The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Scripture References
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The Valley of Dry Bones
1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Acts 2:1-21
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
The Hatred of the World
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. AMEN
Pentecost
Happy Pentecost everyone!
Today is a special religious event although we do not hide plastic eggs or put ornaments on a tree and downtown retail stores do not promote products for gift giving. In fact, I bet you just thought it was kind of bizarre when I greeted you with “Happy Pentecost.” This Christian holy day has not leaked into popular culture in any society today; however, this day is one of the most important Church events of the year. On this historic event we celebrate the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Today Is Pentecost Sunday… So, what is Pentecost anyway?
As you have noticed, on this day we decorate the Church in red to signify the tongues of fire that appeared over the heads of the disciples when they were filled with the Holy Spirit during the Pentecost Festival, as was read to us from the second reading today in Acts 2. Thus, since that point in history, this is the day when Christians around the world celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit… For those of you that might not know, I will give you a little background on this festive day.
In Old Testament times the Jewish people celebrated a holiday known as the “Feast of Weeks” described in Exodus 32 and Deuteronomy 16. This was a harvest festival celebrated by the Israelites, seven weeks after Passover… referred to by “a week of weeks”. The Jews would bring their “first fruits” from the spring harvest to the temple in Jerusalem during this festival to offer them up as a thanksgiving to God.
Times changed then during the New Testament era as the Greek language was becoming more prevalent among the Jews. This festival become known as “Pentecost”, which in Greek means “fiftieth day.” It was during this festival that the disciples gathered in Jerusalem, after spending the prior fifty days reflecting on the teachings of Jesus and the observation of His ascension into heaven.
That brings us back to this day of Pentecost, a week of weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, and the conclusion of the Easter season. We are celebrating the gathering of believers as sort of a “Birthday of the Church” reflecting on the Epistle reading from Acts 2 where Peter performed a number of activities characteristic of the earliest Church in which 3000 souls were added that day. Thus, the gathering of believers into the Christian community began.
Now as we continue the next few months of Pentecost, we will focus on our Lord’s teaching which He left to His Church to proclaim in all the world. We will review what Jesus’ life, death and resurrection mean to us in our everyday lives.
The Gift of The Holt Spirit
The gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the Apostles to start that process by a sound like the rushing of a great wind that filled the house where they were staying. Tongues of fire appeared above their heads. The Holy Spirit came upon them with the gift of power and strength, as they all began to speak in other languages. This miraculous ability to speak in different tongues give the apostles the tools necessary to announce the great saving work of God in Jesus Christ to all of the visiting people in Jerusalem, not only that day, but for days to come in the mission of building new Christian communities throughout Judea.
These apostles become God’s spokesmen with a special gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through the apostles preaching, healing and Baptizing, the Holy Spirit called believers into the Church of Christ. He gave them the blessing of breaking through the language barrier to reach out to all people and tell them about the forgiveness of sins through Christ and the promise of salvation. That gift has kept on giving through the world, gathering believers like you and me today.
I admit the events in the first Pentecost were quite unique in the history of the Church. What the Holy Spirit accomplished through those disciples back then… and what needs to be accomplished today to grow the body of Christ, however, are the same. Are we doing our part as disciples for Christ? What are we doing to preserve and grow the Church?
Just like back in ancient times, in our world today, we are bombarded with those who doubt the truthfulness of God and His Word. We constantly see false teachers trying to draw us away from the truth. Political authorities seem to thrive on division, rarely in favor of the Church. Pro abortion activists constantly express their hostility towards pro-life. Media leans hard to the left, thriving on the hatred in the world. Christians for centuries have been persecuted and that is what Jesus warns his Disciples.
Will Not Be Easy
In John 15 a few verses prior to the Gospel reading today, Jesus told his disciples that they would soon be facing rejection and persecution because of their relationship with Jesus, and because of the things they learned from him. Primarily, others would hate them because they knew truth the others did not know or refused to see. Sometimes truth breeds hostility.
Does this sound familiar? The Holy Spirit, just like the disciples at Pentecost, is calling us to do something about it. So… what are we going to do about it? Is this world beyond fixing?
It is easy to perceive we are in deep trouble, and there’s no way of fixing the world. A clear picture of getting in over our heads comes from Dr. Seuss. In his story The Cat in the Hat… two children are left at home alone on a rainy afternoon. They are moping around, bored to pieces, when suddenly a mysterious visitor arrives: a cat wearing a candy-striped top hat. The cat entertains the children by breaking every conceivable parental rule of indoor behavior.
Of course, the children have a wonderful time doing forbidden things, while the house becomes a complete shamble. Then, inevitably, mother returns. Suddenly the children notice the mess they have created, and they panic. They moan, “This mess is so big and so deep and so tall, we cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!”
And so, it seems when looking at our world, but Jesus said this would happen. John writes Jesus’ words again in chapter 15… Jesus tells His disciples what to expect: they would be hated in this world by those who hated Him first (v. 18). Jesus knew those who followed Him would face severe persecution. Here He assures them that the suffering they will face is not because of anything they have done wrong. In fact, it is because of what they have done right… Yes, it is because of what they have done right.
The world attacks Christ-followers because they “do not belong to the world” (v. 19). The world does not obey Jesus’ teaching and does not recognize Him as God. This we see clearly and know it’s a big mess, and we don’t know what to do about it. We gripe, we moan, we point fingers, and we wonder why someone else doesn’t do anything about it…. The question looms, “what are we going to do about it?”
In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus told the disciples that first, with the help of the Holy Spirit, they must testify about Him. We must never quit speaking of Jesus, even in the face of rejection (v. 27). Second, they must not be surprised or disheartened. As opposition increases to Christianity, we must realize that Jesus said it would be so as He said, “Remember what I told you” (v. 20).
Jesus physically left his disciples so the gift of the Holy Spirit would take over and guide them. Jesus gives us that gift as well. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is paramount in our daily Walk. The Holy Spirit not only gives us the strength to make it through the day, but He also guides us through every decision. Living a Spirit Filled life is the Christians calling. Living without the Spirit is a dead end.
The Holy Spirit Is Our Strength
This miracle of Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit is what holds the Church together today. The Holy Spirit invites us to pray for comfort and hope. The Spirit, our helper, does not give us over to discouragement, but strengthens us in our faith. He reminds us that Christ, our Savior from sin and death, holds us firmly in His grasp, and helps us hold firmly to Him. The Spirit does not give us over to uncertainty, but consoles us, confirming in us the belief that God’s Word is true and His promise sure. The Spirit gives us joy in the midst of grief, peace in the midst of fear.
The Holy Spirit will give us this power and strength like He did the apostles. All we have to do is place our trust in Him and not ourselves. We cannot do it alone.
Not being able to do it without the Holy Spirit is reiterated in Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones. The valley of dry bones. As God set Ezekiel down in the middle of this valley, He asked him this question…can these bones live? I can almost hear the rattling sound of these bones as Ezekiel watched in amazement, the divine words of his prophesy were effective, and the scattered, bleached bones were reconstituted into human form once again. But one thing was missing. There was no spirit in them. All Ezekiel had accomplished so far was to make corpses. Without the breath of the Spirit, they remained lifeless.
This wind or life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit was the same for the disciples at the feast of Pentecost. Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, they were helpless.
The Holy Spirit Is Our Life
The gift of the Holy Spirit gives us life as well, through our Baptism in His name. The dead receive life. We receive life through the promise of restoration through God’s word and unity in Christ’s Church, through the Holy Spirit. With this strength, like the disciples, we may not change the world… but we can change one life at a time, by overcoming the resistance and sharing the gift of the Holy Spirit with others.
Sharing this gift and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through others is the true gift of the Holy Spirit.
This precious gift of the Holy Spirit of Christ … “the key that unlocks for us the treasures of the Kingdom of Heaven.” With this gift we can grow the kingdom of God, not only within the Church, but with those on the left, those on the right, and anyone that has not heard about Jesus in this broken world. Proclaiming Jesus to others means the Spirit has been working through us. It means He has called us by the Gospel. It means He has enlightened us, and is still enlightening us, with His gifts. The gifts of the Holy Spirit.
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,
Amen