Preached for
the Festival of Pentecost at Epiphany on
Grace and peace to you through
the Holy Spirit who comes to us today with power and purpose. Amen.
(Acts 2:1-21) 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. {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 them speaking in his
own language. {7} Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking
Galileans? {8} Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
{9} Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of
1. With power
2. With purpose
Today is Pentecost. There are no poinsettias. There are no Easter lilies. There
are not flocks of new people in church today to celebrate this glorious church festival.
Why not? At Christmas we celebrate God the Father’s gift of his Son. There are special
flowers and the church is full. At Easter we celebrate God the Son’s resurrection
from the dead. There are special flowers and the church is full. At Pentecost we
celebrate God the Holy Spirit’s work of forming the Christian Church. Where are
the special flowers and all the people? Pentecost is one of the church’s three high
festivals. Yet, many people forget that this day is special.
Today is a special day. Today is the anniversary of the day of Pentecost, when the
Christian Church was born. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus’ disciples
with the sound of rushing wind, tongues of fire on their heads, and he gave them
the ability to speak in other languages. The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples
with his holy fire. He lit them up. He fired them up. Then they went out and spread
the message of the crucified and resurrected Christ.
Within the first 100 years, the Holy Spirit used the fire and enthusiasm of the
early Christians to carry the gospel of Christ to
The Holy Spirit has changed our lives. But we need to be lit up again. We need to
be set on fire for Christ. Today we ask the Holy Spirit to light a fire in us. We
want to have the same courage and confidence and enthusiasm as those early disciples
who withstood persecution, trials, and death, all for the sake of Christ’s gospel.
Today we pray to God the Holy Spirit: “Holy Spirit, light our fire.” Understand
that when we pray this prayer, we are not going to receive little flames over our
heads. Actually, we are asking the Holy Spirit to light a fire on our other end.
That he would light a fire under our seats to get us up. To light a fire under our
feet to get us moving. To light a fire in our hearts to keep us going. “Holy Spirit,
light our fire with power and with purpose.”
1. With power
Pentecost was a special holiday for the Jews. It was a religious harvest festival,
something like Thanksgiving without the football games. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims
crowded into
The crowds are stunned. But they don’t just want to know what is happening. They
want to know why it’s happening. They want to know "What does this mean?" Peter
explains, "We’re not drunk. It’s too early to ‘tie one on.’ What you see is God
pouring out His Spirit, just as he promised in the Old Testament through the prophet
Joel."
The miraculous gifts were signs that these believers were filled with the fire of
the Holy Spirit. But Joel’s prophecy didn’t just refer to the day of Pentecost,
but also to the birth of the Christian Church. God promised through Joel that all
people, male and female, old and young alike, would receive the Spirit. All would
proclaim God’s message after receiving the power of the Holy Spirit. The Christian
Church came into reality on the day of Pentecost.
Sometimes we act as if we think that Simon Peter called a meeting of the apostles
and said to them, "Now we are here today to talk about whether or not we ought to
start a Church." They discuss that for a while, and then James says, “I make a motion
that we start a Church.” John seconds the motion. And they vote 10 to 2 to start
a Church in
It didn’t happen that way! Did you hear what the Word said? It said, "Suddenly,
a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from. . ." Where? "From heaven."
God started the Church! God created the Church. It is his Church, not ours. We work
for him. The Christian Church began with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed or it can be harnessed.
The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively
by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine
of a Datsun in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions
are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy
Spirit works both ways.
At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene. Thousands were affected by one burst of
God’s power. But the Holy Spirit also works through the Church. We who belong to
the Christian Church tap into the Holy Spirit’s power so that we may last through
the long haul. Through the gospel, sacraments, worship, fellowship, and service,
Christians are provided with staying power.
On Pentecost, 3000 people were converted to Christianity. The Holy Spirit’s power
burst forth in an explosion. But today, the Holy Spirit doesn’t usually work like
that. Today he works through you and me. His power strengthens us for the long haul,
the difficult times, the struggles and setbacks of starting a mission congregation.
All the struggles and setbacks of being involved in this Christian congregation
can be difficult. We may start to whine that our church has gone through some difficult
times. We may become frustrated when families are not faithful and regular in worship.
We may become disappointed when we work very hard to promote our church and school
with multiple VBS programs, WLS Open House, door hanging, inviting of friends, yet
we don’t seem to grow as quickly as we think all our hard work would suggest. We
may become upset because we think we are a financially poor congregation and cannot
afford to give more in our support to the Lord’s work.
That is why we need the Holy Spirit to fire us up. He reminds us that we are redeemed
through Christ’s blood, sanctified by his Word, and justified by his sacrifice.
We have been reconciled, forgiven, and saved. That gives us motivation. We have
been brought into God’s holy family through baptism. We are united with other Christians
through the Lord’s Supper. That gives us comfort.
We pool our resources to fund the work of this church. And we realize that if every
family gave just 5 dollars more each week (the cost of a good burger at Culvers)
that would mean an extra 37 to 38 thousand dollars for our ministry. Just five dollars
more a family. That gives us encouragement that we can afford our ministry plan.
That means we can afford to run a church, a school, and help support a high school.
Presently we have 341 members at Epiphany. We should realize that if every member
was able to bring one friend to join this church, by this time next year we would
have 642 members. The following year 1284 members. Just by bringing one person each
year. Just finding one person who wants to love Jesus the way you love your Lord.
That gives us confidence that this church will continue to grow. All of this fires
us up!
If you do the Lord’s work, the Lord will bless your efforts. If you sit on your
rear end, the Lord may choose to sit on his. Get fired up and do the work, and then
this church and God’s kingdom will grow. It is within the Holy Spirit’s infinite
power.
2. With purpose
If we are to reach people for Christ we need people with passion and power. But
we also need people with a purpose. The Holy Spirit lights our fire with purpose.
In the late 1800’s, no business matched the financial and political dominance of
the railroad. Trains dominated the transportation industry of the
The same thing happened in the watch and clock industry. The Swiss had dominated
time keeping. They controlled 90% of all revenues made in their industry. They made
the most precise gears and springs in the world. Their watches and clocks were perfect.
Then something new happened called the Quartz movement—LCD readout. Guess who invented
it. A Swiss man. But because it had no gears or knobs or springs it was rejected.
The Swiss failed to recognize that they were in the business of helping people tell
time not making precision gears. They lost their dominance in the industry. They
now control only 20% of all revenue. Seiko is the dominant leader.
And folks, if we at
I want to be part of a church whose sole purpose is to win people to Christ. I want
to be part of a church that is empowered by the Holy Spirit. A church that is going
out into the streets with purpose and the authority.
Our purpose in this church, in any church, is to communicate the love of God to
a lost and dying world. At Pentecost, God communicated his message through a miracle.
Today we have to grind it out.
We tell people that they are guilty, that they have crucified Christ with their
sins. We ask them to repent of their sins. When they repent we announce that they
have been forgiven, redeemed, and given the fire of faith from the Holy Spirit.
We inform them that they are now like us, part of a new society, and new family.
We have come out of a world of slavery and superstition. We have come out of a world
of selfishness, greed, and dishonesty.
At Pentecost, 3,000 people were changed by the Holy Spirit and made different and
new. They were born again. Their number quickly grew to 5,000 and then into multitudes
as the Church spread throughout
We, too, are different from everybody else in our world. We are a different people,
a different culture. Most institutions are only interested in what they can get
from you, but the Church wants to give. Many will take advantage of you, but the
Church is where you can come and hear the truth, and be ministered to, and your
needs will be met. We are an oasis in the midst of a desert, a shade tree on a summer
day, a cup of cool water when you are thirsty, a place to come and
know that you won’t be rejected. You can come and know that you will be accepted
and loved as brothers and sisters, as fellow members in the family of God. We can
come to church and be ourselves with all of our warts and blemishes and scrapes
and scratches. We will still find love and acceptance, because that is the purpose
of this Church, now and always.
Pentecost tells us that. The world changed after Pentecost because of the Church’s
influence on that world. Let us be an influence on our world. Let’s grow this church.
That is our purpose.
Holy Spirit, light our fire. Light a fire under our seats, under our feet, in our
hearts. Light a fire with your power and with your purpose. Amen.
Everyone who calls on the name of
the Lord will be saved. Amen. (Acts