Garry spoke tonight on the subject of what makes a Pentecostal church. We are Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church – Goldthorpe is our location, and the fact that we’re a community church is our mission statement (‘with God in the community, with God for the community‘). But the word ‘Pentecostal’ doesn’t mean a lot to most people nowadays except as a denominational tag.

The Pentecostal movement arose at the start of the 20th century, after a century or more of liberal theology which sought to take the miraculous of the Bible, explaining miracles in natural ways.The first report of the Pentecostal movement in Britain was in September 1907 in Sunderland under the ministry of T. B. Barratt in an Anglican church where A. A. Boddy was the minister. This movement took what the Bible said literally and was characterised by preaching which focussed on hell, damnation, repentance and holiness of living, stressing the necessity of accepting Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord and Saviour and believing in the Holy Spirit, given as a gift to believers and working in miraculous power in and through us in the present day.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit (a key feature of Pentecostalism) is not believed by all Christians and is not necessary for salvation. When a person becomes a Christian, God gives them His Holy Spirit (see Rom 8:9-11) who dwells within us (1 Cor 3:16, 2 Cor 1:21-22). The baptism of the Spirit (or being filled with the Spirit) is nothing new; we read about this in Ex 31:2-3. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit even before birth (see Luke 1:11-15) and he taught that Jesus ‘will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’ (Matt 3:1-11) Jesus talked about this baptism in Acts 1:4-5 and we read about the first occurrence of this on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4.

One of the characteristics of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues (or other languages), as Acts 2:5-11 makes plain. We read many more instances of people being baptised in the Spirit in the book of Acts (e.g. Acts 10:34-36, Acts 19:1-6), seeing that this is not the same as becoming a Christian. This is a blessing and a gift which God longs to pour out on us. This gift enables us to be witnesses (Acts 1:8) and gives us strength and power. The challenge for each one of us is to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then to live in His power every day.

Stephen spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court on the parable of the yeast (Matt 13:33). Jesus often told stories to people using everyday objects as an example, talking about things people could relate to. In Biblical times, bread was often made without yeast (especially when commemorating the Passover, since the Israelites had had to flee Egypt in a hurry without time to make bread with yeast). Yeast is not much to look at, but the chemical reaction which occurs when it is mixed with flour and baked makes something small rise into a loaf much bigger than its constituent parts!

God likens the kingdom of heaven to yeast. The yeast works through the dough and spreads its influence everywhere. In the same way, the life of Christ within us is meant to spread out. We are meant to be the ‘cooker’, so to speak, letting Christ’s light shine so that His kingdom spreads. In the parable, the yeast was worked into sixty pounds of flour – that’s one big loaf or doughball! God’s kingdom is great and we need to realise that our influence, however small it may seem, can have a powerful effect on our communities.

God is at work in us and through us and wants to develop us and grow His life in us so that we spread out into our communities and see His kingdom come on earth as well as in heaven.

The Christian life is often likened to a journey or pilgrimage, with the Old Testament talking about the journeys of believers to Jerusalem for annual festivals. Ps 68 talks about the procession of God coming into the sanctuary, and Graham Kendrick has written a song based on this psalm called ‘We Are Marching.’

‘We are marching in the great procession
Singers and dancers and musicians
With the great congregation
We are moving onward
Ever further and deeper
Into the heart of God

It’s a march of victory
It’s a march of triumph
Lifting Jesus higher
On a throne of praise
With the banner of love
Flying over us
Ever further and deeper
Into the heart of God

We will go to the nations
Spreading wide the fragrance
Of the knowledge of Jesus
Into every place
Hear the great cloud of witnesses
Cheer us onward
Ever further and deeper
Into the heart of God

And the whole of creation
Waits in expectation
Of the full revelation
Of the sons of God
As we march through history
To our blood-bought destiny
Ever further and deeper
Into the heart of God.’ {‘We Are Marching’, Graham Kendrick)

We need always to be moving ‘ever further and deeper into the heart of God.’ This will take different forms, including the development of our personal relationship with God (through prayer, studying the Bible and receiving the gifts and giftings of the Holy Spirit), the development of our relationships with each other and our obedience to the call of God to tell others of His great love.

In order to facilitate this, we hope to introduce ‘Team Building Days’ to help us get to know each other better and find out more about our strengths as well as seeking God as to how we can serve Him more effectively and to continue to develop our outreach into the community in different ways. We long to be more effective and to move forward in faith.

For many of us, the goal of life is to be self-sufficient. We don’t like to be dependent on others; we equate independence with maturity. That’s why we struggle at times to value the helpless like babies and the infirm or disabled and why the gospel is so counter-cultural.

In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told a parable about a man who felt self-sufficient even in prayer, a Pharisee who prayed, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.‘ (Luke 18:11-12) In his own eyes, despite his attachment to religious practices, he didn’t really need anyone else. He was righteous in his own eyes and felt good about it. Others looked up to him.

The tax collector, on the other hand, was well aware of his inadquacies and failings. ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:13) He knew that he couldn’t make it through life on his own, that he was in need of God’s mercy. He was not independent; he needed God’s help.

Our emptiness and brokenness are not barriers to maturity or to spiritual growth. They are, perhaps, the indispensable factors in both. When we come to God with empty hands, He can fill us and then instead of offering the world our self-sufficiency, we can offer His. God’s grace is sufficient for us and for the world. It’s grace that we need to receive and to give.

John Stott reminds us that the first apostles fell into two traps which are still waiting to trip us up. Initially, as the apostles were talking to Jesus after the resurrection, their focus was still very much on the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. (Acts 1:6) They were curious as to how Jesus was going to sort out the political mess which being under Roman rule meant for Israel. They were doubtless full of good intentions (as are many politicians!), but their focus was very much on the here-and-now, and as such, was a limited vision.

So often, we too can be like that. We want to establish heaven-on-earth; we are keen to right wrongs and make the world a better place, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Much good has been done throughout the centuries by Christians who long to see God’s kingdom here on earth and who work tirelessly to see His rule and reign established here. Nonetheless, if our whole vision is fixed on earth and our faith is in ourselves to right the wrongs, we will end up disillusioned and disappointed.

The other extreme happened after the Ascension, when the apostles were gazing intently up into the sky (Acts 1:10) and it took angelic instruction to re-focus the apostles on the task Jesus had set them. This is the way of the pietist, who dreams only of heavenly bliss and whose entire focus is on worship, not work.

John Stott reminds us that these verses teach us about earthly responsibility and heavenly enabling.  We need both! The apostles were called to witness to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8) Activism and piety have to be combined; we have a job to do, but it’s not one we can do in our own strength or using only our human resources. Our citizenship is in heaven; we are only pilgrims on earth… but there is work to be done during our earthly journey. Are we keeping the balance?

We may not know when Jesus will come again, but the subject of His return to earth (also known as His ‘second coming’ or the ‘parousia’) forms a large part of New Testament teaching. The topic is said to be mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament (once for every 25 verses). Jesus Himself taught about this (notably in Matthew 24 and Luke 21) and reminded His disciples that though He went away, He would return for them (John 14:1-3). In Acts 1:10-11, the ascension is linked explicitly with the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, a theme expounded in virtually every one of the New Testament letters (e.g. 1 Thess 1:10, 1 Thess 4:16-5:6 & 23, 2 Pet 3:3-5, Titus 2:11-4, 1 John 2:28, Rev 3:11). Virtually the last words of the Bible are ‘come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev 22:20), the phrase ‘maranatha’ in Aramaic.

We need to proclaim this truth clearly and frequently, for it’s easy to believe life will continue indefinitely and to live without purpose or urgency as a result. The Bible is adamant that history is proceeding according to God’s plans, but these plans include a future date when Jesus will return to earth.

His return will be:

• personal (‘the Lord himself’ 1 Thess 4:16/ ‘this same Jesus’ Acts 1:11)
• bodily (‘this same Jesus will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’ Acts 1:11)
• visible (‘every eye shall see him’ Rev 1:7)
• sudden and unexpected (‘as lightning’ Matt 24:27; ‘like a thief in the night’ 1 Thess 5:2; see also Mark 13:35-36)
• triumphant (2 Thess 1:7-10; Rev 19:11-16)

He will return to:

• receive His own to Himself (1 Thess 4:16-17; 1 Cor 15:51-53)
• reward His servants (Matt 16:27; Luke 19:11-27; 1 Cor 9:25; 1 Thess 2:19; 2 Tim 4:8; 1 Pet 5:4)
• judge and reign (Rom 14:12; 1 Cor 3:13-15; Matt 25:32; 2 Thess 1:7-10)

Whilst we may not understand everything about the future (this is one topic on which Christians regularly disagree!), we stand united in the fact that Jesus will return, and this fact has an impact now on how we live. John tells us that all who have this hope purify themselves (1 John 3:2-3), a theme echoed by Peter (who tells us this hope motivates us to live holy and godly lives. 2 Pet 3:11-13) We don’t want to be like the foolish virgins who were not prepared for the bridegroom’s return (Matt 25:1-13); instead, we long to hear the words ‘well done, good and faithful servant!’ (Matt 25:21) and to receive the rewards promised by Jesus to the faithful (see 2 Tim 4:8).

The hope of Christ’s return acts as a spur to us, a reminder that one day every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more suffering, pain or sin. Now we groan with creation (Romans 8:22-23), longing for Christ’s return and the fulfilment of God’s plans. While we wait, we serve God faithfully, worship Him adoringly and wait patiently (Rom 8: 24-25). The cry of our hearts is ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ (Rev 22:20)

(Thanks to Irving L. Jensen’s commentary on Acts for the collation of many Scriptural references about Christ’s return to earth used here.)