Stories of Discipleship: Empowered by the Spirit
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
June 21, 2009
I must
confess I’ve had a little anxiety about this first
sermon with you. After all, it’s important to make
a good first impression. I even labored over picking the
Scripture text. I didn’t want to pick anything that
was too controversial or hard-hitting, but I needed to say something
that would have some real meat to it. I even had a nightmare
about this sermon. In the dream, as I began to preach, most
of the congregation got up and left. They didn’t seem
upset; they just seemed to have other, more important things to
do! Making matters worse was the fact that I couldn’t
find my sermon notes anywhere, so I was just winging it! Now
I think we’re going to be alright this morning, but I was
a little nervous about this.
Anyway, I finally decided to preach on the story of Pentecost found in Acts 2. It’s
the best way to begin our summer preaching series from the book of Acts, and
I think this story about the birth of the church teaches us important things
about what the church is and what it is supposed to do. That seems like
a great theme for us on this first Sunday together.
Pentecost was one of three
high Jewish holidays in ancient times. The word means “fiftieth” because
it was held on the fiftieth day following Passover. It was the day on which
the first portion from the early grain harvest was dedicated to the Lord each
year. All Jewish males within 20 miles of Jerusalem were required to attend,
and many others came from all around the Roman empire, swelling the population
of the city and creating an international festival.
Jesus’ followers
had been waiting in Jerusalem after his ascension, in obedience to his instruction
to wait there for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Here’s what he told
them about the Spirit in Acts 1:8. “But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts
1:8) So, the followers of Jesus received their commission- to be his witnesses
everywhere- but they’re not yet equipped to carry it out. They are
waiting for the Spirit to come and empower them to do the work. A few verses
later we learn that they spent this waiting time in prayer together and that
they selected another disciple to take Judas’ place. And then all
heaven breaks loose!
When the day of Pentecost
had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there
came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house
where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and
a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Two
things jump out at me from these verses. First of all, the Spirit comes
as they are all gathered together in one place. I think God’s Spirit
still works today when God’s people are gathered together for worship or
fellowship. Someone once said that 90% of life is just showing up! There’s
some truth to that. And it’s true with worship. If you’re
not here, you can’t receive the benefits or blessings! But there
are some contemporary challenges which hinder us from “showing up” and
gathering together as the followers of Jesus did in Acts. There are lots
of things that compete for our time on Sundays- sports events for kids and adults,
lots of entertainment options, and family commitments. Two-income families
often use Sundays to catch up on shopping and household tasks. And there
are other, more convenient options for spiritual growth- worship services with
truly gifted preachers on TV or on-line, as well as virtual churches and on-line
prayer groups. And so Sunday worship attendance is down in our country
from what it once was. That’s a shame, because the Holy Spirit often
chooses to work when God’s people gather together, as he did in Acts. You
never know what God might do when we gather together! Like last Sunday,
when Darling Debbie Doxology and the Boomwacker choir showed up!
And God did something
unexpected in Acts 2. Loud sounds, like a violent wind, filled the whole
house. Visions of fiery tongues appeared on each and every one of them-
not just on the apostles! This was not your typical Presbyterian worship
service! All of the people were filled with the Spirit and received the
ability to speak in other languages. I bet some of our young people who
were recently preparing for finals in Spanish, French, or German wish they had
that gift! We’ll talk more about this gift of speaking in tongues
in just a minute, but for now let’s just note that the Holy Spirit does
unexpected things in the church.
When a handful of people
gathered in 1740 to begin a Presbyterian church a couple miles from here, I’m
sure they never dreamed that their little log church would one day become a congregation
of 800 members meeting in a sanctuary like this! The Holy Spirit has always
been at work in the church doing unexpected and unconventional things. And
I believe God will continue to do those kinds of things in the future at Gettysburg
Presbyterian Church. Our job is to be discerning and open to the work of
the Spirit rather than desperately hanging on to all the old ways.
Listen to what happened
next in Acts 2. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under
heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered,
because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed
and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians,
Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,
and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in
our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’
Now this unconventional
gift of speaking in other languages makes sense! This miraculous sign
enabled people from all around the empire to hear the Good News of God’s
love in Jesus Christ in their mother tongue. It enabled the church to begin
fulfilling the mission we read about earlier, to be Christ’s witnesses
in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and throughout the world! And that’s
important, because it reminds us that the church needs to be focused primarily
outward, not inward.
Once upon a time in a
far away land there was an oil refinery. It was huge and known to employ
all the latest techniques of chemical engineering. The employees took great
pride in the plant and made sure everything was in good condition and ran well. One
day some visitors from another country came and asked for a tour. The rulers
of the land proudly granted their request.
The visitors saw vast
chambers for processing petroleum, gleaming pipes that carried products from
one place to another, and an extensive organizational system that kept the refinery
humming. Finally, the visitors asked to see the shipping department. “What
do you mean?” their guide responded. “You know, the place that
sends out all the gasoline and oil that you process here.” “Oh,
that!” replied the guide. “We have no shipping department. All
the energy products produced in this refinery are used just to keep the refinery
running!”
Too often that has been
the story of the church. In many churches, too much money and energy has
been used just to keep the church running. Too little has been used to
build homeless shelters and Habitat homes, to feed the hungry, to provide medical
care for the sick, to create jobs, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with
others. It is a temptation for every church to become inwardly-focused,
to become a club. As M. Scott Peck said in his book, The Different Drum:
Community-Making and Peace, “A club is closed, exclusive
and inward-looking. It can be the friendliest of places and put on the
best potluck dinner in town, but the congregation-as-club is essentially concerned
with past and present friendship circles. A church, on the other hand,
is meant to be inclusive, welcoming, evangelistic, challenging and transformative. It
is an outward-looking, future-oriented community which embodies the Great Commission
and implicitly understands that the newest visitor is no less important than
the oldest member. In congregations-as-clubs, growth and change (indeed
the Great Commission itself) are seen not as opportunities but as threats. Moreover,
while a church is concerned with conversion and commitment, a club is primarily
concerned with fellowship and making people feel good.” That’s
a pretty strong statement, isn’t it? But it’s true!
The Holy Spirit pushes
against our natural inclination to turn inward and turns us outward. My
initial impression is that GPC has made great progress in this area. We
see that in our mission trips as well as our local outreach projects. Our
challenge is to keep going and growing in outreach.
The outward witness of
those early Christians led to a variety of reactions. Read Acts 2:12-13. All
were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But
others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” Some
were confused. Others were derisive, accusing the disciples of Jesus of
being drunk! But then Peter speaks. I think it’s great that
it’s Peter! The one who had so visibly failed Jesus is given a second
chance. This time, empowered by the Spirit, he comes through with a whale
of a sermon, and about 3000 people became followers of Jesus that day.
The results of our attempts to reach out will vary, too. We’ll fail
sometimes. People will be confused sometimes. And other times, people
will respond and join with us.
In Acts 2, the Spirit
came as the people were gathered together. The Spirit worked in unexpected
and unconventional ways to help the church accomplish its mission. The
Spirit pushed the church outward. And it used the church to change the
lives of people all around it. Finally,
Pentecost was a time of change and transition. Previously, Jesus, God the
Son, was physically present with the disciples and the crowds, doing miracles,
and teaching them formally and informally. But his work on earth was done
when he had provided for the forgiveness of our sins by his death and resurrection. So
he gave them some final instructions and left! Fortunately, he didn’t
leave them alone. He provided them with God the Holy Spirit, the third
person of the trinity. The Spirit has guided and empowered the church ever
since then, whenever the church has been open to the leading of the Spirit.
Now I understand that
the last 14 months has been a time of transition and loss around here for many
of you. Grief is a natural reaction to the loss of a beloved, gifted, and
very successful pastor who served faithfully here for 20 years. Others
of you really warmed to Harry’s ministry and preaching. And now you
face more changes as you adjust to my leadership. I know that will be hard
for some of you. But let me remind you that Jesus hasn’t left you
alone in all this, either. The same Spirit who was powerfully at work
in Acts 2, the same Spirit that brought GPC to this place and time, that same
Spirit will continue to lead and empower you through this current time of transition.
Occasionally, when I’m
watching a TV drama, an odd thing happens. Just when the story comes to a climax,
when I’m dying to find out what’s going to happen next and how it
will all be resolved, three little words appear on the screen, “To be continued...” I
hate it when that happens! But that’s where we must leave the story
of Gettysburg Presbyterian Church this morning! God was at work in this
church when it was founded, when it split over theological matters in the 1750’s,
and when its building was declared unsafe and had to be immediately abandoned
for good in 1836. God was still at work when the pastor and entire Session
resigned in 1859, over some long-forgotten matter. God was at work in 1863,
when the horror of war devastated the congregation and community. And
God has been at work through dozens of pastoral changes. What will come
next in the life of this church? To be continued...
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