Monday, February 1st

We are continuing our series on Faith Essentials, what is essential to your faith journey? A few weeks ago we started the conversation around the Holy Spirit. Which means if you missed that message, I’m going to encourage you to go back and take a listen because it is important to where we are going today.

The reality is though, two messages on the Holy Spirit isn’t even close to being enough. I love this parabolic tale about St. Augustine. St. Augustine was walking along the seaside on Sunday, in between his morning and evening services. As he was walking, he noticed a young boy digging a large hole in the beach and running with buckets of water from the sea to his hole and back again. Intrigued, Augustine stopped and asked what he was doing. The boy replied, “I’m going to take that big ocean and put it in this little hole.” Augustine replied, “My son, that ocean is too big to place in that little hole.” And the boy looked up and said, “Easier for me to take that big ocean and put it in this little hole than for you to take the big Trinitarian God and put it in your little mind, Bishop Augustine.”

How true it is? There is so much to the Trinity, especially in our finite minds. Yet, there is an invitation to know the Trinity, personally.

I appreciate how Theologian Dallas Willard relates to the Trinity. “(The Trinity) is the circle of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The Son submits to the Father and the Father loves to glorify the Son, and the Son is driven by the Spirit, and the Spirit reminds everybody of the Son. The Father also sends the Spirit, and there is an endless, eternal, humble, gentle community. That’s the Trinity with one another.”

There’s this intimate community, that we are made in the image of and are invited to be a part.

This week, I want you to see how Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit.

Notice how Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit in his last words to the disciples in Luke 24:49- “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

See how Jesus integrates all three, the promised gift of the Father, given to us because of Jesus, but that the disciples had to wait in the city. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to operate, move, advance the Kingdom without the Spirit. Because notice the phrase, “clothed with power”, the Spirit clothes us, covers us, with power.

Fast forward to Jesus’ last words in Acts 1:4-, 8- 4 On one occasion, while he (Jesus) was eating with them (disciples), he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… You will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… Notice again, with the Holy Spirit comes power and we will witness, testify, tell of all the things of Jesus.

Jesus then ascends and when did the Holy Spirit come upon the disciples?

Acts 2:1-4- 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.

I know there are a lot of visuals and questions going on here. We aren’t going to unpack it all. But the visuals shouldn’t be foreign to us, even though they are described in a unique way. We should be familiar with wind, because we talked about how the Holy Spirit was referred to as breath, wind, ruakh, pnuema. We should also recognize fire as the representation of God’s presence; the burning bush and the pillar of fire at night to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land. We see the presence of God come in the Spirit, amongst those in the room.

But what about the whole, “speaking in other tongues.” Let us not be overwhelmed or confused by this. If Jesus can give sight to a blind man or hearing to a deaf man, through the power of the Holy Spirit, don’t you think the Spirit can give language and understanding to people who have never spoken the language.

This also can lead to a discussion on speaking in tongues. That is another message for another time. I believe it is true and real and there is a mystery to it. But I would argue, if we have a greater desire to understand tongues, language of God, over the Holy Spirit, we are missing it. Which means we desire the gift more than the gift giver.

All of this to say, Acts 2 is where we are introduced to the personal presence of God. Or as I shared last week, how do we define the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God’s personal presence in, with, and over you to create, teach, give direction, correct, comfort, counsel, intercede and empower you on your life journey for His Kingdom. Yes, it is a mouthful, but necessary.

An invisible person, remember the Holy Spirit is a person not an it and or a that. He’s invisible, but we can hear him, feel him. Jesus said it’s his presence and power in our life. How then does the Spirit work? And what does our response need to be?

More on that tomorrow. Today, I want you to sit with the Holy Spirit and ask him to be more visible in your life. You can use this new song as a guide if you desire. Abide