Sermon – Acts 2: 1-21 – I Believe in the Holy Ghost

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – Acts 2: 1-21 – I Believe in the Holy Ghost

Easter 5

April 28, 2013

When Jesus taught us how to make and baptize disciples he said this, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). When the Apostle Paul wanted God's blessing to pour down on the church at Corinth he said this, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14). These statement indicate the belief of the early Church that God is present to us as three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Old Roman Symbol, which eventually became our Apostles Creed, was a training tool for new initiates to the faith to learn about the triune God we believe in. So far in our study of the Apostles Creed we have looked at what it says about the Father and the Son. Today we will being our look at the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Acts 2:1-21 ^NIV Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia 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!" ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." ¹⁴ Then 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. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, 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. ¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. ²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. ²¹ And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'

“I believe in the Holy Ghost.” This statement begins the third part of the Apostles Creed. By saying it we affirm that we believe, trust our lives totally, without reservation, to God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is holy, meaning it is of God. And it is God's spiritual presence with us today. The Creed uses the word “Holy Ghost”. “Ghost” was once an acceptable synonym of “spirit”, but no more. The word “ghost” conjures us images of everything from malevolent beings haunting houses to a friendly ghost names Casper. Since all of this gets in the way of our understanding of the third person of the trinity it is better to use the word “spirit”.

This is the second time the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the creed. The first time it referred to the Holy Spirit's role in the conception of Jesus. When Jesus was conceived Mary ensuring that he would be fully human, and the Holy Spirit ensured that he would be fully God. From this we understand that the Holy Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit was with Jesus throughout his ministry. It was present as a dove in Jesus' baptism, and it led Jesus during his forty days in the desert. Jesus told us that after his ascension he would send the Holy Spirit to us to stand with us until his return. And so the Holy Spirit is with us here and now comforting us, strengthening us, and causing us to grow in faith and as obedient disciples. It is through the Holy Spirit that we experience God's love and forgiveness. The Holy Spirit empowers us to understand the scripture we read. The Holy Spirit brings us redemption from our sins, and modifies our hearts to make us more like Christ.

After his resurrection, the disciples of Jesus obediently waited. As Jesus promised the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were clothed with power, and all selfishness and bigotry disappeared. One who had denied Christ the night of his arrest, was embolden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good new of his resurrection from the dead. The Holy Spirit ensured that the words Peter spoke that day were understood even by those who could not understand the language he was using. People who fled when Jesus was arrested were later empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel of salvation even in the face of official persecution.

So how would we know if the Holy Spirit is with us today? If we receive blessings from God we know these come from the Holy Spirit. If we are inspired, act unselfishly, desire to be holy, or want to do what is right then we know these desires come to us from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always with us, speaking to us, guiding us, strengthening us, and fulfilling Jesus' promise of sending a counselor who would walk with us, dwell in us, and guide us into the truth.

The Holy Spirit is also with us whenever we feel alone or overwhelmed. When we are in a hospital bed or a nursing home the Holy Spirit is there to comfort us, heal us, strengthen us, and guide us to our eternal home in Jesus Christ. When we have lost our job or a relationship has come to an end the Holy Spirit is with us, feeding us with hope in Jesus Christ. When attendance in church is dwindling and budgets getting tighter, the Holy Spirit is there to initiate renewal.

The Holy Spirit comes to free us from whatever it is the binds us and keeps us from God. Sometimes it needs to free us from church when it becomes bound by tradition and ceremony and is unable to accomplish God's mission on earth. When this happens we see a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit renewing the church. In the early 20^th century the Holy Spirit came into the church in speaking in tongues and prophecy. This led to the growth of Pentecostal denominations. Later, in the 1960s this same phenomena came into many of the main-line churches through the Charismatic Movement. And today we see the Holy Spirit at work in the rapidly growing churches of South America and Africa.

We need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our church today. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will bring the gift of forgiveness to all who confess and repent. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will illumine our reading of the Bible. We need to pray that the hymns we sing become a joyful noise to the Lord. We need to pray that words spoken by the Apostles, Prophets and Preachers will be more than just words, that they will be the word of God. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will transform and empower us to do God's work in the world. And we do pray these things in worship every week.

And so we know that the Holy Spirit is in us transforming us into obedient disciples. The Holy Spirit uses our prayers, our Bible studies, and our worship to mold us into what the God created us to be. What happens here is far more than some Bible teaching and hymn singing. This is the church, the creation of the Holy Spirit. We are God's people, and we are the leading edge of new kingdom coming to earth called the Kingdom of God. We are living at the beginning of the end of the age when the Holy Spirit will transform all of creation and Christ will return.

We cry out, “Holy Spirit come” not because we fear that the Holy Spirit is somehow absent. We make this cry acknowledging our own need to be filled with the Holy Spirit each day. We are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit and so we need to pray every day that we will be filled with the its power so that we may act as the children of God here on earth. Let us pray.

Holy Spirit come. Come down upon us. Fill our hearts with God's love and forgiveness. Be with us in worship to illumine the scripture and transform us into God's people. Use us in your transformation of the world in anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ. This we pray in the name of our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit come. Amen.