The Greatest Download Ever (Pentecost)

Hi everybody, it's good to have you with us today, online or actually live in church,

and to start by wishing you all a very happy Pentecost.

I realized that my education was incomplete when I heard one of my grandchildren say,

behind my back, hoping I wouldn't hear,

Granddad's got bingo wings.

I had no idea what bingo wings were, but slightly imagined it might have put me in the realm of Superman or something like that.

But no, apparently bingo wings are when the muscle in your upper arm starts to decay as you get older and the skin becomes a little more saggy.

That's what's called bingo wings.

As you know, if you spend any time bedridden in your life,

one of the things that happens is that your body starts to atrophy at quite a high speed.

In fact, you don't have to spend too long in bed before, when it comes your time to get out of bed,

the people in hospital have to teach you how to walk again.

But I want you to ponder a question on this Pentecost Sunday.

I wonder if you think that there's any danger whatsoever.

That given the church has not been able to express itself in its normal mode,

whether or not you fear that the church itself may have atrophied.

I wonder what you would say to the question as you reflect on this lockdown period.

I wonder what you would say if somebody were to ask you, how are you spiritually?

I guess most of you would use the language we nearly always use when somebody asks us a question like that,

and we'd say, oh, fine.

But is it?

Speaking personally, I found it really tough, despite the very best efforts of our church leaders to keep us in touch via this online content.

I found it really difficult to keep going.

I mean, one of the things I've noticed, and this may be just me,

but generally speaking, I have a high level of self-discipline.

But during lockdown, this seems to have fallen apart whatsoever.

However, I know that at the moment, much is being written and speaking to fellow ministers and people in churches.

There's a lot of fear around, and the fear can be expressed something like this.

What do you think the church will be like when we all come back?

It's an interesting question, and none of us can answer that question with any great certainty.

But this much we know, it won't be quite the same.

Well, I'm here this morning to tell you two things.

One is that whatever happens, the church will survive.

And secondly, I want to try and teach you this morning how it is that the church will survive.

What I want to say to you is very basic as to what will save the church.

Maybe the only thing that will save the church going forward,

and that is that we need a movement of the Holy Spirit within the church.

And surely there's no better day than we can talk about that than Pentecost Sunday.

But I hear you say to yourself, yeah, you know, yeah, the church definitely needs a move of the Holy Spirit.

But the church, of course, is people like you and me.

And I wonder if you own up to the fact that actually, in the light of this lockdown,

or maybe for the very first time,

it wouldn't be a bad thing if there was a move of the Holy Spirit inside you.

And of course, to admit that takes humility and courage,

qualities that very often we find difficult to lay hold of.

Our reading today takes us back to what has been called the birthday of the church,

the story of the church's first Pentecost.

A group of just 120 believers are gathered together.

They're in Jerusalem.

And after Jesus' ascension, I imagine there's a little fear and anxiety around.

Certainly, life had not been easy for Jesus in the immediate run-up to his crucifixion.

There's always the danger that the authorities in Jerusalem might take a dim view of these Christians

and do what they could to wipe them out.

I imagine this was a time of great uncertainty and fear.

I imagine the early disciples saying to themselves, now what?

Well, look, they were told certain things by Jesus.

And the amazing thing is, they just did them.

The first thing they were told was that they needed to stay in Jerusalem,

with all the attendant anxiety that went with that.

Second, they were told in chapter 1 of the Acts to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

But they weren't told how long that wait would be.

They were told that they would receive power from on high.

And then they're told that they would be Jesus' witnesses to the end of the earth.

Their response, of course, was to do exactly what Jesus had asked of them.

They did stay in Jerusalem.

And significantly, they prayed together, prayed constantly, says chapter 1 of Acts.

They waited as they'd been directed for that power on high.

And they did receive that power.

And they became multicultural witnesses.

In verse 11 of chapter 2, we read that people heard about the amazing works of God

in their own language.

I guess you come to an end of a reading like our reading today.

And maybe think to yourself, why is the church not what the church could be?

Or to bring it a little closer to home, why is my life with God not what it could be?

Why do I end up like St. Paul, doing the things that I want to avoid

and not doing the things that I really ought to do?

There's a simple answer to all those questions.

But simple doesn't mean superficial.

It's because we find it very difficult to believe that we can have a life in the Spirit.

That in the end, many of us in our modern society,

and maybe throughout the ages,

we do not live lives of supernatural empowerment.

Of course, big question there as to why that might be.

There are a whole number of factors that come into play.

Fear.

Maybe frightened that if I live life in the Spirit,

that people would write me off as some kind of weird religious fundamentalist.

Or unworthiness.

I imagine there'll be some people listening to this message at home or in church

who kind of think to themselves,

all this talk of the Spirit is not for people like me.

I'm too sinful.

I'm too unworthy.

Or it may be ignorance.

I was interested that when Paul wrote in Corinthians about the gifts of the Spirit,

he said,

we don't want you to remain in ignorance, brethren.

Maybe we just don't know enough about the Spirit.

Or indifference.

Somebody said that the attitude of a lot of Christians in the Western church

is simply whatever.

that kind of indifference.

Or faithlessness.

Or maybe we've had a damaging experience

at the hands of people who claim that they have been touched by the Holy Spirit.

Or maybe

we're growing a root of something destructive within ourselves,

like unforgiveness or bitterness.

I tried it before,

and it didn't work.

Somebody said that should be written

outside every Church of England church in the country.

And all this stuff, of course,

is highly damaging

because it means

that we will never be

what God wants us to be.

And I want to ask you today

whether or not you can rise above those things

that pull you down.

Are you willing

to do what's necessary?

And I want to

end by suggesting

what might be helpful

based on this reading

that we had in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Firstly,

I wonder if today

you would be prepared to commit

maybe just for two minutes a day

to pray intentionally

for the Holy Spirit to fill you.

Just two minutes.

Do you think you could spare that

and maybe

in your heart covenant with God

to do that?

Pray that God would fill you with the Spirit.

Second,

ask God to show you

the one thing

that holds you back.

Maybe an obsession with sex

very current

in our present society.

An obsession with sex

that traps you into lust

and a pornography addiction.

It may be that root of bitterness

or envy

or unforgiveness.

And maybe it is

that you need to start

to believe

that if you embrace

what God has for you

that your life

would be different.

God sent his Holy Spirit

to the church

interestingly.

Not that we might sing

a little more lustily

or wave our arms

or jig around in worship

or metaphorically swing

from the chandeliers.

Not that I have any problem

with any of that.

But God sent the Spirit

to empower

to empower you

in your Christian life

in your walk with God

to do what?

Well, the Bible teaches us

Romans 5

that

when the Spirit fills us

God's love is shed abroad

in our hearts.

It helps us to know

that we're never alone

that God is always present

with us.

It convicts us

of right and wrong

so that our Christian mind

is working well

and thus we can walk

more closely with Jesus.

And it gives us

a new confidence

with God

to believe that

with him

maybe

all things are possible.

And it fires up

our hearts

for witness.

I wonder

if today

you might be willing

to be open

for what God

wants to do

in your life.

I watch those

programs

on television

or those

card games

when there comes

a moment of decision.

Will you stick

or will you twist?

Will you take

the £64,000

home that you've won

or do you want

to answer

some more questions

and get

£128,000?

Do you want

to stick

with the hand

you've got

or do you want

to twist

and add

some more cards?

Will you stick

or twist?

Means do you want

to go further

or do you want

to stick

with what you

have?

I think that's

a very critical

question

for people

like me

and for people

like you.

And so

as we see

the finishing

post for lockdown

in sight

I believe

that God

wants

to ask

his church

us

do you want

to stick

or do you

want to twist?

Stick with

what you

have

or take

a risk

in order

that we

might experience

the abundance

that God

has for us.

there is

much talk

currently

in our

churches

about resets

and relaunches

and restarts

and I don't

criticize any

of that

in any way

but I put

this to you

that unless

there's a fresh

download

a download

of the Holy

Spirit

on the church

I think

much of what

we attempt

as we

so to speak

come out

of hibernation

or just be

flat

today

the day

of Pentecost

in our

Bible reading

we recall

the most

amazing

download

that ever

happened

that kick

started

the church

on that

first day

of Pentecost

and it

would be

hard to

argue

that today's

church

doesn't

require

a similar

download

so I

ask you

will you

stick

or will

you

twist

that

is the

question

let's pray

together

Lord

we

realize

that

the life

of your

church

has been

to some

extent

impeded

in these

recent

months

Lord we

want to

say that

we've missed

meeting

together

we've

missed

being able

to open

our mouths

in worship

and sing

praise to

you

we've

missed

coffee

with

friends

before

and after

the service

we've

missed

each other

and

Lord

we

understand

this

that

very

likely

coming

back

to

church

will

never

be

quite

the

same

as it

was

but Lord

we want

to pray

on this

Pentecost

Sunday

that it

might be

better

that we

might have

more of you

in our

lives

and you

might

have more

of us

and so

we pray

come down

O love

divine

fill thou

this soul

of mine

and visit

it with

thine

own

ardor

glowing

O

comforter

draw near

within

my

heart

appear

and

kindle

it

thy

holy

flame

bestowing

Amen