The Spirit before and after Pentecost

Now let me suggest an analogy to illustrate the experience of the Spirit before and after Pentecost. 

Picture a huge dam for hydroelectric power under construction, like the Aswan High Dam on the Nile, 375 feet high and 11,000 feet across. Egypt's President Nasser announced the plan for construction in 1953. The dam was completed in 1970 and in 1971 there was a grand dedication ceremony and the 12 turbines with their ten billion kilowatt-hour capacity were unleashed with enough power to light every city in Egypt. 

During the long period of construction, the Nile River wasn't completely stopped. Even as the reservoir was filling, part of the river was allowed to flow past. The country folk downstream depended on it. They drank it, they washed in it, it watered their crops and turned their mill-wheels. They sailed on it in the moonlight and wrote songs about it. It was their life. But on the day when the reservoir poured through the turbines a power was unleashed that spread far beyond the few folk down river and brought possibilities they had only dreamed of.

Well, Pentecost is like the dedicatory opening of the Aswan High Dam. Before Pentecost, the river of God's Spirit blessed the people of Israel and was their very life. But after Pentecost, the power of the Spirit spread out to light the whole world. None of the benefits enjoyed in the pre-Pentecostal days were taken away. But ten billion kilowatts were added to enable the church to take the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to every tongue and tribe and nation.

John Piper

The Holy Spirit And The Bears

The Holy Spirit empowers us against the enemy (1 Jn 4:4): A number of years ago, a movie came out called The Bear, and it went something like this: 

Once upon a time, there was a mummy bear and a baby bear, and they were so happy together. Then one day an accident happened and the mummy bear died, leaving the little baby bear all alone in the world. 

One day the poor defenceless baby bear was out minding his own business when he was spotted by a big, mean, hungry mountain lion. 

The baby bear started to run; he was trapped next to the river and jumped in. 

The mean and nasty mountain lion followed him downstream to where the baby bear came ashore at a crossing. 

The baby bear was trapped again and made a puny, squeaky sound as the mountain lion closed in for the kill. 

Then suddenly, the baby bear stood to his feet, opened his mouth, and there was a massive great roar. 

The mountain lion suddenly remembered that he had something else to do, and ran for his life, terrified. 

How did the little baby bear do that? The cameras panned round, and there standing behind the baby bear was the hugest, most ferocious daddy bear.

Please watch the video here
https://youtu.be/vStcjo92L1s

In Memory Of Him Whose Name We Cannot Remember

Talking about a friend of his, Paul Newsham related the following story: The Holy Spirit keeps a testimony in different cultures. 

One missionary went to an African tribe that had had little contact with white people. When he arrived, they were in the middle of a ceremony which was remarkably like our Communion. Because he was a linguist, he was able to understand a lot of what was said. 

When they got to the end they said, "We do this in memory of Him whose name we cannot remember." He stood up and said, "I want to tell you His name. His name is Jesus."

Light In Every Room

Our life is like a house with many rooms. One by one, the Holy Spirit goes into each room and turns on the light. We have a choice. 

We can either respond and let Him show us what He wants, or we can try to turn off the light and keep Him out of the room. 

If we keep trying to turn off the light, there will come a point when He will stop trying to turn it on.

Cleaning Oven At Night

If you've ever tried cleaning an oven at night, it may look great then. But when the bright light of the sun comes in the morning, you see all the bits you missed. 
In the same way, the Holy Spirit can shine God's light on any area of your life so you can see clearly the things you would otherwise have missed.

Bucket In The River

There was a young man who complained that whenever he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was like a bucket with holes. The Spirit merely drained out of him. 

His friend said, "That may be true, but even a bucket full of holes can be filled with water if it is immersed in the river and left there."

What Many Unchurched People Think The Church Believes

Dorothy L. Sayers

Dorothy Sayers at her best

Into her famous mid-20th century essay “The Dogma Is the Drama,” mystery writer, religious playwright, and Dante translator inserts the following scathing and humorous assessment of what many unchurched people think the church believes. Sadly, this portrait may still not be far off. And as they were then, these sorts of mistakes are still largely the fault of the church itself.

Q.:          What does the Church think of God the Father?
A.:          He is omnipotent and holy. He created the world and imposed on man conditions impossible of fulfillment. He is very angry if these are not carried out. He sometimes interferers by means of arbitrary judgments and miracles, distributed with a good deal of favoritism. He . . . is always ready to pound on anybody who trips up over a difficulty in the Law, or is having a bit of fun. He is rather like a dictator, only larger and more arbitrary.

Q.:          What does the Church think of God the Son?
A.:          He is in some way to be identified with Jesus of Nazareth. It is not His fault that the world was made like this, and, unlike God the Father, he is friendly to man and did His best to reconcile man to God (see Atonement). He has a good deal of influence with God, and if you want anything done, it is best to apply to Him.

Q.:          What does the Church think about God the Holy Ghost?
A.:          I don’t know exactly. He was never seen or heard of till Pentecost. There is a sin against Him which damns you forever, but nobody knows what it is.

Q.:          What is the doctrine of the Trinity?
A.:          “The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the whole thing incomprehensible.” It’s something put in by theologians to make it more difficult—it’s got nothing to do with daily life or ethics.

Q.:          What was Jesus Christ like in real life?
A.:          He was a good man—so good as to be called the Son of God. He is to be identified in some way the God the Son (see above). He was meek and mild and preached a simple religion of love and pacifism. He has no sense of humor. Anything in the Bible that suggests another side to His character must be an interpolation, or a paradox invented by G. K. Chesterton. If we try to live like Him, God the Father will let us off being damned hereafter and only have us tortured in this life instead.

Q.:          What is meant by the Atonement?
A.:          God wanted to damn everybody, but His vindictive sadism was sated by the crucifixion of His own Son, who was quite innocent, and, therefore, a particularly attractive victim. He now only damns people who don’t follow Christ or who never heard of Him.

Q.:          What does the Church think of sex?
A.:          God made it necessary to the machinery of the world, and tolerates it, provided the parties (a) are married, and (b) get no pleasure out of it.

Q.:          What does the Church call Sin?
A.:          Sex (otherwise than as excepted above); getting drunk; saying “damn”; murder, and cruelty to dumb animals; not going to church; most kinds of amusements. “Original sin” means that anything we enjoy doing is wrong.

Q.:          What is faith?
A.:          Resolutely shutting your eyes to scientific fact.

Q.:          What is the human intellect?
A.:          A barrier to faith.

Q.:          What are the seven Christian virtues?
A.:          Respectability; childishness; mental timidity; dullness; sentimentality; censoriousness; and depression of spirits.

Q.:          Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?
A.:          No fear!

This kind of close, observant understanding of what people today really think about Christianity is crucial to the business of translating the gospel for one’s own culture. Though that “culture” is always a moving target, that doesn’t remove our responsibility to understand that target and articulate the gospel in terms understandable by it.

Of course, when we do this sort of thing the first thing we’ll be told by other well-meaning Christians is that we are compromising the gospel, or syncretizing it with foreign material. While that’s certainly a possible error, it was not one that Sayers made: or at least, not one that she made very often–and certainly not one she made intentionally. More than almost any other modern lay theologian, Sayers refused to compromise orthodox theology in her apologetic responses to such misunderstandings.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that she’s just a darn good writer—compelling, funny, insightful, choosing just the right turn of phrase for her audience. Man, I love reading Sayers.

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Trusting The Voice

A young pilot had just passed the point of no return when the weather changed for the worse. Visibility dropped to a matter of feet as fog descended to the earth. 

Putting total trust in the cockpit instruments was a new experience to him, for the ink was still wet on the certificate verifying that he was qualified for instrument flying. 

The landing worried him the most. His destination was a crowded metropolitan airport he wasn't familiar with. 

In a few minutes he would be in radio contact with the tower. Until then, he was alone with his thoughts. 

His instructor had practically forced him to memorize the rulebook. He didn't care for it at the time, but now he was thankful. 

Finally he heard the voice of the air traffic controller."I'm going to put you on a holding pattern," the controller radioed. Great! thought the pilot. 

However, he knew that his safe landing was in the hands of this person. He had to draw upon his previous instructions and training, and trust the voice of an air traffic controller he couldn't see. 

Aware that this was no time for pride, he informed the controller, "This is not a seasoned pro up here. I would appreciate any help you could give me." 

"You've got it!" he heard back. 

For the next 45 minutes, the controller gently guided the pilot through the blinding fog. 

As course and altitude corrections came periodically, the young pilot realized the controller was guiding him around obstacles and away from potential collisions. 

With the words of the rulebook firmly placed in his mind, and with the gentle voice of the controller, he landed safely at last. 

The Holy Spirit guides us through the maze of life much like that air traffic controller. 

The controller assumed that the young pilot understood the instructions of the flight manual. His guidance was based on that. 

Such is the case with the Holy Spirit: He can guide us if we have knowledge of God's Word and His will established in our minds. 

Getting All The Air Out Of The Glass

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?"

One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" 

Moody replied,"That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass."

After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed."

He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The point is, unless you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you'll continue to struggle with sins.

The Blinds and Colors

The people who are blind since birth cannot appreciate colors! There is nothing you can use to make the comparison for them to comprehend. 

Similarly, the spiritually blinds are not be able to appreciate the beauty of our Lord. You cannot force them to 'see'. Let the Holy Spirit open their eyes first then they will see!

Rev Albert Kang

Conviction of the Holy Spirit

One night when I arose to preach in the Chicago Avenue Church I saw sitting just to my left in the front seat underneath the gallery one of my deacons and side by side with him a flashily-dressed and hard-looking man. I at once concluded that he was a sporting man and I said to myself, “Deacon Young has been fishing to-day.” It is a good thing to have deacons that go fishing on Sunday—fishing for souls.

Every little while as I was preaching, I would turn around and look at that man. His eyes were riveted upon me. He was paying the closest attention. Evidently the whole scene was strange to him and some power, mysterious to him, had taken hold of him. When we went to the inquiry room below, Deacon Young brought him along.

I was late talking to inquirers that night, and about eleven o’clock Deacon Young came over to me as I finished with one inquirer and said, “Come over here and talk to a man that I have.” I went over. It was this big sporting man. He was shaking and groaning with emotion.

“Oh,” he groaned,” I don’t know what is the matter with me. I never felt like this before in all my life. I never was in a place like this before,” he continued. “My mother keeps a gambling house in Omaha, and we are Roman Catholics, but this afternoon as I was going down the street over here, I saw some of your men holding an open air meeting. As I passed, one of them rose to speak. I had known him before when he was leading a wild life, and out of curiosity I stopped to listen. I listened until he was done speaking and then continued on my way, intending to go down on Cottage Grove Avenue to meet some men to pass the afternoon gambling. But I had not gone two blocks before some strange power took hold of me and brought me back to the meeting. When the meeting broke up, this man (pointing to Deacon Young) brought me to your church to the Yoke Fellow’s Supper, and then to the meeting afterwards, then took me up-stairs to hear you preach. Then he brought me down here. Oh,” he groaned again, “I don’t know what is the matter with me. I feel awful. I never felt this way before in all my life.”

“I will tell you what is the matter with you,” I said. “You are under conviction of sin. The Spirit of God is dealing with you. Will you take Christ as your Saviour?”

The huge man fell on his knees on the floor and commenced to cry to God for mercy. Jesus Christ met him there. His sobs ceased, a look of peace came into his face and he left the building rejoicing in Christ. 

-- R. A. Torrey

From R.A. Torrey's Anecdotes and Illustrations

Batteries Included!

You know when you buy toys for your kids or grand-kids often times on the package in fine print are these words: “Batteries not included.” 

Do you know what that means? 

It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gives. 

God’s gift of holiness includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - the power to make it work. 

For God, the Batteries Are Included!

(Steven Dow - Sermon Central).

He's Alive

Gordon Brownville's Symbols of the Holy Spirit tells about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole and to discover the South Pole. 

On one of his trips, Amundsen took a homing pigeon with him. When he had finally reached the top of the world, he opened the bird's cage and set it free. Imagine the delight of Amundsen's wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above. No doubt she exclaimed, "He's alive! My husband is still alive!" 

So it was when Jesus ascended. He was gone, but the disciples clung to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit. What joy, then, when the dove-like Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious at the right of the Father. This continues to be the Spirit's message. 

Thomas Lindberg