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Send the Fire, O Lord

Pentecost, Sunday, 12th June, 2011

 Acts 2

 

21 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

                14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17  " '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. 18  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19  I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20  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.'

                22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

 

 

                36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

                37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

                38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, 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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call."

                40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

                42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

We know that it also fulfilled the word of Zechariah 12: 10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

 

Do you want to see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as at Pentecost?

Do you believe the Holy Spirit is at work?

          Can he change your life?

          Can he change other’s lives?

 

Do you want the Holy Spirit in your life?

          . Transformation. Change is sometimes a bit scary. It means giving up what we have got used to and setting out on a new path.

          . Empowered to tell. These disciples were getting on just nicely in private. Pentecost very rapidly brought them into conflict with the religious oppressors of their day. When Jesus calls us to follow him , he calls us to the way of the cross, not the life of luxury and power.

          . The church exploding in growth. I wonder how often in a quiet moment the apostles wished for the good old days when they had Jesus to themselves. (neatly forgetting his reprimand over the people that brought their children; the crowds at the feeding of the 5, 00 and so on.)

 

 When and how will it happen?

 1. When God chooses

7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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."

That sound familiar? It’s a bit like the second coming isn’t it?  The message about the second coming and the coming of the Holy Spirit is the same – be ready!

 

Pentecost = harvest and also (later) the giving of the Law at Sinai. One of the three main festivals of the Jews. – Passover, Pentecost, Day of Atonement. It was a flash point when people from all across the region were in Jerusalem. When we put texts on the buses and gospels in homes, we are creating another flashpoint. Are you praying that the Holy Spirit lights up the posters and gospels so that people see and hear the Good News? We have chosen Harvest to celebrate the 70 years of responding to the love of God in Christ Jesus. Pray for a spiritual harvest. That would be the greatest way to celebrate what the previous generation set out to do – to tell the grace of God in the gospel.

 

2. What to do while we wait.

all joined together constantly in prayer

Acts 1:14

14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

 

I am sure that those who are pedantic can find fault with this. I am sure they eat and shopped and went to work. But they were marked out as praying together. And no doubt some had more time than others to spend praying together. I want to pick up the together matter. We tend to say that a lot of our prayer happens in our own quiet times. And rightly so. If you are not spending time with Jesus in prayer, then you need to address that and make time for your spiritual growth. But that is not where the Holy Spirit was poured out. They were praying together, many meeting daily. So I am asking you to make a point of checking out the three specific occasions we meet for prayer. Are you there? Are you there on Sunday morning at 9:30am; House Group and Powerhouse? They are core activities of this church not peripherals.

 

 3. What to expect

 

 to be witnesses

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.

 

 to be powered up

 

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

 

 to be made fun of

 

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

 

 people will be cut to the heart

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

 

 people will respond

41 Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

…. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

 

 

People will be discipled.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.

 

Notice that the priorities are not at first socio-economic. That followed. Number one priority was their spiritual transformation.

I spoke to a man last week who have a very sad life, but what I prayed over him was for his salvation, his coming to terms with the past and  then his healing. Often our priorities seem to be about health – that is because we tend to raise that on Sunday Mornings for prayer. But if you were at the Prayer meeting before the service or if you were at PowerHouse on a Thursday night, you would discover a different priority creeping in to our prayers.

Summary:

The preaching of Pentecost is:

Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

 

 

                36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

 

"Repent and be baptised, 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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord our God will call."

 

Can I point out that it is not about speaking in tongues or being healed or signs and wonders. They followed the faithful, Holy Spirit inspired telling of the Good News of Jesus. The challenge is quite simple, God has poured out his Spirit on all his followers, are we prepared to be part of the Acts?  That begins with praying together, receiving together, witnessing together and moving out, driven either by the Spirit or by persecution.

 “Send the fire, O Lord”

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