Pentecost

“Receive the Holy Spirit!'

 

Psalm 67 ^a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

1May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face shine on us— ^b

2so that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

3May the peoples praise you, God;

may all the peoples praise you.

4May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples with equity

and guide the nations of the earth.

5May the peoples praise you, God;

may all the peoples praise you.

6The land yields its harvest;

God, our God, blesses us.

7May God bless us still,

so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

John 20:19-23

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Concerning Spiritual Gifts

1Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, ^a and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ^b 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

12Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by ^c one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Acts 2:1-21

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues ^a as the Spirit enabled them.

5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ^b 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

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

Peter Addresses the Crowd

14Then 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. 15These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16No, 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.

18Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will prophesy.

19I will show wonders in the heavens above

and signs on the earth below,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

21And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ^c

The transforming power of God and more; John 14:1-10

Introduction

The theme 'The Transforming Power of God and More' is a theme that is too big for one sessions and possibly endless. However, from three of our scriptures I want to look and reflect at certain aspects and hopefully join them together a little. I think we often look at scripture in a fragmented sort of way rather than seeing it is all part of a whole from the eternal and unchanging God.

Looking at how God gives a vision for life to be transformed into what he has is no bad thing and takes us back to something we considered last week in Jesus statement in John 10:10, part of the Good Shepherd passage, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

We start by going back, again, to the prophet Ezekiel when he is taken into the valley of the dry bones.

1. National Resurrection and More - Ezekiel 37:1-14

Ezekiel parallels the time of Jeremiah. The latter was a prophet speaking to the people in Israel up to and during the time of the exile to Babylon. Ezekiel was one of those who was exiled and if he hadn't he would have been a priest in Israel. At the time he would have entered service as a priest God called and appointed him as his spokesman to the exiles in Babylon and as such he too fulfilled the role of a prophet. Some of us will be familiar with this passage from the song, 'dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones . . . ' and I can hear you singing along!

The exiles in Babylon, like many exiles, were away from their homeland in a form of lockdown with serious travel restrictions! As such, and well into an exile which was to last for 70 years, they were disheartened, dejected in many ways and wondering what the future held for them. They felt lost.

As we know God's Spirit. is never under travel restrictions or anything of the like and he takes Ezekiel to a desert with a valley full of dry bones where he is challenges Ezekiel about life and hope.
The picture itself looks a little absurd but, this is how the Lord can transform through His power.

The upshot of the passage is that God gives him a promise:

[12] Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. [13] Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. [14] I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

Exile did in time happen but, as the accounts show, it wasn't a triumphant second exodus with great victory and expectations. People returned from Babylon in dribs and drabs. It was hard and it took years for many aspects of life to get back into some kind of normal groove.

God, for his part, was looking at a lot more in their future. So, we go to our second passage

2. The Big Result of the more - Revelation 21:1-7

Again, as we read this it seems to be a bit impossible and perhaps just unimaginable. What we are being shown is the transforming power of God in full action restoring life to where he always wanted it to be - life in all its fulness - brimming over and overflowing. The end of the book of Ezekiel brings similar pictures of a fallen world finally set free from sin with all its consequences of death, sickness and decay.

3. The Way to the More - John 14:1-10

In the upper room on the night before the cross Jesus, among others things, outlines the plan of the ultimate exodus from exile where people were / are held captive to sin, decay and death.
The 'more' started with his resurrection after he paid the price for sin and dealt the death blow to death! Here in this part of the discourse some 'policy'!

1. I am going to my Father's house to prepare a place for you. Let's remember that He is speaking to His followers not the world at large. He assures them that having done that he will return so they can share with him but then he confuses them by saying 'you know the way'. Fact is they haven't much clue as to what he's on about at all and rarely did! Thomas speaks for them all and asks the question 'Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' which leads to the next declaration;

2. Me - v 6 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

That is the clearest sign you can ever have - want to get to God the Father then you have to come to Jesus. This is very exclusive - only me but, at the same time, totally inclusive because 'anyone' can come through him. There is only one way, there is only one truth and there is only one life, fullness and overflowing life which is intended and designed for us.

The exile in the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel happened because of compromise, syncretism, the taking on other gods in this instance alongside the Lord and therefore blatant disobedience - no other gods!

I will be there God and they will be my people - that was a cry from God through many a prophet and part of the declaration made in Rev 21.

Jesus confuses them again by his statement in v 7 - If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. What on earth, splutters Philip, show us the Father, that is all we need.

This is followed by what is, in my mind at least, a bombshell statement which in fact helps understand the rest of his declarations.

3. Again, Jesus has the boldness and effrontery to point to himself.

Catch up guys, you have been with me long enough, you should have the message by now: Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Pause, let it sink in - when we look at Jesus the son, we see God the Father

Hebrews 1:3
[3] The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

It ties right in with what Jesus says in this passage.

4. In v 10 Jesus fleshes it out - the Father is in me, I am under His authority and doing his work! Within hours he is on the cross and in a couple of days after that, resurrected. The price of sin is paid and final exodus starting with Jesus rising.

The transforming power of God kicking in with powerful force.

Conclusion

What about 'NOW'? In this in-between time, are we just kicking our heels or what? No:

God is at work in us personally, we are a new creation, we are indwelt by the Spirit and to bear the fruit of the spirit. God forgives our sin and is bringing new life, freedom, healing and restoration to us an within relationships. Life to the full, life that overflows!

Also, God is working through us personally and corporately: we are ambassadors for Christ, salt, light, harvest workers, called to serve and be in the Kingdom that is breaking in, and, if and when we can't be highly active, praying to the Lord of the harvest for the workers and for more workers that the Kingdom may be yeast in society leavening the whole lot.
I say it again, life to the full and life that overflows.

It's hard, it's challenging and we will continue to be dogged by sin and a sinful world.
Now, if I haven't given you enough to read, here's a little more. Jesus prayer for himself, his disciples and us at the end of the upper room discourse in John 17 from where he goes out and is soon arrested!

The transforming power of God! I have painted a little more on the big canvas. Pray and look to see more of the wonder of what is in that picture.

The folly of Pride

God humbles Nebuchadnezzar in order to show him that all he has comes from Him. 

Preached by Yannick Christos-Wahab on Sunday, May 10, 2020

Sunday 10th May 2020 Virtual Worship

Good evening my friends, here are the readings for tomorrow virtual worship,  Sunday 10th May 2020

Psalm 100:1-5
Psalm 30:1-12
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Revelation 21:1-7
John 14:1-10

See you tomorrow! 

Trailer VE day for tomorrow 8th May 2020

Trailer VE day for tomorrow 8th May 2020

I will be joyful in God my saviour!

Take me with you!

Habakkuk 3:17-18

COMMUNION WITH CHRIST SURPASSES THE HIGHEST FORMS OF EARTHLY JOY

The love of Jesus, communion with Him, is more wonderful than anything that earth can offer. 

This does not make sense to one who is not yet a Christian.

Do you find your chief delight in the Lord Himself? 

Not in the world, not in things, not even in the Lord’s people, but in Him.

Look up Psalm 16:11 and Habakkuk 3:17-18.

Find out more in Words of life ministries

Jesus-Christ, our shepherd!

1. The Shepherd and the Sheep

With the Good Shepherd passage ringing in our ears we may also be scratching our heads thinking 'that's a bit fishy, or rather woolly, as it doesn't sound quite right with our usual understanding of sheep. A shepherd may think something else but often we consider sheep to be rather silly creatures and that doesn't quite match the picture in John 10.

Remember - the sheep in the passage are middle eastern and somewhat different to those we are more familiar with and I speak as a Brit!

Back then - no enclosed fields, completely different breeds and unlike ours they are not driven but led and will wander along behind the shepherd and only now and again, wander off! I remember being on a beach in N Africa and a shepherd with his flock all happily wandering along.

Sheep were often named and at night they might well be in a small enclosure and again, sometimes, the shepherd would sleep across the entrance so he was effectively the gate as well as the shepherd!

2. The Shepherd and the Leaders

There are 62 references to shepherd and 60 to shepherds in the Bible and the majority of them are to do with the Lord or the leaders of the people!

Leaders in terms of: the king and his associates from Saul onwards, and also, the Priests in the Old Testament and, them and the Pharisees and other religious leaders in New Testament times.

The very first reference to shepherd is in relation to God in Genesis 48.

Biblically Shepherd is a huge and significant picture and this morning we have read two important OT passages on this theme:

Psalm 23 - The Lord's my shepherd
Ezekiel 34 where God castigates the leaders for gross dereliction of duty and care for the people & there is a parallel passages in Jeremiah

But in Ezekiel 34 we hear that The Lord will, once again, one day, take the role of the shepherd of His people.

3. The Shepherd and Jesus

When Jesus stands there with the Pharisees listening along with the rest of the crowd, and declares in John 10:11 that he is The Good Shepherd, he isn't picking up a quaint and familiar notion about shepherds and sheep, although he is doing that, he is drawing on a then 2000 year old theme involving God and his people.
He is declaring that this is who he is, the Good Shepherd, the rightful leader of the people of God and, the Lord himself.
Every time he says 'I am' it is emphatic: I, I am . . .

Let's consider briefly the following ideas from the passage in John 10:

- I am the gate - the only way into the fold and as such am also guardian of my flock
- The rest are false and charlatans, thieves and robbers - they are up to no good
- I know my sheep, they know me, I know there names, they hear me and follow my voice - it is a relationship
- They will not follow a stranger but run away - to be in Christ and be indwelt by the Holy Spirit is the best place to be - flee anything else
- I have come so you can have life to the full, actually, overflowing - this is what the shepherd and guardian of our lives wants for us, life that overflows with good things.
- Jesus, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep and it becomes more powerful a few verses later on in John 10:18 where he says of his life:

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up againHis death is sacrificed for us and taken up, again, for us!

4. The Shepherd and us 

Before the final and direct considerations I want to raise a link to something key in scripture, and not least the teaching of Jesus' which we have been considering, the Kingdom of God and the Kingship of Jesus. It lies under and alongside much we have thought about his morning and has bubbled up. Reflect on the lines of: the Shepherd King and the sheep that form the flock and the Kingdom.

Going more directly to this morning's theme, consider:

- How we, you and I relate to the Shepherd? Do we drop our levels of independence to depend more on him?
- How He provides for our every need - this governs our view and outlook on life and our lives
- How we stay true to him in all we are and do
- Staying away from that which damages our relationship with him and cause us to stray
- How we share in the role of shepherding and growing the flock: care / invitation / encouragement

Dear friends, have a blessed Sunday xxx

Jesus-Christ, our Good Shepherd!

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

Isaiah 43

1 But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush ^[1] and Seba in your stead.

4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.

5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.

6 I will say to the north, `Give them up!' and to the south, `Do not hold them back.' Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth--

7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.

 

9 All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Which of them foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things? Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, "It is true."

10 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

11 I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.

13 Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"

14 This is what the LORD says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians, ^[2] in the ships in which they took pride.

15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King."

 

(...)

25  "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.