1.
Grace, mercy, and
peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. The message from God’s Word on
this day we celebrate The Day of Pentecost is taken from Acts 2:1-21 and it’s
entitled, “I’m Not Afraid of the Holy
Spirit,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Even as we
celebrate Pentecost today, and even though we believe in the triune God, some
Christians—maybe some of us—are afraid of the Holy Spirit. We’re afraid maybe
because we’re uncertain of who the Holy Spirit is and what he does. But
Pentecost, this day on which we celebrate Christ our dear Savior sending the
Holy Ghost, reminds us that We Don’t Need
to Fear the Holy Spirit. The 3000
believers on the first Pentecost didn’t fear what they were witnessing, and
neither should we.
3.
I think we
sometimes fear the Holy Spirit because we don’t know that much about him. We
know a great deal about the Father and the Son, but we’re almost ignorant of
the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the Spirit is called the “unknown member of the Trinity.”
Many Christians today are a little bit like that small band of isolated
believers whom Paul found in Ephesus and asked, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No,
we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). Even
today, many Christians simply don’t understand the role of the Holy Spirit in
their faith and life.
4.
The very name
“Ghost” or “Spirit” suggests something eerie and spooky. Adding to our fear are
the ways certain people act and speak when they claim to be under the influence
of the Spirit. We can all see on TV such services where people are screaming,
waving their hands, or passing out. We fear that the Spirit might cause us to
act in these strange ways.
5.
It reminds me of a
Halloween when a friend of mine dressed up as a ghost to answer the door. As
small children came to his house trick-or-treating and saw him, some were
absolutely terrified and ran away. In their minds, a ghost is an evil thing
that hurts people and is to be avoided. Unfortunately, some Christians carry
that same fear over to the Holy Spirit. They think of him more as some kind of
Holy—maybe, but still—Ghost. They fear what he might do to them or how he might
force them to act in out-of-control and embarrassing ways.
6.
Out of such false
fear, we at times may wish to ignore the Spirit or downplay his significance in
our lives. Ignoring the Spirit would be tragic, because the Church needs the
Holy Spirit as much today as it did on that first Pentecost. Each of us needs
his power and work in our lives.
7.
If we look at who
the Holy Spirit really is and what he does for us, we’ll no longer fear him. The way the Holy Spirit worked on that first
Pentecost is the same way he’s working today. On that first Pentecost, “[t]hey were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now
there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under
heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were
bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language”
(Acts 2:4–6). The disciples, when they
were filled with the Spirit, were not babbling incoherently. They were speaking
sensibly in recognizable languages. The Holy Spirit did not cause them to lose
control or to hop about. Rather, he filled them with courage, conviction, and
joy, empowering these formerly fearful men to stand up and tell the crowds
about Jesus—to announce that Jesus, whom they had killed, was risen and forgave
them unto eternal life. Three thousand heard, believed, and were baptized.
8.
The Holy Spirit
does the same thing for us today. We don’t have to be afraid he’ll cause us to
weep uncontrollably, babble incoherently, or lose bodily control. Emotionalism
isn’t the work of the Spirit. The Spirit won’t embarrass us or cause us to do
something silly or obnoxious. The Spirit simply tells people about Jesus. Talks
about Jesus. Tells us, tells others through us. About Jesus.
9.
Maybe you’ve
heard the old country song by Ronnie Milsap, “What a Difference You’ve Made in My Life.” If you listen to that
song you can think about the difference that the Holy Spirit makes in the life
of a Christian. It’s the Holy Spirit who brings us to faith in Jesus and an
understanding of all that he’s done for us. Jesus has died for our sins, risen
from the grave, and now lives eternally. He loves us, forgives us our sins, and
has prepared an eternal home for us in heaven. But were it not for the work of
the Spirit, we would not believe, be saved, or see heaven.
10.
If we ignore the
Spirit by staying away from God’s Word and Sacraments, there’s a detrimental
ripple effect. We not only weaken our own faith, but we also weaken our
churches. Rather, we should invite the Spirit into our hearts, homes, and
churches. Luke, the author of Acts, in later verses of ch 2, describes the work
of the Spirit in the church.
11.
First, the
Spirit-filled church is dedicated to the study of God’s Word. Luke wrote, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching” (2:42). These early Christians devoted themselves to the
apostles’, or biblical, teaching—the Word about Jesus’ saving work. This was a
learning and studying church. People of God today should likewise be in the
Word. Each Christian needs to study the Word alone and in the company of other
Christians.
12.
The second mark
of the Spirit-filled church mentioned in Acts 2 is fellowship. Our word “fellowship” translates the Greek word koinōnia, based on the word for common. What we share in
common is our faith in the one true and triune God. We have the same God as our
Father, the same Jesus as our Savior, and the same Spirit as our Teacher and
Comforter. Our common faith brings us together in mutual concern and care for
one another.
13.
The third mark of
the Spirit’s presence is worship. The early believers were devoted “to the
breaking of bread [that is, the Lord’s Supper] and the prayers” (2:42). The
spirit-filled church is a worshiping, praying church. I picture that in
worship, the people smiled, sang out, listened attentively, and participated
actively. They were happy to be there to hear the Word and receive the
Sacraments.
14.
A final mark of
the Spirit’s presence in that Acts 2 early church was evangelism, or outreach.
Acts 2:47: “The Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved.” Since God desires all people
to be saved, we are commanded to go into all the world with the Gospel message.
The Spirit empowers us for witness.
15.
You and I don’t
have to be afraid of the Holy Spirit. He will not embarrass us or cause us to
do anything outrageous or shocking. The Holy Spirit will lead us to apostolic
doctrine—the teaching of our Savior Jesus Christ, his cross and resurrection—to
loving fellowship, to authentic worship, and to compassionate outreach. We pray
for the Spirit to come to us now and make us into that kind of a Christian and
that kind of a church. Amen.
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