The Abiding Reality of Pentecost

John 14:23; John 16:8-11

John 14:23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."

Introduction

When we say, "What happened at Pentecost?" we often see what we have been taught to look for; we have the answer before we have the experience and the personal sense of need. To be exposed to the holiness teaching is for the most part very good indeed; it helps us into the experience of full surrender plus faith that brings cleansing and power and fullness of the Presence! But all the same, I'm convinced that much of what took place cannot be analyzed and explained. And yet I believe with all my heart that the same Holy Spirit that came to and into the church in the second chapter of Acts still comes to live in the church today.

What does the Bible show us about the abiding Presence of God in the church and in our individual lives? WHAT HAPPENED AT PENTECOST ?

I. SENSIBLE EVIDENCES AT PENTECOST

The Initial Signs of Pentecost:

  1. RUSHING MIGHTY WIND:

    Signifying the uncontrollable nature of the Spirit, (not that we are 'out of control, and made puppets; but He, God's Spirit, is NOT simply at our beck and call, for us to use); cleansing, powerful, breath of God Himself. This very evidently was NOT something "private," or confined to the immediate participants. The NOISE was heard. It brought a crowd.

  2. TONGUES OF FIRE:

    Cleansing, powerful, fire from the altar of God. It reminds us of Isaiah vi.

  3. OTHER TONGUES:

    Intelligibility, universality, THE REVERSE OF BABEL; when man is glorified it does not 'make sense;' when God is glorified, there is communication from God to man to man; giving of the law into the very heart.

II. UNFOLDING PROMISES AT PENTECOST

The mighty work of the Holy Spirit begun:

  1. THE HOLY SPIRIT A TEACHER (John 14:26)

    The Helper will TEACH you all things; and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

  2. THE HOLY SPIRIT LIFTING UP JESUS (John 15:26/ John 16:14)

    When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, He will bear witness of ME. He shall glorify ME; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.

  3. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTING SINNERS OF THEIR NEED OF SALVATION (John 16:8,9,10,11)

    And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment;

  4. THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDING THE CHURCH IN ACTION (John 16:13)

    But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide YOU into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. All these BEGAN to come to reality as soon as the disciples received the fullness of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

    There was no higher Lordship than that of Jesus; AND WHEN THE CHURCH RECEIVED THE SPIRIT, THE WORLD BEGAN TO BE CONVICTED OF SIN, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND JUDGMENT! THAT IS STILL THE FORMULA!

III. THE OPEN SECRET OF PENTECOST

JESUS, WHO WENT AWAY INTO HEAVEN, CAME BACK IN THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO ABIDE IN HIS DISCIPLES' HEARTS

The ABIDING Reality: God making Himself at home in the human heart.

The word "abiding" has various connotations: as constant, enduring, eternal, immutable, lasting, permanent. To "abide" also has the connotation of "being at home." Of "living there!"

Look again to our text for this Pentecost Sunday evening: John 14:23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." THAT is Pentecost!

  1. THIS ABIDING, SO FAR AS WE ARE CONCERNED IS INITIATED BY LOVE FOR JESUS CHRIST:

    ("If anyone loves ME!") We do not receive the "abiding reality" if we do not love Jesus!

  2. LOVE IS GENUINE WHEN IT INVOLVES A DESIRE TO PLEASE:

    ("If anyone loves Me he will keep my words.")

  3. LOVE FOR JESUS IS RETURNED: THE FATHER RESPONDS WHEN WE SEEK TO BE LIKE JESUS.

    ("My Father will love him")

  4. The result: "WE" will come to live with the one who loves Me! My heart God's HOME!

Conclusion

In our holiness tradition we give great importance to the experience of heart holiness. We understand that consecration plus faith will bring the fullness of the Presence! WE DARE NOT STOP SHORT OF THIS EXPERIENCE! We must have the fullness! We must know the blessing!

But the EXPERIENCE is vitally connected with our RELATIONSHIP- the way we think about God, and act toward Him!

We say: "What has God DONE for you?"!! "Do you have the EXPERIENCE?"!! And sometimes we talk as if the EXPERIENCE was something like a "thing" or a "gift" that we can have in and of itself.

The way into EXPERIENCE is by RELATIONSHIP! The question is not so much, "What has God DONE for you?" but "Who IS God to you?" It is not so much asking God to GIVE us— but asking God to help us LOVE HIM, AND GIVE OURSELVES TO HIM!

Jesus said: "If you LOVE Me . . . WE, the Father and the Son, by the ministry of the blessed Holy Spirit, will come to you, and live IN you!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Make it so! Amen

#63(EH) We've been singing Wesley all day. Charles Wesley. I'd like for us to close with a song by Paul Gerhardt, a German— but one that John Wesley thought so much of that he translated and rhymed it into English: Jesus, "Thy Boundless Love to Me"