The Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit

Sermon: The Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit

05 June 2022 Virtual Worship Service

UCCP Dubai Fellowship, 3:00 PM-Manila Time

By: Frank J. Hernando

Prayers of the People 10

Minister:  Creator God, your wonder is beyond our imagining. We thank you for the gift of this world we share, and for the common bonds that we share as your children. Bless us God, as we seek to find a way toward the peace you invite us to share. 

 

               Our world, our country and community has become unsafe places to live especially for the vulnerable ones. We pray that you help us overcome our fears and increase our courage to cooperate and forge our solidarity with communities to assert our right to live in justice and peace.

 

Guide us God as we walk that delicate line between being faithful to our own relationship with you, and yet remain understanding of those whose path is vastly different from our own. May your Holy Spirit empower us to widen our horizon and to challenge governments to engage more in dialogue and peace processes rather than strengthening armed forces and arms raising programs.

 

Remind us often that being faithful does not require that we close ourselves off from the faith of others.  Open our hearts, minds and spirits to people of every faith and culture. May the Mystery of your ways be the bridge that draws all of your people together in prayer for peace in our time. 

 

We pray for greater understanding between different cultures and religions in the world and that in the more and more people will be drawn to the sharing of the earth’s resources for common prosperity rather than to give way to greed and violence just to control people and their resources.

 

We pray for those who are in special need of your grace and healing today. For those who live in fear of violence; for refugees everywhere; for political prisoners and for those who imprison them; God, we ask for peace.   

 

We remember family members and friends and all those who are suffering of bodily ailments and diseases, we pray you reach out your healing touch to them to raise them up from their diseases whether physical, psychological or spiritual. 

 

For those who are grieving, or hungry, or in despair; for the lonely, and all who are ill or suffering, for any who struggle with addiction, and for all who live with chronic illness.  God, we trust in your power to be present with the suffering. We trust in your Spirit’s power to bring comfort, faith and strength where it is needed.

 

We pray, bring your radical, scandalous peace into our midst, and touch us all with your love, for we ask it in the name of the One who calls us ever forward, Jesus Christ our Savior and Peacemaker. Amen.

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Scripture Texts: Acts 2:1-21

2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14But 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. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17‘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. 18Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

John 14:8-27 New International Version

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

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SERMON: The Transforming Power of the Holy Spirit

Introduction

Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat dyan sa Dubai and UAE. Ako ay nagagalak sa ma-imbitahan ninyo na guest pastor for the month of June. I wasn’t sure if I was just thinking to be with you for this month or it was the intuition of CM Eric Baldonado to nominate me as the next guest pastor for your community. At any rate, I am delighted to accept this opportunity and responsibility, given that the OGS and the COB have not found the successor for Rev. Fred Carmelo. We hope and pray that we could find the Pastor who can be deployed there in your communities of faith.

Today we celebrate Pentecost Day. The Revised Common Lectionary has marked the first Sunday of June as Pentecost Sunday. From the Scripture lessons that we read a while ago, we are transported to the time when the disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem to worship the Risen Christ, that is on the 50th day after Jesus rose from the dead. It is a significant gathering because those believe that crucified and resurrected Jesus was the Messiah the Son of the LIving God. There are important matters of faith that we can glean from the Scripture texts we read today.

O N E

First, the apostles who were scattered immediately after the death of Jesus, have reassembled themselves, after Jesus resurrected appearances and ascension to the Father (God’s abode). Without that assured faith in Jesus Christ, the apostles would not have heeded the call to go and proclaim that Christ died not just for them, or for the Jewish nation, but for the world. 

While it is claimed that the Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit inaugurates the birth of the Church, the primary revelation of the event is the proclamation that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that the fear of the possible repercussion of the apostles’ proclamation were overcome when the Holy Spirit descended upon them and transformed their fears into self-transcendence. Hindi na ang kanilang sariling pakiramdam, or subjectivity ang mangingibabaw sa kanilang buhay at vocasyon, kung di ang pananampalataya sa Dyos na makapangyarihan at sila’y handa magbuhis ng kanilang buhay para sa mission ng Dyos sa sanlibutan. 

T W O

Alistair Roberts tells of the Pentecost as the birth of the Church, he says, 

The Church created at Pentecost is a dramatic contrast to the project of Babel and all attempts to repeat it. Rather than gathering all together within an imposed imperial uniformity and polity, the Church of Pentecost is scattered abroad, where it freely traverses all human differences with its message and identity. Dispersed throughout the world and its peoples, the unity of the Church represents God’s achievement and prerogative against the hubris of empires. Present within all nations, yet belonging to none, God’s worldwide kingdom cannot be contained, controlled, circumscribed, replicated, or assimilated by any other power. (unqoute)

During the last six months that led to the preparation of the the UCCP 12th Quadrennial GA, we, in the National Secretariat were discussing about our identity as a Church. Given that the UCCP was organized by the already existing protestant churches which were products of North American Mission initiatives. The very foundation of the UCCP was the belief in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Of course, in its organizational development, the Church evolved with its CBL and slowly integrating the different traditions and faith imperatives. But in the process our church leaders tried to further strengthen the unity the Church. The prophetic witness of the Church has not waned even with the persecution and threats to our pastors and bishops and even the laity, but the Holy Spirit continue to sustain the life and mission of the Church.

Moreover, Alistair Robers continued, I quote, As the people of Pentecost, our political vocation is to manifest the reality of God’s worldwide kingdom, to be a place where the enmity between peoples is overcome and the many tongues of humanity freely unite in the worship of their Creator. Amidst the Babelic projects of the ages, the Church proclaims by its existence that the kingdom belongs to God, that there is no other true ruler over all the nations. As God’s sovereignty is thus displayed, the vaunting empires of this world will be kept in their place. (unquote)

T H R E E

Another aspect of the Pentecost is its connection to the celebration of the Sabbath or Shavout in Hebrew, which Mark Davies elaborated in his exegesis or textual-historical interpretation, I quote:

  

The word “Pentecost” is derived from the Greek word for 50, pente. There is a natural sense of the “day of Pentecost” being fulfilled, since the original establishment of the celebration encouraged the people to “count” seven weeks of seven days from Passover until the day after the seventh Sabbath, or the 50th day. 

Over time, Mark Davies continued, the celebration of Shavuot was associated with the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. I suspect that ‘religious’ perspective was a later development of what was, originally, a more seasonal harvest festival. What I really like is how the Leviticus passage moves directly from thankfulness to justice, by following the long discussion of what kind of harvest offering to bring, with the ethical demand not to harvest the fields to their fullest extent, but to leave the edges for the poor. As I understand it, the landless would often follow behind the harvesters in order to pick up what had been dropped or to glean what had been left. Leviticus 23:22 is one of several places where the landed folk were to leave dropped bundles on the ground, were not to harvest all the way to the edges, were not to beat olive trees or strip grape vines completely, because they were once poor and landless and God had given the land to them. They, therefore, were to consider their land, their trees, and their vineyards as a means of providing for the poor. (unquote)

We are reminded of the how the Early Christian Church were organized, Christian Communities in Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia and even in Jerusalem worship God on a weekly basis, they listen to the teachings of the Apostles, gave witness to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and as an alternative community in the time of Roman imperial control, the Christians started an egalitarian economic life through the sharing of their resources, such as the selling of their properties and brought the money for sharing in their community of faith. These are the precedences of our tithing and offerings. 

These acts of kindness and compassion, I believe are the fruits of the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Early Christians. Their belief and conversion to the values of the kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed, enable them to give credence to this new faith that they found in Jesus Christ. The selfless giving of one’s resources and life itself for the cause of God’s kingdom has become an opportunity to serve God and God’s people especially those who are poor and marginalized.

CONCLUSION

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was anticipated by the disciples, when Jesus was still with them. John’s Gospel tells of the Paraclete, the Greek word for the Spirit of God. Indeed, it was a realization on the part of the Johannine Community that the Pentecost was the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to be with them, even if not physically, he will be with them. 

Sigurd Grindheim, explains, and I quote:

I get the impression that many Christians today think of the Holy Spirit as a battery charger. They think of him as a power that can empower them. When their life as a Christian is not the way they feel it should be, they need more power. Their batteries need to be recharged. They need another power charge from the Holy Spirit. That is not what the Holy Spirit is like. 

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. And when Christ could no longer be among his disciples he gave them the greater blessing. He promised to dwell in them, by his Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit is no separate gift for Christians. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the gift of Christ. “He will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13b-14) The presence of the Holy Spirit is a more immediate presence of Christ himself.

The Holy Spirit is known as the Spirit of truth. He is the Spirit that reminds us and teaches us the word of Jesus and that is the way through which we enjoy Jesus’ love. The word of Jesus, the revelation of Jesus, is first and foremost a revelation of the love that he has showed to us by dying for us. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

By dying and going to the Father, Jesus gave us the greater blessing. Since he has died for our sins, he is qualified to be our trial lawyer in the heavenly court. And since he has gone to the Father, he sends us his Spirit so that his word can be in us and his love can be in us. (unquote). Amen.