Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/87

Contributor - Rev. John J. Opmeer

Title - Come Holy Spirit!

Topic - Holy Spirit

"Come, Holy Spirit" is increasingly the cry of the church today. "Come, Holy Spirit, and set our hearts aflame. We need You. We are weak. We are struggling. We are embarrassed by the condition the church is in. We are intimidated by the powerful spirit of the anti-Christ at work in our land. Come, Holy Spirit, awaken Your church. Lead it to repentance. Sanctify and empower Your people so that the name of Jesus will be glorified in the world."

Pentecost

Pentecost is the least-known of the three major Christian feast days. Christmas and Easter have been adopted by the world for its mid-winter and spring rites. But it doesn't know what to do with Pentecost. Often the church doesn't know, either! For many, the Holy Spirit is no more than a name tacked on after God the Father and Jesus Christ. Or a doctrine, well-worded but not experience. Of even something to stay away from, lest we become fanatical.

Two questions were asked on the Day of Pentecost, according to the report in Acts 2: "What does this mean?" (vs. 12), and "What shall we do?" (vs. 37). Let's make these two questions our own, and explore the answers.

What does this mean?

The apostle Peter's answer was "This is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel". A promise God made long ago had been kept! What was the promise? In Joel 2:17 we read, "In the last days it shall be that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh". Joel was saying at least two things. First, in the coming age the anointing of the Holy Spirit would not be limited anymore to special leaders, such as kings and prophets, bu would be given to all God's people. Second the new era of the Spirit would be marked by special signs of His presence, such as dreams, visions and prophecies.

Jesus repeated the promise, in His own words, "The Father will give you ... the Spirit of truth ... He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:16, 17). Just before His ascension, Jesus spoke further of this promise, "Wait for the promise of the Father ... for John baptized with water, but before many days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit ... You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses... " (Acts 1:4, 5, 8). Notice this word "power", which summarizes what the Father promised: power of a new life, power of witness, power to do the works of Jesus.

This is what the disciples needed: supernatural power. There were at most 120 disciples. A tiny minority among the one million Jews crowding Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. Suppose there would be only 200 Christians in Toronto or Vancouver! They would need a power not their own in order to carry out their instructions, "Go and make disciples... " (Matt. 28:19).

And power is what they got on the Day of Pentecost! So much so that they appeared drunk to the curious onlookers. I had always wondered what made the spectators think that the disciples were "filled with new wine" (2:13). But then it happened to me! Some men had prayed for me, asking the Holy Spirit to come upon me in renewed power. After that, I somehow staggered for the next 15 minutes or so, and I had to sit down several times! This is God's power, and we can hardly stand it. Another sign was prophecy. Just as Joel had foretold: they were proclaiming the mighty acts of God in Jesus, even breaking language barriers in the process of doing so. Power, also, in the inspired sermon preached by Peter, climaxing in the bold statement, "God has made Him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified,, (2:36).

Power, the power of the risen Christ, is what the church needs today! No longer is the church turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). It has been hand-cuffed, especially in the West. It is mostly sitting in a corner, either frustrated by its weakness, or satisfied with its privacy. The Western world view leaves no room for a God who acts. Supernatural power is relegated to the realm of fiction. The church has become embarrassed by the supernatural. Most of its life is very predictable. There is little room for the moving of the Spirit. The joke is that if the Holy Spirit would decide to withdraw from the church, few would notice, and most everything would continue just the same! A caricature, of course, but with just enough truth in it that it stings. When I observe the condition the church is in, I cannot help but wonder, "Is this what the church was supposed to be?"

The answer is a resounding "No!" The church was given the dynamism of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. On this Jewish harvest festival, when the first fruits were gathered in, God gave the first fruit of the Spirit (Romans 8:23). And ever since, the Holy Spirit has been at work in the church. Let me list a few things the Holy Spirit does for you. He makes Jesus real to you. He breaks through religious routine, and makes you worship God with your whole heart. He helps you to hear God's inner voice. He makes the Bible come alive for you. He helps you to pray throughout the day. You find in yourself a new love for people. He opens your life to the gifts of the Spirit. He gives you the desire and ability to witness for Jesus. In short, He is like a fire burning in the church!

What happened to this fire? Samuel Shoemaker, an Episcopal priest and one of t e founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, once wrote, "Someone has likened the Episcopal Church to a fireplace. The fire has gone out, but at least the fireplace is still there!" Of late, the church has started to talk a lot about the fire. It has begun to look at t he fireplaces, the debris, and the lack of draft. But it didn't repent much for the condition of the fireplace. Instead, it spends a lot of energy reviewing its manual on proper fire, and debating when exactly the fire is supposed to start in a person's life. Some people say that we are baptized (empowered) by the Spirit at infant baptism. Others maintain that the empowering takes place at conversion. Still others hold the view that the baptism with the Spirit is subsequent to conversion. We got ourselves side-tracked into a fierce theological argument, while a whopping 70% of Canadians remain unevangelized!

My limited understanding is that the gift of the Holy Spirit is given to whosoever calls on the name of the Lord and is saved. And furthermore, that this gift often lies half-buried under tons of tradition and religion and ignorance and fear. This leads me to the second question, "What shall we do?"

What shall we do?

Once you know what Pentecost means, you want to be part of it. Participation begins with repentance. Remember Peter's answer? He said: repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. We know what that means for unbelievers. But what about those who already are believers? What does God say to a church that is operating on minimal power? Does it, also, need to repent and believe? I believe that the answer is "YES".

Yes, we must repent, because the church is not what it is supposed to be. We must repent for being satisfied so often with what we are. We must repent of our human organization, ability, energy and pride, which makes the church OUR church. We must repent of fears of what will happen when we hand over control of our churches to the Holy Spirit. God's message for all of us is, "I want My church back!" We must repent for our own sins in trying to build a church in our image. And we must repent on behalf of those who do not yet know that the fire which once burned bright and clear has almost disappeared under the ashes.

And yes, we must believe. Believe that God the Holy Spirit is alive, rather than an item on our doctrinal agenda. Believe that supernatural power is what we need, and what God makes available to His church. Believe that Jesus Christ wants us to do His works today. Believe that He will yet turn the world upside down if we let the Holy Spirit radically renew our lives, our churches, our worship and our witness.

There is a special word here for us pastors. We, too, need to repent. We, too, need to believe. We are often tempted to function as professionals. God does not need professionals. He desires pastors who are filled by His Spirit. We are not to be politicians, experts in the art of compromise. We are to be prophets, preaching the full Gospel even if some of our people prefer to leave what they call controversial out! And let's stop exhorting our people to believe more. Faith comes from hearing the Word of God! The way to the faith that God desires us to have is through preaching an unlimited Christ. That is a challenge to those of us who are preachers!

Priority

Pentecost, the experienced power of the Holy Spirit, must be a PRIORITY for our churches in Canada. Suppose the apostle Peter had not attended that marathon prayer meeting in the Upper Room. Suppose he had done what millions of Christians do nowadays; stay home, for prayer meetings are a low priority. There would have been no Pentecostal power for Peter. Neither will there be for us in the Reformed Church, unless we make repentant and believing prayer for the Holy Spirit a priority.

But are we willing to pay the price) We must be willing to proclaim a God who acts supernaturally, with signs and wonders, just like in the Book of Acts. That is scary! We cannot pray for a full release of the Spirit's power in the Reformed Church in Canada without expecting a lot of changes. That is scary too. Are we willing to pay the price? And what is the price? I believe it is control. That's why repentance is our first priority. We have still too much control. We depend too much on our own abilities. God wants control. The gifts of the Spirit are His abilities, not ours. We must desire the Holy Spirit as much as a dry and thirsty land cries out for rain: "Come, Holy Spirit. We are tired of doing it our way. Do it Your way!"

Priority. Desire. And also expectation. We need a revolution in expectation. A church that prays fervently, "Come, Holy Spirit" must expect that God answers the cry of our heart. If we desire to see the power of God at work, we must also expect to see it. This is not a trip into the spectacular, although for some it may be We pray for normal church life to be restored. The apostle Paul prayed day and night that the church would know the power of God (Eph. 1:18, 19). 1 know no better way to celebrate Pentecost than to make his prayer our own: "Lord, we pray that we may know the riches of our glorious inheritance in Jesus Christ, and the immeasurable greatness of Your power in us who believe." Yes, "Come, Holy Spirit" renew Your church, beginning with me.

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