Today we are going to continue our preaching series entitled Christianity 101, as we explore our faith using the Apostles' Creed as our guide. Thus far we have looked at an overview of the importance of this creed, and the first eight affirmations. Today we are going to look at the next affirmation, “I believe in the Holy Spirit” as we seek to understand the nature of the third person of the Trinity and the Spirit’s role in our lives today.
John Wesley and the Holy Spirit
As United Methodists, I think it’s important for us to understand a little bit about the man who is considered to be the Father of Methodism - John Wesley. Especially with today being Pentecost, and how it was because of an encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed Wesley’s life was changed and how that led him to try and bring revival to the Anglican church.
Wesley was born in England in the early 1700’s, the son of an Anglican pastor. Education was highly prized in his family and his parents saw to it that he and his nine brothers and sisters were well educated. In fact his mother Susanna, taught each of them at the kitchen table in their home in Epworth. Later, John Wesley attended the very prestigious Oxford College in London. While in college, at his mother’s suggestion, John began the process to become a pastor in the Anglican Church. After graduation, he went home to help his father with the church at Epworth, but was not very successful in his ministry.
So, back to London he went and he started teaching. His brother Charles was also in London and together with some friends they formed a sort of club for people who were seriously devoted to religion. They were so methodical in their practices of fasting, praying, and Scripture reading that others began to make fun of them, calling them “the Holy Club” and “Method-ists.” Even though he was a pastor, John Wesley felt there was still something missing in his spiritual life and he went to great lengths to find it. He even traveled to the colony of Georgia in America and served for a time as a missionary.
But, he wasn’t successful at that either and came home after a brief period of time. On his way home, he wrote in his journal, “I went to America to convert the Indians; but Oh! Who shall convert me? Who, what is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief? I have a fair summer religion. I can talk well.”
Four months later, at the age of 35, Wesley went with a friend to a religious meeting on Aldersgate Street that would finally give him the meaning and purpose he sought. Here’s what Wesley wrote in his journal about his experience that night: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
The assurance that Wesley spoke of, the warming of his heart, we know and understand as the witness of the Holy Spirit. We can thank the Lord that Wesley had his “heart strangely warmed,” for not only was the result new birth and power for John Wesley, but a newfound passion and zeal that would lead him to try and reform the Anglican church, eventually ending up in the creation of what we now call the United Methodist Church.
Scriptural Examples of Wesley's Struggle
Now, John Wesley was certainly not alone in his predicament. Scripture recounts for us a couple of notable people that Jesus encountered during his ministry that had the same problem. One was the rich young ruler we read about in Matthew. He tried to get to heaven by his works, following all of the commandments to the very letter of the law, but failed to understand that the purpose for following the law was a relationship with God that transformed him not just on the outside, but also on the inside (Matthew 19:16-22).
Then there was Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Jesus meets personally with him one evening and tells him that he needs to be “born again.” At first Nicodemus misunderstands; he’s an old man and it’s simply not possible for him to return to the womb and be born a second time. But Jesus replies that a person must be born both “of water and the Spirit.” Here the water symbolizes a physical birth and one’s spiritual birth is symbolized by the coming of the Holy Spirit (John 3:1-8). Both of these situations mired in confusion and uncertainty. Both of these situations in desperate need for the intervention of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost – The Holy Spirit in the Early Church
That brings us to today and our celebration of Pentecost. Pentecost always comes 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection at Easter and symbolizes the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early church as recorded in our Scripture lesson from Acts. While Pentecost is often ignored or brushed aside because people have a hard time understanding the Holy Spirit, Pentecost should be just as important to Christians as Christmas and Easter. It marks the birthday of the church; the time when those who believed in Jesus received the power promised to them that enabled them to go out and witness in the world.
That promise that came right before Jesus ascended into heaven to be with God the Father. He told them that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” And so they waited expectantly for Jesus’ word to come to pass.
Then as about a 120 believers, men and women, were gathered together in Jerusalem praying and waiting, it happened. The Holy Spirit, coming as a rush of wind and appearing as tongues of fire, descended upon them. That’s where we get the red flames in our United Methodist logo and why I asked you all to wear red this morning. But coming as wind and fire was not the only thing that the Holy Spirit did. Each of the 120 believers present that day received a gift, the Holy Spirit enabled them to speak in tongues. Not a gibberish language, but real languages and dialects so that the diverse crowd of people in Jerusalem that day could clearly hear and understand the message of the Good News of Jesus in their own language.
The result was 120 lukewarm believers ignited with the flame and zeal of the Holy Spirit. On that day the disciple Peter, who had lacked confidence and boldness and had even betrayed Jesus, stood up and preached the sermon of his life and before the day ended over 3,000 people committed themselves to the Christian way. These courageous and committed souls went out and “turned the world upside down” (Luke), spreading the Good News of the Gospel throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth.
Holy Spirit Today
The Holy Spirit, changing lives, bringing assurance, the blessing of spiritual gifts from God, and new birth. And the great thing is that we can experience that same kind of new birth and power in our lives today. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we also receive the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Often Christians have a lot of questions and misconceptions about the Holy Spirit, and consequently some churches do not even mention this part of the Trinity much at all. But we want to try and take care of that this morning and help give a better understanding of what role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives today.
The Holy Spirit is called by many names in Scripture; the Helper, the Advocate, the Counselor, and the Comforter, just to name a few.
The Counselor
Our second Scripture lesson today from John was an explanation that Jesus gave to his disciples before he died. Jesus promised that he would not leave the believers alone, but that he would send someone else to help them and he went on to some specific details of the things that the Counselor, or the Holy Spirit, would do in their lives.
1) The Holy Spirit will be a Spirit of Truth for us
- Testify to us about Jesus – (verse 15:26)
- Speak on the authority of God the Father and God the Son (verse 16:13)
3) The Holy Spirit will serve as a guide for us, telling us what is to come, revealing God’s will to us (verse 16:13)
4) The Holy Spirit will bring glory to God by making Jesus known to us (verse 16:14)
Spiritual Gifts
And there are other things that the Holy Spirit does in our lives. We hear about spiritual gifts or “gifts of the Spirit.” There’s four different places in Scripture where these gifts are talked about and listed: twice in I Corinthians, once in Romans and once in the book of Ephesians. Those Scriptures help teach us that every believer is given at least one spiritual gift by the Holy Spirit. The purpose of that gift is not for selfish gain, but rather to help build up the entire body of Christ. So people in this congregation have been given various and different gifts to help this body of Christ, this congregation, reach its full potential for the kingdom of God. Such a big important job for this last part of the Trinity, described in only two words.
Fruit of the Spirit
That is a lot to ask and understand of the Holy Spirit. So how can we know that the Spirit is active and alive inside of us? The Apostle Paul provides a clue in the book of Galatians, chapter 5, verses 22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These Christ-like characteristics begin to develop more and more in our lives as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us toward other people. Just like choosing to believe in Jesus, it’s a choice as to whether or not we will listen to and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Some believers are more attuned than others, and if we are attuned to the Holy Spirit as it speaks truth to our hearts, witnesses to us about Jesus, helps us understand the Scriptures, guides us as to God’s will, than these fruits will naturally begin to overflow in our lives.
Conclusion
I think you would agree that today more than ever, churches need to remember the power of Pentecost and experience the new birth and new power through the Holy Spirit, so that we might be transformed.
And that transformation can happen right here at the rail. This day is special, this day is important. So I invite you, do not let the sun set on this day without beginning, renewing, or strengthening your bond with God through the Holy Spirit. Come here and pray, go home and pray, just pray. Just ask. And be transformed.
My prayer is that because of Pentecost, we will no longer be merely followers of religion, people who carry knowledge of God around in our heads. May we each experience God in our hearts and lives as well, finding the assurance and purpose and meaning that John Wesley did, and be forever transformed by the new birth and new power of Pentecost.
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