Sunday May 27, 2007

Come Holy Spirit, We Need You!
Joel 2:28-32

I. Introduction

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the Lord. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” (Joel 2:28-32, NIV)

These words from Joel were written almost 800 years before Peter quoted them on the day of Pentecost after the Holy
Spirit was poured out upon 120 believers.

He quoted them because the outpouring was so great that a crowd gathered and asked each other, “What does this mean?”

Peter testified that they were witnessing the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies and that Jesus Christ had now ushered in
“the last days” by giving to His people the Holy Spirit.

Let us look quickly at the passage in Acts 2 where this occurs:

“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.

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 them speaking in his own language.
7 Utterly amazed, they asked: ‘Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own 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?’

Do you know what one of my deepest cries to God is? That we here at Grace would experience such a deep and powerful work of the Holy Spirit that the community would be moved to say, “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 men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel…’” (Acts 2:1-16, NIV)

All of this occurred on the day of Pentecost – a holiday still celebrated by the Jews, but one that takes on a whole new meaning for the Christian.

And if you did not guess this already, today is Pentecost Sunday and this is going to kick off a series of messages on why
we desperately need to understand and embrace the Person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Before I begin to answer the question, “Why do I need the Holy Spirit?” let me give you a brief background on the history
of Pentecost.

Pentecost was originally an Old Testament festival beginning on the fiftieth day after the beginning of Passover. In the Christian calendar, it falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter. It was called the Feast of Weeks, and in the Old Testament was originally established as an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring
harvest (Leviticus 23, Exodus 23, 34).

By the early New Testament period, it had gradually lost its association with agriculture and became associated with the celebration of God’s creation of His people and their religious history. This adds significance to God’s pouring out His
Spirit on that day, as Pentecost is considered to be the birthday of the church – a new creation, so to speak, of God’s people.

By the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the festival focused exclusively on God’s gracious gift of Torah (the "Law")
on Mount Sinai. It continues to be celebrated in this manner in modern Judaism.

For Christians, Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the world. Yet, it is also a recognition that His work is done through His people as He pours out His presence upon them.

(Modified and edited from “The Church Year: Pentecost” by Dennis Bratcher. http://www.cresourcei.org/cypentecost.html)

II. Our Need for the Holy Spirit

We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit!

Now I realize that for some of you this conjures up fear as you imagine some sort of extreme manifestations of what that might mean.

And to be honest, sometimes there are some pretty weird things that occur when the Holy Spirit is being poured out upon people – however, the Holy Spirit is not going to make you suddenly fall down on the floor and cause you to roll around.

You may fall on the ground, but this is done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit.

My point at the moment is not to talk about manifestations – it is to encourage you to lay aside your prejudices towards
the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit and listen to what the Word of God says about the Spirit.

So, why should we strongly desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

A. Because God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20, NRSV)

The words “to be filled” are in what is called the second person plural imperative.

An imperative is not a suggestion – it is a command.

One of the reasons I don’t call the baptism or infilling of the Holy Spirit a “second blessing” or “a subsequent work of
grace” is because even though the experience of being filled or immersed in the Holy Spirit may occur after the initial
moment we believe – it is not optional.

I think we can be lackadaisical in our pursuit of the baptism of the Spirit because we figure that at least we have put our
trust in Christ and we think that means we have His Spirit in us somehow already, so why should we want more?

My response is, “Why would you not want more? What is holding you back? Why would we not desire to be totally immersed in God?”

With salvation we are set up for eternal life, but it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that empowers us for this life!

We will talk more about that in the future.

B. Because to hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit is to hunger and thirst for God.

You see, “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.”

But where is the Father? He is in heaven. “Our Father, who art in heaven…”

We also “believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father…”

But where is Jesus? He also dwells with the Father in heaven.

“When he (Jesus) had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
10 While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
11 They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up
from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” (Acts 1:9-11, NRSV)

But we also “believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with
the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…”

Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?... What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.’” (Acts 5:3-4, NIV)

Peter uses the title of God and the Holy Spirit interchangeably.

Where is the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth… You know him, because he abides with
you, and he will be in you. 25 I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the
Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have
said to you.” (John 14:15-17, 25-26, NRSV)

Where is the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is God with us.

If we want to know God, we must hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit of God.

And why would we not want to be filled or baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit?

III. Application

Pastor and author Tony Evans says:

One day I was in an airport rushing to catch a plane. I was sweating and puffing when I looked to my right and saw a man walking half as fast as I was, but going faster. He was walking on a moving sidewalk.

When we walk in the Spirit, he comes underneath us and bears us along. We're still walking, but we walk dependent on him.

How do you want to live the rest of your life – sweating, puffing, and struggling through life?

Or do you want to be carried along by the Holy Spirit?

We will still encounter difficulties and obstacles in life, but even as Christians we have a choice: are we going to try to work everything out for ourselves or will we be dependent on the Holy Spirit?

We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The urgency in my heart concerning our need is going to keep me talking about
the Holy Spirit for the next couple of months.

I want us to learn together as much as we can about the Holy Spirit.

Why? Because to learn about the Person of the Holy Spirit is to learn about God.

Will you take the journey with me?

If you have any thoughts, questions or input about our conversations on the Holy Spirit, please feel free to e-mail or talk to me.

It would help me if you would write your thoughts down as it may even shape the direction I go or at least let me know
what is of interest to you.

Let’s pray.