Pentecost and Whitsun. Sermon notes and outline by Howard Taylor.

Remember these are only notes so do not expect full sentences, perfect grammar or even perfect spelling! (Remember too that British spelling is not the same as American spelling!)

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Wonderful and Breathtaking
Jesus had promised to be with them - Holy Spirit.

Lead them to remember all He had taught,
Love,
Power leading to convince the world of sin, righteousness and judgement.
Bringing men, women, children to Christ to be saved.

Whether of not this comes in a spectacular way or quietly changes us
        - not matter.

Something spectacular did take place.

    We love spectacular.
    God gives spectacular from time to time.
We love it because it gives excitement
    But we can't live on the spectacular.
    Can't keep up excitement forever.

Yet the very wonderful surrounds us everywhere.

The creation is wonderful.
Cross is wonderful

- God loved the world more than He loved Himself.

Source of all of this wonder is the Spirit of God.

Nothing then the Word and Spirit - vegetation, birds fish animals - humankind.

Then Evil.

Word and Spirit of the Lord called people of Israel to be His people.
Spirit came upon Mary
Spirit came upon Jesus - baptism
By the Spirit - healed etc
By the Spirit - God raised Him from the dead.

God promises His people the Holy Spirit.

The very fact that we are alive.
Life cannot be explained by science
- where it came from or how it works.

We know just a little bit here and there and when the questions are pressed we find we know nothing!

When our hearts are open to gospel
- It is the Spirit who opens and the Spirit who gives us a new beginning.

That may be spectacular.
It was for the apostles.

But the purpose of it was not to be spectacular but to accomplish something else.
Share in the very life of God.
================================
Wind

Breath - out of the very heart of God.

Fire

God had called Moses through the burning bush that was not burnt up.
•    Fire Used Of Nature Of God.
•    Not Surprising
•    Universe That God Had Created
•    - Billions Of Stars - Nuclear Fires.

• Did Not Our Hearts Burn Within Us?

• Burning Bush Is A Picture Of God's Dealing With His People Throughout History.

•    Israel' Burning Yet Survival
•    Middle Ages - Often Burnt.
•    Hitler - Burning Of Crematoria

• Church After Apostles,

•    Power Of Roman Empire Burnt At The Stake Many Early Christians
•    Yet Without Any Wealth Or Political Power It Continued To Grow Throughout The World.
•    20th Century - More Martyrs Than In All The Other Centuries Put Together.

Jeremiah:
Jer 20:9Thy word is in my heart like a fire.

Filled.

No more room for selfish cowardice.
The apostle came out to their closed room
and preached Christ in a hostile world.

If you and I were filled with the Holy Spirit
what unworthy things would be displaced?
=====================
Spoke in other languages.

The original Pentecost celebrated Mt. Sinai and the 10 commandments to Israel.
Trumpet - the Teaching to all peoples in their languages..
In OT clear that God's love goes beyond Israel - Job etc

Now the Apostles still think that Jesus is just for Jews.

Tongues were the sign that it is for all peoples.

Holy Spirit in us - regard other peoples as one with us in our humanity.

Christ is not the private religion of Jew, the White Man, - all peoples.
Therefore missionaries.
Missionaries brought the gospel here to UK.

Pentecost - Jewish harvest.
The seed sown - body of Jesus. Now was the harvest.
John 12:24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (NIV)

`He shall see the fruit of the travel of His soul and be satisfied'. (Isaiah 53)

Is He seeing that fruit in our lives?
======================
How does Peter explain what has happened?
Acts 2:16-21This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
Young People will see visions.

Loss of vision today.
Loss of vocation.
Because of loss of meaning, because of loss of Word and Spririt of God.
Recovery will mean vision and vocation.

Old People dream dreams.

One day all our dreams for a better world come true.

Not a gradual process

Great distubances in skies and on earth.

Global warming - etc?
Nearness of asteroids?
I used to find our Lord's words about stars falling - difficult. Not now!

"When you see all these things - don't be afraid your redemption is near."

Be at your post. (Said C. S, Lewis.)
    Whether it be as a missionary or just going out to feed the pigs.
    Your vision must be the vision of the Lord.
    Don't substitute your own vision.
    Hitler and Stalin had a vision
        - to transform the world for the workers.
            Both were willing to sacrifice millions of people for that aim.

Pol Pot and over 200 years ago the French Revolution said:
We go back to beginning.
    Year zero.

Put to death all those who had anything to do with the past.
Millions killed.

One day the tyrants who did terrible things because they were preparing for a
future utopia will be faced with the fact that there doings did not bring any utopia.

We have to live as if it were the world's last night.

Not forsaking to love our neighbour now.
We can't know whether there will be future generations.
God's final time may be nearer than that.
We will have our place in it if we were found doing our duty to Him and one another in the time of the earth's history in which we live.

Yes we must have vision but it must be the vision that God gives us in thre resurrection of Christ.

Love and care for the world that God loves,
but also a realisation that the final Utopia will not be our doing but: a work of God coming from the resurrection of Jesus.

This will save us from being:

so other worldly that we are no earthly good,
and also from a fanatical revolutionary spirit that can only destroy the good that remains in the world.

The spectacular is coming again.

But don't set your heart on permanent excitement.
Rather by the Spirit of God by whom all things exist, and by whom Christ redeemed the world, be faithful in your daily calling and worship of God.