St Mary's

Today Talk from Nigel

19th May 2024 - Pentecost

Good morning and welcome to this talk on the Holy Spirit. May we pray.

Pentecost is one of the four important events of the church calendar. Christmas, Jesus Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary, Good Friday, Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, He descended to the dead, Easter, on the third day, He rose again, and 40 days later he ascended to the father and 10 days later, Pentecost the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, empowering the church to carry out the great commission.

Every Christian is baptised with the Holy Spirit when they are saved. Every day there is a need to pray for the infilling and the anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so our cup is overflowing.

Acts gives the remarkable account of the spread of Christianity from Jerusalem to Rome. Luke sifts the evidence providing a model for church life and a missionary manual, that we can use today to enable this expansion to continue until the second coming of Christ.

Closer study reveals that the most prominent person in Acts, is the Holy Spirit and is mentioned 70 times in all. So perhaps we should call it the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

Luke begins with the first great event in the spreading of the gospel. The Holy Spirit came on 120 disciples in the temple as they gathered for morning prayers at 9 o’clock in Soloman’s porch.

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Wow, the power of God. The gift of tongues accompanying the outpouring, this was the reversal of God’s judgement in Genesis 11, at the Tower of Babel, at Pentecost God enabled the various nationalities gathered at the feast to talk and understand each other.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 

In Old testament times, God’s Spirit comes to rest on certain anointed individuals and for certain offices. The Spirit of God falls on prophets and teachers and craftsmen and Kings for specific ministries and bringing certain gifts. But those same prophets speak of a time when God will pour out his spirit to everyone.

¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “‘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.
¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹ And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

The Day of Pentecost is that very moment when God, poured the Holy Spirit out on the Church, and continues to do so this very day.

Over 3000 people responded in repentance and baptism and were added to the church. Many would later return to their home countries to spread the message, including Rome itself. Other events that followed in Acts.

Acts 6:7.So the word of God spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 9.31. Then the church throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

Acts 12:24. But the word of God continued to increase and spread.

Acts 16:5. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Acts 19:20. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

Now over 2000 years later the church continues to grow globally with 2.6 billion Christians worldwide.

This remains the faith of the Church, declared in the creed, I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Lord and giver of life, Who proceedeth from the Father and Son, Who with the Father and Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets.  We are anointed and filled with the Spirit of God, who calls us into life, gives us gifts, for Christian service and assures us of God’s presence in the different seasons of our lives.

Jesus had told His Disciples about The Work of the Holy Spirit, He refers to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate.

²⁶ “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. 

⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong, about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

20 years ago, we ran the Alpha Course here at St Mary’s . Four of the 15 talks were on the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit do? How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? How does God Guide Us? We need God’s help to guide us.

Given that we are willing to do what God wants us to do, God speaks to us and Guide us, using a combination of Commanding Scripture, Controlling Spirit, Common Sense, Council of the Saints and Circumstantial signs. The Alpha Course effectively explains how this comes together.

Being filled with the Spirit is not a one off experience. Peter was filled with the spirit three times in the space of chapters 2-4 in the Book of Acts. When Paul says “Be filled with the Spirit” Ephesians 5:18, he uses the presence continuous tense, urging them and us to go on being filled with the Spirit.

I hope this talk has not been over anyone’s head. The key fact is Jesus loves us. He loves the whole of creation regardless of faith, there are no barriers to His Love, His will be done, His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in Heaven. The whole of creation has God’s spirit within them, albeit a pilot light, God calls us to come and ask him to fill us till our cups are overflowing.

Everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved, sadly for many people that call is made far too late, they miss the joy of knowing and serving the Lord. But for many of us, we know why Jesus died on the cross, the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for thee, preserves our body and souls unto everlasting life, we know He conquered Death and rose again on the third day, He appeared to over 500 witnesses, and then ascended into heaven and is seated at the righthand of the father.  When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

So be inspired, how great is our God and what a privilege it is to walk in a relationship with him, to be loved by him and to serve him in our lives. It is the best, most rewarding, fulfilling, meaningful, satisfying way to live. Indeed it is here we find the answers to the great questions of life. All we have to do is ask, God will provide all of our needs, daily and for all eternity. That’s Good News.