May 27th sermon Pentecost

May 27th sermon Pentecost
Acts 2:1-15


Have you ever been moved or had an experience with God? I mean have you ever felt the presence of God in your midst as if he was standing right before you or (as our scripture says today) been filled with the Holy Spirit? If you answered yes, what was it like? Was it the best high you have ever felt or was it the most terrifying experience you have ever been thru? I ask you these questions because I want to know this…….do you have that feeling now?

I mean, this is God’s church, God’s house. And if this is God’s house than He is here in our midst right now, and He has been here every Sunday you have gathered in this church for the past 100 years. It doesn’t matter if Sean is pastor, Rod is pastor, Elmer is pastor, Chip is pastor or anyone else. This is still God’s house and he still rules the roost; if you ask him to be, God is here all the time. If you don’t experience him, that is if you have not felt him around you, maybe you are the one who has moved away from him.

The day of Pentecost came and all the disciples were in one place. A better translation is they were together and were all in agreement. They were all focused on the same thing.
While they were sitting there together, a VIOLENT wind came and shook the whole place. This was not a breeze blowing thru the windows. This was an F5 hurricane wind shaking the entire house as if it would tear the house off the foundation. But they had no time to think about that. Suddenly fire was above them. It breaks up and individually stops above each of them.

The fire descends and surrounds them yet instead of engulfing them in flames, that flicker inside of them becomes the burning flame of the Holy Spirit. As they felt God’s power and spirit fill them, they were overjoyed and called out praises to God. But instead of the words coming out in their native language, they were speaking in languages they had not known before.

A crowd of Jews from many other nations gathered around and heard these Galileans speaking in foreign languages. Some were amazed, but scripture tells us “some made fun of them saying they had too much wine.” Even before the disciples’ ministry started, they were bad mouthed and ridiculed.

Why would they say that? What would possess a group of people to be so mean spirited and hateful to chastise the disciples and discount the truth they preached. But Peter jumped up and defended the rest. All the disciples didn’t need to argue about what was true and what wasn’t. Peter took care of them all.
Here is what he said: These men are not drunk. Just because they don’t look like you but they sound like you, don’t discount the message. They might be young. They might be different. But they are speaking the truth.

Many years ago, God revealed himself to Abraham and told him to leave his country and go to the place God said. And he did. But Abraham did not get the inheritance. God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision and that was how a people were born.

Soon these people became slaves and for hundreds of years Abraham’s descendants were slaves to the nations, but God brought them out of that slavery. God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and Moses led the people. For 40 years they walked in the wilderness. While Moses was on Mt. Sinai the Israelites rejected Moses and desired to turn back to Egypt.

They didn’t want spiritual growth. Even though they were dying under the old system, that was what they knew and it was familiar. When given a chance, the people will always reject their leader and return to Egypt. We hate change. We hate new things.

So they turned to Aaron and said “We had a little meeting. Make us a God we can see and touch. We don’t like the way Moses looks or what he wears. And besides, Moses’ ideas sounded kind of crazy and he’s not here.” They rejected God and it went down thru the ages. Then King David wanted to build a grand church for God, but it was Solomon his son who built it. But there is a problem here. God is bigger than any church. He does not live in houses built by man. The prophet Isaiah says “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you make for me that is worthy?”

Stephen cuts right to the heart of the issue. He said, “And you continue, so bullheaded! Calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears! Deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit, You’re just like your ancestors. Was there ever a preacher that you did not persecute? Your ancestors crucified anyone who talked about the truth. And you’ve kept up the family tradition….traitors and murderers all of you. You had it all spoon fed to you yet you squandered it all.”

Why do we not like the truth? Do you think we would have done better all these years if the message was just watered down so it was easier to swallow? I mean, come on. If we take the bible seriously we have to be different. We have to change. We won’t be like everyone else. We will be counter-cultural. We will have people mock us, yell at us, fight us, lie about us, crucify us. If you’re not being persecuted, you’re not doing what you are supposed to do.

Peter stood up and told the truth. He didn’t have to defend himself. The 12 disciples went and preached just as they were told to do. Because of the truth, because of the message, because of the name of Jesus they were battered and beaten and bruised.


I got an email the other day. It was a hate filled email and I closed it after reading thru about a third of it. It got me to thinking. This person was complaining about how I had said “dog crap” in one of my sermons. It was sad because I didn’t say “dog crap”, but “dog turd”.

The other sad part is how words are taken and how they are heard today in our church and in our society. One lady not too long ago told me a story about how the DS was in our church here and she said “damn” to the DS. Another person came up and said “you can’t say that in church.” Why not? Is it OK to say certain words outside of those doors, but not inside?

Look at Psalm 139 “You know when I sit and when I rise. You know my thoughts from afar. Before a word is on my tongue Lord you know it completely.” I praise God here on Sunday morning when I’m all dressed up, but I also praise God when I get out of the shower completely naked or when I am wearing shorts and T-shirt on the back porch.
Another person was so worried that about an article I wrote about marriage between a man and woman and in the marriage they have sex. Yet, Song of Solomon in the OT gives detailed description of how Solomon and his bride are making love and what her breast and the rest of her body mean to Solomon.

One person wrote in their 8 page letter to the DS that they “don’t think I should preach at Sardis Methodist Church or any other Methodist church.” They got exactly what they wanted. This is my last sermon in a Methodist church. Although I have offers to be ordained in other denominations, I have not heard from God on where he wants me to go.

If you are wondering, there was nothing else. The district completely dropped me because of this church. That was there choice. But I hold to what one preacher prophesied over me just a few weeks ago…”you will soon lead a church many times bigger than this one.”

And so our life goes on. You have a choice to make too. The new pastor comes in a couple weeks. You can tell him the same thing I heard… “we are here to train you.” Or you can seek out God together. If he does act “less than professional” around you, assume he really likes you and is comfortable around you instead of assuming he is doing something wrong. Love him and his wife because they are here to guide you on your journey.
You have a choice. You can fulfill the words in Revelation 3 or you can write your own destiny. Read Revelation 3 when you get home. I pray you will write your own destiny. Everyone stand and we will pray….


























Acts 2:1-15

Ac 2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
Ac 2:2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Ac 2:3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.
Ac 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Ac 2:5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.
Ac 2:6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
Ac 2:7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?
Ac 2:8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Ac 2:9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
Ac 2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
Ac 2:11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
Ac 2:12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
Ac 2:13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.’”
Ac 2:14 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.
Ac 2:15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!