Inspiration

May 24, 2015 Romans 8:22-27 Inspiration Pentecost Year B Today is a special holiday for the church, but we don’t have to share this day with the world like our other days. No one knows what Pentecost is, I am sure that not all Christians even know what Pentecost is. And how much does a Penta Cost anyway. I got you – a Penta is a flower, and home depot likes to put them on sale at this time of year. But seriously, Pentecost is simply the birthday celebration of the church. The day the church was born. Jesus had promised that he would send his spirit to guide and comfort us. And on Pentecost, the spirit arrived. Pentecost is the festival of the wheat harvest. Jews from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem. But this Pentecost they came to understand one another, even though they spoke different languages. There was a spirit of unity and communication. In the old testament when they gathered to build Babel, God sent them a spirit of confusion, lest they get too arrogant. But on Pentecost, God reversed that spirit. Even today, we don’t speak the same language. And even in the church, we don’t always agree with one another. Pentecost is not about uniformity, but harmony. In the midst of our differences, we can still put Christ first in our lives. Our unity comes from the power of God amongst us. There is no one of us that possesses the power of God alone. Clergy need laity and laity need clergy. The musicians work with the sermon, and the pastor works with the choir. We have to understand that our unity is a gift from God, equally bestowed. The purpose of the church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in order to save souls. It is the Pentecost experience that gives us the power to do that. It is the churches birthday, because it is the day when we receive some very important gifts. But the gifts are not for us- they are through us- to be given to the world. Acts 2 quotes verses from the old testament book of Joel, where God says the I will pour out my spirit on all people. For Jesus, all people meant that there were no restrictions, no qualifications. All people meant all people. Whether it was the durg addict or the church mother, the young child or the middle ages woman, the sick or the healthy, the rich or the poor. God has a heart for all people, and God is doing whatever he can to save all people. The gifts of Pentecost are there for those who say that they are followers of Christ to have the power to bring salvation to any life and to any situation. Russ Blowers is a minister who is active in his local Indianapolis Rotary club. At club meetings each week a member gives a brief statement about his job. When it was his turn, Russ said: "I'm with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives in nearly every parliament and boardroom on earth. We're into motivation and behavior alteration. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There's not enough money to buy it.) Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead--I talk with him everyday." The church is the most amazing organization in the world! Russ Blowers The gifts of Pentecost are unity, understanding, power, purpose and inspiration. But we have to remember that the source of each gift is God. There is a pertinent dialogue in the sixteenth chapter of Judges. Delilah says to Samson: “Please tell me wherein your great strength lies” (v. 6). After three unsuccessful attempts to discover the source of Samson’s strength, Delilah renews her efforts. Finally Samson succumbs and declares his power is in his hair. You remember the rest of the story. He not only lost his hair, but he lost his strength. When we consider Christian ministry of all believers, irrespective of station or training, we must inevitably ask, where does the strength come from? First and foremost, it comes from God! “God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim. 1:7). And it up to each one of us to remember – that the power in our life to truly be effective in ministry comes from our relationship with God. I asked us to wear red, orange or pink, today –because I wanted each of us to realize that the flame of Christ is personal. It is about us, our life, our faith journey. Each of us is a unique flame for Christ. We should be on fire for Christ, each in our own way. We get power through the ways we life out our faith. The representations of the holy spirit is a flame, but it is also a breath. Each and every one of us has a unique breath inside of us. Recently, I ordered this device called a spire. It measures my breathing all day long. Then it sends messages to my phone to tell me whether I am calm or tense. When it senses that I am tense, it sends a message that perhaps I should calm down and take a deep breath. Spire means to breathe. To inspire is to take a deep breath in. To conspire is to work closely with, to aspire is to hope for something better, even spirit comes from the root word spire – which is the power within each of us to live and love with God. The breath is God’s mark upon us that God has a plan for us. Even scripture says to let everything that has breath praise God. Breath, wind is an important symbol of the holy Spirit and of Pentecost. And I want to encourage each of us to use this Pentecost to look at our relationship with God and to be inspired to new life, a new mission, a renewed spirit. This Pentecost, be inspired to conspire with God and aspire to a renewed sense of mission. Let the power of God’s spirit flow through you, and have a use your gifts in order to bring salvation to God’s people. More than any other holiday in the church calendar – Pentecost is about the here and now. It is not about remembering a time in the past, it is not about what happened 2000 years ago, it is about what is happening now. Each and every year, we have to rekindle the Pentecost spirit inside of us. We have to look at what is going on inside of us and what it going on In the world. What is God calling each of us to do about it. Every Pentecost is different. Pentecost is not about what God has done for us, it is about what God is doing through us. The spirit has to be born anew, we have to be inspired anew. God says to each of us – I have given you my gifts, now I want to see what you are going to do with them. A young artist, who was studying under a great master, came one day to the studio to beg for permission to use his master's brush. The request was granted, and with a singing heart the young man went away to his own painting, thinking that now his work would be much better. A short while later he returned with the brush, complaining that he could do no better with it than he could with his own brush. An assistant in the studio, hearing the young man's complaint, said to him: "Friend, it is not the master's brush you need, but the master's devotion, the master's spirit."—Sunshine Magazine It is God’s spirit, but it is our life that makes the difference. God is saying that the future is so much better than the past. But I am depending on you to usher in the hope of the future. I am depending on you to do greater things than what is now in existence. One of the most theologically sophisticated screenplay’s ever written is the one written by Steve Koren, Mark O’Keefe, and Steve Oedekerk for the 2003 film “Bruce Almighty.” When things happen in Bruce’s life, Bruce blames God and finally declares defiantly that if there is a God, God is a bad God. God is bad at being God. In fact, Bruce says he could do God better than God does God. So God surprises Bruce and says, “Okay, go ahead. You show me how I can do God better. So now it’s “Bruce Almighty.” Here’s the conversation: God: “You have all my powers. Use them any way you like. There are just two things you can’t do: you can’t tell anyone you’re God. Believe me, you don’t want that kind of attention.” Bruce: “And the other?” God: “You can’t mess with free will.” Bruce: “Can I ask why” God: “Yes you can! That’s the beauty of it.” The film ends with God saying to a frustrated and defeated Bruce: “The problem is that people keep looking up, when they should look inside . . . You want to see a miracle—-then be a miracle.” The gift of Pentecost enables each one of us to be a miracle . . . an ongoing incarnation of the presence of Jesus on Earth. You want to see Jesus? Then be Jesus. We have not had testimony time in a long time. I think next Sunday will be a good time for us to continue this conversation. I am telling you this week, so that people can think about what they will say. But I want us to testify about the presence of the holy Spirit in your life? How is God at work in your life, What is God calling you to do in the future, What are you up to in your life, that only the spirit can help you to succeed? I would encourage everyone to think about those answers this week, so that some will be able to share with us next week. That is the greatest gift of the presence of the holy Spirit, is the ability to witness to the presence of God in our lives. Finally, Waiting to Exhale A character in John Updike’s novel, A Month of Sundays, reflecting on his youthful experience of the church, says, "Churches bore for me the relation to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola; they promoted thirst but did nothing to quench it." The Holy Spirit empowers the church to be the agent of change in the world, a counter-cultural entity. The task of the church is to breathe in the Spirit and be inspired by the Spirit to act on behalf of God. But the church has been waiting to exhale far too long. As the Spirit of God flows into us, it also ought to flow from us in the way we treat one another, the way we speak to one another, in the way we treat others in our community, in the way we live out the new life we receive when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Staff, www.eSermons.com Let us pray this prayer Jesus, though you were of one age, you spoke to the ages. Jesus, though you lived long ago, you spoke words that continue to move, motivate, mature, and transfigured us. Jesus, though you were of Palestinian color and culture, you spoke to all cultures and colors. We thank you for your timeliness and timelessness. May the church that bears your name continue to reach out with love and compassion toward other members of the human family, no matter what age, culture, color, or context. –Leonard Sweet Children’s Sermon Human Rain Storm Activity This Activity is meant for Cub Scouts. Notes: This works great in a larger gathering. Instructions: The leader explains that a rain storm is coming but not to worry because it won't last long. If we listen, we can hear it come and go. Direct the scouts on the right side of the room to sit facing forward, but watch the scouts immediately to their left and do exactly what they do. Don't watch the leader or other scouts. Just watch that scout and listen to the sounds. Repeat the instructions across the room, having everyone watch the scouts immediately to their left, but keep sitting forward so the scouts on their right can see what they do. Then, the leader should stand at the left side of the room and tell those scouts on the far left to watch him. When the leader does an action, he should try to do it so scouts across the room can not see it. The leader does each of the following actions, and continues doing it until it has propagated across the room: • Rub hands together • Snap fingers • Clap hands • Slap thighs • Stomp feet • Slap thighs • Clap hands • Snap fingers • Rub hands • Hands on lap Extra illustrations…… A Harnessed Power Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Honda in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene; His presence was like "tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God's power. But He also works through the church--the institution God began to tap the Holy Spirit's power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power. Unknown The Cape of Good Hope Do you know that the southernmost point of Africa has for centuries experienced tremendous storms. For many years no one even knew what lay beyond that cape, for no ship attempting to round that point had ever returned to tell the tale. Among the ancients it was known as the "Cape of Storms," and for good reason. But then a Portuguese explorer in the sixteenth century, Vasco De Gama, successfully sailed around that very point and found beyond the wild raging storms, a great calm sea, and beyond that, the shores of India. The name of that cape was changed from the Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope. Until Jesus Christ rose from the dead, death had been the cape of storms on which all hopes of life beyond had been wrecked. No one knew what lay beyond that point until, on Easter morning Christ showed us. His disciples trembled in fear, even after seeing evidence of His resurrection. Eventually, Christ turns their Cape of Storms into a Cape of Good Hope with His appearance and the peace He brings. Pastor Buchs, Peace and Forgiveness The poet William Blake wrote a poem about Pentecost. Part of the poem says: Unless the eye catch fire, God will not be seen. Unless the ear catch fire, God will not be heard. Unless the tongue catch fire, God will not be named. Unless the Heart catch fire, God will not be loved. Unless the mind catch fire, God will not be known. William Blake An Amazing Organization Acts 2:1-11, vs. 6: And at the sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Object: A hand bell. [Begin with the ringing of the bell.] Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! How do you like that for starting a children's sermon? Did that get your attention? What does it mean to ring a bell like I just did? [Let them answer.] What do I want to happen when I ring the bell as I just did? [Let them answer.] That's right, I want all who are present to come together so that I can make an announcement, or tell everyone something that I think they should know. Do you think that would be a good way to do it? A long time ago people did it this way. A man might stand in the middle of the town, if it wasn't too big, and ring his bell, and when all of the people came together he would tell them something that he thought they should know. That isn't exactly what happened a long, long time ago, but it was pretty close. I want to tell you about something that happened in the world just after Jesus went back to live with his heavenly Father. I suppose you remember how disappointed the disciples were when Jesus left and returned to the Father. They were disappointed and afraid. Now, Jesus told them not to worry or be afraid, because very soon after he left, God was going to send someone called the Holy Spirit to them, and they would see more marvelous things happen than even the ones that Jesus did. Well, the disciples wanted to believe that, but they just couldn't. They were so afraid. Then one day, a large wind came to Jerusalem and it made an awful noise. The people were so afraid that they ran out of their houses and into the street. Even the disciples came out of their house where they were hiding and they stood outside with the people of Jerusalem and a lot of other people from a lot of strange countries that the disciples had never visited. This strange wind with the weird noise was kind of like my bell, because it brought the people together. But then even something stranger happened. People began to talk, and you can imagine what it must have sounded like. Everyone was speaking in their own language and they filled the streets with noise. Ordinarily, no one would have been able to understand anyone else, but on that day everyone understood what the others were saying. I told you that Jesus promised when the Holy Spirit came there would even be more marvelous things happen than had ever happened before. Well, this was just one of them. The Holy Spirit started the church that day, and he did it by letting everyone listen to Peter speak, and all of the people understood him. Three thousand people listened and joined the church on that first day, and the disciples believed that Jesus had kept his promise. God is still doing wonderful things like that, but the next time you hear anyone ring a bell, you think of the odd wind that brought people together on the birthday of the church.