"What Does This Mean?"

9.30am Pentecost Sunday 31 May 2009

Readings: Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 TNIV

At different stages in your life there are people who have mentored you, someone whose example you have admired, whose counsel and encouragement you have sought and valued, someone with whom you could discuss important decisions you have had to make and problems you were trying to solve, and each time you have met you have come away encouraged, with a much better understanding of the issues involved and with a clearer idea of what you need to do. You have been very appreciative of their wise counsel and support. To a very limited extent that was what is was like for the apostles when Jesus was here on earth. Jesus had called them to "be with him"[1] so that he could teach and model for them all they would need to know to carry on the work he had began. He knew that they would continue to need his help after he left as they established his church on earth. However, as was mentioned last week, that could not happen while he remained with them physically. After his resurrection he needed to "go away"[2] so that the Holy Spirit could be to them all that Jesus had been during his earthly ministry. This is the event we celebrate today. The colour that best symbolises the presence of the Holy Spirit is red, representing the tongues of fire that "came to rest" on each of those gathered in the upper room on that Day. We have symbolised that this morning in the red drape and red flames on the Communion table. The flame is a fitting symbol for the Holy Spirit as it is alive and never still, unpredictable at times, producing energy in the form of heat and light. The Holy Spirit is the One who energises you as a Christian. He is the One who makes real the presence of Jesus in your life. He is the One whose presence within you produces the fruit of love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[3] To follow Jesus you need his presence and power in your life every day. He is absolutely indispensable if you are to grow to be more Christlike, if you are to glorify and enjoy God, and if you are to accomplish the work he has for you to do. The passage we read from Acts tells how the Spirit came.

There are many things that we could focus on in this passage from Acts 2. However, note who was in the crowd that day. It says in verse 5: "Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven." Fifteen different nationalities are mentioned covering every direction north, south, east and west of Jerusalem, and although it is not inclusive of every nation under heaven, those mentioned are an indication that people from all over the known world were present at that time, symbolising the fact that the good news proclaimed on Pentecost Sunday is for all nations. Quoting from the Prophecy of Joel, Peter later says, "...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[4] These people may also be mentioned, indicating that many of them became believers at that time. This must have been so as the girls and I visited one of the places included in this list, Cappadocia, which is right in the centre of Turkey. As you can see from the map, it is a considerable distance from Jerusalem, which is a little further south that what is shown here. Cappadocia is a fascinating place for tourists and thousands visit the area every year. You can see why, when you go. There are opportunities to see Turkish folk dancing with men and women in colourful traditional costume carrying out the movements that have been part of Turkish culture for centuries. There are a number of underground cities where Christians lived to escape persecution from Roman soldiers. However, when most people think of Cappadocia what immediately springs to mind are the fairy chimneys, a unique feature of the landscape, limestone columns worn away over the years leaving a cap of hard rock on their head. Among these columns are caves in which Christians lived and worshiped hundreds of years ago probably dating back to soon after Pentecost, or certainly after Paul's missionary journeys in this part of Asia. Here is a picture of me climbing up into one of them. We visited the Church of the Three Crosses where inside can still be seen very clearly the murals painted on the walls and ceilings from centuries before. It was encouraging to think that these walls once echoed with the voices of Christians worshipping even as we worship today. This area produced three great fourth century Christian thinkers, Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea, Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, and a close friend Gregory Nazianzus, Patriarch of Constantinople, who significantly promoted early Christian teaching, particularly about the Trinity. They are highly respected as Saints in both Western and Eastern churches.

With our finite minds it is not possible for us to know and understand the essence of who God is. The church's teaching of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit helps us to understand how God has revealed himself to us, and the nature and being of God himself. There are a number of places in Scripture where all three persons of the Trinity are mentioned together. One is the last verse of the Scripture we read from John's Gospel this morning: "All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you."[5] Father, Son and Spirit work in complete harmony for the salvation of creation. Each has a unique role to play in accomplishing the purpose of God. While we usually focus on the Trinity the week after Pentecost each year, it is appropriate to make mention of it today as we are deeply indebted to Christians whose forbears were in Jerusalem at Pentecost for this insight into the nature and being of God, at a time when it was under attack from heretical groups within the Christian church.

Also numbered among the crowd at Pentecost were Arabs. As I have mentioned before, the Rev Danny Awad's family trace their Christian roots back to the Day of Pentecost believing that their forebears were among those gathered on that day. FF Bruce in his commentary on Acts believes these Arabs probably came from the Nabataean kingdom, which stretched from the Red Sea to the Euphrates with its capital of Petra, which is now in Jordan. This kingdom was at the height of its power under Aretas IV who lived from 9 B.C. -40 A.D. which coincides with the events we read of this morning. In this area there is ample evidence of Christian communities having once lived and worshipped here. Some of the churches carved out of the rock are huge, far bigger than this building, and at least as high if not higher. You can gain some indication of their size from this picture of me in the circle standing in front of one of these early churches. This further picture of a person standing in the doorway helps one to appreciate the size of these structures carved into the hillside. The fruits of Pentecost are clearly evident throughout the Middle East. However, the state of the Christian Church in that part of the world today is extremely fragile. Christians such as Brother Andrew have recognised this and have visited the area many times to encourage the believers to be salt and light where God has placed them, while at the same time seeking support for the church in Lebanon and Palestine from Christians around the world. While it is fascinating to study the history of the Christian church in the Middle East and visit the sites where it has left its mark in history, it is even more important to learn about and meet the living stones of Christ's church that is still active in that part of the world today. The Rev Danny Awad's visit in July of this year will provide a better understanding of their situation.

This Pentecost, since we are providing an opportunity for healing prayer, we will look at the continuing link between the church at its birth and the church of 2009. St David's in the Fields came into being through the work of the Holy Spirit. The DVD 'Bridging the Gap' illustrates this as it shows how God used ordinary people to do extraordinary things in our generation as he did when the church began. Just as the evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence in the early church was marked by the sense of unity, deep devotion, and "glad and sincere hearts,"[6] these are still the hallmarks of the presence of the Holy Spirit in his church today. The call to repentance sounded first by John the Baptist and Jesus, and then by Peter at Pentecost, remains an essential element in Christian preaching. Baptism naturally follows repentance and is evidence of it, as well as receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. The prophecy from Joel, quoted by Peter in his sermon, is still in process of fulfilment. God's Spirit continues to be poured out on people irrespective of class, culture, gender or age, as the worldwide mission of the church continues. Joel prophesied that all this would take place "in the last days." We live in that window of time between Christ's first and second coming, and are here to continue the work Jesus began. The healing ministry of Jesus went hand in hand with his teaching about the kingdom of God, and is why, along with the opportunity for prayer ministry each Sunday, we also have these times where prayer for healing is offered within the morning service.

We are now going to move into a time of healing prayer. Feel free to ask for prayer for any need you have, including prayer for a fresh infilling of God's Spirit as was experienced at Pentecost. The laying of hands to receive the Spirit is a practice affirmed in Scripture. You can also stand in for someone whom you know has a need but is not present today. In addition to the two healing teams, one at the front and the other at the back of the church, as we did last time we would also encourage you to ask for prayer from the person beside you, or for you to offer to pray with that person. If you have been asked to pray for someone and feel unable to do so, the offer to go with them to one of the healing teams. While this prayer is being offered we have put the words of the hymns in your service sheet on the screen, so that if you are not praying for someone you can quietly sing or meditate upon the words during this time.