What I Didn’t Say About Pentecost

Sam Hamstra | May 25, 2010

Not sure why, but this past Sunday I cut a page out of my sermon.  Perhaps I wanted to leave time for the testimonies which followed, even though all but one were NOT planned. Perhaps I was afraid to drive the point home, afraid to offend someone. Whatever the reason, I thought the blog would provide a venue to deliver that  which I failed to deliver this past Sunday. Here it is:

Friends, Pentecost was the greatest event that ever took place in the history of the church. As a scholar named Powell once wrote, "It was a cataclysmic occurrence, which in all its details happened only once. It had never happened before; it has never happened since. In all its details, this amazing, thrilling manifestation of the divine Spirit has never been repeated."  Yet, while we should not expect a repetition of Pentecost, we may expect the perpetuation of Pentecost. And, as A.W. Tozer once noted, "there is a vast difference between the two."

Surely, the external elements of Pentecost are not repeatable.  We will never again get the entire Christian church in one place at one time. We do not have any reports of the Holy Spirit coming through a congregation with the sound of rushing wind.  We do not have any verified accounts of 120 people sitting in a room speaking foreign languages that they never studied.  But the internal elements of Pentecost remain, the most important of which are the Presence of the Holy Spirit and Power for ministry.

How we need both the Spirit's presence and power, for a pew is still a pew, even when there’s no one sitting there. But a pew is not a sanctuary and a sanctuary is not a church when there’s no God present to comfort you and when there’s no God to empower you. So, let’s ask the Holy Spirit to make this house, this congregation, his home and make his presence known today, as he did then. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to empower us for ministry and mission in the name of Jesus.

A couple years ago, I began sharing a vision that the Lord had given me for a specific kind of congregation in the southwest suburbs, one which included people from many tribes and nations, one which affirmed the evangelical faith and was open to the full-working of the Holy Spirit, one which affirmed ministry, not just by men with degrees, but by all gifted by the Holy Spirit, both men and women, one that reaches out with a gospel of hope for all that matters in life.

God has given us a good start. God has given us a small but dynamic, multi-ethnic fellowship with a vibrant mission to college students. But, I thought we would have a few more people by now. I never envisioned a mega-church, but thought that God might grant us a congregation, representing many tribes and nations, that could not only be financially self-supporting, but establish a dynamic outreach, to students from every college in the area.

But if that is to happen, we will need the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Who are we? Like the apostles, we are a motley crew of folk trying, in spite of ourselves, to be faithful followers of Jesus. The fulfillment of our vision does not rest in human competency or slick programs but in the power of God, resting upon us. So, invite you to join me in praying for the perpetuation of Pentecost. Pray that the Holy Spirit will make this house his home and make his presence known.

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Comments

Dan Lugo said:

I guess the hope is that, as a congregation, we’ll be healthy, but not fat.

But I think you’re right, that the Holy Spirit is the key ingredient. The more people I meet looking for a church, the more it seems they’re looking to experience more than the knowledge of God,

they want to know God,

they want to experience the Holy Spirit’s work,

and they want to see that the life and death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth are real.

No one wants to play church. I think we’re on track. It’s messy, and it’s not easy. But I think we’re on track.

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