Above It All

Text: Acts 1:1-11

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

I have this theory about mankind.  It goes something like this: 

We do not like looking up, because when we look up, we realize just how small we are. 

For example, a person going to the Big Apple – New York City – will look up at the tall buildings, get dizzy and feel small.  And some people even get a shortness of breath when looking up at tall skyscrapers. 

Another example would be this.  Looking upon a clear night towards the stars can be overwhelming.  A person named Cory once said this,

“I am utterly speechless when I stop and look up at the night sky.  The cosmos has to be the most majestic thing ever.  I feel so small, and I feel so helpless when I gaze into the universe above me.” 

And so, I believe that most people are much more comfortable keeping their heads down.  We feel better when we can see, touch, and feel things below us.  That is right; when we cannot reach something above us or when there is something mightier above us, well… we get uncomfortable and overwhelmed.  This may be the reason why we keep our heads down so much of the time.  Indeed, if our heads are down, we like to think that are in control and the world seems smaller.  However, when we look up, we become smaller, and the world becomes bigger. 

Now, why do I mention this? 

I mention this because today’s reading from the Book of Acts causes us to look up, not down.  Yes, in the Book of Acts we hear about the Ascension of Jesus, which causes us to lift up our chins and look up towards heaven. 

You see, in the story of the Ascension we hear about Jesus being lifted up out of the sight of the disciples some forty days after His resurrection from the dead.  That is right; Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father.  He was lifted up - a cloud took Him out of the sight of the disciples to heaven. As can be imagined, the disciples gazed up into heaven.  Their eyes stretched as far as they could see, without moving or flinching.

So, is the meaning and purpose of the Lord’s Ascension, for us to simply lift up our chins and gaze into heaven, like the disciples? 

Dear friends, we must keep in mind that the story of the Ascension does not necessarily mean that Jesus is somewhere above us in outer space.  In other words, just because Jesus ascended upward, does not mean that heaven is located up in space somewhere.  We cannot take a spaceship to heaven.  Heaven is not a physical destination located next to Jupiter or Saturn.  One cannot simply take exit 13 at the fourth moon of Saturn to get to heaven.  Heaven is indeed a real place, but not a place ‘within’ our time and space.  But rather, heaven is ‘beyond’ our time and space.

So, if heaven is not physically located in outer space, why did Jesus ascend the way that He did? Why was He lifted up instead of vanishing in a puff of smoke? 

Dear friends, even though God’s kingdom of heaven is not somewhere above us in space, it is still above us.  You see, when Jesus ascended into heaven – when He was lifted up – this was intended to show and remind us of His kingdom’s immenseness and majesty and power.  The Ascension of Jesus to the right hand of power was to show that Jesus resumed His full divine qualities.  It was to show that the time of Jesus’ humiliation was over.  No more suffering, no more dying, and no more agonizing cross for Jesus!  Instead, Jesus reigns alive with a fully resurrected body, as the all-present Savior, who can intervene anywhere and anytime with His saving presence.

So, is it wrong to look up to the Lord when we pray?  Is it wrong to gaze upward when we think of heaven?  No, it is not.  It is quite natural to look up, for that is the direction that Jesus went when He ascended.  It is only naïve to make heaven into a physical location on a space map or believe that we can get to heaven with GPS and enough rocket fuel. 

So, when we lift up our heads towards Jesus in heaven or when we think of heaven above us, we are affirming that Jesus ascended far above all of creation to the right hand of the Father.  Yes, when we lift up our heads, we recognize that Jesus is greater than us.  We realize that He is more powerful than us.  We know that He is big and that we are small.  We understand that He leads His church.  We understand that He is over all of creation.

So, dear friends, when we look up, we should indeed feel small and tiny and insignificant.  We are nothing compared to a 110 story skyscraper.  We are insignificant compared to the millions of stars over our heads.  And we are especially small compared to the Lord Jesus seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  But this should not discourage us.  We should not become dizzy or weak or fearful when we look above us to the Lord Jesus at the right hand of the Father.  Indeed, the fact that we are small and the Lord is big is good.  In other words, isn’t it good that Jesus is above every created thing?  I mean, think about it.  What kind of God would Jesus be if He didn’t rise from the dead?  He would be a dead god.  And what kind of king would Jesus be if He was not above the powers and kingdoms of this world?  He would be a no-name average king.  What if heaven was a flimsy kingdom that could give way at the smallest outbreak of war?  Well, we probably couldn’t call it a kingdom.  What if Jesus couldn’t have ascended to heaven and was stuck here on earth?  Well, we probably would try to seize Jesus, as so many did before, and try to make Him do what we want, not what we need.      

Dear Baptized Saints, the fact of the matter is this, all the kingdoms of this world will rise and fall.  Kings will come to greatness only to be stung by death and buried 6-feet under.  Buildings will rise to scrape the sky and then be demolished by great earthquakes.  Even the sun, star, and galaxies have limited time, with stars continually burning up and losing their twinkle.  But Jesus?  He is not like other kings.  He has ascended higher than any other king has ever ascended.  And the kingdom of heaven, well… this kingdom will last forever for it is not of this world.    

And so, the Ascension of Jesus to heaven is not an end to the ministry of Jesus but a display of Jesus’ power, authority, and majesty.  His ascension shows us that He is above all. His throne is above us, which is why we can lift our heads with confidence.  Jesus and the kingdom of heaven are not like us and not like this world.  They are free from the limitations and sin of this world.    

Yes, Jesus is alive, Baptized Saints, at the right hand of the Father, where He will come again one day soon just as He left.  Yes, Jesus will come again, visibly, and with great glory - just as the disciples watched Him go in His Ascension. He will come again because He is not too big to not care for you.  Yes, even though Jesus ascended to heaven, He has promised that He will come again, for you.  He will not come in secret to rapture a few away, but will come suddenly, visibly, and with great glory.  He will come again, with great glory to call you unto eternal life.  And you, whether you are alive or sleeping in that grave, will hear His voice, and will find yourself before the Lord Jesus who ascended to heaven, and came back especially to bring you into the new heaven and earth. 

Until that day comes, we can rest in the assurance that we are never alone.  Christ our Lord, true God and true man, is always with us.  We have His forgiveness, His love, His comfort, and His strength in the Word and Sacraments and through the Holy Spirit. 

Baptized Saints, the world will do all it can to separate us from Him.  It will discourage us.  It will attack us.  It will persecute us.  Jesus Himself warned us, "In the world, you will have tribulation."  Nevertheless, He also said, "Take heart; I have overcome the world." 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

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Without Doctrine, The Church Is Powerless Against Savage Wolves

Text: Acts 20:27-38

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

You may have heard it said before, “Doctrine divides, but ministry unites!”  Or you may have heard it spoken, “We should avoid doctrine because it can easily cause divisions among Christians and God desires Christians to be united!”  Or there is this saying, “Of course doctrine is important, but God cares far more for our deeds than our creeds.” 

Now, what is common among all of these sayings is this: the church should avoid doctrine or at least hush it at all costs.  And if doctrine is diminished, then and only then can the church be ready to let the good times roll.

Dear friends, while eliminating doctrine or deemphasizing it may seem like a good plan, this plan becomes unraveled when the wolves come to attack the church.  Yes, it may sound like a good idea for a church to get rid of doctrine for the sake of helping everyone get along; however, the truth of the matter is this, stripping doctrine out of the church leaves the church powerless and defenseless in the face of savage wolves.

But who are these wolves exactly; who do they represent?  Are these wolves dangerous people who physically attack Christianity – wolves like the first-century emperor named, Nero, who seized Christians and burned them alive for the sake of cruelty? 

Or maybe these wolves are the old twentieth-century Communist Party in the Soviet Union who suppressed and persecuted Christians, while encouraging atheism?

And then there is Kim Jong-Un of North Korea who sends Christians to prison camps and the death penalty.  Is he a wolf?

On the other hand, maybe these wolves are not violent men, but possibly these wolves are more like the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry who has recently fined Christian bakers hundreds of thousands of dollars for not baking same-sex wedding cakes.  Maybe these wolves are like the ACLU Group who is helping sue a florist for not making an arrangement for a same-sex wedding.    

Now, considering all of these people and examples, are these the wolves that threaten Christianity?  The surprising answer is no. 

Dear friends, these people, and groups are not the wolves that are being talked about in today’s Gospel reading and the reading from the book of Acts.  You see, in the grand scheme of things, the people and situations that I just mentioned are not that dangerous.  Now, do not get me wrong when I say that they are not dangerous.  I do not mean to diminish the terrible persecution that has existed and continues towards Christians. That is to say; there are indeed regimes, entities, and persons that can kill you and take your money, but as we know, they cannot take your souls.

You see the point is this, people who physically attack and persecute the church are bad enough; however, they are easily recognizable by even the simplest of Christians. Just a simple examination of Emperor Nero or Kim Jong-Un, one will be able to recognize them for what they are – enemies and persecutors of Christianity.  However, these are not the wolves that are mentioned in our reading from today, for the wolves that are mentioned are those who twist, distort, and pervert Christian doctrine.  In other words, the wolves that we are concerned with are false teachers – false pastors who look friendly, look pious, and look faithful, but are destroying souls.  And what makes these wolves so dangerous is not that they destroy bodies or drain wallets, but that they destroy souls and plunge people into the abyss of hell. 

“But how can these wolves be so dangerous?” you may ask.  There are two reasons.    

First, they come in sheep’s clothing.  They come disguised as messengers of light with pious talk, veiled with religious gestures, and covered with reverent looking clothing.

Second, they come into the church with a message that sounds Christian, but make no mistake; it is a message that has been twisted, perverted, and distorted, ever so slightly. 

Indeed, wolves dressed as sheep will enter and pop up within the church, proclaiming a message that sounds very Christian and looks pious, but in reality, it is twisted and perverted.  You see, that is the way it typically goes with heresy and false teaching.  Blatant false teaching and obvious false teachers are easy to pick out, but those dressed in sheep’s clothing and those who have taken the genuine message of Christianity and twisted it into falsehood are more difficult to spot. 

And make no mistake about it, a small twist of doctrine is not something that we should quickly dismiss, for only one piercing fang of false doctrine may cause faith to bleed to death. 

This is why churches who have exchanged doctrine for entertainment or removed doctrine entirely for the sake of not offending anyone are so susceptible and vulnerable. In other words, Christians and churches who have no doctrine, have set themselves up for failure and deception.  By throwing out Christian doctrine they have thrown out the discernment of God’s Word that would otherwise protect them from wolves seeking to devour them.  Tragically, these churches will not endure to the end but will be gobbled up.  Indeed, they will not endure against wolves and false doctrine, but their souls will be destroyed as they are drawn into falsehood, lies, and deception.  Wolves love to feast upon flighty, unaware, daydreaming, and playful little sheep.   

Now, in the face of this danger, you may find yourself a bit uneasy.  You may find yourself worried about the possibility of being caught off guard by a wolf, for there are indeed hundreds of wolves within the North American Church at large.  If you are uneasy now, that is good!  It is good because God’s Word has gotten your attention.  And now that the Word of God has gotten your attention, you may be wondering what you are to do about all of this?  The Apostle Paul clearly answers in our reading from Acts.  The only logical thing to do is to keep wide awake!  Yes, the Apostle commends the pastors of the church to pay attention, to be alert.  And that exhortation to be alert can equally apply to all of us as well. 

Indeed, pastors and their churches are called and exhorted to ‘wake up!’  Sleeping and dreamy sheep do not stand a chance against the wolves!  This life is not a peaceful walk on the beach and being a Christian is not rose peddles and pumpkin pie.  No, being a Christian means that you are a sheep of Jesus and being a sheep of Jesus puts a target on your back for wolves – wolves doing the work of Satan.

But is that it?  Are we to simply be alert and awake?  While being alert may help us to spot the wolves, it seems that there needs to be something else to defend us from the wolves. 

In our reading from Acts, the Apostle Paul not only calls for alertness, but also commends them to God and His Word of Grace; Paul commends them to the one who is able to build them up.  What this means is this: to stand up to the wolves and to discern and spot a wolf, one must have God’s Word.  Indeed, Paul commends them to God’s Word so that they would be built up.  This building up is not an increase in pious and pleasant religious talk.  It is not building up bible trivia points but an increase, an unfolding of the whole Christian life.  It is an increase in knowledge and wisdom and discernment by being captivated to God’s Word – God’s teaching in the Bible, His doctrine.

And now we are beginning to see the importance of God’s Word – God’s doctrine.  In other words, the only way a person can pick out a wolf and the only way a person can fend off the wolves is by being in God’s care where the Word is present, building up the flock. 

Dear friends, this is why we do what we do here at Zion.  Sure we come to this church for fellowship and friendship; however, fellowship and friendship can easily happen at other places.  One does not need a church for social and entertainment reasons, but rather, we come to this church because we have been commended to God in our Baptisms so that we might continually receive His Word.  And we receive His Word – His doctrine – so that we will not be blown around by every wind of false doctrine.  In other words, the reason why we have Sunday School, Sunday Adult Bible Studies, Wednesday Bible Studies, LWML, Confirmation, email devotionals, blog posts, etc. are for you to know our Christian doctrine, for if we do not know what we stand for, we will fall for anything. 

Indeed, all of these ministries here at Zion are intended to deliver to you God’s Word of Grace – God’s good doctrine, so that you will not be a reed blowing in the wind of every false teaching in this world.  God’s Word – His good doctrine – is here in this church for you so that you do not have to be bouncing up and down on the waves of culture’s fads.  God’s Word – His good doctrine – is here in this church for you so that you can be built up spiritually in this life against the false teachers and false ideas being promoted by wolves.

Please do not neglect God’s Word.  Please do not become lethargic with the Word or apathetic to it, for it is only God’s Word that can break falsehood into a thousand pieces.  That is right; God’s Word is like a hammer that shatters the lies of the wolves – for you.  God’s Word burns up falsehood – for you.  God’s Word unravels twisted lies – for you. God’s Word reveals the perversion and distortion of false teaching – for you.  

Baptized Saints, wake up!  Be alert!  Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  Be alert that deception has its strength in disguising itself as truth.  Do not listen to the empty words of false prophets filling people with empty hope.   Do not forsake the Word.  Do not despise God’s good doctrine.  But remain in the Lord’s rest and care where you will be built up and taught in God’s Word of grace for this present day and for the inheritance of the life to come. 

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

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Your Very Own Personal Pentecost

Text:  Genesis 11:1-7 & Acts 2:1-21

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

There was something like fire and wind and a loud noise that day.  It was a mighty rushing wind, not a nice gentle breeze.  Think of a tornado or gale force winds.  And then there was the fire - flames that divided and rested on each of the Apostles!

What am I talking about?  I am talking about that day of Pentecost long ago.  I am talking about 50 days after Jesus rose from the dead, the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Apostle who had come together, just as Jesus had promised. 

It is a day that the Holy Spirit rushed into human history like never before, with a startling suddenness that was impossible to miss. 

The crowds who heard and felt the roar of the wind came rushing together, utterly confused about what was happening.  And what did they find?  They found the Tower of Babel reversed!  Yes, the confusion of Babel had been reversed. 

In our Old Testament lesson from this morning we read about mankind coming together at the place called Babel.  Mankind had gathered together to build a city for themselves and to make a name for themselves.  The people who had gathered were prideful and egotistical.  God had called mankind to multiple and fill the whole earth, but not these people.  Nope, not them.  They were going to stay put and make their own buildings and their own city, not to glorify God but to glorify themselves.  It was about glory to man in the highest.   

As a result, it should not surprise us that God intervened in judgment.  He cursed them by twisting their tongues and giving them a bunch of different languages.  Yes, He foiled their egotistical and prideful plans by confusing their language. He actually applied a divine judgment that led to confusion, suspicion, and even hatred among the people. There is no doubt about it, since the Tower of Babel, we have had the confusion of language, which has led to mankind being humbled ever since.  The confusion of language has broken and driven mankind into disorder and weakness. 

I mention all of this because God cursed the people at the Tower of Babel because they were coming together in the name of mankind.  However, in today’s reading from the book of Acts, we hear about a reversal of Babel, where the Apostles were given the ability to proclaim about Jesus in languages they had never learned.   Instead of language dividing people - this person from that  person – the people from all the nations, heard each of the Apostles speaking and testifying to the great works of God – and each person heard them preaching in their own language.  Just like native speakers.  The confusion of language was undone for the sake of salvation and for unifying mankind in the name of Jesus. 

When some in the crowd tried to explain away this mighty miracle of the Spirit by saying they were babbling because they had drank too much, well… Peter took to the pulpit and began to preach and set things right.

There was no doubt that day that the Spirit was present in Peter's preaching as he charged the Jews with guilt in Christ's suffering and death and yet showed how by the Father's eternal plan the death of Christ was overturned and He was raised and exalted to the Father's right hand, as the one who pours out the Spirit.

By the time Peter was through, the crowds were in a panic.  The Spirit's witness had convicted them.  You heard part of Peter’s sermon in our reading from Acts.  But a little further on we hear the result of Peter’s preaching:

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'"

Peter's answer is one of the most comforting words of all Scripture.  He doesn't give them a list of to-dos they need to perform before God will forgive them.  No.

Listen:

"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and YOU will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)

That's it.  Turn, he says, toward the Lord and receive what He wants to give you in the waters of baptism: forgiveness and the Holy Spirit.  Peter lets them know that this gift isn't just for some of them, but for all.  "Let everyone of you be baptized" he says. "The promise is for you and for your children" he says.

And no less than 3,000 took him up on the invitation on Pentecost Day.  They ended up in the water, where their sins were washed away and the Spirit of God was given to them.

So even though on Pentecost morning the Holy Spirit arrived with a mighty rushing wind and what seemed to be fireworks, by the afternoon He was entering people’s lives in a far less spectacular way, in fact in what became the ordinary way: through Holy Baptism.  In other words, only some of the people got the pyrotechnic display of the wind and fire; but 3,000 received the exact same Spirit with the splash of water and the power of the Word.  Just like you received the Holy Spirit; just like I received the Holy Spirit.

Now, do you realize what that means?  It means the day you were baptized was your personal Pentecost.  It was the day that your life was turned around.  It was the day that the forgiveness which Christ won on His cross for the whole world was given to you as your very own.  It was the day that the Holy Spirit Himself was poured into your life by the Risen and Ascended Lord.  The Holy Spirit has been given to you.  He is a complete and total gift!

That's why we are filled with joy on this day.  To us who could never believe on our own, never come to faith in Jesus by all our struggling and striving, to us our Risen and Ascended Lord has sent a Helper!

He has sent the One who not only gives faith, but keeps us in faith, and strengthens that faith until our last hour comes.  And then our Helper will not leave us.  No way.  He will sustain us through death and bring us with Christ into the life that never ends. 

He will be the one who raises our bodies from the dead and transfigures them – “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come!”  That's the Holy Spirit's work!

Dear friends, what all of this means is this: the Spirit poured out upon the chosen Apostles on this day landed on YOU too.  It happened in your Baptism (just as it did for the 3,000)!  Your Baptism is your personal Pentecost.  But there is even more.

Jesus Christ doesn’t just pour out His Spirit once and that’s it.  Not at all.  A couple chapters after our second reading today, Luke records that the house where they were gathered was shaken and the Spirit descended afresh on the same apostles.

You receive the Holy Spirit and all of Him and yet there is always more.  Your Lord wants to keep pouring the Spirit into you.  Not just through your Baptism, but through your hearing of the Word (where He is always at work to strengthen your faith) and through the Supper, where by the Spirit’s power Christ feeds you with His body and blood, constantly renewing the forgiveness of sins.

Because the Spirit is the gift Christ keeps on giving us, the holy Church rejoices this day to cry out over and over again – in hymns and prayers to the Blessed Third Person of the Trinity.

In the name of Jesus: Amen.  

The sermon is indebted to Rev. Joshua Reimche from Our Savior Lutheran Church of Bottineau, ND.

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Pentecost Then; Pentecost Now

Text:  Acts 2:1-21 and John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today may be a bit jarring.

Over the last six months we have heard about Jesus:  Jesus being born in a manger, hearing who Jesus was, hearing what Jesus came to do, hearing about Jesus dying and about Jesus resurrecting and about Jesus ascending.  Then today we get the sound like a rushing wind and the divided tongues as of fire and the thousands of converts.

Otherwise stated, it may be a bit jarring to go so quickly from the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, to the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  However, it really isn’t that jarring.  Despite Jesus being absent from earth due to Him ascending to heaven, mankind was not left alone, for the Lord God was still present with mankind.  There was no break in or jarring to the continuity of God’s presence on earth.  The Lord Jesus ascended and the Holy Spirit was present; He was active and working. 

And some amazing work He certainly did.  The barrier of language was no difficulty for the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit appeared to the disciples that Day of Pentecost some two-thousand years ago resulting in a tongue resting on each of them.  Being filled for a temporary action, the disciples then proclaimed the Gospel in other languages to the devout Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem from every nation.

Take a moment and think about the implications of this.  The Gospel was not restricted; the message of forgiveness was not muzzled.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, the message of the Gospel broke through language barriers.  It was translated into foreign tongues, showing that the forgiveness of sins belonged not only to the Hebrew speaking Jews, but the entire world—every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every dialect.  This Gospel was not to remain as some local story spoken with a hometown accent.  It was a message for the entire world.  It could not and would not be confined, but the Lord saw it fit to translate it, so that all the countries of the world were given the Gospel. 

As a result, thousands were converted that Pentecost Day, long ago.  Thousands added to the Christian faith that Pentecost morning, some two-thousand years ago.  From those thousands of new converts, the Gospel would then be returned to the people’s own homeland, spoken in their own particular language to many more individuals, resulting in the spreading of the Christian faith. 

This was the Holy Spirit fulfilling His office.  This pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was not the Holy Spirit’s grand debut into time and history, but was the Holy Spirit pouring out above and beyond the norm.  It was the Holy Spirit fulfilling His office for a specific purpose to fulfill prophecy from long ago. 

All this stated, can we expect more of this phenomenal “Acts-chapter-two-work-of-the-Holy-Spirit-stuff” in the church today?  Should Zion Lutheran Church be looking to tap into the rushing wind, tongue speaking, and the filling of the Holy Spirit from long ago?  Frankly my friends and contrary to what you might hear from Christian television preachers, we cannot.  The speaking in tongues, the mighty rushing wind, and the devout Jews from every tribe gathering in Jerusalem were real events within a particular time, place, and context.  A time, place, and context that the Holy Spirit orchestrated by pouring Himself out above and beyond, thus fulfilling particular Old Testament prophecy.  That stated, we have not been given any promises from scripture that this could be harnessed or recreated in our modern day. 

Tragically though, we Christians don’t realize this all the time and we try to conjure up awe and inspiration in the church so that we can try to refashion a modern day Pentecost.  Sadly, there is a temptation among all of us that we need to somehow awaken the Holy Spirit to His office through us being on fire or engaged or energized or spiritized.  We read Acts chapter two and hear about the mighty rushing wind, the speaking of foreign languages, and believe that we—like the disciples—can somehow obtain this filling of the Holy Spirit and remake a modern day Pentecost. 

Dear friends, we cannot call down the Holy Spirit by force through our own agendas and He is not sent as a reward due to our own spiritual endeavors.   Furthermore, we do not possess the Holy Spirit as a personal possession where He is put into our debt.  It is idolatry to attempt to tame God and to attempt to harness the Lord for our own personal plans.  Finally, we do not stand a chance in creating a personal Pentecost.  We do not and we cannot re-produce what occurred during that Pentecost some two-thousand years ago.  Why not?  You see, the disciples never set out to have this Pentecost experience.  They didn’t organize focus groups and community polls to find out what the public masses were looking for so that they could “scratch the itch of the masses” and make a big public splash.  They didn’t sit down at a board meeting and discuss membership data, and formulate marketing plans and advertising so that they could increase their market share.  They didn’t even wake up that morning with the intention of going out from behind the safety of their locked doors.  It wasn’t their plans and purposes and intentions that made that first Pentecost what it was.  It was Almighty God that made this happen.[1]

I certainly don’t mean to be a killjoy and I certainly don’t mean to create the impression that I am diminishing the role and work of the Holy Spirit, for I am not.  I am merely trying to set things within their proper context and to expose our overly enthusiastic imaginations.  You see, even though the story of Acts chapter two is most impressive, we as sinful-numbers- driven-emotional-thrill-seeking-Christians will always gravitate to that which is mysterious, large, grand, positive, and exciting, while missing the main thrust of what is going on.

Permit me to explain.

The speaking of tongues in Acts chapter two—the speaking of foreign languages—is so spectacular that we often forget the reason why the apostles spoke in tongues to begin with.  You see, all the remarkable stuff happened so that the Holy Spirit could fulfill His most basic and straightforward task: the proclamation of the Gospel and the gifting of faith unto everlasting life. 

Do not forget that the Holy Spirit, He functions to reveal and glorify Christ; He preaches Christ and testifies of Him. 

In the midst of the Pentecost miracle of the mighty rushing wind, the tongues, and so forth, another miracle was happening; people were being saved unto everlasting life.  “Today’s [reading from Acts chapter two] gives us the historical facts concerning that first Pentecost after Jesus ascended into heaven.  There were the tongues AS OF flame … the SOUND of a mighty wind … and speaking in tongues.  All of these signs were means to one very important end … the proclamation of the salvation of God worked out through Jesus offering Himself up on the cross.”[2]

Indeed, there were essentially two barriers that were being cross, two hurdles, if you well.  The message of the Gospel was breaking through the language barrier and the Holy Spirit through the Gospel was breaking through deaf ears, hard hearts, and unbelief, in order to grant faith, life, and salvation. 

You, who have ears, listen.  Contrary to popular opinions today, the proclamation of salvation through the language barrier and through hardened hearts did not stop on that Pentecost day.  My friends, the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or a symbol of God’s power, but the third person of the Trinity who has made you holy and still makes you Holy. 

The same miracle of Pentecost continues to this very present day, for the Holy Spirit has led you into this community, placed you in the church’s lap, where He preaches to you and continually brings you to Christ.[3] 

Listen carefully, “neither you nor I could ever know anything about Christ, or believe in Him or receive from Him as Lord, unless these were offered to us and bestowed on our hearts through the preaching of the gospel by the Holy Spirit.”[4]  Therefore, “where Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Spirit to create, call, and gather the Christian church.”[5]  However, “when the Holy Spirit is doing His job, all we see and hear of is Jesus.  When you clearly hear Jesus then you know the Holy Spirit is at work.”[6]

This means that the Holy Spirit—just like at Pentecost two-thousand years ago—“has called [you] through the gospel, enlightened [you] with His gifts, made [you] holy and kept [you] in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith.”[7]

Dear Baptized Saints, the Holy Spirit through the Word is with you; He counsels you, helps you, teaches you, reminds you of scripture, convicts you of sin, points you to Jesus, guides you, and gives all glory to Christ.

Dear Baptized Saints, like Pentecost, the Holy Spirit does not and will not bring the message of Christ to you vacuous and with vague generalities.  No, His message will have substance; it will be the certain and absolute truth, for He will preach what He receives from the Father and from Christ.  Unlike the spirit of lies, the devil, and his mobs, the Holy Spirit will preach about Jesus and will Glorify Christ so that you will believe in Christ. 

Yes, you should know and learn that the Holy Spirit will be in and with the Word.  He is “there in your Baptism, being poured out upon you in water and Word, giving you a new birth from above in Christ—your very own Pentecost.  [He] is there in the Absolution, as life-giving forgiveness is breathed into your ears.  And the Holy Spirit is there in the Lord’s Supper, giving you faith in Jesus’ Word: This is my Body; this is my Blood for you.”[8]

The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth, in order that you may believe it, use it as a weapon, be preserved by it against all the lies and deception of the devil, and prevail in all trials and temptations.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Jason Zirbel, “Extraordinarily Ordinary & Adequate,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3791 (accessed May 23, 2015).

[2] James T. Batchelor, “Feast of Pentecost,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3790 (accessed May 23, 2015).

[3] Martin Luther, The Large Catechism: The Book of Concord, ed. Robert Kolb & Timothy Wengert (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 435-436.

[4] Ibid, 436.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Naomichi Masaki (Source unknown).

[7] Martin Luther, The Small Catechism: The Book of Concord, ed. Robert Kolb & Timothy Wengert (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2000), 355.

[8] Pentecost, (Higher Things Daily Reflections for May 24, 2015).

Pentecost - A Work Of God - Not Mystical Emotionalism

Text:  John 7:37-39a and Acts 2:1-21

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day where we hear about the amazing events recorded in the book of Acts.  It is the day that we hear about the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit being poured out.  Yes, at Pentecost some two-thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit was poured out.  Keep in mind though that this was not the first appearance of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, for the Holy Spirit was at work in the Old Testament as well.  Rather, what we hear about in the history book of Acts and what Jesus speaks of in our Gospel reading from today is that the pouring out of the Holy Spirit is a pouring out that is above and beyond the norm.  Yes, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost was not the creation of the Holy Spirit and it was not the first appearing of the Holy Spirit, but rather it was a time where the Holy Spirit fulfilled His Office.

But what does it mean for the Holy Spirit to fulfill His office?  My friends the Holy Spirit functions to reveal and glorify Christ; He preaches Christ and testifies of Him.  This office; this role; this force of His Office, came into effect at Pentecost.  Let me explain, prior to Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, the disciples of Jesus were not ready or even able to function the way Jesus intended them to function.  Otherwise stated, the disciples had not yet witnessed the glorification of Jesus.  They had not witnessed nor did they fully understand Jesus’ glory; glory that was revealed in His crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and ascension.  Furthermore, the Holy Spirit couldn’t fulfill His office until after all these glorious events of Jesus had been completed. 

Today, though, we hear from our reading in Acts that there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind.  Divided tongues as of fire appeared.  The disciples began to speak in other tongues; that is different languages.  Thus, this all resulted in the addition of three-thousand new converts to Christianity.  Indeed, it is truly astonishing to read about the events of the early church.  It is awe-inspiring hearing about the reversal of Babel; yes, the Gospel was not restricted due to language barriers, but rather the Gospel was spoken in various languages so that the message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins could go forth to individuals of every nation under heaven. 

Yes, the Holy Spirit came upon the people in the book of Acts fulfilling His office which resulted in thousands of people hearing the message about Jesus, repenting, and converting; the church grew by thousands due to the Word going forth through evangelistic efforts of a small group of men.  This was all possible because it was the day where the Holy Spirit was poured out above and beyond the norm, as prophesied in the Old Testament. 

But why do we take time to contemplate this event in the church each and every year on Pentecost Sunday?  Not only is this event a part of our Christian history, but it is also important for us to consider due to many Christians failing to grasp who the Holy Spirit is and what He does.  Otherwise stated, many Christians unfortunately fall into two errors.  On the one hand there are some Christians who confuse the work of the Holy Spirit with mystical emotionalism and vague spiritual romanticism. On the other hand there are other Christians who are apathetic about the practical influence and workings of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

You see, on the one hand we fall when we are tempted into trying to repeat and manufacture the historic events of Pentecost.  Mistakenly churches and individuals can attempt to reproduce the great events of Pentecost by trying to conjure up awe and inspiration in the church so that the church can experience its own Pentecost resulting in massive influxes of new converts and an increase to church budgets.  “If we can just be joyous enough and if we can call down the Spirit and overcome our feelings of inadequacy, we may just see another Pentecost in our midst.”  Tragically there is a temptation among all of us that if we just put on the biggest, the most entertaining, and the most uplifting show in town, then we can create a twenty-first-century Pentecost and our wildest dreams will come true.  We say to ourselves, “We can’t make tongues of fire appear and we can’t make the sound of a rushing violent wind, but we can spice up our worship service and we create an evangelistic fervor if we just try hard enough.”  Sadly my friends, we cannot call down the Holy Spirit by force through our own agendas and He is not sent as a reward due to our own spiritual endeavors.   Rather, He is sent to us as a gift due to Jesus’ request to the Father.  Furthermore, we do not possess the Holy Spirit as a personal possession where He is put into our debt.  It is idolatry to attempt to tame God and to attempt to harness the Lord for our own personal plans.  Finally, we don’t stand a chance in creating a personal Pentecost.  We don’t and we can’t re-produce what occurred during that Pentecost some two-thousand years ago.  Why not?  “You see, the disciples never set out to have this Pentecost experience.  They didn’t organize focus groups and community polls to find out what the public masses were looking for so that they could “scratch the itch of the masses” and make a big public splash.  They didn’t sit down at a board meeting and discuss membership data, and formulate marketing plans and advertising so that they could increase their market share.  They didn’t even wake up that morning with the intention of going out from behind the safety of their locked doors.  It wasn’t their plans and purposes and intentions that made that first Pentecost what it was.  It was Almighty God.

It was the work of the Holy Spirit, who not only spoke the Truth of the Gospel through these men, endowing them with the gift of proclamation in a foreign tongue, but who also summoned a huge crowd of people to these guys’ front yard so that the crowd could hear the Gospel proclaimed to them. Remember: The text tells us that the sound of this great rushing wind caused everyone to come running so that they could find out what was going on.  Faith comes by hearing.  This hearing led the masses right to the source and wellspring of the Gospel.  These men didn’t manufacture anything.  In terms of “success,” these men were grossly inadequate, in and of themselves.  Left to their own devices and schemes and plans, they would’ve produced nothing but ruin and despair.  This Pentecost miracle was all God’s working.  All glory and honor (and credit) belongs to Him.”[1]

Yes, Pentecost is not something that is found in our own emotions or is conjured up from our own energy.  With that said though, was Pentecost nothing more than a unique historic event?  Did the Holy Spirit only operate at one point and time?  Does the Holy Spirit operate in the world and church today?  Is the Holy Spirit dead or is He alive?

The Holy Spirit, as we learned several weeks ago, was not given as a reward for your prayers or given because of your obedience and doings but rather He comes at the request of the Son to the Father.  As a gift, the Holy Spirit is given to you through the Word in order to be your constant companion.  The Holy Spirit stands aside you, counsels you, helps you, teaches you, reminds you of scripture, convicts you of sin, points you to Jesus, guides you, and gives all glory to Christ. Indeed, Jesus comforts His disciples and us by this profound promise.  He promises that He will not leave us but will continue to come to us through the Counselor and live within us through faith.[2] 

Furthermore, like Pentecost, the Holy Spirit does not and will not bring the message of Christ to you vacuous and vague generalities.  No, His message will have substance; it will be the certain and absolute truth, for He will preach what He receives from the Father and from Christ.  Unlike the spirit of lies, the devil, and his mobs, the Holy Spirit will preach about Jesus and will Glorify Christ so that people will believe in Christ.  “In Christ your sins are forgiven.  Christ died—for you.  Rejoice and be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven.  Fear not, little flock; it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Christ Himself bore your sins in His body on the tree.  There is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  It is finished—for you.”  Yes, one should know and learn that the Holy Spirit will be in and with the Word.  He will guide you into all truth, in order that you may believe it, use it as a weapon, be preserved by it against all the lies and deception of the devil, and prevail in all trials and temptations.

While it is true that we cannot recreate Pentecost by our own doings, it is not true that Pentecost is a mere isolated and unimportant event.  Rather, the whole point of Pentecost is that it is an event where God works in spite of us.  It is an event where the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples to empower them to confess Christ.  It is an event where the bold proclamation of Christ went forth for the forgiveness of sins.  It is an event where the Holy Spirit fulfills His office.  It is an event where the Holy Spirit through the Word creates hunger and thirst in souls and then fills souls with the satisfying message of Christ crucified.  It is event that continues to this day because the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who is active in calling by the Gospel, enlightening, sanctifying and keeping.  Yes, calling you, enlightening you, sanctifying you, and keeping you.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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[1] Jason Zirbel, “Extraordinarily Ordinary & Adequate” http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3791 (7 June 2014)

[2] Paraphrase of the Third Article of the Apostle’s Creed from Luther’s Small Catechism.