Chan Willis – C.P.C.

                                                                                                                                                May 23, 2010 – Pentecost

“World Peace” 

Acts 2:1-8, 13-17, 21; John 14:15-17, 25-27

As we have already duly noted, today is Pentecost.  The word means, simply, “fiftieth.”  That is because it comes 50 days after Passover.  In the ancient Hebrew tradition, this day was known as the “Feast of Weeks.”  It was a time of celebration that marked the end of the harvest.  A joyous occasion to give thanks to YHWH for showing His faithfulness to His people by providing harvest to sustain them for another year.  

For us today, Pentecost also marks the end of a season… the season of Easter.  The culmination of the celebration of the most tangible expression of God’s faithfulness to US… the One whose life will reap a harvest that will sustain us for an eternity… Jesus Christ. 

Of course, as we read in the Acts passage at the beginning of the service, Pentecost represents that event that we generally refer to as the ‘birth of the church.’ A day on which believers from various locales, backgrounds, and languages “were all together in one place.”  And as they were gathered together, a miraculous thing happened:  a sound like that of a violent wind filled the house… what seemed to be ‘tongues of fire’ rested on each of them… and they began to speak in each other’s native tongues.  They did this, in the words of Scripture, “as the Spirit enabled them.”  The Holy Spirit.  The “Counselor” promised by Jesus to be with those who love and obey Him.  The “Spirit of truth” that our Savior said will “live with you and be in you.”

As we consider the fantastic nature of this incredible event, our sophisticated minds might struggle with its reality.  Was outpouring of HS a historical event, or rather, a theological construction?  Did the writer of Acts employ some ‘poetic license’ in writing this story, or did it really happen?  Well, it is hard for me to believe that this was simply a literary device to prove a point.  There has got to be more here than merely emphasis of the importance of believers coming together.  It would take more than a cleverly-crafted story to transform a “frightened band of followers huddled timidly behind closed doors” into men of conviction and courage with the spiritual impetus to establish, in just a few decades, vital congregations in all the major cities of the pagan Roman Empire.  On the 50^th day after the resurrection of the Passover Lamb,  something powerful happened!

So, what do we…you and I… DO with this day of Pentecost?  Aside from wearing something RED!  Are we going to pray for a ‘violent wind’ to fill this place of gathering… for ‘tongues of fire’ to rest upon each one of us… as we speak aloud in languages not our own?  SURE we are…

Don’t get me wrong.  I’d love nothing more than for the HS to descend upon this place, converting God’s ‘frozen chosen’ into ‘passionate Presbyterians’… a people with a ‘burning’ desire to share the Good News of the Gospel.   Believe me, I pray that for all of us… the pastor included!

            Face it, I can preach at you all day long on the importance of being that 1^st Century church.  I can speak of that Great Commission given to us by Jesus to go out into all the world… beginning right here in our little piece of it… and preach the gospel.  I can encourage you to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone for the hope that is within  you.”  To “LIVE OUT LOUD.”  But until something ‘supernatural’… something greater than your human nature… stirs within you, my words are useless.  Just like the early church was empowered by a force greater than mere words, so too must we as today’s body of believers rely on a strength than cannot come out of mere rhetoric.  A power that many in our world cannot fathom, cannot understand, cannot relate to.  The power of the Holy Spirit of God Almighty.  The Comforter.  The Counselor.  The One Jesus refers to as “the Spirit of truth.”

            What I want to offer to you today is perhaps another aspect of who that third Person of the Trinity is.  I don’t want us to get hung up on the spiritual gifts aspect of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives.  Let’s face it, that whole ‘tongues’ thing makes a whole lot of us staid Presbyterians real uneasy.  But as I read Jesus words about that “Spirit of truth,” something really jumped out at me.  He doesn’t dwell on what the Spirit will do through us… what outward signs of the Spirit’s presence in our lives will be manifested.  Rather, Jesus speaks of what the Spirit will do in us.  How the Holy Spirit will affect the inward man. 

            Jesus talks about how the world cannot “accept” this Spirit of truth, because they do not see or know this promised “Counselor.”  But in speaking to his disciples… those who love and follow Him… Jesus says that “you know him, for he lives in you and will be in you.”  He then goes on to say that this ‘Counselor’ will teach and remind his faithful followers of everything He has said.  Our Lord ends with some of the most beautiful words in Scripture:  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give as the world gives.  So let not your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”

            Friends, I believe that the greatest spiritual gift that we can have by the power of the Holy Spirit is the gift of peace.  A peace that cannot come through any man-made means.  Not by possessions.  Money.  Position.  Prestige.   In Paul’s words, there is a “peace that surpasses all human understanding.”  The peace that comes through faith in Jesus Christ… through the comfort of the Spirit of truth He said would follow Him… is not what the world gives us.  The world may give us some temporary satisfaction and security; but there is only one source of lasting peace.  That which Jesus offers by His Spirit.  The One who is there to ‘counsel’ us in times of trouble and uncertainty.  Hear Jesus’ words:  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I don’t give as the world gives.  So don’t let your hearts be troubled…don’t be afraid.”

            I believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit that many of you here today have is that peace.  Your lives are a living testimony that no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, you can yet stand firm in the truth that “the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” 

            There may be those of you here today, though, who do NOT have that peace.  Your heart is racked with hurt, with doubt, with anger, or bitterness.  You may find it hard to believe that there really is a God who cares for you with such a “crazy love” that he would send His precious Son to die in your place.  In a world plagued with suffering and selfishness, you may be struggling with finding peace in the midst of pain.  So often the circumstances of our fallen, broken lives can keep us from knowing what God seeks to live in all of us… a Spirit of truth that will provide us counsel and comfort even in our darkest hour. 

            As some of you may know, last Wednesday my son Chandler and I went to see “Star Wars in Concert.”  It was awesome!  In case you’re not familiar with it, a full concert orchestra, along with a choir, performs powerful arrangements of composer John Williams’ music from the Star Wars movies.  There are many clips of the six films on a huge screen, along with laser light show, all narrated by British actor Anthony Daniels… also known as one of the most beloved characters in the series, “C3PO.”

            One of the more powerful vignettes in the show was entitled “A Life Redeemed.”   It centered around the villainous figure Darth Vader.  If you know the story line, you know that this evil character started out as Anakin, the boy-wonder hope to carry the banner of good… one in whom ‘the force’ was very strong… who would eventually turn to the ‘dark side.’  Mortally wounded in a battle with his very own son Luke, who had taken up the cause of freedom against his father and the evil empire, with his dying breath Vader would speak of his love for his son.  Admitting the wrong that he had done in his life, this father would bear witness to what his boy had been saying to him all along: “I know that there is good in you.”  There in the arms of the one he loved, the once-arrogant, powerful yet troubled man would pass away in humility and peace.

            Now, I recognize that this is a fictional, secular tale, not historical fact.  And yet, there is within this story spiritual Christian truths.  The strength that Darth Vader exhibited on the  outside masked a deep hurt inside… much like we attempt to hide the pain we carry.  But something powerful happened in that man’s life… in the end, he would find peace.  A peace “not as the world gives.”  Something that came through the stirring of a Spirit deep within… a force greater than mere words.  Through the love of a son, who believed in him, he found final peace.  You and I have a Son who loves us… who believes in us.  Jesus.  The same Christ who longs to embrace us… who leans over you and I and speaks of that Spirit within us… “you know him, for he lives in you and will be in you.”  Know in your heart that there IS a Spirit of truth that will provide you counsel and comfort even in your darkest hour.  A Holy Spirit that will bring you final peace… through the Son, Jesus Christ.  The same Jesus who says to you and me, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  I do not give as the world gives.  Don’t let your hearts be troubled; and do not be afraid.”     Amen.

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

“KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE.  NO JESUS, NO PEACE.”

Our world… your world… will not know peace until we know Jesus.  And as you leave this place in your efforts to know God’s peace   that surpasses all understanding, “May the force be with you!”  NO, not some fictional power of a Jedi, But the real power of Jesus.  REMEMBER, ‘the Spirit of the living God is…’