CMLC 2025-06-08 Sermon

Howdy. You know, when was the last time you wanted

to be understood, but you couldn't get your message

across? I had talked once before about a time

when I was trying to get a train ticket in China,

and a friend of mine told me about another teacher

that knew Mandarin fluently. I do not. I have

to try to learn one phrase at a time and try

my best to make sure I pronounce it correctly.

But this other teacher, he went up to the train

booth and he said, in perfect Mandarin, I would

need a train ticket to get to this other place.

And the man behind the counter said to him, sir,

I do not speak English. And then the man, a little

confused, spoke again in Mandarin and said, no,

sir, I'm not speaking English. I need a train

ticket to get to over here. And the man said

again to him, Sir, I told you, I don't speak

English. Until finally, the local Chinese national

behind the man had to lean around to the teller

and say, Sir, he is speaking to you in Mandarin.

It is not English. Please just listen. And then

finally, the man understood what he was trying

to say. Now, I find that fascinating because

that would be a person learning to speak Chinese

to a community that he wants to be able to communicate

with. But there I was, a foreigner, in this place,

trying to stumble my way around without really

knowing how to communicate. And I wanted to tour

some places so I got on a bus and I had tracked

out everywhere I needed to go, all the different

sites and everything, but the bus stopped and

changed buses. at a train, at a bus station.

And I had no idea which other one I was supposed

to get on. So I'm standing there staring at all

of these characters, not having any idea what

to do, and then a man next to me in perfect English

says, excuse me sir, where are you trying to

go? And this man, he had studied abroad, he had

come back, and he basically then spent the whole

rest of the day wandering around with me, looking

at the sights, and explaining everything to me.

in perfect English. See, in many ways that's

what it's like to be led by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit doesn't always make himself heard

with flashes of lightning or a booming voice

or something strange, but more often it's subtle.

A conversation with clarity. A question that

opens a door. A path of openness you didn't expect.

The day of Pentecost, It looked on the outside

like chaos at first. Tongues of fire above them,

rushing wind, a crowd wondering if the disciples

were drunk. And underneath the spectacle was

something miraculous. People from every nation

heard the gospel in their own languages. But

God wasn't just putting on a show for its own

sake. He was making Himself understood. And that's

the thing about Pentecost. Pentecost is for understanding.

Pentecost is a miracle that is meant for people

to understand what is happening. I spoke with

a friend of mine whose spouse had gone through

a stroke. And after the stroke, the difficulty

was that while he was speaking and saying what

was on his mind, what came out was completely

different. He thought he was saying exactly what

he meant to say, but the people around him couldn't

understand. And sometimes we wonder, is this

what it was like at the time? Is this what tongues

meant whenever they were sharing them at the

day of Pentecost? But Peter quotes Joel 2. And

he says, everyone who calls on the name of the

Lord will be saved. Joel 2 is saying, 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. Peter himself who

is there is explaining that the point is not

the tongues. The point is making sure people

can hear and understand. the Gospel. Because

who is this audience that was here? These were

people from the Jewish community that were spread

out all over the place, the Diaspora. But during

festivals, they'd come back to Jerusalem. They

were there to worship, especially on this day

of Pentecost. But they didn't speak the same

language normally. They had a common tongue.

But that wasn't their normal language that they

would speak. All of them had their own usual

dialect and language. But if you're trying to

explain to someone who God is, and you're trying

to make sure that they see that this Jesus is

fulfilling everything you'd been expecting, it

might be difficult to get it across in the common

language. But at that moment, as they are speaking

the normal way that they always would have, It

turns into the words that made sense in their

own language. See, it says later in that chapter,

they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching

and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and

to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the

many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

They weren't devoted to the signs and wonders.

They were devoted to discipleship. The signs

and wonders were great. But that wasn't what

they were doing every single time. What were

they doing every single time they got together?

Teach, fellowship, care for each other, pray

together. The crowd wasn't there to hear noise.

They were there hearing understanding. Peter,

filled with the Spirit, noticed that he doesn't

keep going on in the other language. What he

does... is he goes back to the common language

and then preaches. Because what was the point?

He tells them plainly who Jesus is and what he

has done, but also in a way that all the people

watching from the outside can understand too.

Because then 3 ,000 people were baptized that

day. Not because of the miracle they saw, but

because the message they understood. That same

spirit comes back again in Acts 10. Peter speaks

to Cornelius. And there's this Roman centurion

that's there. And Peter, he wasn't expecting

that moment or to have some miraculous revival.

He goes to share the gospel because he's not

supposed to. But it tells us in the chapter why

the tongues were used that day. It was to show

that the Gentiles were welcomed in as much as

the Jews. It was to make sure to show that they

were connected. Can anyone withhold water for

baptizing these people who have received the

Holy Spirit, just as we have? Peter asks. God

had used tongues the first time to make a point

of understanding. And he used it the second time

to welcome other peoples. Not for the miracle,

but for understanding and welcome. See, that's

the thing, is that as Paul ends up trying to

explain later the tongues and clarifying what's

really happening, he distinguishes what might

be considered glossolalia and xenolalia. No,

that wasn't a Hercules TV show from the 90s.

But the two terms are two different ways of looking

at what tongues might be. In Acts 2, They're

speaking in languages that people understand,

Xenolalia. But Paul is trying to explain glossolalia,

what people thought of as an angel language.

This idea was that, well, are you going to speak

in these other languages that people don't necessarily

understand when you are in the middle of worship?

We know that there are many people who see that

as an important part of their worship. But Paul

says that the tongues were meant as a sign for

the unbelievers. It wasn't what you do when you're

in the midst of believers making sure that everyone

is praising together and understanding the word

being explained. It was to make sure that people

in other languages could understand what was

being said. He says, he insists that in worship,

clarity matters more than charisma. understanding

matters more than the miracle. He says, I would

rather speak five intelligible words to instruct

others than 10 ,000 words in a tongue. But what

about the people who in worship are moved by

the Spirit to speak in tongues of angels? Is

that fake? I would say no, it's not. That seems

kind of contradictory to where you were going

with that one there, pastor. Well, there's a

real sense of being connected to the spirit,

but it might be something different than what

we're expecting. There are studies on the brain

that show that when a person is speaking in tongues,

it uses a different part of the brain than what

you would normally use for speech. It's not using

the frontal lobe in the same way that you would

normally talk. But it's also not being in a trance.

So something is happening. We can't explain it.

And when a person is in their own personal devotion

time, where they're just talking to God and listening,

this can be an amazing experience for a person.

To have this where they're saying something that

nobody else gets, but they do. It can be beautiful.

But Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13 one if I speak

in the tongues of men or of angels But do not

have love. I am just a clanging gong or a banging

symbol He reminds us that the goal is not the

ecstasy of the language The experience the goal

is that in love we want to communicate Love is

meant to reach others Love is meant to build

up the body. So while we can honor those who

have the experience of the glossolalia, the words

that sound like holy mumbles of speaking in languages

of angels, and even looking at the Azusa Street

revival and the Pentecostal movement, we also

want to ask, is it helping others to understand?

Because whatever we do, it must always be connecting

people to Christ. Because that's what the Holy

Spirit came to do. Not just to move in us, but

to speak through us. Public worship is meant

to be clear. But are we ready for that Spirit?

Jesus said in John 14 -26 that the Spirit will

teach you all things and bring to your remembrance

all that I have said to you. It's not about the

performance. It's about presence. The Spirit

helps us to say the right thing, in the right

moment, to the right person, not because it's

rehearsed, but because we were ready. Our hearts,

our minds, we have the Gospel ready to be shared.

I was hanging out at a discussion event. It was

a panel discussion, the theology by the pint

group that we'll oftentimes go to. I don't remember

the topic because I wasn't on the panel, so it

probably wasn't as interesting. But during the

break, there was a person who came up and said,

hey, I hear you're a Lutheran pastor. Can you

explain communion to me? Now, you don't normally

get easy questions like that. Why, yes, I am

a Lutheran pastor. I'd be happy to. But the funny

part, though, was that It wasn't someone who

needed me to read the catechism. It was someone

who needed to be able to explain it to a Baptist.

Which, being someone who grew up outside of the

Lutheran Church, I've had to do a number of times.

Because she was going to be marrying someone

who needed to understand what they were doing

together as a couple. And at that moment, I didn't

have anything planned or prepared, but I was

ready. Because I'd been in the Word. and God

was speaking at that point. Nothing flashing,

no thunder, no fire, just a real conversation,

but it opened a door, it built trust, and ended

up allowing me the opportunity to officiate their

wedding this weekend, and through it, to share

the gospel with many people who were there. There

was a time someone came up and asked me, what

if I told you that I had seen an angel? He expected

me to laugh in his face to shut down the conversation.

But I know that God can do miraculous things

whenever he wants. That's fine. Just not in contradiction

to Scripture. And so I said, well, I would just

ask you to tell me more about it. And he was

just stunned. Because the openness shocked him.

I told them, knowing Christ has made me more

open to people, not less. More open to letting

God work without assuming anything. See, that's

the Spirit at work. Not in grand speeches, not

in graceful responses. The Holy Spirit creates

the space for relationship, for connection, for

understanding. Not just trying to get every word

right, but rather, that the gospel is accessible

to everybody. And only by being ready with scripture

and an open heart can we share the gospel at

those times. Still not quite good enough to speak

millennialese, but can even millennials understand

each other? I don't quite get it. Don't even

get me started on Gen Z. That's not even English.

But to be ready, but let God speak. We must be

ready, but let God speak because we're not called

to force the gospel into every moment We are

called to be ready at every moment See first

Peter 315 says always be prepared to give an

answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason

for the hope that you have But do this with gentleness

and respect so we prepare reading praying asking

God what He's saying to us, talking with one

another, but not to control the Spirit, to say

things when and how we want, but rather to cooperate

with what the Spirit's already doing. Because

we're not about making the miracle happen, rather

we make ourselves available for when it does.

Because that's not actually even the true miracle.

What is the true miracle of Pentecost? It's not

the tongues. The true miracle of Pentecost is

not sounding like an angel, but rather 3 ,000

people came out of the grave into new life. 3

,000 people left sin, death, and the devil. Their

hearts, their spirits walled off against Jesus

were broken to let the spirit in. The true miracle

is that you had 3 ,000 people alive in Christ

that day and following Him. Because the world

around us, we know how hard their hearts can

be. We know how stubborn -minded they are. But

the Spirit changes hearts and minds when people

hear the Gospel. They're not converted because

of a tongue that sounds strange or something

that we would use in our own personal devotion.

They come... to know Christ when the Gospel connects

with them in their language, in their way, even

understanding how they think, and being willing

to communicate in ways that they will get. That's

the thing about this, is that the Gospel is meant

for us to find ways for people to understand.

But will you be ready to let God speak when it's

His time? Because the Holy Spirit speaks through

you. The Holy Spirit says what the Holy Spirit

will. I got a text message from somebody a few

days ago, and it was hurtful. And I was livid,

staring at my phone, wrote three, four different

texts back to it. And every single one of them,

it was this moment of saying, God, is this actually

something that you think would speak your word

to them? And I kept deleting them until finally

sitting down, and I felt like I knew what mercy

and love and forgiveness were laying on my heart.

So I did. And then because of that message, The

friend called up and explained what was really

going on, and I realized this person was hurting

much more than I ever was. And it not only communicated

what we both needed to hear, but strengthened

the friendship. Because it wasn't about my words.

It was about letting God speak when it was God's

time. So the question is, will you let God speak

the way He chooses? Even if it's unfamiliar,

even if it's not your comfort zone, even if you're

an introvert talking to an extrovert, even if

that's not what you imagined having to do, and

the pastor makes you greet everybody at the beginning

of worship. But will your heart be ready for

God? Because if you are, then you'll find yourself

saying the right thing at the right time and

in the right way, and you'll know it wasn't from

you. You'll know the Spirit speaking. When he's

ready because that's the miracle and that's the

mission is God raising people from the dead Speaking

when he will and we just get to spectate Thanks

be to God