Week of May 23rd
“God’s Mission and the Holy Spirit”
Sermon Noodles
Please read the devotional guide for this week for background on the meaning of Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Making room for intuition
The Spirit spoke through tongues of fire on Pentecost Sunday. So too does the Spirit speak to and through us. But it doesn’t come from that part of the brain that we would call “the strategic mind.” Many of us are well trained engineers, health care workers, and finance people. The strategic mind excels in these fields. But the Spirit may speak to us through sudden promptings and serendipities. Many times in the scriptures the Spirit does something completely unpredictable.
Making room for truth
The Spirit is also the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13). From what source do we get our truth? Do we watch one news program or read one newspaper from one point of view? Or do we listen to other news programs, read newspapers with a different point of view, and listen to voices different from our own?
Soul and Spirit
A major life change takes place when our center of gravity shifts from what is called “ego-centric” (I am the center) to eco-centric or soul-centric where Soul and Spirit are the center. A great resource for this kind of shift is Bill Plotkin’s new book, “The Journey of Soul Initiation” chapter three.
Devotional Guide
1. Who and what is Pentecost and who is the Holy Spirit?
Pentecost (literally “Fiftieth”) was a word used by Jewish people for a day-long harvest festival scheduled fifty days after Passover. (See Exodus 23:16, 34:22). Pentecost was one of the three pilgrimage feasts when people all around would gather in Jerusalem to celebrate God’s goodness. As you can note from Acts 2:1-21, quite an international crowd had gathered in the city.
Who is this mysterious Spirit who appears as a tongue of fire? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:1). The Spirit is the breath of God. The Hebrew word for Spirit is “Ruach” or “wind” and the Greek word for Spirit is “pneuma” or “breath.” (See John 20:22) In the Christian faith we believe that God is a trinity, the Spirit communicates God’s presence and is the presence of the risen Christ who lives within us.
2. What does the Spirit do?
a. The Spirit writes God’s law in our hearts
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel . . . “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:31, 33-34
b. The Spirit speaks and leads us to all truth
Jesus said in John 16:13, 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, the Spirit will guide you into all the truth; for the Spirit speaks only what the Spirit hears, and will declare to you the things that are to come.
c. According to the Bible, Spirit has feelings
The Spirit can be saddened: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God Ephesians 4:30
The Spirit can be resisted: You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Acts 7:51
The Spirit grows emotional fruit: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23