1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,920 Pentecost is the celebration and remembrance of the gift of the 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,600 Holy Spirit. Jesus had promised his 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,000 disciples, I'm going away. We read this passage. 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,320 He says you should be glad I'm going away. 5 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:17,520 When's the last time you were glad someone was going away? 6 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:22,920 I mean, if I had been hanging out with Jesus, I would not have 7 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,840 been glad that he was going away. 8 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:29,200 I was like, this is not good. I've, I've staked my life on 9 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,280 being with Jesus as one of his disciples. 10 00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:37,200 I left everything to follow him so that I can have all of him, 11 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,200 just as we sang earlier. And Jesus said to his disciples, 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:45,120 you should be glad that I'm going away, because if I don't 13 00:00:45,120 --> 00:00:49,720 go away, I cannot send to you, the advocate, the spirit of the 14 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,760 truth, the one who will be with you. 15 00:00:53,160 --> 00:00:56,480 He says I cannot send him unless I go away. 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,280 And so he's fulfilling his promise. 17 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:03,800 Today in the life of the church, we celebrate Christmas, we 18 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:13,120 celebrate Epiphany, we celebrate Lent, we celebrate Easter, we 19 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,360 celebrate Ascension Day, Jesus ascending into heaven. 20 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:21,000 And so now we also celebrate ascension, not ascension, but 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,240 Pentecost of him giving the Holy Spirit. 22 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:30,320 God showing up. The Holy Spirit is God showing 23 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,560 up among us. This is the promise of Jesus. 24 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:40,360 We're going to read from Acts chapter 2, the experience of the 25 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:47,320 disciples receiving the Holy Spirit and what that was like. 26 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:49,720 They had gathered in an upper room. 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:57,000 They had been in prayer together, 120 of them in a room 28 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:04,520 together, men and women waiting and praying to receive the gift 29 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:10,320 that God had given them. And so this is how they 30 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,280 experienced it. When the day of Pentecost came, 31 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:17,960 they were all together in one place. 32 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:23,880 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came 33 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:28,000 from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 34 00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:33,600 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated 35 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,560 and came to rest on each of them. 36 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,960 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 37 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,440 in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 38 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,080 Now they were staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from 39 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:53,760 every nation under heaven. When they heard the sound, a 40 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,880 crowd came together in bewilderment because each one 41 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,960 heard their own language being spoken. 42 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,320 Utterly amazed, they asked, aren't all of these who are 43 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:10,880 speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us 44 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,440 hears them in our native language? 45 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:21,280 Parthians, Medes and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea 46 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:26,000 and Cappadocia, Pontius and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, 47 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,200 Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene. 48 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,920 Visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans 49 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:40,160 and Arabs, we hear them declaring the wonders of God in 50 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:46,280 our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, they asked 51 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:55,920 one another, what does this mean for the disciples in that upper 52 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:58,520 room? They've experienced what we call 53 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:03,160 a theophany. A theophany is God appearing 54 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:09,160 Theo, God phony to appear, God appearing. 55 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,640 Throughout the Old Testament, we have lots of occasions where God 56 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:19,640 showed up in a theophany. Some of them were quiet, some of 57 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:25,360 them were just an accompanying person with Abraham and Sarah. 58 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:32,360 But on other occasions it was as if God was present in a storm of 59 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:39,520 wind and fire, or God was present in the wind, God was 60 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:43,400 present in the fire. And so we want to look at those 61 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:47,040 two metaphors that are present in the language of Luke in 62 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:51,720 trying to understand how God has appeared in this passage. 63 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:58,480 The Spirit he speaks of as a wind, a rushing wind, like the 64 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:06,280 breath of life. In that moment when the day of 65 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:10,000 Pentecost came, they were all together in one place, and 66 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:16,480 suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came 67 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,640 from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 68 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,280 Notice Luke is very careful in his language here. 69 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,280 He didn't say, and our robes were blowing in the wind. 70 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:37,880 He actually says there is the sound of a rushing wind. 71 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,640 That's what they were experiencing, an audible sound 72 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:55,440 that rushed in among them. The wind or the breath of God as 73 00:05:55,440 --> 00:06:01,760 a sound, as a reality, is present at the very beginning in 74 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:07,400 Genesis. In Genesis 1 it says that the 75 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,360 Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 76 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:18,200 The Spirit of God was present in this creation moment, stirring, 77 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:24,040 creating a wind in that moment. In chapter 2 of Genesis, it says 78 00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:29,520 that God breathed the breath of life into this inert body that 79 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:35,040 he had made from the dust an Adam, an earth creature, and 80 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:43,440 then God came and breathed the breath of life into a Dom. 81 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:50,120 This same word is used of the Spirit of God, this wind in 82 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,800 Exodus. The Spirit shows up in the 83 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:58,040 liberation of God's people when they're cornered at the Red Sea 84 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:02,280 and Egypt and Pharaoh are angrily pursuing them. 85 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:05,840 The people are in a panic about what they're going to do, and 86 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,800 Moses prays and God tells him to raise your hands in the wind 87 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:16,240 parts the Red Sea, blowing and creating away for them. 88 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:21,080 The Spirit of God is involved in creation, in the bringing of 89 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,680 life, and in the deliverance of his people. 90 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:29,520 In that moment, it is as if the people of God from Egypt are 91 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:35,840 born again as a new people. Paul would later use that 92 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:41,880 language to say they were baptized in that moment as they 93 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:47,400 crossed over from Egypt into the wilderness to become the people 94 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:53,440 of God. Job had an experience of God 95 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:59,000 speaking from a storm with a great wind that was present 96 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:03,320 there. And then Ezekiel, he had perhaps 97 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:07,280 what is one of the most famous experiences of the Spirit of 98 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:14,640 God, where God shows him a valley full of dry bones. 99 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,320 The hand of the Lord was on me, Ezekiel says. 100 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:22,600 And he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in 101 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,560 the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. 102 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:31,600 How many of you would be happy in that moment to be in a valley 103 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,559 of Boones? You'd be a little spooked out. 104 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,840 I know some of you don't even like to go walking where I love 105 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,720 to walk. I love to go walking in the 106 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,520 cemetery here in Vancouver. It's huge. 107 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,080 It's a park. It's where Vancouver goes to 108 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:51,240 remember, and it's a great place to walk. 109 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,680 But I know some of you have said, Craig, I'll never go for a 110 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:59,120 walk there with you because you don't want to go in a valley of 111 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:04,920 death, in a valley of bones. The language here is that which 112 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:12,360 is dried up, disconnected. And the Lord, it says, asked 113 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,200 him, Son of man, can these bones live? 114 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:21,680 And I said, Sovereign Lord, you alone know it goes on in that 115 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:27,000 moment to say that God told Ezekiel prophecy to the bones, 116 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,920 preach to the bones. Have you ever felt like you were 117 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:39,760 talking to dry bones? I met a pastor once. 118 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:41,840 His name is Fred Smith, quite famous. 119 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:45,960 He was on an airplane, and we were talking about his 120 00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:47,880 experience as a seminary professor. 121 00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,320 And he says, yes, I teach preaching. 122 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:52,040 And I said, well, what is that like? 123 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,040 You know, I've been to seminary and but what is it like these 124 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,400 days? And he says, oh, you know, one 125 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,240 of the things I do is that I have my students go to the 126 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:08,000 cemetery and preach. I'm like, really? 127 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:12,280 He says, yeah, if they can learn to preach to dry bones with 128 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:17,240 passion, they can learn to preach because that's what 129 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:18,480 they're going to do every Sunday. 130 00:10:21,680 --> 00:10:24,160 So Ezekiel prophesied to the bones. 131 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:32,000 He preached to the bones, and it says that they began to move and 132 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:36,640 come together, and the sinews and the ligaments and the 133 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:44,760 muscles and skin, it all came together, but there was no life 134 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,360 there. Then he said to me, Prophecy to 135 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:52,640 the breath, prophecy, Son of man, and say to it, This is what 136 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:58,640 the Sovereign Lord says, Come breath from the four winds, and 137 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:01,400 breathe into these slain, that they may live. 138 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:07,920 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them, and 139 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:13,200 they came to life and stood on their feet, a mighty army. 140 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:18,200 Wow. What Ezekiel saw in that moment 141 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:25,480 was the Spirit of God bringing life to those who were dead. 142 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:33,080 Later in that same passage, God says I will send my spirit to my 143 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:40,360 people that they may live. This is what the breath of God 144 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,520 does. And so it's fitting that in 145 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:48,720 trying to explain this experience, Luke says in Acts 2 146 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:54,040 that they heard the sound of rushing wind. 147 00:11:55,360 --> 00:12:01,440 Do you know, hearing is another theophany, another experience of 148 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:07,760 God appearing, and it's it came after the great catastrophe in 149 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:13,840 Genesis chapter 3, where death was now enlarged in its impact 150 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,400 on Adam and Eve on creation itself. 151 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:22,880 Death itself had gotten a grip through the lies of the devil, 152 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:33,160 and it says that the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord 153 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:39,240 God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 154 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:46,200 What did that sound like to hear God walking in a garden? 155 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:56,360 What had been the sound that they love to hear now became one 156 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:07,120 they feared, and they feared God, and so they hid from the 157 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,560 Lord God among the trees of the garden. 158 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:19,960 Have you ever been afraid and hid to hide yourself? 159 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:25,880 Maybe you hide in the open because you're afraid about the 160 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:28,800 true condition of your heart and life. 161 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:36,400 They hid among the trees, but the Lord God called to the man, 162 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:42,080 Where are you? And he answered, I heard you in 163 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,800 the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked. 164 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:51,000 So I hid. And God said, Who told you that 165 00:13:51,000 --> 00:14:03,410 you were naked? The sound is the theophany, the 166 00:14:03,410 --> 00:14:08,120 sound of the rushing wind. And the sound of the rushing 167 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:13,880 wind of God is not one that's meant to stimulate fear in us, 168 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:22,760 though we have lots of reasons for being afraid of shame, a 169 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,760 fear of the future. Oh, I don't know if I want God 170 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,800 to have that much access and truth of my life because He 171 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:31,960 might send me somewhere I don't want to go. 172 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:36,240 He might 'cause me to have to speak to people I don't like. 173 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,520 He might I I've heard all kinds of reasons. 174 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,280 He might take something away from me. 175 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:49,840 But God comes to breathe life again. 176 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:55,080 Why did God seek Adam and Eve in this moment to bring life to 177 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,560 them again? Why did God send the Spirit like 178 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:05,000 a rushing wind to bring life to His disciples who were hiding in 179 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:12,280 fear? The doors were locked in fear, 180 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:21,640 but the Spirit of God came like a rushing wind to breathe life 181 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:28,240 into them and to animate them, so that the church was born at 182 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,760 Pentecost. But the Spirit of God also comes 183 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,800 as a fire. It says that they experienced 184 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:41,240 the Spirit of God as tongues of fire, as the fire of God. 185 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,160 Notice it says they saw what seemed to be tongues of fire 186 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,640 that separated and came to rest on each of them. 187 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:53,440 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak 188 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,640 in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 189 00:16:00,040 --> 00:16:03,920 I would be anxious if I saw fire floating in the air. 190 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:09,280 What an experience. Luke is trying to describe what 191 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,720 he heard from the disciples in their experience of God in the 192 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:19,560 gift of the Spirit. But the theophany of fire is one 193 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:23,560 that's also present in the Old Testament, and one that had been 194 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:31,000 prophesied by John the Baptist. Moses experienced the fire of 195 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,960 God when he was in the desert, having run 20 years earlier away 196 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,680 from Pharaoh and away from Egypt. 197 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:45,440 Now in the desert, Moses was a shepherd and he saw a fire, a 198 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,560 burning Bush, and he makes his way towards it. 199 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:52,520 And the most mysterious thing about it was that the Bush was 200 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:58,680 not consumed. There was fire, but the Bush was 201 00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,960 not consumed. And then he had a word that 202 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:07,440 spoke from the Bush to him that said, Moses, take your shoes 203 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,800 off, for the ground you're on is holy. 204 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:19,040 The holy making fire of God was present in that moment. 205 00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:25,480 This is the theophany of fire and God appearing, making holy, 206 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:38,080 setting apart, purifying. In Exodus chapter 13, God's 207 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:44,280 presence with Israel was a pillar of fire leading the way, 208 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,760 and if the pillar of fire stopped, they stopped and made 209 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,480 camp. If the pillar of fire moved, 210 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,480 they moved with it. This was God appearing. 211 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:01,120 But in Exodus chapter 24, when God is getting ready to give His 212 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:08,240 word to Israel, Moses and the elders who went up the mountain 213 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,200 had to give a word to say God is a consuming fire. 214 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:19,040 Do not come up here if you have not consecrated yourself for 215 00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:23,400 this moment and God is seen as a consuming fire. 216 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,000 It's almost that refiner's fire that's referred to by the 217 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:34,560 prophets, burning out the dross from metal so that it's 218 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:40,440 purified. In Genesis chapter 15, God shows 219 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:44,280 up as a fire in the night, a torch and a burning pot to 220 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:48,800 establish a covenant. And so that fire was this sense 221 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:54,960 of the presence of God. Again, setting aside Abram and 222 00:18:54,960 --> 00:19:01,280 his family for the purposes of God in both in in Psalm chapter 223 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:06,040 18, David refers to both the wind and the fire as the 224 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:14,880 judgement of God. So when this appeared, when the 225 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:20,280 Spirit came, the prophetic word of John the Baptist about Jesus 226 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:26,360 is being fulfilled. John the Baptist says I baptize 227 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:30,480 you with water for repentance, but after me comes one who is 228 00:19:30,480 --> 00:19:35,080 more powerful than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. 229 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:41,000 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 230 00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:46,520 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear the 231 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:51,320 threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning 232 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,640 up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 233 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:01,280 Therein is this judgement. Picture that that when the fire 234 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:07,800 of God appears, it is both a gathering and a separating. 235 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,160 Have any of you ever harvested wheat? 236 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:20,600 Anybody harvested rice? You have to gather it up and 237 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:24,080 separate the kernels from the rest of the plant. 238 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:28,000 The kernels of rice and wheat are what you want. 239 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:33,160 The rest of the plant is chaff. It's not needed. 240 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:37,480 The wind could blow it away, or you could gather it up and use 241 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:45,640 it as fuel for the fire. And so this is the picture of a 242 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:50,000 harvesting with fire. He's going to baptize with the 243 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,280 Holy Spirit and ultimately he will harvest with fire. 244 00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,400 And so it's really interesting to me, the tongues of fire are 245 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:11,640 described and they're set in motion as an army to speak, not 246 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:19,720 an army with a sword, but an army with a tongue that can 247 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,840 speak the truth from a purified heart. 248 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:35,000 This is the birth of the church. Yeah, Go back and do that one 249 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:41,200 when God examines his church and an ultimate judgement. 250 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:49,080 Paul used this theophany of fire to remind us to be careful about 251 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:54,520 how we build, how we build on this foundation of Christ in our 252 00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:58,120 life. And he says no one can lay a 253 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,320 foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus 254 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,680 Christ. If anyone builds on this 255 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:08,040 foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or 256 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:12,760 straw, their work will be shown for what it is because the day 257 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,760 will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, 258 00:22:17,040 --> 00:22:22,120 and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. 259 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:29,560 It's almost as if he's saying, look, the Holy Spirit comes 260 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:35,840 among us as a truth burning fire, and we get a little taste 261 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,840 of it now by the Spirit in our life. 262 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:43,160 The world should get a little taste of it now by the presence 263 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:49,600 of the church at UBC in your faculty in Vancouver, in Canada, 264 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:53,880 across the world, wherever there are believers in the church 265 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,360 that's present, the Spirit of God should burn as a word that 266 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:08,280 brings truth and truth that illuminates how we are building 267 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:14,160 our lives because of the presence of God among us. 268 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:21,360 The Spirit of God is trying to do that work to breathe life 269 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:29,080 into us and to purify our lives and to set us free to speak. 270 00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:37,480 Some of you are afraid to speak because you believe yourself 271 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:41,280 disqualified because of sin in your life. 272 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:49,960 You hesitate to speak because sin still grips your life. 273 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:59,160 The flesh still has its way, and God comes like a burning fire, a 274 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:03,560 consuming fire. The writer of Hebrews says to 275 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:09,600 liberate your life, your heart, and your tongue so that you can 276 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:13,000 speak. Look what happens to those 277 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:17,440 disciples. The Spirit of God is empowering 278 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:22,560 them to speak to the nations. And now there is not a sound of 279 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,680 the rushing wind. There is the sound of many 280 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:33,000 tongues speaking many languages all at once as 120 people rush 281 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:38,400 out of that house into the streets and begin to preach. 282 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,440 And people are astonished. Well, they are speaking my 283 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,440 language with a Galilean accent. I remember when I was trying to 284 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,680 learn French when I first came to Canada, I thought I'm going 285 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,920 to be a citizen of Canada. I should speak both official 286 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:02,080 languages of Canada. And so I got a set of cassette 287 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:08,240 tapes on how to learn French. And every morning I would push 288 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:14,040 that button and it would have me parrot back the French. 289 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:20,480 Ultimately, Ellen said this is destroying my peace in the 290 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:28,840 mornings. And I did not learn French, but 291 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:34,600 my friend Pierre was exploring Jesus and he was from Quebec. 292 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:39,880 And so I got a French and English New Testament and we 293 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,640 would sit and we would read the Bible and he would say, oh, read 294 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:45,920 to me in French. And so I would read to him in 295 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,800 French and he'd say, you have an accent. 296 00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:56,080 But on this day, all those listening to that 120 preachers 297 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:00,880 speaking multiple languages, languages they didn't know said, 298 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,520 how is this? You speak with a Galilean 299 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,520 accent, You're speaking my language. 300 00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:10,880 And this is what I hear. I hear you declaring the wonders 301 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:16,040 of God in my language. And this was the sign of the 302 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:21,960 presence of the Spirit, communication that touched not 303 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:28,240 just the head, but the heart, and announced the glory and 304 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:34,600 beauty and majesty and awesomeness, the wonderness of 305 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:38,920 Jesus Christ. This is what the Spirit of God 306 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,360 is meant to enable. All of them were filled with the 307 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:46,680 Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues as the Spirit enabled 308 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,360 them. Now that we're staying in 309 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,520 Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 310 00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,720 And when they heard the sound, a crowd came together in 311 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:59,920 bewilderment because each one heard their own language being 312 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,680 spoken. It's all as if the Spirit 313 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,560 functioned that day as a universal translator. 314 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:10,920 Why? Because the universal love of 315 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:16,360 God had been expressed in the person of Jesus Christ, in the 316 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:21,360 work of Jesus Christ at the cross, in His death, His burial, 317 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:25,720 His resurrection and ascension, the universal love of God had 318 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:34,880 been expressed for all. It includes all who will make 319 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:40,040 the exclusive claim of their own life that Jesus is Lord. 320 00:27:41,640 --> 00:27:46,800 This is the move of the Spirit of God to enable you to 321 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:52,520 communicate, to talk, to speak, and for some of you to learn 322 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:58,520 languages, to learn culture so that you can intermingle with 323 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,720 others and share the gospel of Jesus. 324 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:09,600 You become Google Translate because it's translated not just 325 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:13,520 by the words of your mouth, but the very life of the sincerity 326 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:17,640 of your love for Jesus and for His Church. 327 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:25,160 When we surrender to Jesus, He fills us with His Spirit. 328 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:31,320 This is what He's promised. Those 120 disciples had been 329 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,200 preloading surrender into their life. 330 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,000 They were open for God to do something. 331 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:52,440 They were open for the gift and Spirit of God to arrive, and 332 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,720 when He did, He had full reign in their life. 333 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,520 He fills us with His Spirit so that we can know Him. 334 00:29:01,040 --> 00:29:04,880 He fills us with His Spirit that we can become like Him. 335 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:09,760 He fills us with His Spirit so that we can join Him in His 336 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:13,800 mission. This is the very mission of 337 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:21,520 Origin Church, is it not? We joyfully invest in 338 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:28,160 relationships to spark, do you hear, to spark a life journey 339 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:36,280 with Jesus. We are the theophany of God most 340 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:40,360 often utilized by God these days. 341 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,520 We are not secessionists who believe somehow the Spirit of 342 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:49,520 God and the gifts have stopped. No, we believe they continue the 343 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:54,920 promise of Joel to to Israel that their sons and daughters 344 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,600 would prophecy. We still believe. 345 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:04,080 We still believe that all the gifts of the Spirit operate with 346 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,920 men and women who have surrendered their life to Jesus 347 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:11,920 so that they may invest in relationships and spark a life 348 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:14,800 journey with Jesus. And this is what a life journey 349 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:17,800 with Jesus looks like. I want to get to know you more, 350 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:22,280 Lord. I want to become like you, Lord. 351 00:30:23,200 --> 00:30:25,760 I want to join you in your mission. 352 00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:36,760 Come Holy Spirit, come in a moment we are going to celebrate 353 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,480 the ultimate in the theophany of God. 354 00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:46,600 The God appeared in the person of Jesus Christ in flesh and 355 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:52,160 blood, and the invitation to the table is open to all who would 356 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:57,440 confess their faith in Christ. He is Lord. 357 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:04,880 The invitation to receive the bread is to remember the body of 358 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:09,000 Jesus broken for us. The invitation to receive the 359 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:13,560 cup is to remember His blood was poured out for us, for the 360 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:18,720 forgiveness of sin, and to establish a new relationship 361 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:22,360 with us and all who would believe. 362 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:29,400 And it's His Spirit that animates us in the ministry of 363 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:37,680 both Word and Spirit, like Ezekiel, we could have a lot of 364 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,760 words. We can have a lot of words. 365 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:45,600 And it appears that they have a impact. 366 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:49,400 Oh, people got together. Look at the crowd in this 367 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:53,520 valley. But there was no true life there 368 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:59,360 until the Spirit came. And you have been invited not to 369 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:04,320 a ministry of just words or acts of service. 370 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:09,600 You have been invited to a ministry of the Spirit as well. 371 00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:16,160 Are you learning such a life? Are you learning such a life of 372 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:24,400 dependence on the Spirit of God to empower the words and service 373 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:29,160 of your life? That's the question for us to 374 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:32,760 hold in this moment before we receive the Lord's Supper. 375 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:34,080 Let's stand together.