It can be an incredibly destructive force. The cyclone that hit Burma last week had winds of 120 miles per hour, causing floods and high tidal waves that led to heartbreaking loss of life.
But wind power can also be powerfully good, providing one of our most promising forms of renewable energy. With oil hitting 125 dollars per barrel, we need all the help we can get.
One problem with wind power is that it can be notoriously difficult to catch. The very best winds don’t tend to move at ground level — instead, they do their blowing six miles up in the air, at the height of the jet stream. At that level, the winds are stronger and blow more consistently, carrying up to a hundred times more energy.
So how can humans harness this power? Conventional turbines on the tops of towers won’t get us close enough. We really need to get creative. According to The Economist magazine (June 9, 2007), a company called Sky WindPower has developed a flying generator, one that looks like a cross between a kite and a helicopter. Picture an H-shaped frame with rotors at the ends of the four points, tethered to the ground by a long cable. The rotors provide lift, like the surface of a kite, and as they lift the frame they also turn dynamos that generate electricity. This electricity is then transmitted to the ground through aluminum cables.
But what happens if the wind stops blowing? Here’s the cool part: The dynamos can be used in reverse as electric motors. If the wind slows down, the dynamos turn the rotors to keep the generator in the air.
It seems that if you want to catch the wind, you have to put yourself where the wind is blowing.
I believe that the very same is true for the church. If we are going to tap the limitless energy of Holy Spirit wind power, then we are going to have to position ourselves correctly. Fortunately, the Book of Acts provides a blueprint for building a church that can catch this wind. It suggests that there are four points to put in place, kind of like the four points of a flying generator: Community, Communication, Courage, and Clarity. With these four points in the right place, we can feel “the rush of a violent wind” (Acts 2:2), and capture the energy of the Holy Spirit.
First, The Community Point. Acts tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the apostles of Jesus “were all together in one place” (v. 1).
Were they all there? Yes. Were they all together? Yes. Were they all in one place? Yes. They were all together, gathered in community. They were not in different places, but were in the same spot, on the same page, reading from the same sheet of music.
Community is critically important, because when the Holy Spirit came with a sound “like the rush of a violent wind” (v. 2), it came to one group in one house. “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them” (v. 3). If Peter had been in Capernaum, John in Nazareth, James on the Sea of Galilee, Andrew in Cana, and the other eight scattered across the country, there would not have been a catching of the Holy Spirit wind. Pentecost was a communal experience, and it was only because they were together that “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (v. 4).
Gathering together is a challenge for us today, because we have become so individualistic in our practice of the faith. But the role of the community is as crucial today as it has ever been. When tragedy strikes, there is nothing more important that coming together for support. As many of you know, Joyce and Kevin Strickler lost their son Jason this past week, and it has been critically important for our church community to gather around them with love and prayer, hugs and meals, conversation and care.
It is only when we are “all together in one place” that we can be the community that God wants us to be. It is only when we are all together that we can catch the wind of the Holy Spirit, and begin to use the gifts that God wants to give us. Which brings us to …
The Communication Point. The apostles in Jerusalem “began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (v. 4). This amazed the devout Jews from every nation who were living in the city, because they knew that the apostles were Galileans — men not famous for their foreign language abilities..
You know the riddle: What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks one language? American.
Well, in the first century, the punch-line would have been: Galilean. But on Pentecost, the apostles were chattering away in the native languages of the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Romans, Cretans, Arabs and others — in these diverse languages, they were “speaking about God’s deeds of power” (v. 11). The apostles had been given a gift of communication by the Holy Spirit of God, so that they could tell people about the good news of Jesus in a clear and compelling way.
We need to position ourselves to put this gift to work today. Not only by supporting churches that offer services in languages other than English, but by using communication techniques that reach a new generation of potential believers. We communicate when we use PowerPoint in worship, when we praise God with instruments besides the organ, when we offer Encounter services and make the experience of worship more creative and interactive. We have to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gives us ability, if we are going to reach new people in the same manner that the apostles did on Pentecost. All of which is going to require …
The Courage Point. Acts tells us that some of the residents of Jerusalem sneered at the apostles and said, “They are filled with new wine” (v. 13). They didn’t want to hear the message of the Galileans, so they tried to write it off as drunken babbling. But Peter raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose” (vv. 14-15).
It took guts for Peter to stand up to the sneering crowd. It took Spirit-powered courage. Remember that this was the very same Peter who — just a few weeks earlier — had slinked away from conflict by denying Jesus three times. He could have made a joke of the whole situation, like the students at a Lutheran college who had T-shirts printed up for their 9:00 class. The shirts simply said “Acts 2:15.” Not many people knew the verse from memory, but when they looked it up in the Bible they found the words, “Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.”
Peter didn’t make a joke. He didn’t shy away from conflict. Instead, he stood up to his detractors and said that the speech of the apostles was a fulfillment of ancient prophecy. “This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel,” said Peter, “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” (vv. 16-17). Peter made a strong stand for what God was doing in the world at that particular moment.
We are challenged to do the same, especially when people dismiss our practice of the faith. Our job is to show a little courage as we describe what we see God doing in the world. We don’t have to engage in philosophical arguments with agnostics or neo-atheists — instead, our challenge is to point out what God is doing in our church, community, nation and world.
When estranged family members come together, that’s a God-moment. When an unexpected healing occurs at Fairfax Hospital, that’s a God-moment. When ancient enemies in a foreign land make peace, that’s a God-moment. When visitors to this church discover that FPC is a welcoming “house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7), that’s a God-moment.
Peter courageously pointed out a God-moment that he saw taking place in his world, and so can we. This bring us, finally, to …
The Clarity Point. When the apostle Peter spoke to the crowd, he didn’t invent a whole new set of Holy Scriptures. Instead, he clarified a passage from Joel that had been confusing before, but now made perfect sense. He provided a commentary on this Scripture lesson that awakened people to the power of the Holy Spirit and the significance of God’s Son Jesus.
Making the message of the Bible clear is one of the most important ways in which we position the church to catch the power of God. Peter did this well in his sermon to the people of Jerusalem, by showing that God’s promise to pour out his Spirit was coming true all around them — the day was dawning in which “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v. 21). This was the greatest clarification of all, because it made clear that the name of the Lord is Jesus, and everyone who calls on him shall be saved.
Salvation is no longer limited to the Jews, says Peter. Gentiles can be saved as well. It’s a surprising twist in the biblical story, and Peter suddenly makes clear what God is doing.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Everyone shall be forgiven, and made right with God. All they have to do is call Jesus their Lord. For years, people didn’t know what the prophet Joel was talking about, but Peter made it clear. And that’s our job today at FPC as well: To make it clear that God is calling people of every race and culture and orientation to come together, and experience his salvation.
So these are the four points of a Holy-Spirit-harnessing church. Community. Communication. Courage. Clarity. A Community that Communicates with Courage and Clarity is going to be in a position to catch the power of God and put it to work in the world.
Let’s fly. Amen.
Sources:
“Getting wind farms off the ground,” The Economist, June 9, 2007, 3.