Sermon: Powered by the Spirit

"Powered by the Spirit"
Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2: 1-21
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
May 15, 2016


When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Acts 2: 1-21


There is something to be said for the power of showing up. The apostles were committed to holding fast to Jesus’ promise: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). The apostles showed up and waited together in unity. Even with all their questions and stumbling the apostles kept trying to take the next right step. They made an effort to trust their Rabbi and Risen Savior. And then it happened; God’s faithfulness not only showed up but God’s faithfulness poured out. The apostles heard the Spirit. They felt the Spirit move. They saw God blaze a trail among them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence. And they responded.

It matters that the apostles experienced the power of Holy Spirit in a very visual way. In a recent article Deborah Thompson Prince, a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, shared her insights on Pentecost:

Visions are spread throughout the story of the early church because the Risen Jesus continues to communicate with his followers even after his resurrection. Jesus’ ministry is carried on within the Jesus community, the church. But to persist in this mission, the church must continue to see the path that God has laid before it through Christ. The Pentecost story reveals that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that believers are invited to see what God would show them. [1]

We are misled in thinking the revelation of Holy Spirit at Pentecost is a one day event. The daily walk of faith means we are intentionally seeking to follow God’s Spirit one day at a time. Holy Spirit is not a thing. Holy Spirit is our source of power to take the next right step in God’s faithfulness as the body of Christ. In order for Holy Spirit to show up and light the path God has laid before us, we must be committed to show up, listen, and see the Spirit’s movement among us.

This year the spiritual leaders of the church – our nine ruling elders and I – are learning about the Holy Spirit. We are reading and discussing “Sailboat Church,” by Rev. Joan Gray.

Gray says, “Early Christian symbols include a boat as a symbol for the church. In Jesus’ time, there were two ways to power a boat on open water. One was to use muscles, most commonly by rowing. The other way was to harness the power of the wind. When early Christians used a boat as a symbol for the church, it was never a rowboat; it was always a sailboat. That is because on the day of Pentecost, with ‘a sound like the rush of a violent wind’ (Acts 2:1). Jesus’ promise of power became a reality and drew those who believed in him into a different way of living. “

Gray goes on to say some churches go about ministry like a rowboat church. They focus on human efforts such as the church’s strength, wisdom, and resources. Seeking God’s will and spiritual growth are not primary skills to hone. Transformation does not happen because the church becomes inwardly focused. The energy of the church is minimal because the church’s movement is solely powered by the members who are willing to row.

And then some churches go about ministry like a sailboat church. They focus upon opportunities to sail into the waves of God’s will by harnessing the power of Holy Spirit. They navigate God’s way forward with the compass of Scripture and prayer. They create spaces to hone skills to listen and see the Spirit’s movement in order to discern and follow God’s direction. Personal agendas are let go in order to prayerfully know what is good for the whole by partnering with God. [2]

There will be times and seasons when every church will lean more into a model of rowing or sailing. The spiritual leaders here – our nine ruling elders and I - are praying that in this next chapter of ministry that we will sail into the direction of God’s plans. As we all worship, study, connect, and serve together, we are trusting that God’s faithfulness will show up and pour out. We want to live so God can work through us anywhere we are and anytime we are open to the Spirit.

Today is an opportunity for God to open us more to the Spirit’s work among us. God always desires for us to tap into the ultimate source of life. God wants us to be powered by Holy Spirit. God intends for us to sail by God’s life-giving breath or wind.

The Spirit of Pentecost is the same Spirit which hovered over the dark and churning waters at the earth’s beginning. The Spirit brought calm from the chaos then and the Spirit still calms the chaos today.

The Spirit claims us in God’s love that will never let us go and the Spirit reveals this in God’s Word today.

The Spirit moved among the prophets to fill them with God’s energy, imagination, and love to lead the people of God. And the Spirit works through our leaders today.

The Spirit was promised by Jesus Christ as our Helper to teach us all that Christ commanded and the Spirit helps us today.

The Spirit moved mightily among the apostles and blazed God’s trail for them to see and the Spirit moves mightily today.

The Spirit brings peace, life, and power to follow God’s vision for real change in our lives and in the world.

I pray that as we stand in the story of Pentecost today that we would experience a renewed vision of God’s faithfulness and sail into it. The power of Holy Spirit was strong enough to forge the church all those generations ago. The same Holy Spirit desires to be moving among us in both gentle and powerful ways that bring energy, excitement, and passion for what God has already done, is doing now, and is yet to do among us. The Spirit just might move us in new and surprising ways!

I pray as we stand in the story of God’s promises and presence by sharing the bread of God’s abundance and the cup of Christ’s amazing grace that our spirits would be strengthened. I pray that we would indeed feel the movement of the Spirit among us so that we might dream and imagine and see all that God is laying before us.

May we seek to be powered by the Spirit and have the courage to respond. It’s all that easy and it’s all that hard.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources Resourced:

[1] Deborah Thompson Prince, “The Visionary Spirit of Pentecost,” The Presbyterian Outlook, May 11, 2016. http://pres-outlook.org/2016/05/visionary-spirit-pentecost/

[2] Joan Gray, “Sailboat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Practice (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.