Confirmation

It's commonly thought, and certainly in the last 50 years, a lot of skeptics and critics of the Christian faith would have said that the world is becoming less and less religious.

As more people modernize and gain technology and advancement, that we would put away myths and superstitions.

But many scholars and folks who study this show us that the data says quite the opposite.

The world is rapidly becoming more religious.

Ecclesiastes 3.11 says that God has set in our hearts eternity.

He's designed all of us with this longing and this desire for us to encounter, to experience the divine.

However we define that, we have so much in this nation.

We are so powerful, so advanced, yet we're so bored and so empty and so hungry and so thirsty.

For the Christian, we teach and believe that this longing is ultimately and fully found in the person of Jesus Christ.

I love the author Pat Conroy, who wrote The Great Santini.

He once wrote,

I could not quiet that pearly ache in my heart that I diagnosed as the cry of home.

I'm 53 years old.

I've lived in nine homes.

And every time I drive up the driveway of my parents' house, I feel like I'm home again.

But I know that it's ultimately not the home that I long for.

Don't we all want to find home?

I thought it was interesting.

I walked in and saw the sign out there that said home.

We're all looking for community, for friendships, for relationships, for family.

This eternal longing is a longing that God has placed in our hearts to come home to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So if the world is becoming more and more religious, and people are more hungry and thirsty for home,

then I commend to you that the answer will be given on Pentecost Sunday that the Lord has sent to us his spirit.

And I'm supposed to do this in about 17 minutes.

So buckle up.

I want to show you in just a few brief moments the beauty of Pentecost,

the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing unity,

and the great telos of God's plan,

every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

So first, the amazing beauty and the timing,

the unique timing of this unique day of Pentecost in human history.

In the Old Testament, as Tommy mentioned from the outset,

there's this theme.

It's latent.

It's nascent.

Running through the Old Testament scriptures

that God will be our God,

and we will be his people,

and he will send to us the promise of his spirit being poured out.

We heard in the opening liturgy

the renewal of this promise through the prophet Joel

that God will send his spirit upon his people,

and young men and young women shall dream dreams.

And if you know the passage of dry bones from Ezekiel,

you see this promise of the renewing of God's spirit,

and at the end of it, Ezekiel writes about God,

my dwelling place is with them.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

Then the nations will know that I, the Lord,

make Israel holy

when my sanctuary is among them forever.

This is the great promise that we see coming

through all of scripture,

that God will be with his people.

Think about this.

What has God promised you in this life?

He's not promised you that all will go well with you in this world,

that your dreams will come true,

that the answers and longings of your hearts

will be met in the things and the events

and the circumstances of this world.

He has promised you this.

I will be with you.

And the way that he ensures you know this promise

is that he gives you his spirit.

So there's this festival in Israel,

this festival called the Festival of Weeks,

and every year people would gather in Jerusalem

50 days after the Passover Sunday.

That's the word Pentecost in Greek, 50.

So they would gather and they would bring sacrifices of new wheat,

new crops that have come up in the spring season

as a celebration that it is God who provides for them.

And this agricultural celebration of new wheat

was symbolizing it is God who brings newness of life

to his people.

And it was also tied to Moses giving the law on Mount Sinai.

So year after year and season after season

for hundreds if not thousands of years,

the people of Israel gathered together in Jerusalem

with this festival,

celebrating and being reminded of the newness of life,

the promises of God.

But at this festival, uniquely,

people had for some reason,

in God's providence, come from all over.

So who is here?

We heard a list that Aaron read for us.

Scholars and commentators have said about this list.

It represents the list of the known world nations.

So all the nations are here in Jerusalem.

We're representatives from them.

And Luke, the writer of Acts,

says that there's converts and there's God-fears.

Something very special and electric

is happening in the city of Jerusalem this day.

Back to the promise.

God would pour out his spirit upon all flesh.

Meaning we could know him personally

and intimately and relationally.

A relationship with God was no longer just speculation

or the activities of our mind,

but a reality of our heart.

It was personal.

So this year, this particular year in the history of Israel,

this particular time and celebration of the newness of life

and the first fruits

has now become the stage for the most powerful event

in human history,

the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Some say this is the birth of the church.

Second point.

Jesus had told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem.

Acts 1.8 says, he says to them,

the Holy Spirit will come upon you

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

So the 120-ish disciples waited

and they're waiting and they're waiting on the Holy Spirit.

And at the Festival of Weeks celebration,

this day we now call Pentecost,

God poured out his spirit on the disciples.

As the writer says,

when the day of Pentecost came,

they were 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 them.

And all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in other tongues

as the Spirit enabled them.

Before our theological and denominational minds

get tied up in these symbols

and these words and these concepts,

let's just simply see the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says,

if you love me, you'll keep my commands

and I will ask the Father

and he will give you another advocate to help you

and be with you forever.

The Spirit of Truth.

He says further down,

I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you.

This is the fulfilling of the promise of God

throughout scriptures.

And the Christian life that we teach

and that we strive to live

is simply a life trusting

and walking in the power of the Spirit.

We can often think that the Christian life

is lived by just what I do,

but it's a life lived in trust

and surrender to God.

On the contrary,

Jesus sends his Spirit to dwell in us,

not just by what we do,

but he sends his Spirit to us

to assure us that we are not alone,

to remind us that we are coming home.

You know, I think about all of the power

that we possess.

My cell phone has more information

within a click of a button

than the whole library of ancient Alexandria.

And yet we are the most disconnected people,

the loneliest people.

I hear it everywhere I go.

People say,

I'm looking for community.

We had the Comfort Man share yesterday,

and a number of them remarked

one of the reasons why they ended up here at Advent

is they found a home.

They found community.

If you're a guest today,

we pray that you'll come back

and find that kind of community.

The Father sends us his Spirit

so we are not alone in this life.

You are not an orphan.

Yesterday, Bayou shared with us

some of her story,

and something you said really stuck with me.

Of all the things that you have gone through

and the things that we have gone through

in this life,

we are reminded that Jesus was with us

through them all.

That is the work of the Spirit

assuring you,

you are not alone in this life.

Psalm 68.6 says that

God sets the lonely in family.

Romans 8 says

that if the Spirit of Him

who raised Jesus from the dead

is living in you,

He who raised Christ from the dead

will also give life to your mortal bodies

because of His Spirit

who lives in you.

He continues,

for those who are led by the Spirit

are children of God,

not orphans.

The Spirit you receive

does not make you slaves

so that you live in fear.

Rather,

the Spirit that you have received

brought about your adoption

to sonship.

And so by Him we cry,

Abba,

Father.

The Spirit Himself

testifies with our spirit

that we are God's children.

I'm not finished in Romans.

Listen,

He says that a little bit further down

in the same way.

The Spirit helps us

in our weakness.

We do not know

what we ought to pray for,

but the Spirit Himself

intercedes for us

through wordless groans.

And He who searches our hearts

knows the mind of the Spirit

because the Spirit intercedes

for God's people

in accordance with the will of God.

And probably the most famous verse of Romans,

and we know

that in all things

God works for the good

of those who love Him,

who have been called

according to His purpose.

The hardest thing for me

to believe

in my 53 years of life

is not,

is there a God?

But is there a God

who is good

and really working

through the circumstances

of this world

when I see the troubling things

that happen,

troubling things that happen

to us,

to me,

to believe that God

is actually at work

in all of these things,

takes a trust

in the Holy Spirit.

You're not alone.

The Spirit is poured out

so everyone can be filled.

And just to show off,

not because I'm a Greek scholar,

but one of the confirmands is,

the word filled

means present,

imperative,

passive,

and plural.

The Holy Spirit

is continually

or repeatedly

filling us.

We leak.

We need the Spirit.

It is imperative.

We are to be filled.

The Apostle Paul says,

don't get filled up on wine

or any other thing

that you want to substitute,

but instead be filled

by the Spirit.

It's passive.

I don't make the Spirit

fill me.

I surrender

and say,

Holy Spirit,

come

and have your way

with me.

A very dangerous prayer.

Lord,

have your way

with me.

And lastly,

it's plural.

It's not just for me.

It's not just for

super people

or leaders.

It is the filling

of the Spirit

for all

of God's people.

So God

pours out

His Spirit

on disciples

and He pours out

His Spirit

on people

from all over

the known world

at Pentecost.

But what else happens?

Let's look at Acts chapter 8

Acts 8 · chapter mention

for just a second.

Acts chapter 8,

Acts 8 · chapter mention

those who had been scattered

preached the Word

everywhere they went.

Verse 5,

Philip went down

to a city in Samaria

and He proclaimed

and he proclaimed

the Messiah there.

When the crowds

heard Philip

and saw the signs

he performed,

they paid close attention

to what he said

for with shrieks

impure spirits

came out of many

and many who were paralyzed

or lame

were healed.

So there was great joy

in that city.

Jump down

to verse 14.

When the apostles

in Jerusalem

heard that Samaria

had accepted

the Word of God,

they sent Peter

and John

to Samaria.

and when they arrived,

they prayed

for the new believers

that they might receive

the Holy Spirit

because the Holy Spirit

had not yet come

on any of them.

They had simply

been baptized

in the name

of the Lord.

Then Peter

and John

placed their hands

on them

and they received

the Holy Spirit.

Acts chapter 10,

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Peter began to speak.

He's with Cornelia

and he said,

I now realize

how true it is

that God does not

show favoritism

but accepts

from every nation

the one who fears him

and does what is right.

You know the message

God sent

to the people of Israel

announcing the good news

of peace

through Jesus Christ

who is Lord of all.

You know what has happened

throughout the province

of Judea

beginning in Galilee

after the baptism

that John preached.

How God anointed

Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit

and power

and how he went around

doing good

and healing

all who were under

the power

of the devil

because God was with him.

Jump down a little bit.

While Peter

was still speaking

these words

the Holy Spirit

came on all

who heard the message.

The circumcised believers

who had come with Peter

were astonished

that the gift

of the Holy Spirit

had been poured out

even on the Gentiles

for they heard them

speaking in tongues

and praising God.

See what's happening

in the book of Acts.

The disciples in Jerusalem

the disciples in Samaria

the Gentiles

jumped to Acts 19.

While Apollos

was in Corinth

Paul took the road

through the interior

and arrived at Ephesus.

There he found

some disciples

and he asked them

did you receive

the Holy Spirit

when you believed?

And they answered

no we've not even heard

that there's a Holy Spirit.

That's most of the church

it seems like some days.

So Paul asked

then what baptism

did you receive?

John's baptism

they replied.

Paul said

John's baptism

was a baptism

of repentance.

He told the people

to believe

in the one

coming after him

that is in Jesus.

On hearing this

they were baptized

in the name

of the Lord Jesus

when Paul placed

his hands on them

the Holy Spirit

came on them

and they spoke

in tongues

and they prophesied

there were about

twelve men

in all.

What is happening

is that God

was making

his promise

come true

through belief

and the filling

of the Spirit.

The book of Acts

gives testimony

that there is this

one holy Catholic

and apostolic church

and faith

and those

who believed

became witnesses

in Jerusalem

Judea

Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

This is the promise

of God

through the scriptures

and you

friends

by faith

are included

in that family.

Think of this

staggering fact

with me

for just a moment.

On Pentecost

there were about

120 people

waiting on the Spirit.

That was

2,000 years ago.

Today

there are more

than 2.5 billion

men,

women,

and children

around the world

identifying

in some way

with the person

of Jesus.

Feng Gang Wong

who studies

Christianity

in China

says,

in China

by the year

2060

the nation

of China

will be

a majority

Christian nation

and the largest

nation

with Christians

in the world.

God continues

to pour out

his Holy Spirit.

He is making us

witnesses

to the ends

of the earth.

There are

3 billion people

alive

who do not know

another living

breathing Christian

in this world.

Who will go

and preach

to them

the good news?

My last point

is this,

the effect

of Pentecost

is that

God is building

a people

for himself

as he's promised

through the scriptures

from every tribe,

tongue,

people,

and nation.

God is building

his people.

This is the impact

and the effect

of Pentecost.

What happened

2,000 years ago

is staggeringly

effective

even today.

In Genesis

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11

there's this

fantastic story

about people

then who wanted

to make themselves

great,

their name great

and they built

a ziggurat,

a tower

to ascend

on high

and God

scattered them

and confused

them with languages

that divided

and separated

them.

but here

at Pentecost

what's happening

is God

is reversing

Babel.

The world

is present

at Pentecost.

This is why

the world history

is one story

after another

of racial

hatred

and enmity.

No people

on earth

have clean hands

on this.

On Pentecost

day,

this is God's

answer to the

problem of enmity

between the races

and the nations.

The message

of Jesus

makes a new

people,

one family.

Tongues

even meant

everyone at that

moment could

understand.

A few years ago

at Church of the

Redeemer in

Greensboro,

we were reading

the Acts 2

passage and I

kind of slipped

a surprise on

people.

After about

the first two

verses,

someone stood

up in the

congregation

and they

started reading

aloud in

German.

And another

person about

three or four

verses later

stood up and

started reading

in Swahili

and another

one in Spanish

and another

one in Arabic

and this lady

who was visiting,

she was visiting

our church

first time ever.

She got up

from her seat

in the back

and walked up

to me and she

said,

they're speaking

in tongues.

You have to

get an interpreter

and make them

stop.

And I said,

the interpreter's

reading in English.

And she went,

oh.

And she

understood.

That's the

moment that

God made

clear to

every nation

his gospel.

Seven times in

the book of

Revelation,

the phrase,

every tribe,

tongue,

people,

and nation

appears.

Seven times.

Why so much?

It's as if

at the end

of the book

God is saying,

I want you

to understand

what I'm up

to in the

world and

with people.

Every tribe,

Fule,

every kin,

every clan,

every tongue,

glossolalia,

every language,

every people,

Laos,

every living

place where

people exist,

whether it's

a yurt in

Mongolia

or a high

rise here

in D.C.

And ethnos,

every race

coming together

as one

people,

one family,

no more

enmity.

Through the

spirit,

God is

reversing

Babel

and making

one big

beautiful

family.

You know,

we talked

today about

the goal

of diversity,

but diversity

is too low

a goal.

God is

interested

and committed

to a

family.

Psalm 133,

how blessed

it is

when brothers

and sisters

dwell in

unity.

God is

making a

family through

his spirit

of people

who love

him and

will be

loved by

him,

and he's

doing that

as we

become

witnesses

of his

gospel.

Let me

close with

this thought

to you,

Church of

the Advent.

Don't be

content to

find your

space

and have

a place,

although it

will be

amazing.

But see

this church,

this family,

for every

tribe,

every tongue,

every people

and every

nation,

believing in

Jesus,

filled with

his spirit

to worship

and to go

tell their

worlds

and their

neighbors

where to

find

home.

Would you

pray with me?

I invite

you just

silently to

think and

consider the

idea of

God filling

you with

his spirit.

And I

encourage you

just for a

moment,

in your

heart or

even with

your hands

physically,

just to

open them

and say,

come,

Holy Spirit,

and fill

me today.

We thank

you, Lord,

for the

promise of

your spirit

that you

give generously

and graciously

to all who

believe.

So fill

us that

we may be

witnesses of

you in

our day

and in

this time.

And we

thank you

for the

power of

your Holy

Spirit.

may you

receive

honor and

glory and

blessing from

our lives.

And we pray

this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

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