Word of Salvation – Vol. 26 No. 29 – May 1981

 

All Together

 

Sermon by Rev. A. I. de Graaf on Acts 2:1 & 3

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:12-14, 2:1-4a

Psalter Hymnal: 206; 319; 398; 314; 389; 387; 361

 

Always in Israel’s history the Day of Pentecost had been the Day of bounty! The Harvest-Feast! God is the God of plenty! God’s gifts are not the niggardly, miserly trickle but the stream of mercy, the showers of blessing. “Come”, said God to Israel on the Day of Pentecost, “Come and show how I have filled your cup to overflowing!”

That is The Day God picked for the Coming of the Spirit, for the POURING- OUT of the SHOWERS of BLESSING from on high!

No more was the Spirit limited to a few, an exception here and there, the odd prophet, priest and/OR! king! No, now on everyone the Spirit was given. Yes! Everyone, as everyone must be born of the Spirit and everyone coming to Jesus MAY and WILL receive that Spirit! Everyone …and yet the Spirit was not just given individually. The Spirit of God is not merely the giver of the most individual expression, of the most individual emotion!

The message of Pentecost is charged with ECUMENICAL togetherness: It is the Feast of the BODY of Christ joined together by that Mighty power from on high! The Spirit finds people together, on a heap! …in a bunch! He is driving them further together! …yet together in a broken world and as yet in what seems a broken, HOPELESSLY BROKEN!, …church. Let us think of that word “TOGETHER” in the Pentecost story.

TOGETHER – that’s how the Spirit of God found them.

1. – HUDDLED together,

2. – THROWN together……. thus by Him to be

3. – WELDED together!

O.K. the doors were no longer locked for fear of the Jews: that’s how much the Resurrection of their glorious Lord had set them free from fear! Yet – now that Jesus has gone on His heavenly flight home, there is in that togetherness of His followers and friends, that element of being HUDDLED together, that seeking of warmth and support with one another. Birds of a feather flock together in a big and hostile world, and they make their bit of warmth there, now that it’s cold outside. There is quite a lot of criticism going on these days…. of churches being like that.

Should we not be out where the action is, instead of seeking the warmth and cosiness of the pious club? Well, be careful with your criticism! The Bible does not condemn Christian togetherness! The Lord likes to see His children together in church! God’s people have an enormous task! Jesus said it and they had not forgotten: “Go ye and proclaim My Good News to the WHOLE WORLD!” But He had also said, “Wait till you have been clothed with power from on high!” And good for them! They did not each wait in his own inner room. They were together and prayed together, and then the Spirit came.

We should take note: we with our individualism, we with our cold and hard little islands, we with our lonely self-sufficient little rocks! God reckons we DO need one another. He came to see them when they were together ….on Easter Sunday …a week later: again on Sunday! Now He comes on this Pentecost Day; when they are together…. the Spirit comes. Yes….. the Lord apparently also likes to go to church! The Spirit came….. when they were HUDDLED TOGETHER! He would see to it that they got onto the job! But they weren’t only HUDDLED together; they also were

– 2 – THROWN TOGETHER

They are a funny mixed bunch thrown together like that! Mother Mary, Peter the boisterous fisherman with his impulsive nature, the Greek Philip, the pessimist Thomas, men and women, yes and it would become a stranger mixed-bag still!

Thrown together ….but what they shared was Jesus! Rich and poor, learned and simple, black and white were thrown together, but they would all know of the One Lord! There they all are on the Pentecost Day! They have eaten of the loaves and the fishes! They have seen the Lord Jesus ride into Jerusalem and they remember the joy and heady excitement of that day! “Your King is coming, Jerusalem!” After this they found themselves in the deep despair of the crucifixion day!

It was a few days afterward they were together again. The Lord Jesus gave the never-to-be-forgotten glory of seeing Him alive again! Whatever may have separated them before, this greater thing which had thrown them together now would never again be undone! Thrown together………. but they knew: This is not our own doing!

This is God’s doing. Instead of being thrown together I also could say: “They were picked together ― like a bunch of flowers ― by the same Hand.” It was God’s sovereign love that picked them from the field of death! Jesus called them with His beckoning finger which they could nevermore forget; Jesus’ beckoning finger and call said, “Come I want you, too! Follow Me!”

Come to Table with me. Come to that table with sinners, traitors and prostitutes. I was good to them; I have given my body and My blood for them as well as for you! You don’t mind, do you? The world has raised its eye-brows, but surely, you will raise the song of praise to Him who washed you, too, with His blood? The world may wonder and so at times may you…… thrown together! But look what happened then: …

– 3 – WELDED TOGETHER!

Then the Spirit comes as the Flame from God, the One Flame, but it divides and sits on each one. One Flame! One Spirit! But God gives variety of Gifts! To each is given as God deems good!

On each of them He comes. Not on each man, but on each man and woman who belongs to Jesus. We must remember that. The Spirit comes on those who belong to Jesus! But then indeed the Spirit comes on all! Let us not mind their differences: in insight, in gifts, in service. These differences all arise to praise the Name of their Lord; they all extol His great works; they all glory in the one Risen Lord! Whoever does that is truly one with you, even though you may think it awkward to have him with you in the one church. The One Spirit makes us sing of the One Jesus who died and rose for us and conquered the darkness of the grave for us! Many grains make one flour….. one bread! Many grapes pressed together make one wine. Must the Lord press us together before we learn!

We, Reformed church-splitters, often think we can get comfort from the thought that only our kind makes it into heaven! Sure, whoever teaches another doctrine let him be cursed, and cursed is he who does not love the Lord Jesus! But whoever does love Him as come in the flesh is born of God, and how can we love the Father if we refuse to love the brothers?

That is in spite of the tears and splits of our bitter history, the Spirit teaches us to be one. As the Spirit welds together His people with the One flame, may the different people become more united. Praise the Spirit who does not allow us to lose sight of the vision, the longing too, for Christian Unity. This is not false man-made unity, but the true bond of those who know the same Lord Jesus through the same Spirit. That Spirit welds us together. Our prayer is that this may be more visible still.

May the Spirit bring us together with brothers of our houses and with the world-wide community of the Reformed Ecumencial Synod. May the bridges be spanned in the Netherlands…. in South Africa….. in America and through out the world. Missionaries after Pentecost went out to claim the nations for Christ and establish the Christian Church. May God give that the Churches Jesus already has, may be bonded together by the one Flame of the One Spirit!

Let us live together as we see the day approaching when all those whom Christ redeemed, shall sing together their welcome-song as we see Him return on the clouds of heaven.

Amen.