit came upon the disciples in great force, like tongues of fires, they were able to comprehend the gift that Jesus had given them. They would have recalled and begun to understand what Jesus had told them when he was still physically present with them.

Jesus had not left them.  Jesus was their friend and advocate. The one who was on their side. And now the Holy Spirit would be fulfilling that role on his behalf. The Holy Spirit had come upon them at Jesus’ request and would guide them. He would lead them into truth, remind them of the words of Jesus, would open the hearts and minds of all those whom God would have follow him.

And so they understood that the true power of the Spirit is not the spectacular display on the day of Pentecost. That never happened to the disciples again. That was a miracle of confirmation, to show everyone gathered in the city that the message of Jesus was one of power and truth. The true power of the Spirit is to be found in the simplicity of the Spirit’s task: to remind us of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for us. To remain with and in us and to lead us continually to the truth. And what is this truth? For those who have been following John’s Gospel we know the answer already. Jesus is the truth. The Spirit tells us about Jesus, reminds of what Jesus taught, dwells in us as Jesus himself dwells in us, helps us to understand who Jesus is, and helps us to tell the world about Jesus.

When I was going this text in John’s Gospel in preparation for today’s sermon I was struggling to find a good summary of who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit is all about. So my wife read the text and said, ‘It seems to be all about Jesus.’ And then I realised that that was, of course, the point. I was trying to find something new and remarkable about the Holy Spirit from these words, but they simply keep coming back to Jesus. And that is exactly what this text is telling us. That is the true power and the true focus of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not about himself. The Holy Spirit is all about Jesus.

The Holy Spirit comes to point us to Jesus. And perhaps that is why we find it hard to describe just who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does. Because the Holy Spirit doesn’t come to tell us all about who he is and what he is like. The Spirit instead comes to point us to Jesus. If we try to make the Holy Spirit about something other than Jesus, we have missed the point. If we try to make the Holy Spirit into some kind of supreme show master, performing great miracles and signs on demand, we miss the point. If we think the Holy Spirit is all about us, about making us special through some spectacular gift or gifts understood apart from Jesus, we have again missed the point.

We have missed the point because the core of what the Spirit does is greater and more important than any of these things. The main task of the Spirit is more powerful than any of these things. The Spirits lead us continually to Jesus. Look closely at the words Jesus spoke to his disciples about the Spirit. ‘When the Spirit comes he will not speak on his own, but will speak what he hears. He will speak on my behalf,’ and again, ‘the Spirit will glorify me,’ and again, ‘The Spirit will take what is mine and give it to you.’

In fact, Jesus says of the coming of the Spirit that he will not leave us orphaned, but will send us another Advocate. Jesus says that with the coming of the Spirit he himself is coming to us.

So when we think of the Holy Spirit and what the Spirit does and our thoughts should return again and again to Jesus and the power of his message, to the comfort of his presence, to the victory of his death and resurrection. When this happens we are beginning to understand the true power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did not come to us to gain his own following. He is not in competition with the Father and the Son for ‘likes’. He did not come to give us gifts to be used to impress our friends or so we could feel important. The Spirit came to point us to Jesus. He came to give us gifts that would help us to proclaim and serve Jesus.

And that’s why the Holy Spirit is important. That’s why the coming of the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the Christian Church. That’s why we celebrate the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. That’s why we recognise the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Trinity, together with eh Father and the Son (more on that next week!).

On the day of Pentecost the Spirit came in spectacular tongues of fire. The Spirit allowed everyone to hear the message about Jesus in their own language. That was the start. But just because we do not see visible tongues of fire today, just because you are not hearing this sermon in your native language, if that is different than English, that does not mean the Spirit is any less active. The Spirt was never about putting on a big show, but simply about helping us to see Jesus.

If you want to know if the Spirit is still active today. If you want to know if the Spirit still works in you today, then think about those times when you have been nudged toward faith when you couldn’t explain why. That’s the Holy Spirit at work.

Think about those times when you have been drawn to the message of Jesus when you weren’t even looking for Jesus. That’s the Holy Spirit at work.

Think about those times you have been led to be in the right place, or to say the right thing, to help someone else understand Jesus. That’s the Holy Spirit at work.

Think about those times when against all natural and more selfish motivations, God has led you down a different path than the one you had wanted to follow. That’s the Holy Spirit at work.

So do not worry if you have trouble explaining exactly what or who the Holy Spirit is. If you understand who Jesus is for you, then the Spirit has already been at work in you and continues to be at work in you.

And may God’s Spirit go with you and continue to comfort you in your faith in Jesus. May God’s Spirit continue to confirm in you the truth of Christ. May God’s Spirit continue to give you the words and courage to tell others about Jesus.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

Text: John 20:19-23

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!

This joyful cry leads us beautifully into our Pentecost celebrations. As part of God’s magnificent plan of making peace throughout the whole creation, Christ’s resurrection is followed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Each of the readings today tell us something about the gift and the work of the Holy Spirit, giving us a taste for the richness of the Spirit’s activity. It’s wonderful that we hear four Bible readings each Sunday. The four readings we’ve heard today, from Psalms, Acts, 1 Corinthians and the gospel of John each tell us something different.  This is wonderful because it shows us how diverse and generous God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit is.

We’re taught not to become trapped in a prescriptive and limited understanding of how the Holy Spirit is given and what the Spirit does. For example, it would be quite wrong to say that the Spirit hasn’t come to a person, or group of people, if there is no sound of rushing wind, or tongues of flame, or speaking in tongues.  We hear about those dramatic signs as Acts chapter two describes the day of Pentecost. Later in chapter 2 we read how 3000 people were convicted by what they heard and, we believe, prompted by the Holy Spirit to repentance and baptism.

However, Acts chapter two is not everything that the book of Acts, let alone the Bible, says about the Holy Spirit.

For example, in our psalm for this day (Psalm 140), we sang about God’s abundant, overflowing, joyful, playful creative activity, where the Spirit is very much involved in creating and sustaining life, in quite a concrete way.  Instead of trying to limit God’s activity, the psalmist simply stands in awe of God’s wondrous and ongoing work of creating and sustaining all that exists, even some things that we’re not so sure about, like the Leviathan frolicking in the ocean.

For another example, there’s John’s gospel, which has no fire or rushing wind to signal the presence and work of God.  The gospel reading we heard today is a section of the same gospel reading that we heard on the second Sunday of Easter.  On that Sunday we tend to be captivated by the action involving Thomas. Today the focus is on Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit. We clearly heard about the risen Lord Jesus himself, God in the midst of the disciples, who breathed on them and said “receive the Holy Spirit”. In both the gospel of John and in the book of Acts it is clearly God who gives his Holy Spirit to the church. Jesus and the Father send the Spirit so that God’s mission to the world will be carried on as the church’s mission to the world.

It’s helpful to hear these different accounts which have both obvious differences and important similarities. We can be encouraged to notice that in both the reading from Acts and John’s gospel, the Holy Spirit is given to empower God’s mission through the church. In both cases the proclamation of the good news of salvation in Jesus’ name is central. In Acts we heard Peter’s pithy sermon using the book of Joel, when he proclaimed that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The same wonderful, gracious message is contained in Jesus’ instructions to the disciples when he said, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”(John 20:23) 

The heart of the work of the church is to go out and tell the news that reconciliation has been won. Jesus has taken away the sin of the world. In Jesus there is peace.  God is bringing everything into harmony in Jesus, and we have been baptised into Jesus. The Spirit empowers us to live in this wonderful truth, trusting completely in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and sharing this wonderful news in word and deed.

Jesus has given us the Spirit so that everything we say and do becomes a proclamation of the good news of God’s salvation. 

We’ve already mentioned God’s overflowing creative genius. The beauty of God’s outpouring of the Spirit is the sheer diversity which works for a common goal. St Paul teaches us that we all have the same Spirit, but we are not all the same. 

The basic gift is the gift of faith, which allows us to live confessing and trusting Jesus as our Lord, the Lord. 

But then the wondrous diversity opens up. St Paul writes,

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord;  and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”(1 Cor 12:4-7) 

There are many gifts with one overarching goal and purpose.

What a wonderful insight it is, to realise that the working of the Spirit doesn’t look the same in each Christian, and it doesn’t need to look the same. The working of the Spirit is not the same from Christian to Christian. We can expect differences; differences which add to the health and richness of the body; differences which reflect God’s unstoppable creative genius. 

Our differences are a reason for rejoicing. These differences are evidence of the presence and working of the Spirit. 

Fully in keeping with God’s wonderful creativity is a church full of people of different abilities doing different activities. We can rejoice in our differences. We can rejoice that the Father and the Son have poured out the Spirit so richly on the whole church, including us. 

It’s true that, from time to time, there have been profound signs and activities in conjunction with the Spirit’s presence, but mostly the Spirit’s work is to build up the body of Christ in all sorts of ways that people easily overlook. The activities of the Spirit are for the building up of the body, as St Paul wrote “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”

Today we’re encouraged when we hear that Jesus gives us the Spirit so that we can proclaim his forgiveness, an essential part of building up the body. He’s not saying that you or I can decide on whether or not we forgive other people. That would be to jump out of the story and to pretend that we’re God. No, Jesus does something very important so that we trust that we are forgiven and can live in a good relationship with God and each other. 

Jesus gives his church the authority to declare that sins are forgiven. We have the privilege and responsibility of telling people, including one another, that sin is forgiven. When someone confesses their sin, we can declare confidently: Your sin is forgiven for Christ’s sake. The Holy Spirit helps us to trust in that forgiveness and to live in it. We have peace with God. The barrier is gone. Jesus has taken our sin away.

There is another side to that message. Since Christ’s work is so wonderful and complete, it’s not to be taken lightly or ignored, and we might sometimes have to tell people that they are not forgiven. Who would that be, we might wonder?  Certainly not any despairing sinner, since forgiveness comes from Jesus and isn’t dependent on us pulling our socks up by ourselves. It might come as a shock to realize that those who may need to hear that their sin is not forgiven are the proud and self-righteous, who are often seen as ‘good people’, like the Pharisees, who considered that they had little that needed to be forgiven. Jesus wants everyone to turn to him and accept his gracious forgiveness – that includes you and me. In turn, he sends us to proclaim God’s mercy in the power of the Spirit.

Today, we rejoice in the gift of the Spirit’s presence and work. We rejoice in the rich and diverse activities of the Spirit among us. We rejoice in God’s manifold creative works that are evident in the creation and in the church. 

Let us rejoice in his creative, life-giving presence, knowing that God’s Spirit is at work in us.

The peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

The Text: John 14:18

Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans”.

Orphans the world over are a tragedy of tremendous proportions. According to UNICEF there are 153 million orphan children worldwide with over five and half thousand being becoming orphans every day. Whether in refugee camps in Africa, India, Romania, Bulgaria, or South East Asia these figures are mind blowing especially knowing the tragic affect that the loss of parents has on children and how this loss shapes the rest of their lives.

Even a child left without parents here in our country, although infinitely far better off than those in the countries I have just mentioned, is affected in ways that we don’t fully understand. Children who lose their parents lose their security and are vulnerable and powerless physically, emotionally and psychologically. The love and care given to them by others will, in time, make up for this but unfortunately some children never get over their loss. Some never get over the psychological wounds that comes with being an orphan. It’s as if they have lost their story, their roots, their history, their identity, their sense of direction.

In the light of this, the words of Jesus take on a special meaning. “I will not leave you orphaned” Jesus says to his disciples. Or this could be translated, “I will not leave you desolate, deserted, alone, abandoned, unloved, futureless”.

The disciples knew Jesus in a very close and personal way. They had walked together, talked together, eaten together, shared good and bad times together. They had been constant companions of Jesus. They felt confident and safe in the presence of Jesus.

When they experienced doubt, pain and suffering, they felt Jesus understood what was happening to them.

When they were filled with joy and happiness or overcome with sadness and sorrow, they felt secure in the knowledge that Jesus experienced the same emotions and feelings as they did.

When they were hungry, Jesus fed them and a great crowd with a few loaves and fish.

When they were in danger on the sea, Jesus was nearby to rescue them.

When they witnessed the grief that death brought into their lives, Jesus was at hand to comfort and raise the dead to life.

You see there is a kind of fatherly or perhaps brotherly relationship between Jesus and the disciples.

Jesus could see that his disciples were dependent on him. In fact, Jesus occasionally addressed them as “little children”. In the presence of Jesus they were like “little children” who relied on his love and comfort.

When Jesus warned the disciples that he will no longer be with them he had to quickly assure them not to be worried and upset, but to trust him. Now if that’s how they felt before Jesus’ death imagine how alone and abandoned they must have felt after Jesus’ death on the cross. Under the shadow of the cross, Jesus knew that they will feel like orphans—lost, without hope, helpless, powerless, uncertain about their future and confused. So he makes them a promise:

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth…I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you….Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14.16,18,27).

Note this unique way Jesus reminds us that we will always have a home and a family.  He says, “I am in the Father, and you are in me, just as I am in you (John 14:20).

This is a good passage to pause and meditate on. Simply what Jesus is expressing is the very close and intimate relationship between himself and the Father, himself and his disciples and his disciples and God. That tiny word “in” describes a special bond, a unique oneness. A family relationship.

You who believe in Jesus already have the Holy Spirit. God the Father has sent you the Holy Spirit through the Son. He did this for you at baptism. Because of God’s work for us in baptism you have a place of belonging in the family of God, by which you are no longer orphans, for God our Father has made you heirs with Jesus his Son. We are sons and daughters together with the Son. And since that is the case for every person who is in Christ then we are all a part of that Triune God’s loving, supporting family. We are all brothers and sisters joined together in God’s family, the church.

In this family God the Father continues to give you the Holy Spirit, through the Son, who meets you in the word, the scriptures. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit continually comes to us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit we are given a new direction, a new future and a new life.

This new life is one in which we will always have a home.  We will always have a loving family—God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These words of comfort carry the message that we won’t ever be orphans—we will know exactly who we are and where we belong.

True enough Satan will always try to break up that togetherness we have. He just loves to drive wedges of doubt, anger, hostility, and jealousy, either between us and God, or between each another in his family. He will constantly tempt us to sin and break the bond and put up barriers between the members of the family, and break apart from it. But that’s not what God has planned for any of us.

God wants no one to feel like an orphan. When Jesus says to us “I will not leave you as orphans” he means that we belong to the Father, adopted and claimed through Jesus the Son. We are loved by the Father. We are forgiven by the Son. When there are members of the family who are feeling like an orphan because we have had a falling out with someone, as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to make amends, whether it was our fault or not.

When there is a member of the family who is feeling like an orphan—lonely, scared, uncertain because they are facing illness and even death—as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to pass on the love and care that we have received from our heavenly Father.

When there are members of the family who are feeling like orphans—feeling unloved, needing a guiding hand, wanting someone to know their pain—as a member of this special family, it becomes our responsibility to be a brother and sister to that person and let them see the love of our heavenly parent through us.

When there are members of this special family who are feeling like orphans, needing someone to provide them with basic essentials and to empathise with them in their circumstances, it becomes our responsibility to be a brother and sister to that person and let them see in us the love of our heavenly Father as we meet those needs.

Jesus’ words need to become our words to one another as people of God’s family “I will not leave you as an orphan”, as we reflect the love and care of God into the lives of the people around us. Let Jesus inspire us to say to our fellow brothers and sisters, “I will not leave you desolate, feeling deserted, alone, abandoned, unloved, futureless”.

At the 400 metre race at the 1992 summer Olympics a young Englishman, Derek Redmond was hungry to win a gold medal after being forced to withdraw from the previous Olympics because of injury. However, shortly after the start of the race, he popped his right hamstring. All the other runners continued the race leaving him like an orphan alone on the track. Amazingly Redmond got back up and started hopping towards the finish line. The other runners had all finished the race in a matter of seconds. Redmond, in tears, slowly and laboriously kept hopping. It looked as if he would fall any moment.

Suddenly, a man appeared beside Derek. It was his father. He had run down from the stands and pushed his way through the security guards to reach his son. Redmond’s father put his arm around his son and let him cry on his shoulder. Then, with his father holding him up, Derek hobbled to the finish line and then he hopped over the line by himself to finish the race.

There’s a word of hope for you and me, to help us finish the race of life. It is God’s own word. When we are feeling like orphans to run the race of life in this world—a race we cannot run by our own strength—we have a Father who gives us his strength to keep on going, a Saviour who walks beside us and the Spirit who comforts us, and strengthens us in faith, pointing us to everything Jesus said and still speaks, enabling us to cross the finishing line. We are not abandoned because we have a God who loves us. He says to each of personally and individually, “I will not leave you as orphans”. Amen.

Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

            For the six weeks of Easter my family has had about six days free from coughing. We hid inside our rooms for a week because of covid, just waiting to get out. Kids coughing, mum moaning, dad groaning. You can imagine us being worn out, and yet this is nothing compared to the groaning of the whole of Creation right up to the present time. Groaning as in the pains of childbirth, as God’s Creation suffers thousands of hurts because of us and our sin. God knows the beauty of His Creation, and the perfection He has planned for it. And yet Creation waits in pain for the Fulfillment. When will it come? How much longer?

            God has made a promise that He would fix the brokenness Adam and Eve brought on the world; and humanity has been waiting for it ever since. The promise to Abraham that all peoples will be blessed through His descendant, the Israelites groaning in waiting. The promise to the kingdom of Judah of a Messiah, a saviour; the Jews longing for the Fulfillment. And now you, disciples of Jesus, who have seen the first-fruits of our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord; you join this waiting as you groan inwardly for the complete redemption of our bodies. You can wait as the faithful have for thousands of years, living the life of Christ, walking His way of the Cross; or you can go your own way as the wicked giants before the flood, or the self-destructive ways people invent today. But you who do cling to this hope, the redemption of our bodies, the destruction of sin, death and the devil, the healing of all our brokenness, body and soul; you who cling to this hope, wait.

            But am I strong enough to wait? Can I hold out for that long? My Grandma waited her whole life, yet as far as this fallen world sees, she could not last. Could Jesus’ disciples, without the Holy Spirit, have gone out into foreign lands, among strange tongues, before kings and emperors and spread the gospel? No, by themselves they were huddled inside like isolated covid sufferers. However, God did not leave them orphans. Someone unseen as the wind came into the apostles, filled them with power and made their proclamation understood by all peoples who heard them in their own mother tongues. And now, a mixed multitude praises the One Lord Jesus Christ, bringing all their prayers to Him as they wait.

As we wait. Waiting as my family suffers coughs, waiting while our faithful forebears have died; still the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. He sustains our faithful forebears who still live because of Christ. The Holy Spirt sustains us through trials and tribulations, despite our failings and fears; He is the one who draws us back to Christ. He is the one who intercedes, praying on our behalf, when we do not know what to pray. When you are dry, He is there; and when you are fit and full, He is the one who provides the strength. He is the one who guides us in accordance with God’s will. And this is the reason for our celebration today, that God Almighty, our loving Heavenly Father, chose this day to send the Holy Spirit to enliven His Church. That all peoples, not just the Jews, but Germans, Scots, English, Irish, Tigrayans, Estonians, even Australians, might hear and be saved. That we might receive the Holy Spirit as our advocate while we wait for final and lasting peace in Christ. That by the Holy Spirit you might be joined with hundreds, thousands, millions, of people with hundreds of languages praising, serving and being served by God together.

This is who we are, the Church, the Bride of Christ, clothed in many colours, gathered from every tribe and tongue. You have been gathered to dwell with God Almighty, to pray and speak by the strength of the Holy Spirit in your weakness. To rely on Christ in your day to day, keeping His word, obeying His commands. And by the strength of the Holy Spirit to join Him as an advocate for those around you, family, friends and colleagues. For in the same way, as Paul wrote, the Spirit helps you in your weakness.

And as He does, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now unto life everlasting. Amen.

Pastor Joseph Graham.

John 15:26
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

 

 

 

  Pentecost, what a wonderful day. The fiftieth day after Christ’s victory over sin, death and the devil. Ten days after His ascension to rule over all. The day the Holy Spirit came and filled God’s Church in a building in ancient Israel. This day is the beginning of our church going out into this broken world, proclaiming Christ’s Victory and God’s healing and renewing of His groaning Creation. Sent from the Father by the Son, the Holy Spirit to guide and empower His Church. The Triune God revealing Himself to us by His Word.

            And how does He reveal Himself to us today? The Holy Spirit, breath of a mighty wind, to empower speech in God’s people for the benefit of all, to help us in our weakness, our brokenness, and to draw all of Creation to the fulfillment of our hope, life everlasting in Jesus. The Holy Spirit sent down to walk alongside us, but how is He with us? I can’t see Him or hold Him, but we do hear of people feeling the Spirit, and being moved by the Spirit. What’s going on there, Who is this Holy Spirit? Well if God is revealing Himself to us, condescending to our level to help us understand the truth, perhaps we start with His name, Holy Spirit.

            Language is a funny thing, we say spirit, breath, wind, but when I’m translating from Hebrew or Greek I only see one word. For our ancestors in the Faith, spirit, breath and wind are the same; He is Holy Spirit, Holy Breath, Holy Wind. This is why we say the Trinity is there clear as day in Genesis, though we might translate it differently, the Holy Spirit, Breath of God, Almighty Wind, hovered over the waters. And by breath we speak words. Let there be light! And there was. (Genesis 1). And later, the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1). Here we hear the relationships in God, the Father speaks, by the Holy Breath, the Spirit, His Word, the Son. God is Father, Son and Spirit; God is Speaker, Word, and Breath. Always working together, without a speaker there is no word, without breath there is no word and without speech what is a speaker? One example of this is Christmas, The Father begot Jesus conceived by the Holy Spirit, or the Speaker begot the Word by the Holy Breath. But why has He revealed Himself like this, how does this help us?

            Ok three things, power, unity and work. One thing it shows is that, especially today, the Holy Spirit empowers us to speak Holy things, to proclaim the Word of God as Peter and the Apostles did all those years ago. It’s not my breath that brings God’s forgiveness and healing, it’s not from my spirit rather it’s from the Holy Spirit. So if I rely on my breath, my work, my power, apart from the Holy Spirit, my words are not God’s. If I rely on myself, no matter the effort, I cannot bring Christ, the Incarnate Word, to others. If it’s by my breath it’s not of God, if I’m inspired by the Holy Spirit God is at work. Now you can work so hard so as to loose your breath, if it’s without the Holy Breath in the end it’s nothing. However, if by the Holy Spirit, He always draws us to Christ.
And this is the second thing. The Holy Spirit is the one who inspires and empowers Church, that’s why in the Creed the third part is I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, forgiveness of sins, resurrection, and life everlasting. The Holy Spirit is the one beside us, at work in God’s Word and Sacraments, here today as we gather. The Holy Breath is the one who draws us into a warm relationship with God in His fullness, He is the presence of God. How can I say that, that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God? We’ll let’s just say I break COVID rules and come right up into your personal space, breathing down your neck, warming you; you’d know I’m close because of my breath. And it’s so much more if God’s Breath warms us, not down our necks but filling our lungs and we walk with Him actually breathing the self same air. All Christians, the whole Church, inspired by the same Holy Breath, we are united together by Him. And then we can speak as though God Himself is speaking, filled with His Spirit and bringing Jesus’ renewal to those around us.
And a third thing, the Holy Spirit isn’t a thing, He’s a person. He might not have a simple name like Father or Jesus, but He’s no less active, no less powerful, no less God. When the Father breathed on Adam, the Holy Spirit gave Adam life; all breath is from the Holy Spirit this is why we confess He is Lord the Giver of life. And He was at work throughout the Old Testament bringing life, resting on people giving them portions of God’s gifts, superhuman strength to Samson, great wisdom to Solomon, and the ability to speak God’s Word, to prophesy, to countless down to John the Baptist. He even took Elijah up into heaven on that fiery chariot. And today He guides us into all truth (John 15:13), those encouraging words He gave you, that drive to do good in that moment, and the ability to pray. To pray with the Breath of God, breathing in and out, God’s grace in and our failures out; even when our breath fails and we have no words, the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf in groans that words cannot express (Romans 8:26). We can just breath, in and out with the Holy Spirit, in the presence of God.

Those three things, He empowers us to speak Jesus, He unites us together in Jesus, He work in and through us for Life.

The Holy Spirit, He is truly a wonderful gift, even the Lord of Gift giving. And according to the promise of God’s Word uttered by the Holy Breath in His Church down the ages, you have received Him in the laying on of hands at Baptism. Of course He can move and work however He wants, and He does work outside of ordinary means; yet God promised that you receive His Spirit in Baptism so you can have assurance of His presence in your life. However, although we have received Him we may try to remove Him like getting ride of good clean air with smoking; clean air gives many benefits, but second-hand smoke tastes foul. How do we clear our lungs? We breath, in and out; breath in or receive well God, His Word, His Sacraments; breath out or remove sin and evil. Pray God’s Word, morning and night; gather with each other around God’s Word; come together to His altar. Walk in step with the Holy Spirit and breath together as one. This is the life of the Christian, what we confess every time in the Creed. So as we continue to sing together, breathing the same air in and out in time, as we join together in prayer. Know that we are only united by the Holy Spirit, be filled and changed by Him and breath Him as you go out to continue His work of Pentecost, to proclaim Christ’s Victory, to speak life and courage to those around you, and to spread the Holy Breath wherever you go.

And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now to when we will always breath as one. Amen.

Pastor Joseph Graham.

The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. 
Paul writes in his letter to the Church at Corinth:  ‘I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit.’

Let’s join in a word of  prayer:  Loving God and Father, through your Holy Spirit you gather Christians who worship You with faith in your son Jesus Christ.  A universal Christian Church made not of glass, wood and brick, but of people bound together in the Holy Spirit, even during this global isolation.   We invite the Holy Spirit to set our hearts and lives ablaze for Christ Jesus on this Pentecost Sunday, to your glory and honour.  Open our spirits to receive the fullness of your Spirit that we may dwell in your love and forgiveness, experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome every obstacle in living for you.   Gracious heavenly Father, hear our prayer for the sake of our risen Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.  Amen.

We read from Scripture last week that after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Disciples ‘‍‍worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ^‍‍ and were continually ‍‍in the temple ‍‍praising and blessing God.’

And from acts for this week, we read that when they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, ‘They all joined together constantly in prayer.’   ^{(Acts 1:14 NIV)}

^ 

I can imagine what some of their prayers might have been:  “Lord God, send us the helper Jesus told us about”; “Lord God, fulfil your promise that Jesus told us about”;  “Lord God, let your living water flow around us”; and even  “Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name”.    They must have been in prayer almost with one mind.  Sharing a common vision of Christ Jesus, and of who they were in Christ Jesus.  

And just as Jesus promised, at the right time God responded to their prayers by pouring out his Holy Spirit upon them.  It is pretty clear that they had no idea what to expect.  And for a time after the wondrous gift, they didn’t really understand what they had been given.  I always heard the saying, “be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it!”  I can imagine their delight and their confusion of what was happening among them.

The message for us this morning, is if we want this same delight, we need to be open to the same confusion and the same blessing of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.    

In the upper room, after his resurrection Jesus appeared to the Disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  (John 20:22–23 NRSV)

They surely received the Holy Spirit with his words to them.  And they surely received the ability to look at others with the compassion of Christ Jesus and offer forgiveness to those who believe. They also received the gift and responsibility to pass this gift of the Holy Spirit to all whom they baptised and said those same precious words, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Just as we received the Holy Spirit when we were baptised, whether this was when we were days old, or as children, or as adults. 

As Peter spoke with new enthusiasm on the day of Pentecost, “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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”  ^{(Acts 2:38–39 NIV)}

We have also received the responsibility to look at others with the compassion of Christ Jesus and offer forgiveness.  Jesus said, “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” ^{(John 15:16–17 ESV)}

With the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can with true hearts and sincere determination declare that “Jesus is Lord” of our being and of our lives.  And also, with the gift of the Holy Spirit at our Baptism, Scripture encourages us to be led by the Spirit.  Paul writes in Galatians, ‘if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. … If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.’  ^{(Galatians 5:18–25 ESV)}

Thank God for his gift of the Holy Spirit to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in our spirit, and display our faith in Christ Jesus by our lives.  If we live our entire life with the fruit of the Holy Spirit evident, it will be evidence enough for our eternal salvation.  Scripture is clear that salvation comes by faith alone in Christ Jesus alone, as we discover in the Word of God alone, by God’s grace alone.  All this by the work of the Holy Spirit given to us at baptism.

And like the Disciples in the presence of Jesus in the upper room, we received at our baptism a part in God’s kingdom and life in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As Paul writes in the book of Romans, ‘We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.  If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.  Just love others.’  ^{(Romans 12:5–9 NLT)}

But like the Disciples in that upper room with Jesus;  I am convinced that at our Baptism, we did not yet receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit living through us with spiritual gifts. 

Gifts empowered by the Holy Spirit for the good of others, of the Church, and of the faith to be passed from generation to generation, by the laying on of hands.    

Those gifts require a special anointing of the Holy Spirit with power.  The Disciples received this in that same upper room when the time was right.  Gifts that demonstrated to an obstinate people that Jesus is the Messiah, risen from the dead, and ‘that repentance and ‍‍remission of sins should be preached in His name ‍‍to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’

As Paul wrote to Pastor Timothy, ‘For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.’

^{(2Timothy1:6–7NIV)Â} 

From Apostle, to Bishop, to Pastor, Apostolic succession of the gift of the Holy Spirit are passed from generation to generation.  The confusion we experience, like the disciples, descending from the upper room at Pentecost, is about what Spiritual gifts we are to receive and what gifts the Holy Spirit will display in our lives. 

For some it is simply the truth “Jesus is Lord.” For others, at times and seasons of their lives, God sends a special anointing of his Holy Spirit to do special things for the building up of the Church.

I heard the witness of one Pastor who received a special intuition to leave his parish for a short time to visit India in mission.  And God followed this with the witness of a parishioner who spoke of a message for him from the Lord.   He had never thought of doing this before, but like Peter called to visit the house of Cornelius, this Pastor felt the urging, and made that visit. 

It felt strange to him, because it seemed everything fell into place so easily.  His transport was paid for, his visa was simplified, and he left Australia with the message already in his heart that he would spread.  He arrived and was quickly drawn to an assembly of thousands, listening to his witness, and seeking his individual prayers. It was as though the Holy Spirit drew them together for just this reason. 

He was there for weeks praying for the people of this place and seeing people healed, released from demons, declaring their faith in Christ Jesus, and leaving the prayers with joy in their hearts.

When this pastor boarded the plane to return to Australia, he was convinced that this anointing of the Holy Spirit would be a godsend for his small congregation.  He would see it grow to thousands with the gifts of the Holy Spirit clearly revealed in his ministry.  

But this Pastor was greatly disappointed when none of this happened in Australia.  He prayed, fasted, and eagerly sought the power of the Holy Spirit, but was bitterly disillusioned and ended up sadly abandoning his parish ministry.  But God was compassionate toward this Pastor who repented of his presumption.  He returned this compassion to care for other pastors who were suffering.  

The Holy Spirit will not be controlled, confined, or commanded.  We can only pray to God our Father for the gifts to be revealed with power, and give thanks and praise for the times and seasons that God blesses our lives with gifts of the Holy Spirt.    

As Paul wrote in 1^st Corinthians, ‘Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others,  those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of languages.   Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?  Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.   If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.’ ^{(1 Corinthians 12:27–13:3 NIV)}

I know and I fully trust that God has touched our lives with his Holy Spirit.   Our simple declaration that ‘Jesus is Lord’ proclaims the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our worshipping community.   The love we have for one another witnesses the greatest of gift and fruit of the Spirit that nurtures our faith.  And for that I am eternally grateful to God our Father, and to Jesus Christ our Saviour. 

 We have the example of Pentecost to encourage us as we hold steady to our confession of Christ Jesus.  The grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in our living Lord Christ Jesus, as we live in the power of the Holy Spirit.   Amen.

Acts 2:1-21

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS CHRIST’S PROMOTION AGENT

Are you a “morning person”? Can you overflow with excitement at 9.00am on a Sunday morning? Certainly the first Pentecost Sunday must have been an exciting occasion for 120 followers of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit entered their lives in a way that permanently changed them and the future direction of their lives. Where the Holy Spirit takes over the management of our lives, it can no longer be “business as usual”. Just as wind cannot be tamed, so the Holy Spirit cannot be subdued or tamed by us. We cannot predict when and where He works.

Pentecost is no isolated event. It is the fruition of the mighty work of salvation Jesus began on Good Friday. We experience the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit as we embrace the cross of Christ, and receive the mighty blessings that flow from it. As we see from St. Peter’s Pentecost proclamation: when a believer is filled with the Spirit of God, he or she becomes a passionate ambassador for Christ and for all the good He did for us by His cross and resurrection. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to carry conviction when we speak about Jesus Christ. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples. Forever afterwards, the Spirit remains stamped with Christ’s character. The Holy Spirit is clothed with the personality and nature of Jesus. We cannot therefore attribute any teaching to the Holy Spirit which doesn’t shed light on Jesus. There can be no exultant, joyous experience of the Spirit of God without a corresponding thankful appreciation of Christ’s sufferings for us and with us.

The first Pentecost Sunday is depicted as an event of international significance. St. Peter addresses an international audience with the universal language of the Gospel. The descent of the Spirit was marked by something visible in fulfilment of Jesus’ desire, “I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already on fire”, but although the tongues of fire were very visible above each of the 120 Christians gathered together, it was what they heard rather than what they saw that made the real impact on their multi-national audience.

What we have here is the miracle of hearing: the miracle of all those present being able to hear the good news of grace, peace and salvation through Jesus Christ, rather than a miracle of speaking in different languages. The crowd asks, “How is it that each of us hears them [that is, the apostles], speaking in our own language (Acts 2:8)?” and in verse 11: “We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God”.

Certainly Pentecost involves a new gift of speech. But even more so, its newness involves a fresh capacity to hear the Spirit of God speak to and convict the consciences of those who are listening to the message about Jesus our Lord and Saviour. Unlike at the tower of Babel, different languages became no longer a threat or obstacle. The Gospel is a universal message for people of every tribe, nation and dialect. Peter and his fellow disciples are so “on fire” with enthusiasm for the wonders God has done through Christ His Son, that their audience thought they’d had a little too much to drink! Hardly likely at 9 o’clock in the morning!

In response to this accusation, Peter delivers the first Christian sermon and one of the most influential addresses ever given, one that radically changed three thousand lives that day. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter preaches from the Holy Scriptures to show how marvellously God fulfils His gracious promises to His people. Furthermore, on the basis of the Scriptures, he delivers a Christ-centred message, as he shows his listeners how to find Christ throughout the Old Testament. Peter points out how God’s Word, rightly applied, speaks into our present situation with its transforming good news of great joy. Only the Holy Spirit could have inspired such a Christ-centred sermon that hits home and pricks the consciences of those who hear it.

The Holy Spirit can cause people of all ages, young and old alike, slaves and those who are free, to prophesy. Prophesying now takes on a new meaning. It now means much more than to foretell the future. “Those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement and comfort (1 Corinthians 14:3).” One of the names given to the Holy Spirit is “Comforter” or “Encourager”. We all need encouragement like the earth needs rain. Each week, things happen that we never anticipated, things that can all too easily discourage us, or else others say discouraging things to us that sap our courage and depress us. That great Encourager whom Jesus has sent to us, the Holy Spirit, sends us fellow Christians to lift up our spirits and provide us with encouragement tailor-made to our needs. Such welcome, Spirit-sent encouragement gives us the courage to face life again with hope and confidence, and continue the work our Lord has called us to do.

A prison chaplain was so discouraged by the lack of response to his work, both by prisoners and the prison administration, that one Easter Monday, he was going to resign. He went sailing to think it over on the solitude of the sea. Then the inspiration came to him. “Every day that I stay on that job is a victory. I win just by staying there.” Such inspiration is from the Spirit of Encouragement, who seeks faithfulness rather than success from us. We sow the seeds of the Gospel and leave the size and shape of the harvest to the Spirit in His good time. He’s not in a hurry like we are. The seeds we sow may lie dormant for many years before they spring into life. The Spirit of Jesus doesn’t operate according to formulas invented by human beings. There are no four fail-safe acts of Christian love that will always work and win folk for Christ.

The Spirit of the living God uses each of us according to the unique combination of gifts He has given us. Our gifts complement each other’s gifts, talents and contributions. Those of us who have no musical gift, thank God for those who enrich our worship with their musical and singing abilities. God’s Word links being filled with the Spirit with worshipping God with music and singing: “Let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:18b-20).”

The same Holy Spirit that creates faith in us also leads us to worship God, for in our Sunday services, the Holy Spirit endows us with His blessings and nourishes and nurtures the fruits of the Spirit in us. There can be no faith in God that doesn’t lead to praise, adoration and thanksgiving to God for the good gifts of Christ our Saviour and the Holy Spirit, our Comforter. “To believe in God is to worship God (Luther).”

In conclusion, the Holy Spirit calls on each of us, on all of us, to pray for and work for the renewal of the Church. It’s too important to leave to others. Revival begins with me.

We pray:

Come, Holy Spirit, renew my faith, deepen my commitment to You, increase my love for Jesus and those He loves. Revive Your Church, O loving Spirit, beginning with me!”

Amen.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

John 15:26, 27; 16:7, 8; 13

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

The words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your eyes, O Lord, our rock and redeemer. Amen.

This Sunday we will be celebrating the Pentecost, the fiftieth day after our Lord’s resurrection, and the traditional birthday of the church. The day when all those years ago, this promise our Lord Jesus spoke was fulfilled. The morning where the Holy Spirit of God came down as flames on the disciples, gave Peter the words to speak to the crowd and baptised around three thousand (Acts 2:1-41).

These people were convicted of their sin, their rejection of Jesus Christ as God’s Son and their rejection of His Words. They were shown the truth of their lives and actions, that they had sinned and were sinning. They also heard the truth of Jesus’ forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Spirit received through baptism. This is the Spirit of truth guiding the disciples into all truth and convicting the world.

Jesus has promised us that the Holy Spirit will guide us too, I pray not only for them, but for those who will come after (John 17:20 ). But how do we know that we are listening to This Spirit, how do we know we are living in truth? Last week we heard from John 17, just a little later in John’s Gospel, Jesus praying to the Father, ‘sanctify us in the truth, your word is truth’ (John 17:17). The Word of God is true and is where we find truth, and not just in the written Bible, but also the word became flesh and made His dwelling among us (John 1:14). Jesus is the Word of God fully, but graciously God has also provided us with His Word written down by His people over 2000yrs.

It is through the Bible that we learn the truth, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But how do we know if we are guided by a spirit of God and not a different spirit? We are to test the spirits against the truth (1 John 4:1), John tells us that we know the Spirit of God because He confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh (1 John 4:2). Also earlier in the letter He writes that, ‘if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’ (1 John 1:8).

The people who deceive themselves and believe the lies of this world or society also condemn themselves to death, because they reject the truth. Those who reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit also reject the salvation of Jesus. But Jesus has promised that the Holy Spirit will guide us with truth and to truth. The Holy Spirit is our advocate, our helper, our comforter and our guide.

The grace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and always. Amen.

Text: Acts 2:5-8 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?

When travelling in non-English speaking countries, signs that have obviously been literally translated into English for visitors can be often confusing and amusing. Here are a couple of examples.

From a brochure of a car rental firm in Tokyo, “When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn.  Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigour.”

On the office door of a doctor in Rome, “Specialist in women and other diseases”.

In a Greek tailor shop, “Order your summers suit.  Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation”.

Making a good intelligible translation from one language to another is hard work and can be very difficulty but for the disciples on the Day of Pentecost there was no problem at all. Normally the disciples with their thick Galilean accents would have had difficulty speaking to those gathered in Jerusalem from all over the world of that time. The language barrier can be quite a difficult one to deal with. This was brought home to us when we visited the parents-in-law of our son. We arrived on their doorstep in a small village in France – we didn’t speak French and they didn’t speak English. It was hard work communicating using hand signs and thumbing through a dictionary. What a difference it made when their son arrived who could speak both French and English.

The amazing thing on Pentecost day is that the disciples didn’t need dictionaries or people to translate to find the best way to say something in a foreign language. We are told, “All of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, “These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages?” (Acts 2:7,8).

There are 3 words that describe what happened that first Pentecost Day. Heard, saw and spoke.
Firstly, those present heard a sound – they heard what sounded like a mighty rushing wind.
Secondly, they saw – they saw what appeared to be tongues of fire which spread our across the crowd and touched each person there.
And thirdly, after hearing and seeing, they spoke. They preached. They testified to the great good that God was doing among them. Jesus had said that he would send to them his Holy Spirit who would be their helper and stay with them forever.

The crowd out in the street scoffed saying, “They’re drunk!” The mob couldn’t imagine that God Almighty would use ignorant and unlearned people from the backwater of Galilee to speak the languages of those present with such skill and precision. In spite of the mockery, Peter gets up and speaks about Jesus. His sermon is recorded in The Acts of the Apostles. It’s not all that long. And yet three thousand people heard and believed and were baptised that day. The account of the Pentecost coming of the Holy Spirit concludes with the reaction of those believers. They continued to learn from the apostles, took part in fellowship meals, shared their belongings with those less fortunate, prayed together, and praised God (Acts 2:42-47).

There is a dynamic here, a powerful movement that is at the heart of the Bible’s story about who God is, who we are and what we are doing here.
The first thing we notice is how God reaches down and speaks to us. Our God is a relentlessly, unceasingly self-communicative God. There is something about God that loves to speak us, reveal his heart to us, and demonstrates a determination to get through to us with words that
express his untiring love for us,
his sacrifice for us in his son Jesus,
his dedication to rescuing us from our sinful ways,
his commitment to making sure that all people hear about the free gift of forgiveness that he offers to everyone.
Our God is one who just wants to speak to us.

A sure sign that two people are in love is that they long to be with one another. More than that, they way to talk with one another – the telephone, email, whatever – hours upon hours of talking. The talk is so important because our speech is our primary way of expressing ourselves, of sharing ourselves, giving to and receiving from others.

Every time we gather here for worship, we gather under the promise that God will speak to us. This is an important aspect of our worship services. The large part of our worship is listening to what God is saying to us.
His word of reassurance of the forgiveness of our sins,
his Word to us from the Scriptures,
his Word to us through the sermon,
his Word to us through Baptism and Holy Communion,
his Word of blessing as we leave here and face whatever the week ahead will bring.

God spoke to those gathered at the first Pentecost and he speaks to us again and again at the weekly celebration of Pentecost here at worship. We hear him speaking to us and being filled with his Spirit. What God says to us places us under the power of the Holy Spirit.

That leads me to ask then, what difference does God’s Word and his Spirit make in our lives? What are the characteristics of people under the power of the Spirit?

Spirit-filled people are people who know God’s love, they know they’re not perfect, but they know they have forgiveness through Jesus Christ. And they are able to pass that forgiveness to those who sin against them. Spirit-filled people know they have God’s power to help them and he will remain faithful and always love and care for them.

Spirit-filled people are growing people. They are continually growing in their faith, from the time of their Baptism to this day. They seek out every opportunity to discover Christ, and what it means to be children of God. They can’t get enough of hearing God speak to them.

Spirit-filled people are changed people. Through God’s Word and the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit wants to bring a change into our lives. He wants to come into our lives to bring light into our darkness; to turn our death into life; to change our lives from sin-filled to Spirit-filled. Every day Spirit-filled people try to live in their baptism. Daily they listen as the Holy Spirit reminds them, woos them, and persuades them through the Word of God. When the Word of God is heard the Holy Spirit draws us closer to God, brings us to repentance, to an assurance of the love of God for us and turns our lives around. He changes our direction!

Spirit-filled people have a new language. I don’t mean they go around speaking pious sounding words all day or use the name of Jesus in every other sentence. What I mean, Spirit-filled people speak words that heal and restore and make people happy and build people up instead of tearing them down. They speak a good word to our world, the good news about a crucified and risen Saviour.

Spirit-filled people are moved to love those around them. They are given a new outlook on the problems and the needs of other people and are happy to help and care for others. Spirit-filled people reflect the love of God into the lives of the people around them. This is how Paul described Spirit-filled people and how he saw the Spirit active in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Spirit-filled people want to share what Jesus means to them. The news about Jesus is too good not tell. This is something we can do on our local scene, as we go about our work, or talk to our neighbour over the back fence, let’s not be afraid to let people know that Jesus is someone special to you.

Spirit-filled people are concerned about the concerns of God.
Is God concerned about the way we are destroying our world? Spirit-filled people are!
Does God care for the starving, the dying, the homeless, the sick? Spirit-filled people are!
Is God concerned about those who don’t know of his love? Spirit-filled people are!

Spirit-filled people are praying people. Paul encourages us, “Pray on every occasion as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray for all God’s people” (Eph 6:18). It is the Spirit who gives us a child’s confidence to go to our heavenly Father in prayer. It is the Spirit who “helps us in our weakness … and intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” It is the Spirit who enables us to pray the most unlikely prayers in the face of suffering, on the battlefield, here in worship and at the kitchen table. Spirit-filled people “take everything to God in prayer.”

Spirit-filled people are worshipping people. In Philippians we read, “We worship God by means of his Spirit…(3:3). We have been saved by Jesus our Saviour and daily we experience the blessings of the Holy Spirit as he leads us to change the direction of our lives and assures us of the love and forgiveness of God. Spirit-filled people join with fellow Spirit-filled people of the body of Christ to give thanks and praise to the God who has done to so much for them.

Spirit-filled people are praising people. There is nothing more that we could ask of God. We haven’t done anything to deserve it but he has given us everything.

As you have listened to God’s Word to you about the Spirit-filled life, I’m sure your response is much the same as mine.
God has spoken but I haven’t been listening.
God has been giving me directions but I have chosen to ignore them.
God has kept on speaking, speaking and speaking to me about his love and his plan for my life and I still I don’t get it.

The longest word in the English language is “pneumono-ultra-microscopic-silico-volcano-coniosis,” which describes a lung disease caused by breathing in particles of volcanic matter or a similar fine dust. An even longer word, nearly 100 letters long, was used by James Joyce in his book ‘Finnegan’s Wake’ (1939). He created it to describe a thunderclap at the beginning of the story: (not even going to try to say it) bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuvarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk.”

The words that God speaks to us are much simpler than that. “You are my child. I have sent you my Son and given you my Spirit that you may believe and have eternal life”.

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy

John 15:26,27; 16:4b-15

During a conversation, a parishioner was stunned that I was a Pastor yet could not speak in tongues. I agreed, not with the speaking in tongues bit, but with the being a Pastor bit.

Similar, over the years people have asked why it is that the Holy Spirit seems so absent from the Lutheran Church, or more so from a particular congregation in which the questioner has been worshipping, and if we dig a bit into that question, we’ll usually discover that this dissatisfaction with their own congregation has arisen because of a visit to another church’s worship service where it seems clear that the Holy Spirit is really active.

A statement said something like this, “I found that service like a spiritual electric storm: people speaking in tongues and falling over, people laughing, dancing and singing. It was like nothing I’d ever seen. I was freaked out and literally unable to speak for about an hour afterwards. If that was real spirit-filled worship, then it seemed to me that the church I’d grown up in doesn’t have the Holy Spirit”.

An experience that starts them to question whether they are Christian at all; whether the Holy Spirit was actually working in them or the church they belonged to because if the Holy Spirit really is at work in their life then shouldn’t they feel, experience or see more signs that the Holy Spirit is central to their life as a Christian and to those in the church?

It’s a feeling I know all too well, not the feeling of being second rate because I don’t have such outwardly spirit filled surreal “abilities”, but simply because I still often feel like a prick and having been baptised, how can that be? Baptised mind you not as an infant, but as a 29 year old. Baptised old enough to know, feel and see the before and after of the effects of Baptism and while I can’t remember a lot of my feelings before that day, I must have been one sorry son of a mother if this is the glorious result. Hardly an advertisement for Baptism and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

So what of me, you and our Church-are we full of the Spirit or just kidding ourselves.

To answer questions like this, one of the best places to go to find out more about the Holy Spirit from Jesus himself is in John chapters 14-16 on which does today’s gospel reading come, and so disregarding our own highly acclaimed or lowly disposition of ourselves, let’s hear the truth of the situation from the man himself, Jesus the Son of God who has brought you forgiveness and salvation, who in this Verse and those chapters of scripture teach us that the Holy Spirit’s role and work is not to get us to focus on the Spirit and dazzle us with all kinds of experiences that cause us make these the-be-all and end-all of our Christian faith, but tells us that the task of the Holy Spirit is to draw us to Jesus;
to make Jesus the centre and focus of our lives;
to teach us about Jesus;
and to lead us again and again to Jesus after we have been led astray by the world, or Satan or our own sinful nature. Summarised when Jesus says “the Spirit will “tell you all about me”, “he will give me glory” and “he will reveal to you whatever he receives from me”.

So why at times do I feel such a prick? Why? Because the focus is all wrong. The same misdirected focus that can lead the other way to where one thinks they are some type of law unto themselves immortal super being.

Two different outcomes from the same inwardly focussed photo shopped lives.

A Facebook type of life where I can make myself be whatever I want and Photoshop my life where I’m taller, thinner and have 5,000 friends that are so interested in me that I need to tell them that I just went to the toilet.

A life as stated by a mid-twenties university lecturer who said that in our world of self-focus, it does not allow for the realities of failing or dancing to another’s tune, but only to the tune of self and so hence, given that reality is what we make it, there can be no place for a higher force to answer to or be guided by.

A photo shopped life that made one of my group ask a simple yet complex question.

So what happens when reality hits and it all falls to pieces?

A one worded answer: Suicide.

That’s easy to say from the outside and I know that is far too simple an explanation. Yet it does get to the heart of the Holy Spirit who brings the focus to the help and the truth that is Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit that leads us to focus not on self, but to believe and have faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit that in opposition to our own assessment of self, brings the grace and love of Jesus and reminds and comforts us with the certain knowledge that even when it seems God is far away, or that people don’t care, or that life is throwing at us every hurt and grief that it possibly can, the Holy Spirit points us to the love of our God as shown to us through Jesus death and resurrection.
He assures us that Jesus’ love for us is right there with us in the most severe situations.
He reminds us of the promises that the Scriptures tells us over and over again that the love that God has for us can never be quenched.
He strengthens us and helps us to be confident and strong by pointing us to the cross and reminding us that with Jesus’ we can endure any circumstance and trouble.

And so where is the Holy Spirit working; what is the sign of his presence and his power? Certainly it is not in experiences and large crowds, healings and supernatural gifts – good and God-given as they are. Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit is wherever he – Jesus Christ – is proclaimed and confessed.

So where is the Holy Spirit working; what is the sign of his presence and his power? He is wherever Christ is being spoken about, wherever the words of Jesus are read and spoken. He is there in all his fullness wherever people worship and pray in the name of Jesus. When you believe and trust in Jesus you have that faith through the Holy Spirit’s work in you and the Holy Spirit filling you that you need not wonder of the Holy Spirit, but understand as Martin Luther who so eloquently stated that if you“ Believe, you’ve got it”

The grace of God the Father given to us in Jesus and brought to us through the Holy Spirit that lets us understand that it does not matter what else we feel, experience or don’t experience. It doesn’t matter whether we are stressed, depressed, average or exhilarated with joy and enthusiasm, but that in all are we covered by the righteousness of our Lord Jesus who says to you-in me regardless of how you see yourself, my Father sees you as his beloved and forgiven child. Saved from ourselves by being saved in Christ is our deal, and in knowing that we need not look in the mirror and see the reflection of what we know or think we know of ourselves, but lift our vision and see a man hanging from a cross look you in the eyes and not ask why did I come for such a person as you, but declare it is for such a person as you that I did come.

The Lord who came for you that He bless you and keep you. That He make His face shine on you and be gracious to you and that He look upon you with His favour and + give you the peace of God which passes all human understanding. Amen.