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The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-21

Picture
     This morning we’re going to learn about the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Do you know that the first reference to the Holy Spirit in the Bible is found in Genesis 1? In the creation story, we hear that in the beginning there was “a formless, dark chaos; the Spirit of God hovered and moved over the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:2).  The word for “Spirit” in Hebrew is ruach, meaning “air in motion”, which can mean breath or wind.  The word itself even sounds like breath or wind: “ruach”.  This Spirit, invisible yet real, hovered over nothingness, and when God spoke all things were created.  They were formed, called into existence by God, who declared they were good, and that man and woman made in His image were very good.
      This divine wind, the very Spirit of God, was something the Hebrew people knew about and experienced over the centuries.  One well-known example comes from the prophet Ezekiel.  He had a vision: God set him down in a vast valley filled with very dry bones; he walked back and forth through them all, then the Lord said, “Can these bones live?” What more devastating scene exists than such a graveyard as that?  The bones represented the Hebrews; they and their kings had not been faithful to God. They were 600 miles away from home and had been in captivity for 100 years - they’d lost all hope. 
      God told Ezekiel to say: “O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.  Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.”  Ezekiel obeyed, and suddenly there was a great noise… as bones came together, they rattled, grew tendons, then flesh and skin.  But they were on the ground, as lifeless as Adam once was; then God told Ezekiel to call on the Spirit, to pray and ask that divine breath fill His people.  The breath of life entered them, and the valley came to life as an exceedingly large number of soldiers stood up, alive and alert (see Ezekiel 37:1-14).
     This vision was an exciting sign and promise from God for the Israelites, but its message extended far into the future.  Ezekiel said there’d be one Kingdom under one Shepherd-King, from the house of David, and His ruach Spirit would be in His people.  He would seek His lost sheep and bring back strays; He’d care for the injured and make them whole.  And who is the One who fulfills this prophecy?  It is Jesus the Son of God, Christ the anointed one, whom death could not hold, nor any power on earth.       
      I want to mention one other symbol for the Holy Spirit: fire.  Moses heard God speak to him one day, and when he turned, he saw a bush burning but it wasn’t consumed.  God spoke again, this time telling Moses to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground.  Fire is associated with power, holiness, and the presence of God in the Bible.  
      Now, let’s return to the Acts passage describing Pentecost; both fire and a powerful rushing wind suddenly filled a large home in Jerusalem where 120 of Jesus’ followers were staying.  Notice that not just one, but two manifestations of God’s Spirit have “come down from heaven”; the flames above their heads, which were visible, and swirling wind which was invisible.  Something exciting, strange, holy, and new was happening.  Can you imagine being there that day? What would you have felt?  Or said, or done?  
       Jesus had told his followers this day would come - that God’s Spirit, his power and presence, would come and abide in them.  He wouldn’t leave them like an orphan who is abandoned. But who among them could have imagined what it would be like when it happened?  What words can adequately describe what they saw and felt, let alone what happened next? 
        Peter went out and stood before a huge crowd that had gathered - he was the one who explained what had happened.  He told the crowd that what they were witnessing was foretold by the prophet Joel. The Spirit of God had come to dwell in them, in the men and women who had gathered in the home, praying.    
       Peter’s audience would have been huge that day, because it was one of the three required holy feasts Jews had to observe.  Every Hebrew male within a 20-mile radius of Jerusalem was expected to come… anyone living further away was strongly encouraged to attend.  First came Passover, in mid-April: each man brought a small thanks offering of ground wheat or barley to the temple, then the priests prayed God would bless that year’s crops.  Fifty days later was the Feast of Weeks, which we know as Pentecost.  It was early June by then, past the rainy season, so attendance was usually the highest of the year in Jerusalem.  Two loaves of wheat (or barley) bread were brought as an offering to the temple; it was a thanks offering for God blessing that year’s harvest.  Pentecost was also the holy day when Israel commemorated the Ten Commandments given to Moses at Mount Sinai.  Everyone had the day off and spirits were always high.
        Here’s what the author Luke says about that day: God-fearing Jews from every nation heard the loud, rushing wind and quickly came to see what was happening. They were bewildered when they arrived and heard uneducated disciples speaking about Jesus in languages that weren’t their native tongue.  They immediately knew a great power was at work, a holy power, but they didn’t understand why it was happening. 
     Peter stood before a massive crowd and told them that what they were witnessing was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy.   He explained it, focusing on the person and work of Jesus Christ.  At one point he quoted David, who in the Old Testament had prophesied that the Messiah would be resurrected.  He concluded, “Let all of Israel be assured of this - God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
     His preaching resulted in an immediate response from over three thousand people.  Their hearts perceived he was speaking the truth.  When they asked Peter what they should do, he urged them to “repent of (their) sins and be baptized”.  The thousands who heard about Jesus and believed in him all received the Holy Spirit.   The presence and power of God was in them. 
      The 3,120 excited Spirit-filled believers were gathered and empowered - now they wanted to know what to do next.  Peter and the apostles had to look at each other and grin, because they’d been getting ready for this day for three long years.   The church was born, inaugurated that day. Without delay, this is what happened next. 
      People were put into small groups, the model the Lord used, and they met frequently.  There were times of learning which everyone was eager to attend.   They had times for prayer, for communal potluck meals and getting-to-know-you fellowship nights.  This is a tried and true way to develop relationships -  to become aware of your neighbors’ lives, their daily joys, struggles,  hopes, and needs.  Following the example of Jesus and his disciples, new believers began to change their lives from the inside out.   One of the most noticeable changes was spontaneous acts of generosity.  People who had more resources, or money, or land gave to those who lacked the basics, or they gave what they had to the disciples so they could fairly distribute it.  The genuine concern believers were showing to others expanded into the community.  The way Christ-followers were living their lives was compelling; the things they were learning and eagerly sharing were interesting.   People were curious and some were quite open.   Every day people were hearing the truth about Jesus and seeing evidence of what happens in a person’s life when the Spirit of God fills them.  
        A fast-moving, Spirit-led movement spread across the city of Jerusalem and beyond its walls.  It happened because people were many joyful, praying, learning, generous and excited to witness, to tell others, about the amazing difference Jesus made in their lives.  If we had a way to see their faces and know the circumstances of those who were there for the first Spirit-filled Pentecost, we’d see men and women, younger people, middle-aged, and older folks; some were financially well-off, but many more were not; they came from different countries, their languages and cultures so different from one another.
       But their common ground was faith in God and his son Jesus Christ – do you have faith in God and in Jesus Christ?  The early church’s power source was the Holy Spirit - is that our daily power source as well?  What remains to consider is an understanding of how those Christians lived; what was the pattern of their days, and the priorities that mattered?  They began a Jesus movement that spread around the world, and it has by no means ended. The Bible tells us what they did:      
  1.  People had a good understanding of basic Christian teachings and kept studying Scripture over their lifetime 
  2.  They met with other Christians to pray, and prayed on their own
  3.  They loved and helped their neighbors, strangers, and even their enemies
  4.  Everyone went to weekly worship services
  5.  Christians were comfortable talking about their faith and answering people’s questions
 
     Are any of these impossible for us to do in our own lives?  Can you imagine trying one of these (study of Scripture, a prayer group, faith-sharing)? Would doing that begin to change your life for the better?  What if a lot of people here decided to study the Scriptures together regularly?  What if a lot of people met in small groups to pray?  What if everyone who took a public vow to be a faithful member of this church was in church every single Sunday of the coming year? Wow!  
     Could you and I be stronger Christians a month from now?   Could we be a more vital church in 3, or 6, or 9 months, if we patterned our lives after the early Christians?  What is stopping any one of us right now?   
       I know what can get us started: God would love to help us take the first step.  I’d gladly help you set one or more spiritual goals.  And we have the gift of the presence and the power of the Spirit of the living God.  That which first awakened and mobilized the church is ready to do that again!  Thanks be to God, amen!

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