The Spirit’s Wind Still Prevails!

Pentecost, 5/20/18
Acts 2:1-4


The Spirit’s Wind Still Prevails!
I. He alone gathers Christians into his Church.
II. He alone empowers Christians for service in his Church.


Do we have any sailors among us? By “sailors” I don’t mean present and past service men and women of the United States Navy. I mean people who enjoy sailing. Yes? No? If sailing doesn’t interest any of you, I’m not surprised. A recent report indicates that the number of Americans who engage in recreational sailing is down considerably from just a decade ago and that downward trend will likely continue.

Why is that? Well, like so many other changes in our society, it’s the result largely of fewer young adults in our population today than in past decades. “Millennials” don’t have the numbers that previous generations do. What’s more, they have far more choices regarding leisure pastimes than other generations. They have other things they’d rather be doing than sailing, most often things that have to do with media and the advances in technology. What’s more, people today who do want to spend time on the water tend to choose a vessel that is easier to handle and operate than a sailboat—something with onboard power. Membership in some sailing clubs is down 50 per cent. Bottom line—it doesn’t bode well for the recreational sailing industry.

Some of the very stats that I just cited apply in so many other areas of modern life, one of them being the Christian church on earth, especially here in the United States. Membership numbers across the spectrum of denominations are down. Our own church body is no exception. We aren’t baptizing babies as frequently as we used to. Meanwhile, the number of Christian funerals is slowly increasing. Young adults have so many options when it comes to how they want to spend their time that often church membership and involvement in their church gets squeezed out of their lives. In the eyes of some, it doesn’t bode well for the Church.

But I’m not alarmed. And you shouldn’t be either. Why not? Because the same Holy Spirit is still at work no matter what the numbers are.

This morning we gather with the Christian Church on earth to celebrate Pentecost, the day to which many point as the beginning of the Christian Church. And even though the earth’s winds may be catching far fewer sails than before, the Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. The Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. It prevails in the Church at large and in you personally. Let’s use that truth to focus our hearts and minds on the verses of God’s word before us this morning from Acts 2, the account of Pentecost.

Part I.

In light of the downturn in participation among Christian churches in our country, some congregations have resorted to what I call gimmicks. They try just about anything to get attention and drive up participation. Some years ago “clown” ministries were the latest fad. Our own area annually sees a “blessing of the bikes” in which a clergy-person blesses the motorcycles of a local motorcycle club. If you pay attention just before Lent begins, you will hear announcements about “drive-through” imposition of ashes. And then there are the “miracles” that are supposedly being performed right before the eyes of worshippers. I have my personal opinion about such gimmicks. I’ll let you form your own.

So, where am I going with this? Well, did you take note of what happened on the Day of Pentecost? Were these gimmicks orchestrated by the small group of Christ’s followers to grab the attention of the crowds in Jerusalem? Listen again to what happened. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” That kind of phenomena puts clown ministries to shame. But actually, this was nothing new.

This was simply an audible and visible representation of the way things had always been in the Church. It was a manifestation of the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. The working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of sinful human beings was nothing new. It had been that way ever since the fall of the human race into sin. The Holy Spirit’s work is to bring people to know and believe in the Triune God—the only God. Only faith in that Triune God for salvation brings sinful people the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. The Holy Spirit worked faith in the hearts of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David and Daniel. He worked saving faith in you and me.

And that’s the way it always will be—gimmicks, entertainment, and supposed miracles notwithstanding. No one else and nothing else possesses the power and the authority to create faith in Jesus and to strengthen that faith. That’s solely the domain of the Holy Spirit and he’s not about to relinquish it. The Church has always grown and survived by the power of the Holy Spirit and it always will. Not even human wisdom can supplant his power. That power comes through the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ.

And that’s what Peter shared with the Pentecost crowd. He cut them to the heart with God’s law which condemned them, and then he proclaimed, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”That’s exactly the message we still share with our world. The Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. He alone gathers Christians into his Church.

It must have been spectacular, right? The sound of a violent wind, tongues of fire and Christians speaking in languages they had not previously known. Imagine if the Spirit still did his work like that! But therein lies our problem. We’re unimpressed by the Spirit’s work unless our eyes and ears are amazed with the unusual. Meanwhile, we simply hear people join us in confessing faith in Jesus. Meanwhile, we watch as a triple splash of water is applied to a child in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, we receive our Savior’s body and blood as God’s word is connected with bread and wine. But somehow, that’s not amazing. We long for something more. Even in our own lives. It’s not enough that the Spirit has performed his miracle of working saving faith in us. We want something more. Your Savior God comes to you and says, “This is it. But this is everything!” This is the saving work of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more important in your life. If you have faith in Jesus then you have everything you need. So stop looking for something more and realize what you already have. The Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. He has brought you into his Church through the gospel of Jesus and he uses the same means to bring others in as well.

Part II.

Are you qualified? No doubt others have asked that question about you. You’ve even asked it of yourself. There’s an opportunity or a task that lies ahead of you and, before you launch into it, you need to be qualified. If you don’t have a clean criminal record or a certain level of experience or education, you’re not qualified.

Imagine being the followers of Jesus in the days leading up to this event in our text. He had told them two things: 1. I am sending you out as my witnesses to the entire world; 2. Wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As far as we know, that’s about all he told them. Do you realize how unusual that is? The most important work in the history of the world was the work that Jesus did to save us, a work which culminated in his death and resurrection. The second most important work in all the world is to be a witness for Christ. Plan A for sharing the saving message of Jesus was to use these followers, as filled with doubt and apprehension as they were. There was no Plan B. Sounds like a bomb of a business plan, right?

But this isn’t a business. This is the work of the Church and the power of the Holy Spirit is behind it. When the Spirit’s wind blew on that Day of Pentecost, the power of the Holy Spirit filled them. Within minutes Peter grabbed the opportunity to preach to thousands of people one of the finest sermons ever delivered.

He was able to do that because the Spirit’s wind blew and equipped him and the other followers of Jesus. One evidence of it was that the believers began speaking in languages they hadn’t previously known. They would use that gift to bring the gospel to nations far and wide. Later they would perform miracles.

The Spirit’s wind blew and strengthened those same followers. Within weeks, they began suffering persecution for their faith in Jesus, but the persecution only increased their resolve to carry out their divine assignment. They considered it an honor to suffer for the one who sacrificed his life for their eternal life.

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he didn’t leave the Church on earth to find its own way or to struggle through the issues on its own. He poured out his Holy Spirit who empowered Christ’s people for kingdom work.

And he’s still doing that very thing. The Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. He alone empowers Christians for service in his Church.

So, are you up for doing something miraculous? I don’t see any takers on my offer. Nor do I hear anyone speaking in tongues. But that’s OK, because I don’t expect to.

But I do expect you will be engaged in Christian service to others. Am I expecting too much? I don’t think so. The same Holy Spirit who empowered Christ’s followers on Pentecost empowers you and me today. In fact, he has works of service planned for you and intends to carry out great things through you. Instead of speaking God’s word to thousands as Peter did, it might be to just one person, maybe just a child. It might be a word of encouragement or a silent prayer spoken for someone else. It might be something you do here at Resurrection to help us in our ministry. I’ll let you determine what those opportunities are, but there’s no room for excuses, because the Spirit’s saving wind still prevails. Thank God it prevails here. See to it that it always does, until Jesus returns. Amen.