We Have the Spirit…Let’s Drink

The title of this message seems appropriate in this place where alcohol is freely flowing—Vegas baby! Please don’t get me wrong: my purpose is not to take the message of Pentecost lightly. On other hand, if you feel that the title makes you thirst for something you have already given up, or thought you have already given up, read my lips: that is not my intention! But if you see that the title tends to radicalize the message of Pentecost, then, hey! let’s drink to it!

In some churches today, Pentecost Sunday is a great opportunity for “P-type believers”—Pentecostals—to go dancing and praising God, perhaps more than they usually do on a regular Sunday. If your church service is ritualistic, bland, and boring, please don’t invite these P-type believers—they’d rather be in the Dancing with the Stars show than in your church!

I wonder how many of you who are not P-types but perhaps your boring church has made you consider giving “full of Spirit,” jolly and fast-growing church down the road a try. Yeah, why not? Over there, the “anointed preaching” of the tongue-speaking preacher makes his people literally shake, rattle and roll… perhaps in a way that would make Elvis Presley look like an amateur!

But before you say goodbye to your boring church, please understand what it really means to be Pentecostal in the biblical sense. The way to do that is to read the Scripture, Acts 2:1-21, which may be the favorite passage of our Pentecostal sisters and brothers, and to really understand it.

[Read Scripture]

Filled with the Holy Spirit

Believers agree that we all need the same filling-with-the-Holy-Spirit experience. It is in how they know that they actually have such an experience that they differ. Most, if not all, Pentecostals say that the only way to know that is if you speak in tongues and so making the tongue as evidence for being filled with the Holy Spirit.

But I think that misses the point. Why did the Holy Spirit enable the disciples to speak in tongues? The answer is to enable them to proclaim the good news of salvation in Christ clearly and effectively!

The tongue was not the end; rather, it was a means to an end. The goal of speaking in tongues was not so that the disciples might have wonderful ecstatic experience as a result of the Spirit of God coming to them; the goal was so that people understood the good news of salvation as “each one heard their own language being spoken.” In other words, the goal was more for the sake of the hearers rather than the speakers.

I’m sure it was a great and wonderful experience to be filled with the Holy Spirit as it is still today, but let’s not forget that speaking in tongues was not the end but a means to an end. So if today the same end can be had without speaking in tongues or unknown languages why then should one insist that you and I should speak in tongues?

If we should be looking for evidence for being filled with the Holy Spirit, then I would say that the evidence is found not in speaking in tongues but in a powerful and effective way of communicating the good news of salvation so that those that need to hear it, hear it in a clear and understandable way!

They had too much wine

Having said that, let me say loud and clear that while we do not make speaking in tongues a requirement, being filled with the Spirit of God is. We should not undermine the power of making a scene in a world whose attention is hard to get. And how can we do that without being filled with the Spirit of God?

If today God would enable us to speak foreign languages to the millions that visit Las Vegas each month, then we should not resist it. I’d be glad to speak in tongues if that is what God wants. But is that the only way how God works? Of course not!

Perhaps the reason why God may not enable us to speak in tongues today is because the people who come to Las Vegas already understand English! However, it seems to me that the key is not just the language but the manifestation of the Spirit of God as we prophesy which, in the context of our Scripture passage, does not mean to foretell or predict the future but simply to forth-tell or to simply proclaim the good news!

How will the Spirit of God manifest his presence as we proclaim? I am not sure.

How about the wonders and signs? Well, God said, “I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below” (v. 19) So don’t worry about wonders and signs, they are God’s works, not ours! All we should do is to pray that God would help us do our part, and that is to proclaim the good news so that those that hear may call on the name of the Lord and be saved (v. 21).

But here’s what I believe: if we are filled with the Spirit of God, then God will manifest his presence in a way that those that witness our proclamation of good news will notice something different…something out of ordinary…something divine.

But if there are still those whose eyes do not see the presence of God despite the Spirit’s manifestation through us and make fun of us saying we are crazy, or weird, or, yes, even drunk!, then we should give thanks. Why? Because such comment may be an indication that indeed we are drunk… but not with wine but with the Holy Spirit!

The Power of the Word

Read Mark 1:21-28 

What can words do? A lot!

Imagine what a single word can do to a young man who’s been courting a girl for years and about to give up when all of a sudden she responds to his seemingly useless wooing with a ‘yes.’

Sadly, however, if words can make one ecstatic, they can also make one’s life a tragic.

Can words kill? No, not directly that is. But CBS News reports that “more than 150 children have taken their own lives in recent years because they were victims of harassment in school and online.” *

We cannot undermine the power of speech because, indeed, words can either build or destroy!

When it comes to the words of Jesus, his words have direct power. He simply speaks and the man possessed by an evil spirit is delivered. It is because of the power of the words of Jesus that, as a teacher, he was perceived as “one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”

I don’t think that the teachers of the law were bad teachers, or that they did not teach the truth. Speaking the truth, however, does not make one a person of authority. If it does, then the man possessed by an evil spirit was a person who had authority because he truthfully declared Jesus: “I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (v. 24b).

What makes Jesus different is that his words are the very words of the Word. In the first chapter of the Gospel of John the evangelist declares: “¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

In the creation story in Genesis 1 the phrase “And God said” jumps out of the text as it is repeatedly used to show how God created. In the Gospel of John, “the Word of God” is not just some verbal utterance but a person, namely, Jesus.

Jesus speaks with authority because he is a person of authority. He is the Lord and, therefore, every word he utters is the very word of God.

God’s word is not just meant to declare truth, however important that maybe.  In the first place, we notice that the Word of God acted in creation. Then, in this Gospel narrative, we see the Word being active in redemption because, although everything God created “was very good” (Gen. 1:31), at some point evil entered the world and tried, and still do, to “possess” God’s creation, especially the human race.

The deliverance of the demon possessed man in the synagogue illustrates the insidious influence of evil. But, more importantly, it shows the power of the Word to deliver and redeem and restore.

And, I believe, that the Word will do the final act of re-creation in the making of “a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13).

On a personal level, our relationship with the Word can change our lives in a very powerful way. We may not like comparing ourselves to the demon-possessed man in this Gospel story but the truth is, evil has also gotten hold of us. The good news, Jesus, the Word, can redeem and restore us if we put our faith in him. If we do, then we can also look forward to our eternal home—not heaven, which is a temporary “residence” of the faithful who die, but the “new heaven and new earth”!

(Thank you for reading. Please make your thoughts known and write your comment. And if this is worth reading, please share it with your friends. -Ed)

The End of the World

Read 2 Peter 3:10-13

A Discover Magazine article has a list of  ”20 Ways the World Could End.” The Bible has only one. And it declares it in a matter-of-fact way: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare” (v. 10).

Now that’s pretty scary. Is it going to happen in 2012? Despite NASA’s assurance that “Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012,” a vast number of people are getting ready for doomsday.

“Worried Americans are rushing to buy everything from £17 survival guides to £32,000-per-person places in bunkers that are marketed as being both nuclear bomb and asteroid-proof,” Tom Leonard (www.dailymail.co.uk) reports.

“But it’s not just America. Mayan apocalypse converts have started flocking to Bugarach, a tiny hilltop town in the foothills of the Pyrenees.” And Leonard adds, “The 200-strong local community has had to contend with 20,000 visitors since the start of last year, and the French government is worried about the threat of mass suicides.”

Since the end is associated with “the day of the Lord” which “will come like a thief,” who knows when the world will end? And because the Bible declares a total devastation by fire (“everything will be destroyed”), who will be spared?

“But”–here’s good news–”in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (v. 13). Those who believe and made righteous through faith in Christ (Romans 5:19), will find their resurrected selves in “a new heaven and a new earth.”

For those who believe in Christ the end will be a new beginning.

 

 

Jesus: “You will see greater things…”

Read John 1:43-51

On some hot and humid day, the best thing to do is do nothing.  A good place to do just that: under the shade of broad-leafed fig tree. And if it’s too hot to go elsewhere for some snacks, the tree might offer some sweet refreshment as well!

But perhaps Nathanael was just killing time under the tree. Or, maybe, he got tired walking around with Philip and needed some rest.

We can make all kinds of conjectures about what’s up with Nathanael but, in reading the story, you get the feeling that his day was like most days… uneventful… ordinary… boring.

Before the day was over, however, his friend, Philip, found him. And before he could say anything, Philip breathlessly blurted what seemed to be the most important thing ever:  “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

But skeptic Nate was quick with his wit: “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

How can you convince a guy who seemed to have made up his mind about something? Well, try Philip’s trick because it worked!

“Come and see,” that’s all that he said… and Nate came and saw!

And look what he saw! He saw Him that knew him before they saw each other and who said to him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”

Surprised that Jesus knew him a lot better than some people that knew him did, he asked, “How do you know me?”“I

“I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

What a strange thing to hear from someone you’ve just met! And if you were Nate, you’d probably wonder, Who is this guy?

But the moment he heard those words, Nate remembered what his friend Philip said about him. And immediately he believed that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, was indeed the Messiah!

But that was just the beginning of this strange but wonderful experience with Jesus. Jesus said, “Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that.”

True to his promise, Jesus performed many miraculous signs, the first of which was at the wedding in Nate’s hometown. There, in Cana, Jesus turned water into wine!

“You will see greater things…”

As we ponder upon these words of Jesus, we may ask the question, Is this promise also for the rest of us who have followed Jesus?

Yes!

How do we know that?

Well, the pronoun “you” is plural, which implies that the promise is not just for Nate but to all that read this story and respond to the call and follow Jesus.

And, indeed, the Lord appears to be in the habit of showing great things to people, especially to those that call upon him.

Jeremiah 33:3, a verse a lot of us know, has this wonderful promise: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV).

But why is it that our experience is often devoid of these “great and mighty things”?

I can only speak for myself, really. But if you are like me, then your walk with Jesus is perhaps more cerebral than spiritual… more talk than walk.

People that make good use of their brain, which is often a good thing, have the tendency to be more intellectual than spiritual and experiential and practical in their walk with the Lord. The thing is, we are to love the Lord, not only with all our mind but also with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength (Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27).

The other day Averell, a theologian friend, posted on Facebook the following quote from Danish philosopher, theologian and religious author Søren Kierkegaard which a Bible scholar friend and I liked:

It is only all too easy to understand the requirements contained in God’s Word (“Give all your goods to the poor.” “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the left.” “If anyone takes your coat, let him have your cloak also.” “Rejoice always.” “Count it sheer joy when you meet various temptations” etc.). The most ignorant, poor creature cannot honestly deny being able to understand God’s requirements. But it is tough on the flesh to will to understand it and to then act accordingly. Herein lies the problem. It is not a question of interpretation, but action. (“Provocations”)

When Nathanael believed, Jesus did not say to him, “Good, Nate. Your answer is correct. I am the Messiah.”

Instead, he said to him, “You will see greater things…”

Perhaps the reason why ‘greater things’ is not a regular part of our experience is because we are more interested in knowing what ‘greater things’ mean rather  than seeing and experiencing them!

The other week I told an “advanced” Bible study group that, since they had “graduated” from “basic stuff” of the Christian faith, rather than me deciding the topic, they decide  what they want us to tackle.

The first thing topic they chose was a controversial one: “Slain in the Holy Spirit.”

I was apprehensive because the group is a mixture of believers whose church backgrounds include Fundamental, Evangelical, Catholic, Pentecostal, Methodist or another mainline denomination.

Some of those that were from a non-Pentecostal background were strongly opposed to the idea because the Holy Spirit, rather than “slay,” gives life to those that believe in Jesus.

After looking at the Scripture texts that proponents use to defend the experience of being “slain in the Spirit,” we all agreed that “slain in the Spirit” was not well supported and the concept was problematic. In all those Scripture texts, however, we noticed a common denominator: people’s special encounter with the Lord that affected or changed their lives.

One such good example is  Saul’s encounter with Lord on the way to Damascus. It turned his life around—he stopped persecuting believers and became a believer himself and an apostle of Jesus! (Acts 9:1-19).

Saul’s dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was  his first great experience. And it was followed by the many other great experiences as a follower of Jesus and as an Apostle known by the name of Paul. God performed  many “signs and wonders” not only for but also through him (see e.g., Acts 14:3; Acts 15:12).

Is it because Paul was special that he, and those like him, alone could see and experience great and mighty things?

I don’t think so?

So what’s the secret?

There is really no secret because to everyone that Jesus says “Come and follow me” he also gives the promise, ““You will see greater things…”

So why is it that we don’t often see those great and mighty things? Perhaps the reason is because we do not always follow the Lord the way we should—wholeheartedly.

But we can do something about that.

If we want our Christian life to be exciting rather than boring, we should love the Lord not only with all our mind but also with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength. And we should stick with Jesus, for it is only by being present that we can witness the Lord’s mighty hand doing wondrous things! Amen.

Intimate things about a ‘Facebooking’ God

Mark 1:9-11 (NIV)

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

—

Facebook has changed our lives forever. Thanks–but no thanks?–to Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Time Magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year.

People have things to say about Facebook. Here’s one from Facebook user Marketta Phillips: “I love and hate facebook because it has reconnected me with people, connected me to people I would probably not have met as easily and has kept me connected to people (even after you have blocked them) that I have tried to get rid of.”

Whatever our feelings are toward Facebook, life is no longer the same for those of us who use it. We voluntarily give up our privacy when we willingly share some intimate things with Facebook friends whose friends, who can be total strangers, may be able to see them, too!  But despite the risks of using Facebook, over 800 million active users have returned to the site in the last 30 days!^* 

Personally, I like using Facebook. Of course there are times when I wish some girl friends wouldn’t always post pictures of them  that make them look like they are candidating to become models for a magazine for men, or flaunt to the world what they’ve bought during their last shopping spree. But overall, I like Facebook and Facebooking.

Through Facebook I’ve made some good friends with whom I can share stuff: fun, prayer concerns, ideas, etc. Some of these friends I’ve never met before, nevertheless, to me, they are good friends. The other day I made this comment on the status of one such friend who was celebrating his birthday: “Strange it may be but some of my good friends I haven’t met in person yet I know them better than some of my neighbors!”

I think it’s a wonderful thing that a friendship can grow even between people who have not seen each other face to face. And the good news is that, in our relationship with God, the same thing can happen. We haven’t really seen God or Jesus, that is, literally or face to face. But thanks be to a ‘Facebooking’ God!–we can know some of the intimate things about our heavenly Father and his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Here’s what we find on God’s “Facebook status” today: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” God the Father willingly shares with us and to all the world his intimate relationship with the Son. God introduces his Son to us and and invites us to partake in the divine love by “adding” Jesus as friend so that we may know  more about him, and by knowing him we’ll know  more about our loving God! And when we who are friends of Jesus become friends as well, then that divine love that takes place in the Godhead can become part of our experience if we let the love of God be the venue and occasion for our relationship.

Yes, a heavenly experience of a loving relationship with God and with with one another can be had even while we live in this fallen world! But first, we have to add Jesus as friend.

___

^*http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet

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