Pentecost People

Romans 8:14-17
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferingsin order that we may also share in his glory.

When it comes to our faith, there are many aspects that can be difficult to understand, after all, that is why they call it faith.  But perhaps the most difficult part of figuring out our relationship with God is explaining, understanding, and listening to the Holy Spirit.  When I was younger I used to think the Holy Spirit made people faint after a preacher would touch them, and when I got older I thought the Holy Spirit made people talk in funny languages.  We have a pretty good understanding of two-thirds of the Trinity but the Holy Spirit is oftentimes not talked about simply because we do not understand it.  We don’t really understand what the Holy Spirit does or if the Holy Spirit is involved in our faith journeys at all.  This morning’s scripture offers us some insights to help us better understand the Holy Spirit and its relationship to our faith.

When we think of the Holy Spirit, extraordinary events like Paul’s conversion and Acts 2:3 when the tongues of fire appeared on the heads of the disciples are the cornerstone of how we define God’s work through the Holy Spirit.  God does work their miraculous events but He also works through the mundane.  In our scripture for this morning Paul wanted us to know that it is the Spirit that reminds us that we are apart of God’s family. Verse 14 tells us that we are God’s children which means we get to inherit all that was given to Christ such as peace, life, and righteousness.  Anything and everything in which God gave to Jesus, He has given to us.  This means that all that Christ was, we are too.  Everything that Christ experienced, is potentially ours for the taking.  From the miraculous to the mundane, we get to experience life as Christ did and that experience includes the Holy Spirit; it includes sharing in the glory of Christ and it includes sharing in the some of the pain and suffering of Christ as well.  The Holy Spirit always points to Christ, it works on us to strengthen our relationship with God through our faith.  We oftentimes stumble in our journey in our faith and this is when the Holy Spirit is at its busiest.  The Spirit works to overcome our own desire to be in control.  When we seek comfort in times of heartbreak and sorrow, the Spirit reminds us that Christ is seeking us like a shepherd looks for his lost sheep.  The Spirit reminds us that Christ’s forgiveness is at work in all of us.  When we stumble and struggle in our faith, it means that we have wandered away from our source of light, truth, and love but the Spirit helps us to get back on track.  Allow God’s spirit to work in you through both the miraculous and the mundane.  

The Spirit is a gift from God, sent to us to help us along our path.  I have found it helpful to think of the Spirit as a portable GPS device.  It guides and directs us in times of loneliness and when we are lost.  Some people think of the Spirit as a little angel that sits on one shoulder who tries to help you all the while battling with the little devil sitting on the other shoulder.  We can recall many different humorous expressions of this in either tv, movies or books.  While we may laugh at some of these examples it is important to remember that is truly is a battle.  Not necessarily between good and evil but more of a battle of our pride versus God’s will.  I am constantly battling this, thinking and I can do so much on my own without having to rely on God’s help and this is where God’s gift is there to help us.  This gift was given to us to make it easier for us to have a relationship with Christ.  That is the only goal of the the Holy Spirit to help us realize, maintain, and strengthen our relationship with Christ.  This morning’s scripture reminds us that we do not earn our way into being a member in God’s family, instead God adopts us.  Just like Christ’s love and death on the cross, the Holy Spirit is given to every single one of us whether we have a relationship with God or not.  Society explains away the Holy Spirit by calling it our conscience... This used to upset me because I thought it was just a way to explain away the workings of God, but now I just giggle and go on because I think it is funny that we have to try to justify that there is no way that God would do this, that we as humans could develop in a way that our brains could figure out right versus wrong, good versus evil is funny to me.  It is silly for us as humans to give ourselves that much credit.  Here is a quote from Martin Luther that kind of explains this: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith…”  Society can call the Spirit whatever it wants but we know that it is the Spirit that directs us down a path of righteousness, forgiveness, peace and love and ultimately it is the Spirit that leads us to Christ.  

The Holy Spirit is a gift, and like any other gift you can do with it whatever you choose.  There is no right or wrong way use the Holy Spirit.  Just as each of faith’s are unique, so too is our relationship with the Spirit.  The way the Spirit convicts me and talks to me is much different than how it interacts with each of you.  You don’t have to raise your hands during worship to know that the Spirit is with you.  You don’t have to speak in tongues to know that the Spirit dwells in your heart.  You don’t have to be a great evangelist to know that Spirit is acting in your life.  The way we think of the spirit is too specific and generalized.  I bet the Spirit is very active in most of your lives and you don’t even know it.  As you leave here today, I encourage all of you to be Pentecost People which does not mean you can run up to someone at work tomorrow, touch them on the forehead and say, “the power of Christ compels you!!” and see if they faint...  On a serious note, be Pentecost people which means know that the Spirit is active in your life, know that it is God who is helping light your path and be thankful for such a wonderful gift.  Do not be afraid to let the spirit be involved in your life, we have a tendency to turn away from things we do not understand and that is how I approached my understanding with the Holy Spirit.  For a while I turned my back on the spirit because I did not like raising my hands in worship and I thought it would make me do that.  I had a friend who went to a Pentecostal Church and they spoke in tongues and I did not really want to do that either so again, I rejected the spirit.  But now I know better and neither of those things have happened to me but what has happened is that my relationship with Christ and my faith has gotten stronger since I have been more open to listening to the Spirit.  This morning, I encourage all you to do the same.  Allow the Spirit to move in and around you.  Listen carefully to what it is telling you and do not be afraid of letting the Spirit work in your life.  And if the spirit is moving you to make Christ your Lord and Savior you may do so here today.  You may come forward if you are so moved but you may also stay seated to accept Christ’s loving mercy and grace but whatever you choose to do, do not be afraid of letting the Spirit lead you where it may this morning and forevermore.  Amen.