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Experiencing
God
by Rev. Jonathan Gale
Sunday 12th June 2011
Readings:
Acts 2: 1 - 21
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2When
the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2And
suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and
it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
3Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of
them. 4All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now
there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
6And
at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard
them speaking in the native language of each.
7Amazed
and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8And
how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
9Parthians,
Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus
and Asia,
10Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and
visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11Cretans
and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of
power.’
12All
were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’
13But
others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But
Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men
of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen
to what I say.
15Indeed,
these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the
morning.
16No,
this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Gospel – John
20: 19 - 23
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
19 When
it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the
house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus
came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
20After
he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples
rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21Jesus
said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.’ 22When
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
Spirit.
23If
you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins
of any, they are retained.’
Experiencing God
Here we are in the church calendar at Pentecost. Pentecost – this astounding
event which coincided with the Feast of Weeks (50 days after Passover) and
is considered to be the birthday of the Church. So happy birthday, Church!
(jelly bean?)
a sound like
the rush of a violent wind … tongues, as of fire, … rested on each of them.
Can you imagine how startling that must have been? Violent wind and fire are
associated with destruction! But both are also associated with the presence
of God – think of Moses and the burning bush and Ezekiel and the Valley of
Dry Bones which came alive when God blew the wind of his breath into them.
Were these men scared? No! We read in the next verse that
4All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Far from fearful, these men were bold.
The 120 odd disciples gathered there that day were swept along by an
experience of God. This was something straight from the gut, not the head.
Jesus says in John 7: 38 –
“Out of the believer’s belly*
shall flow rivers of living water.” ’
39Now
he said this about the Spirit,
This is something visceral, from the inmost seat of the emotions,
out of the
believer’s belly,
not from the head. There’s nothing dispassionate about the Holy Spirit!
We’re not looking at a theological discussion here. It’s an experience!
The Holy Spirit put flesh on the faith of these simple Galileans. He’s like
a light going on in a dark house. He’s the evidence of God being there is
someone’s life.
This was not emotionalism, but rather passion, the kind of conviction that
allows us to be open to enjoy God: to experience God.
So when the disciples are accused of being drunk at 9 o’clock in the
morning, Peter stands up and explains that what is happening is in
fulfilment of a prophecy of the prophet Joel, and we hear of the drama of:
the pouring out of the Spirit, prophecy, visions, dreams, portents, blood,
fire, smoky mist, the sun darkened, and the moon bloody on a great and
glorious day. This is pretty dramatic stuff – experiential stuff.
I’d like to share with you something of experiencing God, from my own life.
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Salvation – Michael Cassidy mission at school
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Loss of passion – national service in the army
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Desperate sense of need for God – Argyle prior to uni
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Brass heavens, sense of separation, and no faith
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Rom 10: 12 – 14a
12For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all
and is generous to all who call on him.
13For,
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
14 But
how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?
A sudden realization: If I’m calling, I must believe therefore I must have
faith!
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As
I knelt at the side of my bed, God’s love flooded down into me like warm,
liquid, golden light. I felt utterly embraced by the love of God.
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This was an experience of God. Yes, I was thinking,
(ours is a
faith of the heart and the head)
but the passionate desire I had for God evoked a realisation of faith. And
it was at that point that I was open to experience God.
And of course it’s no coincidence that both Paul, in the extract I was
reading from Romans, and Peter in the last verse of our reading, quote the
exact same verse from Joel:
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
This is about the overwhelming love of God who is merciful, patient and kind
towards us.
‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
God has no favourites. If you mean business with God, he means business with
you.
Now I’m going to do something unusual – seeing it’s Pentecost. :o)
I’m quite sure that most of you today have experienced God’s Spirit is some
way, dramatic or quiet (you recall God revealed himself to Elijah, not in
the earthquake but in a still small voice) and I’d like to ask you (if you
feel so moved – there’s no compulsion whatsoever) to stand up and share a
very short testimony of an experience you’ve had of God’s Spirit. After that
I’ll conclude.
SHARING TIME
Sum up.
Be open to experience God’s Spirit. If you’re not sure of your salvation,
‘Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
If you feel the need to be filled with God’s Spirit, pray confidently for in
Luke 11: 13 Jesus says
13If
you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how
much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit*
to those who ask him!’
This is not something ‘out of left field’ as they say. John the Baptist says
in Matt 3: 11
one who is more
powerful than I is coming after me; … He will baptize you with*
the Holy Spirit and fire.
This is something Jesus does.
So here’s the challenge: Take advantage of this Pentecost season and gain
more of God. Make good use of this time to experience more of God’s
love – to receive a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. It’s simple.
13If
you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit*
to those who ask him!’
Nobody else can ask on your behalf. Stir up your faith – it only needs to be
a little bit of faith (like a tiny mustard seed). God’s grace is yours.
You simply have to ask.
God bless you!
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