Pentecost Sunday 5/23/10 Text: John 14:23-31
Pentecost Sunday
05/23/10
Text: John 14:23-31
Title: “Rise, let us go from here.”
Pentecost! How can I even begin to share with you this morning the events that happened that day, so long ago? Sounds like mighty rushing winds, tongues of fire over people’s heads, people who only knew their native language speaking in the languages of people all over the known world. There is just no way that that wonderful event could ever be made know to you in such a way that you could get the feel of this Spirit filled event. An impossible task I thought, as I prepared for this great day the birth of Christianity, but I need to do it, for after all without the giving of the Holy Spirit in such a dramatic manner we would not be gathered here today, hearing his Word, baptizing and worshiping God in his Supper.
I really wrestled with how I could present the importance of this special day until I remembered the story of Helen Keller who lost both her hearing and her sight when she was 18 months old. Unable to hear and see, yet with a memory of a time when she could do both, she became, as she herself later said, “wild and unruly,” giggling and chuckling when she felt pleasure and screaming, kicking and scratching; more like an animal when she was frustrated by the imprisonment of living without sight or sound.
Then one day her teacher Annie Sullivan frustrated with her inability to teach Helen poured water on Helen’s hand, and then spelled out w-a-t-e-r on Helen’s hand. And as Helen Keller explained later, “The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that ‘w-a-t-e-r’ meant the wonderful, cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, and set it free!” When Annie Sullivan connected with Helen Keller, Helen had an experience that transformed her life.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit announced to the world that the Good News of Jesus Christ was for the whole world, for every tongue and nation. Jesus was the Savior of not only the Jewish people but of all who would receive him. And his message of life and salvation was to be accessible to everyone. You wouldn’t have to learn Hebrew or Aramaic to learn about Christ; you wouldn’t even need to know Greek, which was the most widely understood language of the time. In the dramatic event on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was declaring to all present and ultimately to the world the story of God’s plan of salvation.
Just like Helen Keller’s life was changed forever by the pouring of water and the spelling of the word water on her hand the lives of the people on the Day of Pentecost were changed forever by this little group of disciples as they spelled out on the souls of the people gathered, in their native languages, the Good News that God had come to save them through Jesus Christ.
On that day Easter takes off as a resurrection movement of new life, for without Pentecost the Easter promise of "new" life would have been short circuited. With Pentecost, Easter finds its way into our lives through the Spirit by a "Gospel" which proclaims divine benefits to us and for us that invite and attract faith. The Spirit "calls us by the Gospel." The Spirit is the "Lord and Giver of Life"; because of the Spirit's oneness with the risen Lord, the Holy Spirit is God's faith giver of Easter's Promise.
But what does that mean for us today? We need to know the answer otherwise it is just another story about God’s work; and for that we only have to turn to our Gospel text for today, for in those 8 verses Jesus made 4 promises to all who love him; promises that deal with our lives, as we live them.
The first promise is found in verses 23. “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 in him.” That is a wonderful promise, for in that promise the Father who created and sustains all things; Jesus who though birth, his perfect life, his death, resurrection, and ascension has redeemed us has prepared the way for us. And as believers in that promise, a people who love Jesus they are in us, as we live our lives.
We then see in verse 25 that Jesus will not be leaving, but they are not to be afraid for he says in verse 26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you.” There we find the second promise. God will send his Holy Spirit the one who not only gives faith, but as the text says helps us. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand God’s Word written down for us by men who truly got it that Day of Pentecost. They knew the mind of God and wrote down what we need to know about God and his will for us.
And in writing God’s Word down we have all we need to live our lives, as God would want us to live them; now and in the future. And that brings us to his third promise to those who love him. We find it in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
There we have the third promise, peace, not the fake peace of the world, but his peace, the peace that truly does pass all understanding, for it is the peace of God’s words, knowing that what he says is trustworthy. It is peace that he won for us on the cross when he fulfilled what the angels had proclaimed at his birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is well pleased!” for in his death Jesus made peace between us and the Father. We who still deserve to bear God’s wrath because of our sinfulness no longer have to worry about if we are doing enough for God. Jesus did it all and we are to be at peace. And that peace is not just something in the future after we die. It is peace now, for when you love Jesus you will know what really matters. You will know that a God pleasing life is not about how much money one has, or how many friends one has, or how good looking or liked one is, or how powerful one’s nation is, or what political party is in power, or as Thomas mentioned Wednesday night in our Bible study it is not about pulling oneself up by your bootstraps. It is not about how healthy you are. It is not any of those things, for all those things I mentioned are things of the upside down world we live in. They can only give you a false and many times fleeting sense of peace.
Only in God’s Kingdom can you have true peace, for true peace can only come when you have given up trying to control your life and those around you, for he tells us we must come to him as a little child. Coming to God, as a child, is realizing that you are totally dependent on him, for not just your salvation, but all things in life. It is a giving up of trying to exert one’s power over others and becoming a servant of God. To come as a little child is to live not worrying about the past, or being afraid of the future while living in the present.
And that my dear brothers and sisters in Christ is where Jesus’ fourth promise comes in, for when you are at peace you will have joy. I am not talking about always laughing and having a good time, for that is unrealistic. I am talking about the enjoyment of life itself, for when you have peace within you; you look at life in a different way. You see the wonders of God and appreciate the things around you; the song of a bird, the laughter of a child, the hug of a loved one, the simple things of life, the joy of worshiping God
This morning a mother and her two children are going to be baptized and in that water with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” the Holy Spirit will come in a mighty way. There will be no speaking of tongues, or sound like wind, or tongues of fire. There will be none of those things, but there will be a movement of the Holy Spirit through this congregation and a pouring out of the Holy Spirit on those who are baptized. For in their baptism, just as he did for each of us in our baptism Jesus Christ will claim them as his own, and as he promised the Father and he will live in them. The Holy Spirit will be their helper and teacher and they will be given the peace that truly does pass all understanding, and then they will have joy. What a God we have. Amen.
05/23/10
Text: John 14:23-31
Title: “Rise, let us go from here.”
Pentecost! How can I even begin to share with you this morning the events that happened that day, so long ago? Sounds like mighty rushing winds, tongues of fire over people’s heads, people who only knew their native language speaking in the languages of people all over the known world. There is just no way that that wonderful event could ever be made know to you in such a way that you could get the feel of this Spirit filled event. An impossible task I thought, as I prepared for this great day the birth of Christianity, but I need to do it, for after all without the giving of the Holy Spirit in such a dramatic manner we would not be gathered here today, hearing his Word, baptizing and worshiping God in his Supper.
I really wrestled with how I could present the importance of this special day until I remembered the story of Helen Keller who lost both her hearing and her sight when she was 18 months old. Unable to hear and see, yet with a memory of a time when she could do both, she became, as she herself later said, “wild and unruly,” giggling and chuckling when she felt pleasure and screaming, kicking and scratching; more like an animal when she was frustrated by the imprisonment of living without sight or sound.
Then one day her teacher Annie Sullivan frustrated with her inability to teach Helen poured water on Helen’s hand, and then spelled out w-a-t-e-r on Helen’s hand. And as Helen Keller explained later, “The mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that ‘w-a-t-e-r’ meant the wonderful, cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, joy, and set it free!” When Annie Sullivan connected with Helen Keller, Helen had an experience that transformed her life.
On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit announced to the world that the Good News of Jesus Christ was for the whole world, for every tongue and nation. Jesus was the Savior of not only the Jewish people but of all who would receive him. And his message of life and salvation was to be accessible to everyone. You wouldn’t have to learn Hebrew or Aramaic to learn about Christ; you wouldn’t even need to know Greek, which was the most widely understood language of the time. In the dramatic event on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was declaring to all present and ultimately to the world the story of God’s plan of salvation.
Just like Helen Keller’s life was changed forever by the pouring of water and the spelling of the word water on her hand the lives of the people on the Day of Pentecost were changed forever by this little group of disciples as they spelled out on the souls of the people gathered, in their native languages, the Good News that God had come to save them through Jesus Christ.
On that day Easter takes off as a resurrection movement of new life, for without Pentecost the Easter promise of "new" life would have been short circuited. With Pentecost, Easter finds its way into our lives through the Spirit by a "Gospel" which proclaims divine benefits to us and for us that invite and attract faith. The Spirit "calls us by the Gospel." The Spirit is the "Lord and Giver of Life"; because of the Spirit's oneness with the risen Lord, the Holy Spirit is God's faith giver of Easter's Promise.
But what does that mean for us today? We need to know the answer otherwise it is just another story about God’s work; and for that we only have to turn to our Gospel text for today, for in those 8 verses Jesus made 4 promises to all who love him; promises that deal with our lives, as we live them.
The first promise is found in verses 23. “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 in him.” That is a wonderful promise, for in that promise the Father who created and sustains all things; Jesus who though birth, his perfect life, his death, resurrection, and ascension has redeemed us has prepared the way for us. And as believers in that promise, a people who love Jesus they are in us, as we live our lives.
We then see in verse 25 that Jesus will not be leaving, but they are not to be afraid for he says in verse 26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you.” There we find the second promise. God will send his Holy Spirit the one who not only gives faith, but as the text says helps us. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand God’s Word written down for us by men who truly got it that Day of Pentecost. They knew the mind of God and wrote down what we need to know about God and his will for us.
And in writing God’s Word down we have all we need to live our lives, as God would want us to live them; now and in the future. And that brings us to his third promise to those who love him. We find it in verse 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
There we have the third promise, peace, not the fake peace of the world, but his peace, the peace that truly does pass all understanding, for it is the peace of God’s words, knowing that what he says is trustworthy. It is peace that he won for us on the cross when he fulfilled what the angels had proclaimed at his birth, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is well pleased!” for in his death Jesus made peace between us and the Father. We who still deserve to bear God’s wrath because of our sinfulness no longer have to worry about if we are doing enough for God. Jesus did it all and we are to be at peace. And that peace is not just something in the future after we die. It is peace now, for when you love Jesus you will know what really matters. You will know that a God pleasing life is not about how much money one has, or how many friends one has, or how good looking or liked one is, or how powerful one’s nation is, or what political party is in power, or as Thomas mentioned Wednesday night in our Bible study it is not about pulling oneself up by your bootstraps. It is not about how healthy you are. It is not any of those things, for all those things I mentioned are things of the upside down world we live in. They can only give you a false and many times fleeting sense of peace.
Only in God’s Kingdom can you have true peace, for true peace can only come when you have given up trying to control your life and those around you, for he tells us we must come to him as a little child. Coming to God, as a child, is realizing that you are totally dependent on him, for not just your salvation, but all things in life. It is a giving up of trying to exert one’s power over others and becoming a servant of God. To come as a little child is to live not worrying about the past, or being afraid of the future while living in the present.
And that my dear brothers and sisters in Christ is where Jesus’ fourth promise comes in, for when you are at peace you will have joy. I am not talking about always laughing and having a good time, for that is unrealistic. I am talking about the enjoyment of life itself, for when you have peace within you; you look at life in a different way. You see the wonders of God and appreciate the things around you; the song of a bird, the laughter of a child, the hug of a loved one, the simple things of life, the joy of worshiping God
This morning a mother and her two children are going to be baptized and in that water with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” the Holy Spirit will come in a mighty way. There will be no speaking of tongues, or sound like wind, or tongues of fire. There will be none of those things, but there will be a movement of the Holy Spirit through this congregation and a pouring out of the Holy Spirit on those who are baptized. For in their baptism, just as he did for each of us in our baptism Jesus Christ will claim them as his own, and as he promised the Father and he will live in them. The Holy Spirit will be their helper and teacher and they will be given the peace that truly does pass all understanding, and then they will have joy. What a God we have. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 5:00 AM
|
0 comments
