Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
Worship

      • Jeremiah 2:1–3:5NIV2011

      • Acts 2:36–41NIV2011

  • These are weird days

    A particular commentators that I like to listen to described 2024 as the year that woke broke.
    Now, we can argue whether that is true or not, but what does it even mean to say woke broke.
    Actually, let me step back and ask - what do we even mean by ‘woke’.
    It was probably only about 6 or 7 years ago, that the only time I would have used the word ‘woke’ was in the sentence, “I woke up this morning”. But now we talk about ‘woke’ as an ideology… a way of thinking and acting.
    You see, at a basic level, being ‘woke’, means being socially aware. In a sense, being awake to the injustices and inequalities of this world. At this basic level, it sounds okay. After all, we should be awake to injustices and inequalities. But, over the last decade or so, its adopted quite specific view points on a number of topics, such as sexuality, gender, the environment, racism and the like. There is no centralised group which controls wnat view is adopted, it’s rather a cultural phenomenon that has developed over time.
    Now, the problem is not whether you agree or disagree with any of the view points that have been labelled as ‘woke’, but rather the force in which much of society enforced the specific view and the intolerance for anyone or any group that deviated. Individual’s and groups started acting in ways that they didn’t necessarily agree with, but because they feared being ‘cancelled’ or publicly shamed.
    It became quite disconcerting for many people, particularly when the so-called woke position differed from the way you saw things.
    But something started to shift last year. This cultural force we call ‘woke’ started to lose some of its strength. I actually think there is reason to believe that one of the reasons Donald Trump won last years US election was because people had become fed up with this thing called ‘woke’ and they wanted change. But this isn’t about Trump, he just happened to benefit from it. Last year, many of the big social media platforms started to take a stance that pushed back against woke. Many large and significant companies started to act in ways contrary to the ‘woke’ ideology.
    Now I’m not here to suggest this is a good thing. I actually think it’s far to complicated to label either good or bad. What I do think, is that it shows how confusing this world is.
    Things keep changing, and if you’re feeling confused, well, you’re in good company.
    Just when you think you can navigate your thoughts in this world, everything changes.
    Well, this morning, I want to take you to a time when the disciples feel confused because their whole world is being completely changed and they don’t know what to think.
    Their confusion is quite a diffferent matter to what we’re going through. You see, their confusion is because Jesus has just completely changed their understanding of the world, and now he has left them.
    Jesus has won the most amazing victory over death, but now he has ascended to heaven.
    I’m talking about the time between two Jewish festivals - Passover and Pentecost. So, let’s look at these now.

    Passover to Pentecost

    First, the Passover.
    From our New Testament perspective, this was the time when Jesus was tried and crucified. But let’s trace it back from where it started. We need to go back to the book of Exodus when the newly formed nation of Israel was in captivity in Egypt. God miraculuously saved them, but they were all to have a special lamb sacrifice, and eat the meal in haste. Painting the blood on the door jambs, the angel of death would then pass over them, hence the name, passover.
    We then see a great link between this and when Jesus died - he was our sacrifice, and the angel of death passes over us.
    But let’s stay in Egypt after the first passover.
    There’s where they wander. There’s confusion. Moses leads them and takes them through the Red Sea - again, another saving miracle.
    We then find a period of 40 years, wandering in the wilderness, but this is a period God uses. In their confused state, God shapes them. As things change around them, God centres them.
    He helps them remember the key promises of God. And he does this by tying some of these key events to their agriculural cycle.
    You see, the Passover corresponds with the date of the start of the barley harvest.
    A week of weeks later, that is, seven times seven, which is 49, we then find a natural cycle where the barley harvest is finished but the wheat harvest is about to begin.
    Due to the timing, this second feast got the name: The Festival of Weeks.
    (That is, because it’s a week of weeks).
    But as the Greek language became more prominent, it took on the title Pentecost - which references the 50 days (that is, the 49 plus one).
    God uses this festival to remind his people - he is in control.
    So Pentecost was initially an agricultural harvest, but in Jewish tradition, it was also tied to the giving of the Law. That moment when Moses went up the mountain and received the law which he gave to the people.
    But, as we come to the New Testament, it was about to take on a whole new dimension.

    Disciples

    But let’s now shift from the Israelites coming out of Eygpt, to the disciples after the Passover when Jesus died and rose again.
    The Passover that they just experienced was unlike any other.
    There world was rocked. In fact, it was quite literally rocked as there were reports of earth quakes.
    Everything was changed.
    Now they went through that period between Good Friday and Easter Sunday which must have been so tumultuous - but I actually don’t want to focus on that. I want to instead consider the time after the resurrection, but before this day of Pentecost.
    I think this must have been a very bizarre time. You see, they know Jesus has risen. They’ve seen him. They’ve even eaten with him.
    But it’s not the same. He’s there - but he’s not with them like he used to be.
    They’re not doing the wandering thing they used to do.
    Jesus pops in here and there, until finally, forty days after his resurrection, Jesus speaks with them one last time before he ascends into heaven before their very eyes. Something you can read about in Acts 1.
    And now they are completely alone.
    And so they enter this very weird time. A time when Jesus has been raised. And yet there is something missing. A presence.
    This time for these disciples between Passover and Pentecost was one where they no longer had the constant companionship of Jesus.
    He hadn’t gone. It was just different. Things were changing. Things were unknown.
    And though they might not completely be aware of what it was about to be like, while they were about to re-gain that presence with the Holy Spirit, it was going to be a new normal that they would come to.

    Acts 1

    But we get a little glimpse of this time in Acts 1.
    If you look at Acts 1, it starts with the ascension of Jesus.
    But if you look, you’ll see that they were left gawking at the sky. I get the impression it was almost like a bit of a numb feeling.
    And then in the second half of the chapter they choose someone to replace Judas.
    Again, I get the impression it is almost a bit awkward. They want to keep things running, and so they are keeping things going, but nothings really happening.
    They don’t really know how they’re going to operate in this changing world. Their paradigm for viewing the world has changed, but where is it leading?

    Acts 2

    Well, let’s jump into Acts 2, we can see they do find out how they’re going to get through this change.
    Now the opening words of the chapter say: “When the day of Pentecost came...”
    When this was first written, most people would have been familiar with this time. They would have known that Jewish people would have descended on Jerusalem for the second of the three major festivals of the year.
    They know that they would have come to celebrate the harvest of barley and to give thanks to God because of it.
    And I suspect that as this day approached, there might have been a certain awkwardness for the disciples.
    You see, it’s been 7 weeks now since Jesus was raised to life. And while they’ve seen him during this time, as I’ve explored, it hasn’t been the same.
    I think it would be confusion I spoke of at the start of this message.
    People are celebrating the new harvest - but it’s different this time.

    The wind

    Well, these disciples are all together. Probably a bit drowsy. Maybe a bit sullen.
    But then that all changes quickly.
    It starts with the sound of the blowing of a violent wind.
    But then, the sound isn’t something outside. It’s inside.
    There’s a new strange sensation. What they were hearing was strange - but so was what they were seeing.
    On each of them, what appeared to be a tongue of fire separated and came to rest on each of them.
    But this strange experience was about to get even more strange.
    You see, it was the Holy Spirit that was being poured out on this very day, and as the Holy Spirit filled each of them, they began to speak in other tongues.
    Now this passage makes it very clear. This experience of speaking in tongues was not some ecstatic utterance. It was languages that could be heard by speakers from other nations.
    These were earthly languages spoken by people that could only speak them by divine ability.
    Just as a quick aside - what we are seeing here is actually the beginning of an undoing of what happened at the tower of Babel in Genesis 11. You might remember that at the tower of Babel, God put an end to man’s attempt to be like God by dividing the tongue. But now, for this brief moment, people from other languages can understand.

    The reaction

    Well, this experience was quite something - and its worth noting that this was actually not just some quiet personal experience.
    What happened in that room with the disciples in it was noticed by the crowds that had gathered in Jerusalem for this celebration of the harvest.
    And Acts 2 tells us that they crowds that gathered were left bewildered.
    They had no idea of what was going on.
    Many of them spoke other languages, and there could not understand how the words being spoken by these disciples could be understood by them. They recognised them as Galileans, and certainly the majority of Galileans they knew didn’t know those languages that were being spoken.
    It got some of them thinking about the meaning of it all - but it also got some of them thinking that perhaps they had decided to get on the drink a bit early on this occasion.

    Peter’s Sermon

    From verse 14, we then see Peter respond to the crowds about what has happened - and you would have to say that it was the Spirit inspiring these words that he has to say.
    And it is in this response that we will find lessons on how we should understand our own time.
    Peter actually starts by addressing the complaints that they’re drunk.
    His response: It’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!
    But he then shows that what they’ve just seen happen was actually something that had been predicted by the prophets.
    He turns to Joel who foretold that in the days to come, it would be their sons and daughter. The young. The old. Man. Woman. Everyone.
    The prophet Joel had spoken of the Spirit been poured out. And that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord would be saved.
    Peter goes on to explain how Jesus then fits into all of this.
    You see, Jesus is central to this whole occurrence. It was his death and resurrection which has unleashed the power of the Lord and has started something new. Something which is going to change the entire world. It will redeem it.
    If you’re following along in your bible, then you’ll see in verse 25 Peter starts a quote from Psalm 16.
    And it’s a very particular theme which this quote introduces. It is the theme from life to death.
    You see, God has power over death. God makes all things new. He brings things that are lifeless and gives them life.
    And I want to suggest that this is what is happening on this day of Pentecost some 2000 odd years ago.
    The sin that had gripped the world was taking hold and the world was not alive.
    But just in the same way that Jesus literally broke through the bonds of death, so too God is ripping this world out of its bonds and giving it life.

    The response

    In verse 37, we see that on this particular day, the message has sunk in.
    “What shall we do?” they ask.
    Well, Peter is quick with the answer: “Repent and be baptised”.
    And this is really at the heart of it. Turning away from the ways of this world. And turning to God.

    Application

    And so, can I suggest that the first thing we need to do as things change so quickly, is that we need to recognise that so often we do get caught up in the ways of this world.
    And we need to repent. We need to say - God, I haven’t been living the way I should.
    We repent when we first come to Christ, but, can I suggest, there is benefit in an ongoing practice of repentance. Not because we need to be saved again and again. But because it keeps us focussed on where we’re headed.
    But what else can we take away from observing this unique day of Pentecost.

    Joy

    Well, I want to pick up on this theme I mentioned before of going from death to life.
    You see, in Pentecost, we see life being breathed into the world. The Spirit brings life.
    And with life comes joy. In fact, we see mention of joy when Peter quotes David’s Psalm. You see it in the second half of verse 28: “you will fill me with joy in your presence”.
    And so as we come to Pentecost we need to recognise that while there is a time to lament, but there is also a time to rejoice.
    And this is the great thing about Christian joy.
    You see, Christian joy is not the superficial happiness that we sometimes mistake for joy.
    The superficial happiness is the one where you can have a smile on your face, but your hurting. Or you can feel happy, but the slightest irritation sends you spinning.
    Christian joy on the other hand is deep. It’s the type of joy that says: even though hardships abound, I will delight in knowing that Christ is with me and that he goes before me.
    It’s the type of joy that says, whether I live or die, I am secure in the love of Christ.
    You know, in this world where everything is changing to fast for us to keep up with, yet, we can stand in this world and say, “I have joy in my heart”. I might not know what drama is going to fill the news bulletins this week, but I have joy, because I know that God is in control.

    Certainty

    Now let me just make one further main observation about what we can get from this account.
    That is, that we can have certainty even in uncertain times.
    You see, these disciples were going through a rocky time. They had no idea what was going to happen or how it would happen. But as this day of Pentecost dawned, things began to make sense.
    Now that doesn’t mean they fully understood everything. But what it did mean was that they had clarity on what they needed to understand.
    You might not have your finger on the pulse regarding what the latest trend is, or what you can or can’t say these days… but you can have certainty of something: God’s got this!
    God has given us the Holy Spirit to help us understand this, and it means that as we move through interesting times, we can have the assurance that we so desperately need.
    He will guide us. He will give us the words we need to say. He will protect us. You don’t need to fear this world, because we have God by our side.

    Conclusion

    You know, I have no idea what the world is going to look like in a decades time. World politics could be completely different. Cultural trends could be completely different.
    The woke idelogy might stay with us and hit back with a venegance. Or there might be a completely different ideology.
    Our world changes.
    But one thing doesn’t.
    God remain constant.
    Today is Pentecost. That period of wandering has ended. God is present with us and we have joy and we have certainty.
    Do not fear, because you have a companion with you who will never change.
    Let me pray...
Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
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