Hope Lutheran Church
Manhattan, Kansas May 19, 2024 Acts 2 When it comes to serving as your pastor, can you guess what I struggle with the most almost every single week? It's writing a sermon and then preaching that sermon to you. So, I did a little introspection this week about why that might be. And here’s what I decided: Sometimes, I get in my head. I make it too complicated. I spend so much time trying to say just the right thing in just the right way and it freezes me up. I try to come up with just the right illustrations and just the right applications. I try to search for some idea or concept that seems new and exciting you’ll listen to what I have to say and hopefully come back again. And really, I know underneath all of it is some pride. And then I started to think about it a little bit more. I thought about how if this is something I struggle with, I’m willing to bet that some of you do too. I don’t mean standing up on a Sunday morning to preach a sermon. I’m talking about just sharing the gospel with some of the people that you know. Because I encourage you to think about that a lot. And I’m sure that that can be a scary thing to think about. I bet some of you are like me. You want to make sure you get it right. I bet some of you want to tell your friends or your neighbors or someone you work with, but you want to make sure you say and do the right thing and do it in just the right way. For people like us – for people who sometimes have some nerves or timidity when it comes to sharing the gospel, a day like today, Pentecost, is exactly what we need. Because at Pentecost, despite the miracle we see happening, despite the number of people who believe, everything is actually pretty simple. Because what happens on Pentecost? We see why anyone can share the gospel at all and then we see a couple different ways we can share the gospel. We see Peter give one of the first presentations of the gospel to people who didn’t believe or know it yet. And we see how he did it. And then we see how the church continued to share the gospel. And so today as we celebrate Pentecost, we’re going to focus on three things… KNOW GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS SPIRIT SHARE THE SIMPLE TRUTH OF WHAT JESUS HAS DONE LIVE AS GOD’S PEOPLE 1) KNOW GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS SPIRIT The Pentecost account starts this way: “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The people that are being talked about here are the Disciples and 120 of the earliest Christians. And after Jesus ascended, they had been happy to gather with one another for worship at the Temple. We heard about that a little bit last week. And that was good! It was great that they were openly and boldly willing to join in worship! That’s what God wanted them to do! He wanted them to be a community of people serving, worshiping, and praising God together. It’s just that that wasn’t all God wanted them to do. He didn’t want them to just sit back and wait for people to come to them. So what happens? Suddenly, there’s a sound like the rushing of wind. Suddenly, there are these tongues of fire resting on people’s heads. And they began to speak in languages they never learned or studied. Amazing thing after amazing thing is happening! But do you know what I think the most amazing thing is in all of that? It’s that the Holy Spirit filled them. I mean, just think about it for a second – the Third Person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, chose to take up residence in each of them. We can’t miss that this is why they could speak in those languages. We can’t miss that this is the reason Peter could stand up to give the sermon we hear him preach. It’s because the Holy Spirit was inside them. If we’re ever going to share the gospel, we need the same Spirit in us that was in them. We need God to give us his Spirit. And how does that happen? The disciples didn’t do anything. They didn’t invite the Holy Spirit in. Why does that matter? Well, it matters because all of us – those disciples then, us today, and people throughout history – we’re all like those bones that we heard about from Ezekiel. You remember what Ezekiel saw? Ezekiel was looking at a valley full of dried up, dead bones. And then the Lord came to Ezekiel with a question: “Son of man, can these bones live?” And Ezekiel answered, “Lord, you alone know.” And how did God respond? “Say to the bones, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” And then Ezekiel speaks the Word of the Lord to them and they live! Those bones are what all of us come into this world like. All of us are dead. And what can dead things do to help themselves? Nothing. What’s the point? The point is that there is only one person who can take spiritually dead things and give them life. God has to give us his Spirit that wakes us up and makes us alive. You and I have received the Spirit that God told Ezekiel would give life to those bones. It’s the same Spirit. You and I have received the Spirit that God sent to his disciples on that Pentecost Sunday. It’s the same Spirit. How? Through the gospel, the good news spoken to us in the Word. Through the gospel poured out to us and given to us in the Sacrament of Baptism and placed in our hands and on our lips in the Lord's Supper. We have been given God’s Spirit – the Spirit that allows us to believe all that Jesus has done for us and continues to do for us. That Holy Spirit now makes his home in us. We can know that God has given us His Spirit. And that means that we can… 2) SHARE THE SIMPLE TRUTH OF WHAT JESUS HAS DONE Only after Peter and the others had been filled with the Spirit were they able to share what they knew with people from all over the world. And here in Acts 2, we also get to see the content of what they shared. We see how they preached to these people. And it was by sharing the simple truth of what Jesus had done. “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.” And then we get a list of where all these people were coming from. And as the apostles begin to speak to these people from all over the world, what are the people hearing? They’re hearing them speak about “the wonders of God in their own tongues!” Of course, there’s some skepticism. Some people make fun of them. But how does Peter respond to the crowd? He stands up and begins to preach. And what’s the content of that sermon? How does he do it? It’s striking to me how simple it really is. Because all he does is three simple things: 1) He quotes and explains Scripture, 2) He shares God’s Law and God’s Gospel, and 3) He tells people about Jesus. That’s it! And the result? “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” Peter had shared a simple message and it caused the people to ask questions. And when they thought there was something that they needed to do, what did Peter tell the people? Did he tell them something complicated? No! Not at all! All he says is “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” That’s it. Know you are a sinner who needs what God wants to give you and be baptized. YouTube is probably one of my favorite social media platforms. Why? It’s full of people who take really complicated ideas and make them simple enough for me to understand. That’s kind of what I feel like Peter is doing in his sermon here. He’s taking something that could be difficult to talk about and explain, and he makes it simple. He shares what the Bible says. He talks about Law and Gospel. He tells people about Jesus and what he’s done for them. It’s so simple, but the result is amazing – 3000 were added to the church that day! Sometimes I think I get in my own way when it comes to sharing the gospel with people. But what if instead I did it like Peter did it here? What if that’s how we all did it? What if at the end of the day, we just pointed to people to Jesus? That’s how the Holy Spirit worked at Pentecost. And that’s how the Holy Spirit wants to keep working today. And I think that way of sharing the gospel works well with people who are wrestling with the big questions about life. I think that works really well with people who know something about God and Jesus, but maybe haven’t ever heard the full story yet. But I think for some people, it can be helpful to start in a slightly different place. Like with what we see happening at the end of Acts 2. Because there we see the Holy Spirit continuing what he started on Pentecost as the church… 3) LIVES AS GOD’S PEOPLE After Pentecost, the work of the Spirit wasn’t done yet. Sure, it didn’t happen with 3000 at a time, but it still says the church was growing. And how was it happening? “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” You see what’s going on there? How the Spirit was growing the church? It was happening as the believers were living in such a way that people from the outside were drawn in. They couldn’t help but notice that the believers were different from the rest of the world. I recently started reading a book for our Sunday morning Bible Study called “Joining Jesus on His Mission.” And I feel like this quote from the author gets at what we see happening in the days after Pentecost. (It’s kind of a longer quote, so I’ll put it on the screen.) “While some people may not be ready for the “Jesus-step,” they probably are ready for the “next-step” on the journey toward Jesus. And we need to remember, the “next-step” on their journey is as important as the final step on their journey to Jesus. What are the early steps people are ready for? Maybe for a friend who takes time to listen, a friend who’s not always in a hurry, a friend who’s authentic or has integrity or can be trusted. Each of these may be important steps along their journey. And with each step they become ready for the next step. Are they ready for hope? Are they ready to know they are not alone? Are they ready to know God has not forgotten them? Are they ready to hear their guilt can be forgiven? Are they ready to know there is a better way than what they have settled for? Are they ready for grace? If we listen, they will tell us. They may not use the literal words, “Will you tell me about hope?” But as they share their questions and worry and struggles, in essence they are asking us that very question. And when they ask us such a question, they are ready for us to be a friend - not a friend who is nervous and trying to remember the right answers, but a friend who is ready for a conversation.” The Christians were gathering where they always did and doing what they always did. But they did it in a way that others were drawn in, wanted to ask questions, and know more. And I’m sure there were people all across the spectrum who were drawn in. For some maybe this was their first interaction with Jesus and his people. Maybe others had been around for a while and seen some of the things that had been going on. And maybe this was the step they needed – seeing God’s people live as God’s people. So I’ll ask you – Can you be a friend who listens to someone who needs it? Is there someone going through something difficult and you can be the one there for them? Is there someone in your life that you could invite to join us here? And maybe living like that – those seemingly little things, seeing you living as God’s people – is exactly the step that person needs as they come closer and closer to Jesus. We might have some nerves when it comes to sharing our faith. But Pentecost lets us know that when we have the opportunity to share the Good News of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is in us and working through us. And that means we can point people to Jesus. And along the way, we live as God’s people in this world for others to see. God bless us as we believe and live out what started Pentecost every day of our lives. Amen! Comments are closed.
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