The Wind of the Spirit is a Sovereign Power
Sovereignty has everything to do with power. It often describes a person who has supreme power or authority, such as a king or queen. God is described as “sovereign” in a number of Bible translations. This means that God the Spirit is self-governing and not subject to our control of manipulation. We see this clearly in Jesus’ instruction for the disciples just prior to Pentecost. He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power by the Holy Spirit. And in Acts 1:8 He told them… you will receive power WHEN the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Jesus said, When the Spirit comes. He did not specify the time or day or way the Spirit would come!
When the Holy Spirit comes Jesus said we would receive power. And we would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. I want to note first emphasis on the little word “when”. When the Holy Spirit comes. If you go back to Acts 1 verse 6, the disciples were inquiring about if Jesus was going to restore the kingdom. Are you going to restore the kingdom now? Is this when it’s going to happen? They were so much reflecting back on their history and the glory days of King David and the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. They were anticipating that so much. And Jesus used a trite statement. It’s almost like he was saying “that’s none of your business. And then he told them… The Father has already appointed and knows the times and you don’t have to worry about that. He only gave them a couple of instructions. He said go into Jerusalem and wait.
In human events important things are preset, preplanned, well-organized, well-advertised through social media, the bulletin, announcements from the pulpit, over the radio and everywhere else and we say, “Hey this event is happening, and we want you to come, everybody come.” And you would think that in one of the greatest events in history and the initiation of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would have said OK I want you to go into Jerusalem and next Thursday night at 7:00 the Holy Spirit is coming. And I want everybody to be there. You don’t want to miss this, next Thursday night at 7:00 o’clock the Holy Spirit is coming. Be there, everybody. No! It’s not that way. There’s no preset time. Only the time Father has established. He just says go, wait.
But I find in the wisdom of God on the Day of Pentecost Jesus didn’t get out a big advertisement campaign to say come the Holy Spirit is coming on this day. Rather in the wisdom of God, God chose the time when everybody was already gathered. It was on this Day of Pentecost when the Jewish people gathered from all over the known world there in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. That’s the day the Holy Spirit comes. That is the day in the wisdom of God that the Holy Spirit came. And the key principle here is this is not withhin our control. This is not anything that we can manipulate. This is not anything that we can organize and put together in human terms. This is God’s work. And we’ve learned that the Holy Spirit as God is absolutely sovereign, self-ruling, self-governing that we cannot control the Holy Spirit or the movement or the work of the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s work. God determines that movement and that work.
The word for spirit is “wind”. The wind of the spirit came on the day of Pentecost. It was as a rushing, mighty wind. Another interesting incident regarding the Holy Spirit as the wind was when Jesus told Nicodemus that the wind blows where it wills. 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)
We cannot control the wind. It blows to and fro wherever it wants to go. So it is with the power of the Holy Spirit. The wind is sovereign in its movement. Sometimes we wish we could control windstorms like tornados and hurricanes, but they are moving as a force of nature beyond our control. The scripture seems very clear that the wind of the Spirit is sovereign, something we do not control, but certainly the Spirit desires to control us!
Years ago, a certain city was having a revival. The leaders decided to invite the great evangelist DL Moody. One of the leaders was reluctant, thinking of someone else. He said to the group, “Listening you talk you would think that DL Moody has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit!” One of the other leaders replied, “Nobody has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit. But we believe the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on the life of DL Moody!” Wow! What a great word. Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on your life? The Wind of the Holy Spirit is sovereign…We cannot control the Spirit the Spirit is here to control us! This leads to the next part about the wind of the Spirit.
The Wind of the Spirit Is A Sanctifying Power
The scripture reads that they were filled with the Spirit. What does this mean? Different denominations will stress different meanings of this. But one thing stands out. Let’s look at what was happening in the overall context of this event. They were hiding out in the upper room waiting. Then the Spirit came, and they were filled with the Spirit. What were they filled with before Pentecost? Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt about the future. Only self-preservation? While there may have been great expectations, there was also great fear.
Then the sound of the rushing mighty wind came. Again, evidence of the Spirit. And there appeared cloven tongues of fire that came to rest on each of them
Why flames of fire? What would the fire represent? Here is where the word sanctifying comes into play. In our Methodist tradition this word sanctifying or sanctification is used frequently. In many ways I think we need to recapture these biblical words and understandings. And it is really the hallmark of teaching of Wesley. One of the classic Wesleyan hymns, Jesus Thine All Victorious Love, emphasizes this work of the Holy Spirit very well,
Refining fire, go through my heart,
Illuminate my soul;
Scatter Thy life through every part,
And sanctify the whole,
Another line talks about burning away base desires or things unpleasing to God,
Oh, that in me the sacred fire
Might now begin to glow;
Burn up the dross of base desire,
And make the mountains flow,
The refining fire of the Spirit removed the unwanted thoughts and emotions of the disciples. This is like a refining fire that burns away all fear and uncertainty to bring the fullness of God into our lives.
Remember again, Jesus stated that the disciples would be endued with power from on high. If you look at that in the original language a lot of translations say to be clothed with power. I like what the Amplified Version says here. It says, to be fully equipped.
So, what is happening here with the coming of the Holy Spirit? I’m a great Star Wars fan. I find it fascinating in this whole continuing saga of movies about the use of “The Force”. It’s central to the main theme and to the main characters in the whole series. I first began to watch this, the first one in 1977. I was a junior in high school. I think I watched it about 9 times. And I was still fascinated and enamored by special effects those famous lines that are, that we still use today – “use The Force, Luke.” It was quite amazing to see how that story unfolded across generations. At least three generations and continues to unfold to the current generation. And on top of the Star Wars fanbase, how about all the Superheroes and the Marvel characters with their different powers and abilities like Iron Man and Captain America? Our world has a fascination with characters with superhuman abilities. I think they represent a desire to move beyond the limitations that we have, our physical limitations, our mental limitations, our finiteness. We long for more than our limited and finite bodies and minds can produce.
Well, of course, we know the “force” is an imaginative power that was dreamed up by George Lucas. It is only a sci-fi production. That power or ability is only a fantasy of wishful thinking for us or others to possess. And as I thought more about that, there’s something happening here at Pentecost. That is beyond natural things happening. The third person of the Holy Trinity came on the scene. The third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, has been infused into the life of the believers and on the earth. The Holy Spirit has come on the scene of the church and in the world, and everything changes.
Well, it may not turn us into Superman or Aqua Man or Wonder Woman. But in Pentecost there is a fascinating and inspiring event that brings about a wholehearted change upon the church. It is the infusion of the Holy Spirit, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the great news today is the Holy Spirit is real! It’s not just our imagination; it’s not only a part of human creative genius! But here is something even better! The Holy Spirit is real! The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force. But it is truly the Spirit of Christ, that has come to dwell and fill our lives. As the language of Acts puts it: “to fill us.”
There’s no question that the coming of the Holy Spirit made a night and day difference between the disciples – before Pentecost happened and after Pentecost happened was a world changing difference! They went from living in fear to fearless living. They went from hiding from others to seeking others. They went from covert underground to overt and higher ground. They went from having no hope to possessing and giving hope. They went from head knowledge to heart knowledge. They went from living in uncertainty and shame, to boldly proclaiming Christ’s name. They were endowed with power that they’ve never had before. Yes, Pentecost had changed everything! And we see the evidence of this in the early church, and especially the believers in the early church. All the way through the book of Acts. The Wind of the Spirit brought about the Sanctifying work of the Spirt. The tongues of fire refined and renewed the believers to equip them for the mission of Jesus in the world!
If you see Peter as an example, Peter before Pentecost denied Christ, was fearful for his life, so uncertain about the future. After Pentecost, this same Peter who was so uncertain and fearful and denied Christ, stood up among the authorities who he had feared before and he spoke boldly. He gave a bold sermon and witness. Peter was answering the questions about what the Spirit’s coming meant to the believers. And the scripture says that there were 3,000 people converted on that day. How about that for explosive power! But it’s amazing to consider the transformation that took place in the life of Peter as a result of Pentecost. Peter before Pentecost DENIED JESUS IN FEAR AND WENT BACK TO FISHING. The Peter after Pentecost was SPEAKING BOLDLY in the name of Christ. So it’s an important distinction and one of the things that happens at Pentecost. Because the outpouring of the Spirit was designed for believers to receive power to be witnesses for Christ wherever we might be. This leads to the next point.
The Wind of the Spirit Is A Sending Power
In his sermon explaining what was happening Peter quoted Joel indicating that the Spirit would come upon all people…young and old, rich and poor, sons and daughters. No person would be excluded.
Add to this the earlier teaching of Jesus explaining why the Spirit was coming… And why was the Spirit coming? Back to Acts 1:8. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So the whole world is involved in why the Spirit came!
Where I attended church while in seminary in Wilmore Ky there were these words on the front wall above the cross: Come. Tarry. Go! This echoes exactly what Jesus was teaching the disciples. Come follow me. Then wait in Jerusalem. Then will receive power so you can Go and be my witnesses from Jerusalem to the end of the earth!
When you think about it, how did the Gospel get to us? From a global perspective it came from Europe, or it came from England. Well, what if those in England or Europe had said, “We are not going to go to America. We are just going to stay right here.” Think about the impact of that for us. But I’m thankful that our spiritual forefathers and mothers responded to the work of God’s Holy Spirit and were willing to launch out to this part of the world so that we could receive the Good News and to carry on the faith that has been extended to us.
But in this pattern for our witness, where does it start? In Jerusalem, right? He said, “In Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the ends of the earth.” But it starts in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the Holy City. Jerusalem was the place where Christ was crucified. Jerusalem was the place where Christ was resurrected. Jerusalem was the place where the Holy Spirit descended on the believers. It was the pivotal point of the early church. This is where the church started.
So where is our Jerusalem? Spanish Fort? Yes, but I think even more personally about our family, our home. We are not just husbands and wives, we are Christian husbands and wives. We are not just mothers and fathers, we are Christian mothers and fathers and grandparents! Our Jerusalem begins at our home. Yes, it extends out to our community, where we are. And we’re thankful for the missional efforts that we have right here in our community like Prodisee Pantry, like Family Promise, Kidz Eatz and the missions that we do that I’m not even aware of through our Sunday School classes and small groups. It begins right here in our Jerusalem. Because the Wind of the Spirit is A Sending Power! We have power to be his witnesses starting right in our homes and extending to the ends of the earth.
Well what I would like to do before I close is to prayerfully challenge you. This is a guilt-free offering, but I want to challenge you to be very prayerful about your witness. Someone has been an influence in your life, maybe a family member, an extended family member, maybe a teacher, maybe a coach, maybe a pastor. Someone has been of influence in your life. Someone has been a sent witness in your life. You would not be in the church if that were not the case. So, in challenging you today as we think about the empowerment of the Spirit, the pattern of witness of the Spirit in our lives is to prayerfully listen to who God may want us to be an influence or witness. It may be a family member. It may be a co-worker. It may be a neighbor. It may be a friend or an acquaintance. But I believe under the authority of God’s word and this holy season of Pentecost, we are being true to God’s word when the Holy Spirit comes to direct us as to who that may be who God the Holy Spirit may send us to witness more personally.
Let’s stand and sing together… Spirit of the Living God fall afresh on me! Let’s make this song be our prayer today!