(Preached on Pentecost Sunday - 2012 If there has ever been a time in the history of the church that we need a fresh experience of Pentecost...this is the time. We are daily seeing the erosion of the very foundation we are standing upon. The heart's cry of every child of God should be a for a revisiting of Pentecost in this lukewarm church world we are in....to do anything less is to doom not only the present generation but the generations to come. I pray this message will be a blessing and a challenge. Any comments will be welcomed at jrhodes541@me.com.)
Text: II Tim. 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
II Tim. 3:1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
Intro. “ Are you hungry for a greater move of God? Are your tired of the ritualistic offerings of religious society today? Is there growing within you a longing for a deeper experience with God? If the answer is yes to these questions, then I want to welcome you to a growing group of people within the confines of the church who feel the same as you do.
There is an ever increasing number who are tired of the glitzy, glamour filled halls of religious antiquity we call the church today. No longer are we satisfied with the religious robotics called worship that does little more than move carnal flesh. The desire of many is for something that brings a true change to their lives. A change that builds within them a faith that says life is worth living. That it can truly be filled with joy, peace, freedom, purity, etc.
I firmly believe there is an innate desire within many, in and out of the church, for a moral compass that will help define and give directions for what is right and what is wrong….what is good and what is bad. For too long we’ve allowed outside influences legislate to us, to our children, to the church as a whole, what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. In truth this is nothing more than the blind leading the blind…the results? They both end up in the ditch!! I say enough is enough; it is time for the church to return to preaching / teaching a Bible based lifestyle. Jesus didn’t come to give us big cars, big houses, steaks for every meal. He didn’t come to reveal to a sin crusted humanity a “feel good gospel” that does nothing to prepare man for eternity. He came for one purpose; to give His life as a sacrifice…as a ransom…as a redeemer. He came to seek and to save the lost!! He wanted to give man a way out of hell and a way into heaven.
What do we need? What is the answer? I believe the church needs “Pentecost Revisited “. A time revisited when men were changed from old to new; personalities changed; desires changed; goals changed; lives changed!
Not only do I believe this is the answer; I believe it is a necessity if we are to accomplish what God has ordained for His church to accomplish in the degenerate society!!
The present condition of the Pentecost of today is a far cry from the Pentecost of the past. What we call the Pentecostal experience of today, when compared to the past, is unrecognizable.
I believe it is time to redig the wells of our forefathers and begin to drink from the fountain of righteousness….commitment….desire…. and power they drank from. It is because of this power that we stand today, the sons of God, delivered from a past of sin and sorrow and destined to make our imprint upon the kingdom of Satan and this world before leaving for the prepared place.
God Wants Us To Have It: We can see from past moves of God that He wants us to experience His presence, of which always brings His power.
Since the day of Pentecost the church has experienced various outpourings of the Spirit. Special moves that would jar men loose from the moors of complacency, stagnation, and religiosity to a new found freedom and fountain flowing with His grace, mercy, and power.
Where are the results of those outpourings? I’m afraid they have become nothing more than objects of religious antiquity placed along beside each other to be discussed and analyzed but with never a desire to recreate. As much as I hate to admit it, the Pentecost of today has degenerated into nothing more than a caricature of its pass predecessors. Our worship has become nothing more than a choreographed display of prideful flesh. A spot lighting of individualistic talent.
To the shame of those who spent endless hours in prayer and fasting for a deep move of His Spirit leaving with the forth-coming generations a secure foundation to stand upon. We have lost their vision of a move of God that brings life to broken bodies; broken shattered marriages; a broken past; with the outcome being a broken future staring us in the face if a “Re-visitation of Pentecost” doesn’t come.
Today, if ever in the history of the church we need an Ezekiel that will stand viewing the bleached bones of this body, called the church, and speak the Word to the Wind (Ruah) of God, commanding it to blow and bring life to what was, this is that hour!! WE MUST SEE “ PENTECOST REVISITED “!
Let us view the Day of Pentecost and learn from our forefathers.
I. Hunger, The Beginning: In Acts 1: 4-5, 8 we find Jesus giving instructions to those
present to tarry in Jerusalem until the promise comes. With this admonishment came
a hunger for the promise.
In the 14th verse we find the results of that hunger.
a. Obedience: They went to the upper room as instructed. The hunger in their heart
for the promise cause them to obey what He commanded.
b. Unity: When Jesus was taken and things didn’t go the way they thought they
would or should the disciples scattered. A hunger for a definite move of God
caused them to reunite.
c. Prayer: They began a prayer meeting that would continue until the promise came.
II. The Power of Pentecost: To fully understand Pentecost we must note the
occurrence of that day.
a. Wind: fill all the house, all that was in the house. Big, little, large small, rich, poor.
No preferential treatment.
b. Fire = purity.
c. Control = tongues.
d. Drunk = surrender.
e. Authority. Peter became a man with a purpose instead of a self styled program.
III. We Must Continue, Acts. 2:42.
Conc. In my opinion the Church is at a crossroads. We have before us the Power of Pentecost that produces a purpose driven church. Or we can choose the directions that generations before us have gone....a road that leads to stagnancy, complacency and eventual spiritual suicide.
As for me, I choose to “Revisit Pentecost!!”
