The Lord blessed us in His House yesterday. I love to preach about Pentecost. We declare about the mighty powers of our Lord. We declare how He keeps His promises. He is alive and well. He is the Alpha and Omega. It is written that in the fullness of time the Lord sent His Holy Spirit in full splendor and power. It was both visible and audible. When the Holy Spirit demonstrated his divine presence through the signs of wind, fire, and speaking in different languages, Luke informs us about the two different reactions. "Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, ‘What does this mean?’ Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’" There are seekers and there are scoffers.
As the diving drama unfolded, the Lord equipped and propelled Peter with clearness and clarity. Peter stood up with the eleven to say, "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning!" The were not drunk with wine, as the crowd accused, but they were filled with the wine of the Holy Spirit. "No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’"
The apostle Peter made it abundantly clear that Joel's prophecy was being fulfilled as recorded in Joel 2:28-32. In this fulfillment, old barriers were eliminated and erased. The Holy Spirit is no respecter of persons. He is poured out upon all flesh, all people who turn to Christ in full surrender and obedience. Joel mentioned young men who see visions and old men who dream dreams. Gone is the age barrier. Gone is also the gender barrier. Prophecy, visions, dreams and the gift of the Spirit are given to daughters as well as sons, to women as well as men.
The Holy Spirit includes and calls all God’s people, the rich and the ragged, the scholars and the unschooled, in his dynamic mission of "declaring the wonders of God" in whatever strategic position he places them.
The explicit signs of God’s grace are also evident today all over the world. One of our granddaughters, who is 21 months old, sings the song, "Jesus Loves Me". She smiles. She dances and claps her hands. She is in my heart as she declares about Jesus our Lord.
During our stay in Boston we met so many wonderful people. One of them was an elderly man. He is an engineer who has two PhDs, one of which was from MIT in Boston. He declares the amazing of grace of Jesus in his life. He declares about the mighty deeds of Jesus indeed. He has debilitating diseases, but that does not deter him from declaring the wonders of Jesus.
On our way home from Boston we listened to the the testimony of Joni Earikson Tada, whom I had met in person in 1982. At 16, as a result of a diving accident in the Chesapeake Bay, she suffered massive injuries which caused her to instantly become a quadraplegic. She is wheel chair bound. She is married for 30 years. A couple of years ago she was diagnosed with cancer and went through chemo and radiation. In the midst of all she was declaring the mighty deeds of God.
Peter concluded his quotation from Joel’s prophecy with a challenge and an invitation. "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Here the Holy Spirit introduces an expressive signature of God’s salvation. The invitation is open-ended. It is for everyone, regardless of gender, class, or race. Here the divine lifeline is thrown out to all drowning victims, to all sinners who are part of the human family. It is thrown out to you and to me.
The Good News of Pentecost is that the Holy Spirit continues the ministry of Jesus. It’s a ministry of salvation, a ministry of hope, a ministry of renewal and refreshment. Jesus is in heaven, but his ministry empowered by the Spirit continued through Peter, John, Thomas, Paul, and continues even to this very day. Jesus’ ministry continues through young men who dream dreams and sons and daughters who see visions. It continues through organists and music teams, through Church School teachers, and through Christian couples sharing their faith at barbecue outings with their neighbors. Jesus’ ministry continues through all of God’s people who are truly possessed with the Holy Spirit and all of his gifts, at the school desk and at the machine shop, and even at assembly lines and in shopping malls.
Pentecost means that the world is set ablaze. A new era has been ushered in. It’s an era of grace and salvation, of mission and evangelism. Today is still the day of grace. "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
In Christ,
Brown
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