PENTECOST!

Compared to Christmas and Easter, only a very small portion of people will recognize today as a holy day of celebration.  I haven’t seen any flyers for ‘Pentecost Sales’. I haven’t noticed any ‘doves’ or ‘flames of fire’ hanging from the trees of my neighbors. The stores and restaurants haven’t been any more crowded than normal.

Let’s face it, for the majority of people – Christian or not Christian – this is just another Sunday.

Some churches will call attention to this day and the 2^nd chapter of Acts. Others may not.

So, what does this day represent? Why is it important?

It signaled the arrival of the new leader of the Church! The Third Person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit – arrived with a grand demonstration of His power and presence!

Make no mistake, this is the same God who led Israel through the trials of the Old Testament! This was the same Jesus who arrived in a manger, grew up to become a great Teacher, performed miracles, healed people, preached messages, raised the dead, and laid His life down as the perfect sacrifice for our sin!

Pentecost triggers the full realization of a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit! It took the New Testament Church four hundred years to sort this all out and understand it. They were kind enough to pass it along to us – and all generations!

God exists in three Persons that are equal, completely unified, have all existed for eternity. Once they came to more fully understand these truths, they passed them on to us in the form of a confession we know as The Apostle’s Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
      creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

      who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

      and born of the virgin Mary.

      He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

      was crucified, died, and was buried;

      he descended to hell.

      The third day he rose again from the dead.

      He ascended to heaven

      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.

      From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

      the holy catholic* church,

      the communion of saints,

      the forgiveness of sins,

      the resurrection of the body,

      and the life everlasting. Amen.

*that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places

On this day – in the 1^st century – after days of prayer with around 120 people in an upper room in obedience to the clear instructions of Jesus before He ascended into Heaven, something dynamic happened!!!!!!!!

The Holy Spirit showed up – just as Jesus had promised!

On this occasion, He revealed His presence with flames of fire that settled over the heads of those who had been praying together. They ALL heard the sound of a mighty rushing wind, yet there was no wind! They were immediately filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages “by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.” [Acts 2:4 All quotes from the NCV unless otherwise noted]

They burst out of the room and hit the crowded streets of Jerusalem where they began proclaiming the Gospel to the crowds gathered to celebrate the harvest festival or Feast of Weeks!

At least one very large gathering took place as a result of Peter standing in a prominent place and preaching. His message was clear and simple: “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” [Acts 2:38]

“About three thousand people were added to the number of believers that day.” [Acts 2:41]

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So, what does this day mean to us as followers of Christ?

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

·         We are still and have always been under the direction of a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

·         We live in the age of the Spirit! It is the Holy Spirit of God that is directing the affairs of the Church today! We might be wise to be praying to Him and seeking His direction in our lives and in our churches!

·         The Holy Spirit is still filling people today!!! When He comes into a person, there is a rejuvenating of that person that awakens them spiritually and charges them with passion for the spiritually lost!

·         The Book of Acts makes it clear that the sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit - in a person’s life and in the Church - is passion for the lost and growth in the Church! 

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    Holy Spirit Thou art welcome in this place
Holy Spirit Thou art welcome in this place
Omnipotent Father of Mercy and Grace
Thou art welcome in this place!

GOD ISN'T FINISHED WITH ME YET

I recently re-read a book from my shelves:  THE NEXT CHRISTIANS: How a New Generation is Restoring the Faith, copyright 2010, by Gabe Lyons.  I'm going to deliberately keep it out on my desk for a good while so that I can flip through it and reexamine the many underlined passages.  

The book slowly exposed me in areas that were painful and awakening.  I am deeply challenged by its message and find myself wanting to evolve into a 'Next Christian'.  I have a long way to go and will have to reengage myself regularly if I hope to activate this transformation.

Although I graduated from a seminary that espoused four major branches of theology [Feminist, Calvinist, Progressive, Libertion]. I managed to emerge with my Wesleyan faith-base intact.  I think this was enabled by the fact that the United Methodist Church was sending a lot of their theology students to this school, which created a tolerance for the Wesleyan perspective.  :-)

I emerged from the process as an innovative thinker, cooperative leader, and biblically-based teacher.  Having been raised in the Free Methodist Church, I found it to be a suitable and comfortable base of operation throughout the years, although I currently worship in an evangelical Presbyterian church.  My sources of influence have been eclectic: 

• a Free Methodist college
• a United Methodist seminary
• a liberal Presbyterian seminary
• a charismatic Catholic university
• and a host of friends and associates from a wide variety of Christian-faith-based backgrounds!  

I consequently emerged as a firmly entrenched theological mongrel with a mainstream way of thinking.  I was comfortable and even effective as a result of these processes.

But Gabe Lyons' book began to rattle and disturb my comfort zone.  He had a subtle way of showing me that I am judgmental, proud, and ineffective when it comes to engaging those who disagree with my paradigms.  

My activism has often resorted to boycotts, picketing and letter-writing campaigns.  This approach nearly cost my son (Travis) an education at the United States Naval Academy [but that's a story I've told elsewhere].  I was proud of this approach - until I read THE NEXT CHRISTIAN.  This book unpeeled the roots of my exclusivism, anger, and stubbornness!  I'm hopeful that - even at this late stage of my life - I might be able to change my approach to things I don't like or understand.

I want to break the patterns of rigid thinking and express patience, a desire to know and understand and a renewed passion for a restoring impact!  

Unless you've read the book, it's a challenge for me to convey its message in a brief space.  Perhaps a quote from page 75 will suffice [or at least plant a seed].

No one - Christian included - can avoid all contact with potentially corrupting people, systems, and influences.  For everyday followers of Jesus, this tension begs the question: How should Christians react when placed in an environment that celebrates sin, overlooks injustice, or tolerates immorality?

[I think ALL of us would agree that this is a relevant question for our day!] 

Michael Metzger has said, "When confronted with the corruption of our world - Christians ought to be provoked, not offended and withdrawn."

In contrast, classic Separatist Christians (the insiders, culture warriors, and evangelizers) are often offended by corruption.  Characterized by their lifestyle choices, these Christians tend to remove themselves from potentially harmful situations - citing their disgust of immorality or their pursuit of holiness as the reason.  As is consistent with their perspective, they condemn, judge, withdraw, and boycott.  They play the paradoxical role of antagonist instead of the sacrificial pursuer. 

In my copy of this book, you will see the word "OUCH!" penned in my script!

All these years, I've been offended and withdrawn - hoping to punish evil and withdrawing from its presence!  How un-Christ-like of me!  How Pharisaical!  God, help me to change!

Lyons gives many examples of 'Next Christians' working within our culture [and other cultures] to bring a spiritual restoration to situations and environments.  

I reflect on my years of ministry with a mix of pride and remorse.  I'm grateful that due to training, education and excellent role models, I did a lot of things right!  However, I lament that I dropped the ball when it comes to having a restorative impact on the culture!  I will try to do better in the years I have left.  

It's hard to capture the essence of a 200-page book in this brief forum.  If this blog has tickled or unnerved anything within you - perhaps you'd like to get a copy and read it?