“‘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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:17-21
Dear Faithful Seed Sowers,
It is my prayer that each of us grows in the grace of Jesus Christ and that we get so full of this amazing grace that we go in the power of the Holy Spirit sowing SEEDS of faith in our world. God’s love and grace are transformational, so get out there in your world and sow those seeds of faith!
God wants us to know His Ways and desires for us to be empowered by His “Ruach” Holy Spirit to live Holy lives, bearing much fruit in Him. Have you ever thought that God wants us to live a holy life? Salvation. Sanctification. Glorification. Three powerful words and three powerful life transformations. Salvation—we believe Jesus is God’s only Son, who died for our sins, then rose triumphant on the 3rd day. Sanctification—from the moment we are “saved”, we grow further and further into sanctification; being made holy in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, we take our last breath and we arrive in heaven—glorified. Triumphant.
So let’s start with a first “so what?” Holy. Are you trying to live a holy life?
In Ezekiel, the prophet gave these words to the Jewish people. “And I will put My Ruach —Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes and be careful to obey My rules.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
You might not know the name Angelo Dundee, but you have undoubtedly heard of Muhammad Ali, probably the most famous professional boxer of all time. For more than two decades, Angelo Dundee was in Muhammad Ali’s corner, literally. He was Ali’s cornerman! He is the one who made Ali float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. He also trained fifteen other world boxing champions. Angelo Dundee described his job as a cornerman this way: “When you’re working with a fighter, you’re a surgeon, an engineer, and a psychologist.”[i]
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have someone even better than a surgeon-engineer-psychologist in our corner we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third PERSON of the Trinity!
The disciples were told to “go and wait” for the promise gift that Jesus would give. One note that we should see is that the disciples were obedient, and they went and waited and waited and waited. They waited ten days and then whoosh the Holy Spirit came in like a mighty wind and tongues of fire filled the place and everyone who was in the room. In verse four we read these words from Dr Luke, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Luke 2:4)
The Greek word for “all” means “all.” All one hundred and twenty of those gathered were filled, which means in Greek to be “generously supplied or overflowing” with the Holy Spirit. After being generously filled, they then began to speak. The Greek word for speak is one of those present active verbs which means the act of speaking never stopped. The Holy Spirit filled them generously and repeatedly so that they could continue to speak over and over again.
Imagine with me that you have decided to go sailing. The problem is that you know next to nothing about sailing. So, you go to the store, and you purchase several books to find out what is involved. You carefully read them and then you talk to a veteran sailor who answers questions for you. The next day, you rent a sailboat. You examine it closely to make certain that everything needed for a successful sailing experience is present and in good working order. Then, you take your boat out onto the lake. Your excitement is at a fever pitch, though you’re also afraid. But you follow the instructions you have read, and the counsel received from the experienced sailor, and you launch your boat into the water. You carefully monitor each step and hoist the sail.[ii]
At that precise moment you learn a crucial lesson. You can study sailing. You might even be able to build a sailboat. You can seek from the wisest and most veteran of sailors. You can cast your boat onto the most beautiful of lakes under a bright and inviting sun. You can successfully hoist the sail. But—and this is a big “but”—only God can make the wind blow!
“You and I can study the Bible…. We can orchestrate a worship service according to biblical guidelines. We can do everything that lies in the power of a Christian man or woman. But only the Spirit can make the wind blow inside that service!
The power of the Holy Spirit was what enabled the disciples to continually speak about Jesus. It was the power of the Holy Spirit that put wind in the sails of the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. It was to power of the Holy Spirit that the birthed the church and on the day of Pentecost three thousand people were added.
So What?
At the closing of our reading in verses seventeen through twenty-one, we hear the quote from Joel that says that Holy Spirit will be poured on all people: Young men, old men, servants, men, and women, will prophesy. The Holy Spirit will show wonders in the heavens and signs below. But the promise is this: all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Greek word for “saved” means “to be rescued, delivered, healed, to keep safe, and unharmed.”
When I finally came to faith in Christ a verse from Romans eight forever changed my life. It was Romans 8:15-16 — “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you aslave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,“Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’schildren.” Romans 8:15-16
It was the Spirit of sonship that forever changed my life. What I heard was that God wanted to be my Father and I would be His son and he would be with me forever. Then verse sixteen said that it was His Spirit that would testify to my spirit that the presence of the Holy Spirit would never leave me. It was that promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit that forever changed my life. (January 1981)
Tesla. Chevy. Nissan. Porsche. Audi. VW. A dozen major carmakers are now building electric vehicles, and the market is expected to grow.
But there is a problem: The charging ports are all over the cars.
When you go to a gas station to fill up your gas-powered car, you can be pretty sure that you will pump gas into the tank from the side of the car, near the rear. But where do you put the charger into your electric car?
Could be the front. Or the back. Or one of the sides. Very confusing.
In Korea, the car-maker Hyundai recently embarked on a project of building public charging stations in Seoul, and they wanted to accommodate as many car brands as possible. According to Fast Company magazine, they tapped the consulting firm McKinsey to design a universal charger that would easily work with any electric car.
The result was the “Hyundai Hi-Charger,” and you will never guess what inspired its design. “Self-serve car washes,” says a partner at McKinsey. “They have the sprayer hanging down from the top and it kind of rotates around.”
Same with the Hyundai Hi-Charger. It has a beacon, featuring a glowing halo. The halo rotates and drops the charging cable in just the right spot, depending on the make and model of your electric car.[iii]
It is a universal charger.
The promise of Pentecost is that God is with us, always with us, and this is true for all Christians, not just those labeled Pentecostal or Charismatic. It echoes the promise made when Jesus was given the name Emmanuel, which means “God is with us” (Matthew1:23). The Holy Spirit is our Universal Charger, hovering above us and within us. Bringing us the healing, help, wisdom, knowledge and guidance we need, in every time, place, and situation.
Let me ask you again? Except let me word it a little differently: How are you doing allowing the HOLY SPIRIT (the universal charger) to grow the HOLY in you?
If we could only get a glimpse! We’ve been saved and sealed with God’s very own holy spirit. Maybe it’s a good time to pray?
”Holy Spirit, I want my life to grow in holiness. God has promised never to leave me, never to forsake me. Today, maybe show me just one thing I can do, just one thing I can say, just one thing I can read that will feed my spirit and grow my roots deeper in Jesus Christ. Amen.”
I’m praying for you. I pray for you each day. Do you know why I went into ministry? My biggest hope is to watch lives be transformed by God’s grace, love, and power!
Hey, sow a seed of faith in you today. Then go save the world.
See you Sunday.
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Dave
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