Sermon in Glendale 20.05.2018

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, let us unite our hearts together this Pentecost morning in prayer and thanksgiving unto our Heavenly Father.

Dear, holy God, maker of heaven and earth, we Thy children gather here this morning with that prayer in our hearts that Thou would reveal Thy Word unto us this morning. That Thou would continue to feed us with that Word of grace, to provide us with that nourishment that we need in order to continue to travel as grace beggars with that goal of reaching our eternal home in heaven.

We pray, dear Father, that Thou would give us the strength, the wisdom, and the understanding to travel here in this world that we live in today. That Thou would enable us to keep faith in our hearts, to put sin away as it overcomes us, so that we can continue to follow in the footsteps of Thy dear Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We thank You for the many blessings of this life, for our homes, our families, our friends. But most of all, dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for enabling us and calling us into this grace kingdom here upon this earth, where we have been blessed with that gift of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit that unites us together in the bonds of Christian love and reveals unto us the ever-blessed truth of Thy Word.

We remember that work that Jesus did for us on that middle cross of Golgotha. And we pray even in that most perfect way that He taught us to pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Amen.

First of all, this morning I bring those greetings of love and God's peace from our brothers and sisters across the valley. And also, the previous week I had been in Flagstaff for services, and our brothers and sisters there remember all of you also in this same faith.

For our text this morning, we'll read one of those texts that is set aside for this Sunday, which we have heard is that day of Pentecost, where we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And we'll read from the second chapter of the book of Acts, as it's recorded for us in chapter 2, verses 1 through 13. And the words are in Jesus' name.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all in one accord in one place. And suddenly, there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. And it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire. And it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now, when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together. And they were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all of these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya, about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others, mocking, said, These men are full of new wine.

Amen.

Here we've heard, and we've read, that portion of God's Word, that discusses those events that occurred on that day of Pentecost.

If we would look back at the previous chapter, we would see that these men were gathered together in an upper room, and there were, actually it says that there were 120 in that room. Verse 15, it says, And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and said, the number of names together were about 120.

Yet, within that group, there were those eleven original apostles of Jesus. And, of course, we know that Judas Iscariot had forsaken his Lord. And it was during that time that they appointed to Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And that's in verse 23 of the previous chapter.

And they prayed and said, Thou Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, as he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

So, these men were gathered together on that day of Pentecost. It was apparently a large upper room. And they heard a rushing sound from heaven, the rush of wind, and it filled the house that they were sitting. And it speaks of how there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire. That word cloven means divided.

We know that these tongues, which is spoken of here, are those tongues of different nations, of different languages. And all of these people that were gathered together in that room, and Scripture relates that they were from many different nations, that they were able to hear the wondrous works of God in their own language.

In the world that we live in today, there are some religions that preach of the gift of tongues. And those tongues that they speak of is not the same tongues that is spoken of here. They teach of a strange language that no one really understands, which is but gibberish.

But here, in God's word, we hear of how these tongues came upon these men like as of fire. And they were filled with that Holy Ghost. And they began to speak with these other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. They heard the word of God. And there were many different nationalities there. And many heard that word that day and believed upon the Lord and Savior Jesus. They accepted faith into their hearts and they received that gift of the Holy Spirit.

This was a time of awakening. Bible says that, and there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven. And they were confounded because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were amazed because these were Galileans.

Yet, God works in mysterious ways. And His word was spread on that day. There were many that believed, people who were in Israel. It was a time when that Spirit of God reached into the hearts of many.

Luther wrote of this day of Pentecost. And he talked about the law of Moses and how that law was a law which is written law. It's written with pen and ink. We know that that law was handed down to Moses. It was written on those stone tablets. And those tablets, of course, were broken.

And we know that that law is a law that is written and it's a law that has been given to those who are in unbelief. It's a law that drives the sinner to Christ. But that law which came through grace and truth, that law that is written in the hearts of the children of God, that law came through grace and mercy.

And that Spirit of God, this Holy Spirit Bible refers to as the Comforter or the Teacher. Spirit is that Spirit that lives in our hearts and it is that Spirit that was given from heaven even on that day and it filled the hearts of those who believed.

And when we consider even this matter and we think of all those different people that were there that day, it relates to us that there were many people there from different nationalities, from different places on this earth. They spoke different languages. I'm sure they all had different occupations. There were some that were probably very athletic and there were some that were perhaps into the music and arts and there were just all different types of people in many different ways.

But they all who believed, they heard the wonderful works of God in their own tongue. And they believed upon this word. And they received that spirit in their hearts, that spirit that unites the children of God together in love and in unity.

This is that same spirit that binds the children of God together today. Even in the time that we live in today, we know that there has been a time of awakening.

When I first received grace of repentance, it was a time when I thought in my mind that most of these believers are of Finnish descent. And even today, we know that that is still a nationality and there are still many descendants of those who came from Finland who believe.

Yet, we know that God works in mysterious ways. Many years ago, when, at the time the AALC established the beginnings of the mission work, I was on part of that committee and it was the time before any of these repentances had happened in Ecuador or Africa or many of these other countries.

And it was difficult to even imagine that God's word would spread throughout the world as it has today. Yet, God, in His great love and His great mercy, yet still offers grace unto the sinner.

God's word has spread in many different ways. The children of God are exhorted to speak about this matter of living faith, God's love. For it is only through the preaching of the gospel that one can even begin to hear and understand this message of salvation.

And we've seen how this Spirit of God has spread even in our short time here upon this earth. And how many people with different customs, different languages, different ways of life have been called together. And we know one another from the hearts. And this Spirit has bound us together in Christian love.

And God's word is preached in many different languages. We know that God's word is broadcast across the internet. And this Spirit of God is still offered even today to those who are on the outside of God's kingdom. Those who are seeking, those who have been troubled by their sins.

It is true that even today as there were even in that room there on the day of Pentecost, there were some there that were amazed. Yet on the other hand they were also in doubt saying one to another what meaneth this? Others mocking said these men are full of new wine.

That's true even yet today that there are many who do not seek the living truth of God's word. There are many who are satisfied with the condition that they are currently in. We know that there are those who live in that self-righteousness. There are those who live in those sins on the left.

The child of God certainly is susceptible to being tempted either to the left or to the right. But we have been given that word of truth and we seek after the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of man.

It is truly amazing that God has called us into this kingdom and that we have been given this gift of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit has awakened us. It teaches us what is right and what is wrong. It opens God's holy and precious word unto us. And this is the word of truth.

It teaches us of God's grace and of His mercy and of His salvation. But it also rebukes us and it teaches us of the dangers of sin. And we receive this teaching in that way that we are taught through the Spirit of the dangers of sin. And we want to put sin away.

We are free children of God through His grace and His mercy. We are free from sin. And this is a wonderful thing. But on the other hand, we are not free to sin. We are given permission to believe our sins forgiven in Jesus' precious name and atonement blood.

We are given that permission because we live under grace. And God has opened the doors of His kingdom unto us and we live and we dwell with the brethren in unity. And we help one another upon the way and the journey.

It's important that we discuss current matters, that we have a clear understanding that the enemy of the soul would like to throw up that smoke screen, would want to cause us to begin to doubt and not have a clear understanding of living faith.

Faith is very simple. We know that Jesus often used the child as a picture of someone who has faith. We know that children have faith in their mother and father that they would take care of them and provide for them as they grow from a small innocent to an adult. They just believe.

And that's how it is also with the child of God that all that is necessary is that we believe. And when we put sin away, we take care of our matters in the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, who cleanses us from all sin. Then we can continue to travel as little children here in this kingdom.

Bible teaches us and exhorts us to confess our sins one to another and to pray one for another. For the fervent prayer of a believer availeth much. So we want to confess our faults one to another and travel in that way that Jesus taught us by putting sins away.

And even this morning hour, each of you that are here today can lift up your hearts and believe all sins, doubts, and temptations forgiven and washed away in Jesus' precious name and atonement blood.

We believe moment by moment, but we also trust in God that He will care for us upon this journey, that He will provide for us. We don't need to look to the world for that care. We don't need to look to the world and the wisdom of this world in order to figure out these great mysteries of life.

The mysteries of life are explained in God's holy and precious Word. It's true that we oftentimes feel as though we have little wisdom and we have little understanding. Sometimes God's Word is opened unto us in times of need.

But what we do know is as we travel in this life towards our home in Heaven that God has provided for us up until this very moment. He has cared for us and we've had that Holy Spirit who is our teacher, who is our uniter, and who is our comforter here in this life.

God. And there may be doubts that come upon us as we travel on this journey of faith. Enemy of the soul is working overtime to draw the child of God away from this kingdom.

We all have our temptations, we all have our faults, we all have our weaknesses, and we all fall into sin. We were born with that inherited sin. But in the eyes of God, when He looks down upon us, He sees the righteousness of Christ. He sees that pure white wedding garment.

And when we travel in that way, we can be assured that when our eyes close for the last time in this life, that when they open again, we will be able to see our Lord and Savior face to face in heaven. And this is a good and a comforting thought.

Even for you, you children or you teenagers who are struggling with the temptations in this life, I know that the world is changing rapidly. Society is changing. There are many different and I can say foreign lifestyles that are becoming acceptable in this world. They're foreign to a child of God, yet we do not want to listen to that which comes forth and is taught from the world.

We want to turn our eyes to God's precious word and to hear the truth. We know that God's word is the same yesterday and today and forever. God's word doesn't change. It doesn't twist and it doesn't bend with the winds of this world.

Many of the things that we have seen in our lifetime that the world now accepts such as alternative lifestyles, such as the use of marijuana, many different things that this is all of the world we live in the last times.

We live in a time when Jesus even asked that question, "Will I even find faith when I return?" We can believe that Jesus or God will preserve us in faith if we resist the world and Satan in our own sin-corrupted flesh, if we travel with a clean conscience and we hear the voice of the Good Shepherd through that spirit that lives within our hearts.

We need to also remember to help one another on this way of faith, especially you youth. You want to remember to carry each and every child of God to remember when you have haps that if there are some that no longer are coming, that you remember to call them or speak to them or even text them and to remind them of this good place to be here in this world, to be traveling where we have the same spiritual understanding, the same love and unity.

We may not have the same interests in this temporal life. We may have very different personalities as I'm sure even these ones who were in that upper room on that day of Pentecost but we have the same Holy Spirit of God and it is this spirit that will continue to live when our carnal portion is laid to rest.

So, dear brothers and sisters in faith even this morning hour continue to believe all of your sins and doubts and temptations forgiven and washed away in Jesus' precious name and atonement blood.

And if you experience those trials in this life and perhaps have many things that weigh heavy on you that you have permission to speak of those matters with your dear friends and family and ask them to be remembered and to pray for you that you could overcome these difficulties and battles.

This is how we are taught to travel in God's Word. It is not always easy because our flesh resists this kind of instruction. It's hard for us to do that especially as we grow from being a child into our teenage years.

We've often related in our house how sometimes when ones are younger how they openly talk about that which is going on in their lives but as they get into those older years that it becomes more and more difficult to speak of those matters.

But we need to be encouraged and remember to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and to put sin away as it comes upon us.

Even for coming here this morning I come with many heavy doubts and temptations can even believe my sins forgiven. And I promise to believe with you dear brothers and sisters in faith we have a gracious heavenly father one who cares for us and one who comforts us upon the way and the journey.

This is a good place to be traveling in this kingdom of God there's no other place like it here upon this earth but the most important matter is that this is the road to heaven in Jesus holy and blessed name.

Amen.

Let us unite our hearts together in closing prayer and benediction.

Dear heavenly Father, we again thank You for this day of grace. We pray that Thou would protect us as we travel forth in our day to day life, that Thou would continue to call us children of God and that we can be given strength to believe.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.