"God's Presence Today"
Ephesians 6:10-18; Acts 2:1-4
Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 2007

Introduction: Story: There is a monastery in Greece perched high on a cliff, several hundred feet in the air. The only way to reach the monastery is to be suspended in a basket which is pulled to the top by several monks who pull and tug with all their strength. Obviously, the ride up the steep cliff in that basket is terrifying. One day, while riding in the basket, a tourist got exceedingly nervous about half-way up as he noticed that the rope by which he was suspended was old and frayed. With a
trembling voice, he asked the monk who was riding with him in the basket how often they changed the rope. The monk thought for a moment and answered serenely, "Whenever it breaks."
All too often, we forget about God’s presence in our lives until we reach a breaking point. Then we cry out to God for help. As long as we remain arrogant and determined to do things our own way, God can’t shape us and mold us. We are reminded in Psalm 34:18 that “the Lord is close to the broken hearted.”

So as we celebrate PENTECOST Sunday today, which is the reminder of God sending us His Holy Spirit, we are going to talk about God’s presence in our lives.

I. God Sends Angels- (1 Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 6:12, 4:27

James 4:7)

a. Angles as spectators- We have been talking about God’s angels for

the last 6 weeks. We have learned much, about how they are created beings, their purpose is to serve God, and to serve us as God directs. They are protectors and messengers, communicators and ministers. Their goal is to see that God’s will is done in our lives and in the world.

And so today, I want us to understand that God sends His angels on our behalf. BUT, there is always a time and a purpose for which God sends His angels. Until this time, the angels watch us. As the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4:9, “For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.” Now it might be a little disconcerting to think that the angels are watching us, but it shouldn’t be, because they are watching with anticipation, until that time God sends them to help us, or rescue us, or comfort us, or guide us!

As God’s angels have watched the drama of this age unfold, they have seen the Christian church established and grow. The angels are observing firsthand the building of the body of the church in all places; even this very hour. But what do you think they are thinking as they watch us? Are they observing us as we stand fast in our faith? Or are they disheartened by the seeming lack of commitment so many Christians have to their faith and the church?

I know our church isn’t perfect, and our faith isn’t either. But I am amazed at how I see people get frustrated about something, and then just disappear without seeking to resolve their frustration or their conflict. This is not what God wants of us. But even more, when people leave, they usually don’t leave to go to another church, they just stop going to church! What do the angels, and what does God think of this? In this sense, we have been made a spectacle.

Our certainty that angels right now witness how we are walking through life should mightily influence the decisions we make. God is watching, and His angels are interested spectators too. And when we make good and right decisions, when we seek to be unified, when we serve others in the name of God, they are there, cheering. Wouldn’t it be great to hear this cheering, just like you would in a sporting event?

We are given the charge to live righteously in our lives. This is sobering, because it is a daily struggle for us to live in right ways. As Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:21, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” Paul was trying to stir Timothy up to get him to live right. The angels are watching with great hope and have great satisfaction when we live for Christ faithfully.

b. Angels as assistants- EX. In the early days of World War II,

Britain’s air force saved it from invasion and defeat. In her book “Tell No Man,” Adela Rogers St. John describes something strange that happens. At an event honoring Air Chief Marshal Lord Hugh Dowding, Dowding told about airmen who were on a mission, and were hit. Some were incapacitated and some were dead, but their planes kept flying and fighting. The air chief marshal said he believed that angels had actually flown some of the planes for the dead pilots… This would be difficult to prove, but we do know from the Bible that the angels do assist us in our lives.

God sends angels to us to help us to victory over evil. As we read in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Lucifer controls many principalities, powers and dominions. He is already gathering the nations of the world for the last great battle in the war against Christ, which is the battle of Armageddon.

But the battle has already been won by Christ. It is a foregone conclusion that Christ and His followers will be victorious. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:22, “who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” But Satan doesn’t want to give up, so he is giving it his all to lead people away from God, and to his side.

And yet you might want to say: “This is all well and good that the final battle is a foregone conclusion, but until that happens it doesn’t help me because I have to contend with Satan every day.” The Bible tells us how to get victory over the devil. Ephesians 4:27 says: “Do not give the devil a foothold.” In other words, don’t leave any vacant places in your heart for him. And James tells us in James 4:7, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

But giving our heart fully to God and resisting, is only part of the story. The good news is that we are not in the battle alone. God sends His angels to be a powerful part of this battle. God’s holy angels are appointed to guard us. And even more, we are to rely on the presence of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

II. God Sent the Holy Spirit- (John 15, 15-16, 16:7; Acts 2:1-4; Eph. 6:18)

a. The Promise- EX. You have probably heard the story where there

is a man sitting on the top of his roof because of flooding all around him. First, a man in a boat comes by and offers to help him. “No,” the man on the roof says, “it looks too crowded in there. Besides, I’m trusting God to help me.” Next, a power boat comes by offering to help. The man again refuses, saying that God will help him. Finally, a helicopter comes by and drops a rope offering to help. Again the man shouts out that he is okay, God will rescue him. In the meantime the water continues to rise. Ultimately the man drowns and goes to heaven. When the man comes before God, he is a little perturbed with God. “Lord,” he says, “I trusted you to help me, and yet I drowned.” And God looks at the man and says: “What do you mean, I did help you, I sent you a row boat, a power boat and a helicopter!”

God has given us a great amount of help in life, and one of the greatest provisions is the Holy Spirit. In the gospel of John, chapter 14, Jesus is telling His disciples that He is going to be leaving them soon. Jesus tells them that when He leaves, they will not be left alone, but that the Spirit of God will be with them. And then Jesus tells them that the Holy Spirit will be an Advocate for them, a helper, and He will be a counselor to them, and He will convict them of their sin, and He will lead them in the ways of God and guide them into the truth of God.

In fact, Jesus tells them that it is for their good (and for our good) that Jesus leaves the earth; John 16:7, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” This is part of the gift of Christ to us by His death and resurrection. Because of the death of Christ on the cross, we were made righteous. Without this act, we could not have the Spirit of God dwell within us.

And so as we go through life, we can know that God has not left us alone, but lives within us by His Spirit. His Spirit is there to give us wisdom, courage, and understanding. As Jesus tells us in John 14:15-16, ¹⁵"If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” How could Jesus ask us to obey the commands? It is because the Holy Spirit is there to counsel and guide us.

The Holy Spirit is also there for us to call upon. In Ephesians 6:18 we read, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying…”

b. The Reality- EX: Loneliness is a growing problem in our society. A

study by the American Council of Life Insurance reported that the most lonely group in America are college students. That's surprising! But next on the list are divorced people, welfare recipients, single mothers, rural students, housewives, and the elderly. I can imagine that the disciples were feeling some twinges of loneliness as Jesus was telling them He was going to be going away. In fact, I think Jesus sensed this, that is why in John 14:1 He says- “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.”

And so, the deposit that is given to us by God so that we will trust, is the Holy Spirit. God sent His Spirit to us so that we might not have any reason to be lonely. In the Holy Spirit we have One who will be a comforter to us in troubled times. And yet, until we experience the presence of the Holy Spirit, there is always some doubt.

This is why the Day of Pentecost is so important. This Day is the mani-festation of Jesus’ promise. It is the proof that God is here with us. Now while the Holy Spirit is invisible, there was visible proof that the Holy Spirit had come. Hear again from Acts 2:2-4, “²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”/ If you didn’t catch it at the first reading, let me highlight it for you.

First, there was a sound. The sound I’m sure woke them up to the possibility that something was happening. The sound was like a violent wind. If this is true, then there must have been some things being blown around them. Then they saw what “appeared” to be tongues of fire, and it rested on each of them. Maybe this was a warmth that enveloped them, and it would have been noticeable. Then they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Could that have been felt? I’m not sure. Maybe it was some kind of tingling. I know that there are times when I am praying, and a tingling comes over my whole body. I feel like it is God’s Spirit moving over me. And finally, they speak. They don’t speak in their native language, they speak in another tongue. I myself speak in tongues, and when I do, you know it is not a language I have learned. These followers of Christ experienced something profound, noticeable, and visible. After this happened, they remembered Jesus’ words, and experienced that fulfilling of Jesus’ promise, that the Holy Sprit, the Spirit of God would come!!

God promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent. And the Day of Pentecost is the proof that the Holy Spirit was sent, to the disciples, and to all those after who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

III. God Sends us- (Ephesians 6:10-17)

a. Sent out- Illus. Tyler got a game last Christmas called STRATEGO.

What was fun about this, is it was a game I loved to play as a junior higher. The way you play the game is you have different pieces with various numbers, ranging from 2 to 10. The 10 can take any other piece except another 10. So the higher pieces take the lower pieces. The object is to move to get the other person’s flag. You also have pieces that are called “scouts.” The scouts are a 2, and cannot take anyone. But they are the only piece that can move more than 1 square. So they do have an important position in the game. Let’s say that your opponent is moving a piece toward your 9. What piece is it? If it is a 10, you will lose your 9. So you can jump a scout ahead to check out what the piece is. In this way, you can plan what to do next.

God sends us out, just like the Holy Spirit was sent out, and just like the angels are sent out. We are sent out with a purpose. Sometimes we might feel like a scout. We might feel like we don’t have much power, and thus we don’t feel like we have much purpose. We are not an angel. We are not the Holy Spirit. We are just like a lowly scout. But God has given us a purpose. And to carry out this purpose, we have been filled with God’s Spirit, and are watched over by God’s angels.

b. Our purpose- So let’s go back to Ephesians 6:10-17 and look at

what this passage says to us about our purpose.

1. First, we are told to be strong in the Lord. We can be

strong in the Lord because we have the Spirit of God within us. So we have the power of God available to us. And we have been given armor as protection, and to help us to stand strong.

2. Second, we are told to stand against evil. There is much

evil around us. But all too often we ignore the evil, or fail to speak out against the evil. This is one reason why evil prevails. Everything we say and do these days is supposed to be “politically correct.” If you do or say anything that is against what is politically correct, then you are ridiculed or labeled as being afraid of whatever it is you are speaking against. But no matter whether it is politically correct or not, if it falls under the category of “evil,” then we must stand against it. We can stand against it by what we say, by how we vote, and by what we allow to be part of our lives.

3. Third, we have the belt of truth so that we can speak the

truth, and live the truth. By this, we are giving an example of what God would have us to believe and do, and hopefully this gives an alternate example against the evil that is being practiced.

4. Fourth, is proclaiming the gospel. Jesus has given us the

purpose of telling others about God’s word, God’s ways, and God’s love. We must let God give us the courage to speak this to others. It is not uncommon for us to find ourselves in a conversation where we can talk about what the Bible says. We must take advantage of these opportunities.

5. Fifth is peace. There is too much fighting and conflict in

our world. Unfortunately, it is in the church as well. We must find a way to be reconciled, and we must find a way to live in peace with each other. How can we talk about God’s love and peace if we cannot live it out ourselves in the church?

6. Last is salvation. I say it all the time, but that is because it

is so important. We who know what it is to be saved, to believe in Jesus Christ, need to let those who aren’t saved know how they can be saved. It is a simple but powerful message: We have done wrong. This wrong keeps us out of heaven. Jesus died on the cross to take away this wrong and to bring us back to God. By saying we are sorry for our wrong, and saying we believe it is Jesus who takes our wrongs away, we are saved. We all can know this message well enough to tell others!

Conclusion: Today is about the coming of the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Have you experienced God’s Spirit living within you? Have you experienced the power of God flowing through you? If not, I encourage you to come to the Alpha retreat, which will be held here in our Fellowship Hall on Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16 (see your insert flyer for more details). Even more, you can experience God’s presence and power by giving yourself over to God. Praise God for Jesus’ death and resurrection, not only bringing us salvation, but bringing us the presence of His Spirit to reside and work within us. Amen.