"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance." - Acts 2:1-4
If only communicating the gospel always happened this way; how exciting would that be? High winds, earthquakes, and fire! It's really every boy's dream.
Do you suppose that more people would have a positive response to the gospel if they could experience it being communicated in such a radical way? If people could actually witness with their five senses someone receiving the Holy Spirit. Then witness that person immediately and uncontrollably begin communicating the gospel to those gathered near.
Perhaps, but all that I have is an invisible inward change of heart; the Spirit is with me without all of the bells and whistles. So how do others know that I have the Holy Spirit? How do I communicate the gospel if not through spontaneous combustion and "tongues?"
I'm sure that you're all thinking Galatians 5:22-23a right about now or maybe you're thinking of a spiritual gifts inventory. Both of those are great and we'll certainly be contemplating those lists over the next weeks (you guys are stuck with me for about 3), but have you considered accountability, listening, self-perception, or speaking in "tongues" (a language, lingo, or jargon that someone other than yourself uses daily) as a means of communicating the gospel?
I'm not suggesting anything new when I ask you to consider how the gospel is communicated in the ordinary, every day experiences of each one of us. We just have to be attuned to the opportunities that the Holy Spirit places before us. How do we know when one of these opportunities is available? Easy, we ask God to prepare us and then recognize that those opportunities occur every moment of every day with every person, but especially the one right in front of you.
One of my opportunities is right now and I'm not going to squander it, as plain and ordinary and out of my control as it might be. I'm going to ask you to go and read the entire 47 verses of Acts 2 because it's written for Pentecost people and that's who we are; we have received the Holy Spirit and must now go about living that way. Seizing opportunities to speak in "tongues" just as the earliest of believers did to glorify God through sharing the Gospel.
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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