When the Holy Spirit first came on the church, it was a dramatic event. The same strange signs don’t happen when people become Christians, but they help us understand what the coming of the Spirit is all about.
Promise of Power – Rushing Wind
- If you are inside and you look out the window, how can you tell whether it is windy or not?
We don’t see the wind, but we can see its effects. The trees move about, sometimes we can hear the rustling of leaves or even see things blowing about in the wind.
In the same way, we don’t see the Holy Spirit, but we do see its effects and they are incredibly powerful!
- Competition – Knocking down card from a distance
We now create power from the wind. Out at sea you can see lots of wind turbines. As the wind blows, they spin and drive a generator, which converts the power of the wind into electricity, which powers our lights, computers and even cars.
Harnessed in the right way, wind can create power and power makes it possible for us to do things we would not otherwise be able to do. Without electricity your mobile phone is a useless lump of metal. Without electricity, your TV is just a blank picture, without electricity, your electric car won’t take you anywhere.
Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, he spoke to his followers and told them what their mission would be:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
It was mission impossible. How could this small band of men and women, who had no power in human terms, no education, not much money, no army, reach out to the ends of the earth with the message about Jesus. Especially in a world, that had rejected Jesus and had him crucified.
Jesus says they will be able to do this, because they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on them. That is what happened 10 days later. They were in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and Acts tells us:
“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2)
The word for Spirit, is sometimes translated breath or wind. It is something we do not see, but we do see its effects. Jesus told this group of powerless people, to be witnesses to the ends of the earth in a world that had me crucified. It was an impossible ask, but with the power of the Spirit, these people were transformed and so the good news of Jesus has spread to the ends of the earth. There are Christians in every nation.
For us today in Ramsgate, thinking about spreading the good news about Jesus to the people around us, who often seem uninterested and sometimes quite anti-religion, can feel like an impossible ask. It is, we cannot do it without the power of God, but by the Holy Spirit, we have the power of God in us, what is impossible becomes possible.
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So, the Spirit comes with a sound of rushing win on that first Pentecost, when the church first received the Holy Spirit. This was a special occasion, when people become Christians today, they receive the Holy Spirit, but don’t hear the sound of rushing wind. Nonetheless, the special events of that day were given as symbols of what Jesus was doing by sending the Holy Spirit upon them.
The rushing wind was a sign that God was sending power on them, but then there was another symbol: fire.
Everyone Involved – Fire on Every Head
“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)
Paper fire crowns coloured in during service – put them on your head… Place tongues of fire on each child’s head.
Again this only happened on this first special occasion, but it was done to show that the Holy Spirit came not just on a few special people, but on all of God’s people. What does the fire mean?
It is a symbol of God’s presence with his people. In Exodus, Moses met God speaking to him from a bush on fire, but on fire in a way that meant it did not burn up. When God spoke to the people of Israel after they came out of Egypt, he spoke to them from fire on top of Mount Sinai.
Now, however, the fire settles on each person. It shows that God is now with us as individuals, all who believe in Jesus have the Holy Spirit in them. That is how God is with us, that is how Jesus is in our hearts.
When I was nine years old, I was coming to Sunday School and learning about Jesus and growing to see how much Christians loved each other. One day a vicar came to my school and said, “Why don’t you invite Jesus into your heart?” That night I did and I had a real sense of God coming to be with me. It was by Jesus sending the Holy Spirit into my life. I did not see flames of fire or hear a rushing wind, but the feeling and sense was real enough!!
The fire is also a symbol of God’s power. It settled on every person there.
- Do you know how many people were together when the Spirit came?
In fact, Luke tells us that there were about 120 people together at that time, 120 who followed Jesus and probably had seen him after he was raised from the dead. The fire on each of their heads, shows that all of them had received the same Spirit, that they were all together given power by God to help fulfil the impossible mission to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
This reminds us that church is not just about the people who stand up at the front, like Peter did later on that day in Pentecost, it is about everyone working together. As I go on Sabbatical for three months, the churches I am responsible will continue to run and bear fruit, because I am not the church, we are the church!!
The fire on every head shows that everyone is involved!
Everyone Welcome – Speaking in Different Languages
The first amazing special sign that first Pentecost was the wind blowing. The second was the fire on their heads.
The third was that they all started speaking in different languages. Languages they did not know, but that the crowds in Jerusalem who were from lots of different countries, could hear them speaking in their own language.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:4)
To give us a feel for this, I wonder if there are people in the congregation that can say the following phrase from the end of our reading in their own language:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Act 2:21)
Albanian:
“Dhe do të ndodhë që kush ta ketë thirrur emrin e Zotit, do të shpëtohet”
Czech:
” a každý, kdo vzývá jméno Pánì, bude zachránìn.'”
French:
“Alors quiconque invoquera le nom du Seigneur sera sauvé.”
Spanish:
” todo aquel que invoque el nombre del Señor, será salvo”.”
Polish:
“Ka¿dy, kto wzywaæ bêdzie imienia Pañskiego, bêdzie zbawiony.”
German:
” Und es soll geschehen: wer den Namen des Herrn anrufen wird, der soll gerettet werden.”
In Old Testament times, the main point of being given the Spirit was for Prophecy. That seems to be the main thing that happens here, but again everyone is involved as everyone has received the Holy Spirit:
“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.” (Acts 2:17-18)
But more than showing that everyone is involved, it shows us that this is a message from God for everyone. In other words, everyone is welcome to become a follower of Jesus and discover a fresh relationship with God and the gift of eternal life.
We should celebrate the fact that as Christians we are part of a worldwide family, with people from every nation and every language. Although we are mainly white English in our churches here, let’s rejoice that we also have people from other nations with us to remind us that Christianity is not an English religion, it is for everyone in the world. In fact, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
- This reminds us of the impossible mission – to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. I wonder what groups that you come across, that you might consider to be the ends of the earth in terms of bringing the message of Jesus. What groups of people that feel different to us and we struggle to communicate with, might God be giving us power to reach out to and tell about Jesus?
St. Luke's Church Ramsgate 