Pentecost (Dove, Wind and Fire)
NB. Sermon preached at St Andrew’s Wakefield on 30 May 2004
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1 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[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
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 people 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. ...
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]
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Witness
Setting the Scene
A "dead balloon" has no life.
It continues to lie wherever you put it. It doesn't move. It has no power. But take a "dead balloon" and do what Jesus did -- blow upon it.
What happens? It's full of air; but it is still dead, going nowhere until that power is released. [As an illustration, the "powered balloon" is released.]
Under the "spirit's/breath's/wind's" power, the balloon can move. It goes out. However, when the wind power within the balloon is released, you don't know where the balloon is going to go; but you know it's going somewhere. (We don't know where the wind comes from or is going) Jesus did not give the disciples the Spirit's power so that they could stay behind locked doors in fear. It is given as a power to move people out into the world -- week end of mission coming up (do we stay behind 'locked' doors) or do we move out?
Here is where the story of Pentecost picks up. The disciples are back in the Upper Room waiting and wondering maybe some of them impatiently and nervous. What in the world are we doing here? All this waiting! He's gone and without Him, we are nothing. It's over! We'd just as well face it. What is this Holy Spirit anyway? Suddenly they heard a sound. The breath of God began to blow on that place like the rush of a mighty wind. Images of fire danced around them. Now, their fear was gone, and they began to speak and communicate the word of God boldly and people from all different backgrounds heard and responded and 3,000 people were converted that day.
It's interesting to note that the three classic symbols for the Holy Spirit in the Bible remind us of how God works through us. Do you remember what they are?
The three traditional symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible:
Breath: the symbol of Life. Fire: the symbol of Power. The descending dove: the symbol of Peace. Let's take a look at these one at a time…..
1. There is the descending dove. The symbol of peace.
2. There is breath/wind. The symbol of life and vitality.
3. There is fire. The symbol of power & refining
Descending Dove - The symbol of peace
(a) What is the 1st thing comes to your mind when you hear the phrase 'receive the Holy Spirit?' [Some may answer, the charismatic gifts, fruit of the spirit, fear, excitement…] Sometimes the church is nervous about the Holy Spirit. Will the Holy Spirit cause division, or disruption. BUT the Holy Spirit (HS) is gentle, not a bully. The HS awaits your invitation, he will not take over your life like someone hypnotised at a psychic show. He may be symbolised by a roaring wind or a flaming fire but Matthew 3v16 says he is like a gentle dove.
(b)John 14:27 Peace I leave with you. A few weeks before this Jesus said these words 'my peace I leave with you'… This peace is given by Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift for you for the pressurised times of life...
A submarine drops to a certain depth in the ocean known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be experiencing a most terrible storm, huge waves and high winds, the waters below this 'cushion' are never stirred. This is a good picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Holy Spirit. The waves of worry, of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given a peace that only Christ can provide.
The more we let him be our Lord Jesus .. the more of his descending dove (his peace) we will know.
Bringing good gifts of the Spirit to the church, giving answers to prayer (John 8v14) and the right to be a child of God (Romans 8v16).
Wind/Breath - The symbol of life and vitality
Remember in the Garden of Eden when God created Adam and Eve, He shaped them, but they were lifeless until He breathed into their nostrils the breath of life. They didn't really come alive until He breathed His spirit into them. Again, we see it here at Pentecost. The Breath of God, like the rush of a mighty wind, blew upon that place. and the disciples came alive.
I used to stand on the beach as a kid, facing away from the ocean, pressing a seashell against my ear. The water lapped at my feet, and the waves crashed just behind me. I wanted to hear the ocean in the shell. See the picture in your mind's eye: Standing with my back to the ocean, attempting to hear the ocean in a seashell. I was in the presence of the very thing I was seeking. The reality was all around me and I needed to turn around and enter into the reality of it. Some people have difficulty in recognising that what they are seeking is here it is on offer. Such persons, in their extreme forms, are always running but never arriving, always searching but never finding, always looking but never seeing. ….. Phillip and the others are reminiscent of the person standing by the sea listening for the sound of the ocean in a seashell. [Or alternative 2004 illustration]: Watching the Champions League final during the week ...after the game, Dechamps the manager of the losing team (Monaco) was being interviewed. He said that they were better than us, we were listless, We had no life at all!" "We had not the same spirit as them!"……It made me think that that's how some people go through life spiritually. Listless, no drive, no spark, no spirit! Going through the motions of living, but not really living at all. They have blocked the Holy Spirit of God out of their lives and they are not living life to the full!
Listen! How is it with you this morning? Is God's HS in your life? Do you seek the infilling of the Holy Spirit in your soul? Has God's spirit breathed on you the breath of real life? If not, you are not really living to the full! You may be existing, coping. But you need to seek the filling of the Holy Spirit to empower you. Symbol (wind)
Fire: Symbol of Power and Refining
(a)A flame can burn away all the waste and refine a precious metal, (b) the flame can wrap itself around the hardest of metals and the hardest of hearts and in the love of Christ melt our hardness so we can be moulded and empowered to be the shape and the powerful people he wants us to be here through St A's. This HS can renew the church and through renewing us individually and us as a community if we are not afraid to risk the refining the remoulding fire.
Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to shape it. "I'll master it," said the axe. With every blow (axe to the iron) only made the axe's edge more blunt. "Leave it to me," said the saw. The saw worked back and forth on the iron's surface until its jagged teeth were all worn and broken. "Ah!" said the hammer, "I knew you two wouldn't succeed. I'll show you how to do this!" At the first fierce blow, off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged. "Shall I try?" asked the small soft flame. "Forget it," everyone else said. "What can you do? You're too small, you flicker and you have no strength." But the small soft flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it. It never left the iron until it melted under its warm irresistible influence. And there's the irresistible power of the HS.
On this anniversary of the Day of Pentecost, when the Christian Church was born, let us be thankful that the Holy Spirit, has come to us. A gentle peace (symbol - dove) A life giving Spirit (symbol wind) & thirdly symbolised as a fire. Perhaps it's teaching us that God's way is not the way of force but love. God's way is not to break hearts but to melt them. Perhaps it means that that's our calling - to melt hearts. Under the irresistible warmth of God's gracious love. [Mission]
But we need to earnestly seek the HS for ourselves Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be impossible. We cannot be effective Christian witnesses without the Spirit's power. In fact, we would have no life without the life-giving Spirit. Just as the balloon without air is lifeless, so a church without the Holy Spirit is dead! Over and over again in Acts, we read that certain disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit (kept on being filled). So we also need to be refilled. For some of us our small groups are a refilling station, most of us come weekly to church as a refilling station, to receive through the worship, the word and in the sharing of bread and wine and through the fellowship. Some come to me or phone me and ask for prayer - for refilling. Will you seek today, it is there for you.
