A New People

Good morning. My name is Cody Stiltner, and I'm one of the student ministers here at Greenwood Christian Church. And I asked our students a question a couple weeks ago that I want to ask you guys this morning. Have you ever found yourself in a now, not yet situation? Now, not yet.

And when I say that, you might think, well, that's kind of a weird thing. How can something be happening both now, but also not yet? So let me give you an example. On the morning of December 25, 2005, my family was celebrating Christmas. In 2005, I was in seventh grade.

And when I was in seventh grade, there was one thing that I was totally and completely obsessed with. Like any good middle school boy, I was totally obsessed with nascar. I loved nascar. I didn't just watch the races. I watched the qualifying and the practices.

I was all in. I memorized stats. I knew about tire pressures and how the weather would affect the tire pressure. I mean, I was all in. I was so all in that in 2004, the Christmas before, if my idolatry of this has not become obvious enough, my mom bought me a Jeff Gordon Bible case so that my Bible case could.

My Bible, when I took it to church, came in a Jeff Gordon 24 Bible case. I was obsessed. And I remember on December 25, 2005, when we kind of had gotten through all the presents and all that was left was a small envelope. And it was to my sister and I, and we. We went, and it didn't look like it was gonna be much, but we went and we opened it.

And inside this envelope were six tickets, four tickets for me and my family to go to Disney World. And I was so excited. I mean, I just was blown away. I couldn't believe I'd never been to Disney World. I didn't think that was something our family could do.

They had been apparently saving up. It came out of nowhere for us. But then there was two more tickets left. And while we were down there at Disney World, me and my dad were going to go to the Daytona 500. And I bawled my eyes out.

It's the only time in my life that I've cried on Christmas morning. No offense, Jesus, but, like, that was a big moment for me. And it was such a massive moment that I did what any seventh grade boy would do, especially before smartphones. I went and I got 50 blank pieces of paper and I taped them all together and I started a countdown on every single piece of paper. I started down, I think it was in the 50s at first.

I started at 50. And every page, I wrote a different number. And of course, under each number that had a NASCAR driver, I wrote their name on there, too. And so every morning, I would get up and I'd run over to my countdown and I'd rip off that piece of paper. And I remember when it was in the 40s and 30s, it was unbearable.

It was so slow. But as slow as it was in the 40s and 30s, when we got down to the single digits, it felt like every day was six days. Every day I'd go up and just, oh, we're only down one more. And finally, I remember waking up one morning and what was a one, I went over and I ripped it off, and underneath was a zero. The day had finally come.

I could not be more excited. The moment was there. It was now. But oddly enough, as I looked around, I wasn't in Disney World. I wasn't at the Daytona 500.

I was in Lexington, Kentucky. And we had another countdown of 15 hours to drive down to Florida. So I was in this moment of now, but not yet. Now, but not yet. Right now, actually in this very moment, my family is kind of in a now, not yet situation.

In December, early December, my wife and I, we're expecting our second child, a little girl, to make her arrival within that first week of December. Yeah, super exciting, super pumped.

And it's a weird place to be because, like, everything about me revolves around her right now. Like, my thoughts and my actions. Like, my heart is already obsessed with this little girl. And so, like, right. Right now, there's a.

There's a lot of now for me. But then there's also a part where it's just not yet. It's just not yet. And we're going to be jumping back into the story where a whole group of people are living in the now, not yet. After Jesus resurrection, after he defeated death, Jesus spends about 40 days going around and making appearances to countless people.

He's teaching them about the kingdom of God, and he's revealing himself as the Messiah, as the Savior of the earth. And sometime during the back end of those 40 days, he asks his disciples to meet him at the top of this mountain in the region called Galilee. And this is where we're going to jump into the story. At the end of Matthew, chapter 28, this is what it says. Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

And when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.

The disciples seem to be living in a very much a now moment. He gathers them all up on the top of this mountain and as they look out and as they could see all this land ahead of them, he commissions them and he says, take everything that I've taught you and go down off of this mountain to the places that you can see and the places you can't see, to the people you know and the people you don't know. And I want you to teach them where true life comes from. And I want you to baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And it's always hard when we're reading these passages from so long ago to kind of guess the tone that is being said here.

But I can't help but read this commissioning from Jesus and I kind of feel like I'm watching like a pre game speech from a coach. You have to imagine that as he gathers these guys up on this mountain. It's powerful, it's enthusiastic, it's, it's encouraging, it's building confidence. Jesus has gathered his team together and he's about to send them out onto the battlefield.

He's sending them out with purpose and mission. And you can't help but feel like they are living in a now moment. They're ready, they're ready to go. And you would think these guys are probably pretty amped and excited to get going. The creator of the universe, God believes in them and is sending them out.

But only a few days later, if we keep reading, what would end up happening on Jesus last day on earth with these disciples. It's very, very interesting. This is what we read in Acts chapter one on one occasion while he was eating with them. This is Jesus, he gave them this command. Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about.

For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And it's at this point that the disciples have some questions. And to be honest with you, they absolutely should have some questions. I want you to think about what Jesus just told them. Don't just read through these things, but think about their shoes and what they know.

Put yourself in their shoes and think about what do they know about the Holy Spirit at this point of the story. And what we realize really quickly is that in the Old Testament, when the presence of God descends into a place, big things happen. When God descended on Mount Sinai, there was thunder and lightning and fire and smoke. The mountain literally trembled. And people were begging Moses to go and to speak to God for them.

Cause they didn't want to get anywhere near the presence of God. And when the glory of God descended down from that mountain, entered into the tabernacle, and when it later entered into the temple, it was so powerful that even the priests couldn't get near the presence of God. And when someone did make the mistake of getting too close, when they did accidentally touch the Ark of the Covenant, they died instantly. And so if you tell a devout Jew, yes, that presence of God is not only going to descend in these Old Testament stories, it is actually going to descend into this room, and that presence of God is going to go into you. There's probably a part of them that's amazed, but there's probably a huge part of them that are afraid.

A huge part. Which makes their next question really interesting. This is what they ask. They gathered around him and they asked him, lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? This is a question that the disciples seem to be asking at all the wrong times.

Even after all of this, after all they've seen, after Jesus has come back from the dead, after Jesus has commissioned them to go out into the world, they are still thinking geopolitically and they wonder, oh, so when the Spirit descends this one, we're going to restore Israel. I don't know if they think that, like, the power of God's gonna come into them and they're gonna become some kind of super soldier. But what they think is, oh, this must be when it's going to happen. But Jesus answer doesn't point them to. To pursue a throne.

Jesus answer points them to pursue a task. This is what he says. He said to them, it is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And after he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes. And a cloud hid him from their sight.

It's in this moment that this group of guys enter the now. Not yet tasked with telling the whole world about God, but also tasked to wait, wait for the Holy Spirit. And so what we read is that for about 10 days, these guys are just living in the now, not yet. Until eventually. We read this in Acts, chapter two.

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit and enabled them. After 10 days of living in the now, not yet the Holy Spirit descends.

They become baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit. And the first thing that they can recognize is that they now can speak languages that they didn't know before. And for a group of guys tasked with going around the world telling people about the Gospel, it's not a bad gift to get. And so there's a whole lot we don't know about this miracle. We don't know if they all received the gift to speak all languages or if each one got a unique language that they didn't know before.

All we know is that when the Holy Spirit descends into this room, not only is it obvious to them, but it is obvious to the city around them. What we read is that a crowd starts to gather around this house, wondering what is shouting. It is coming from this room. And in this crowd are people of different cultures and different languages, different backgrounds. And as they all start to gather around this room, what they hear inside are a bunch of people that shouldn't know their language, speaking their language.

They're no longer in this now, not yet. They're actually just in the now. And Peter takes no time to get started. All the way back when Jesus gathered all of the disciples up on that mountain, he tasked them, he commissioned them to go and preach the gospel, to teach people everything that Jesus had taught them. And that's the first thing Peter does in this moment.

Peter goes out and he starts preaching. And I want to draw your attention to how Peter actually finishes his message to the crowd. This is what Peter says at the end of his message. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words, Peter warned them and he pleaded with them. Save yourselves from this corrupt generation and those who accepted his message. Were baptized, and about 3,000 were added to the number. That day, 3,000 people are gathered around this house, this house that is shaking the city.

And as Peter preaches the gospel to them, 3,000 people come to know Jesus. And this is the birth of a new church. This is the birth of a new people. This is the birth of a new way of life. And so the question is, what does this new way of life look like for them?

If we keep reading it, it's drawn out pretty well for us. It says in the next verse, they devoted themselves, all these people, they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes, and they ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the lord added to their number again daily those who were being saved. And so what we see here is that when the holy spirit descends upon this room of these guys, not only does it descend upon them, but it actually starts to spread. And all of these different people and all these different lives are now changed, and their priorities change and their minds change, and everything about them has changed.

It almost seems as if these people have been completely born again.

And look around the room, because you're here right now because of this moment in scripture. One small room of people empowered by the Holy spirit did this so that when it spread, it came all the way to Greenwood, Indiana.

In the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666, the City of London was asleep. The city of London at this time was a city of narrow streets and timber houses. It was so tightly packed together that neighbors could reach across their window to shake their neighbor's hands. And in a small bakery on pudding Lane, Thomas Ferriner finished his day's work. The ovens were still warm from baking bread, and before heading upstairs to bed, he raked out the coals like he had done a thousand times before.

But that night, one tiny ember refused to die. And somewhere in the dark, a spark jumped. It caught the straw on the floor, and then the straw caught the wood. And soon the bakery was burning quietly at first, but then it became quite furious. By the time the farriners family awoke, the staircase was already in flames.

So they had to escape through an upstairs window, Scrambling along the rooftops to Safety. Their maid, terrified, refused to make the climb. And she became the first victim of what soon would be called the Great Fire of London. The fire leapt from house to house like it had a mind of its own. A strong east wind turned the city into a furnace.

Sparks rained down on rooftops, igniting them instantly. And buckets of water did nothing. Within hours, half the street was gone. And by morning, panic filled the air. People ran through the streets carrying what they could.

A chest, a painting, a Bible. As the heat drove them further and further back, the flames moved faster than anyone could run. St. Paul's Cathedral, a huge building built of massive stones with once thought to be invincible, now was in rubble. It was no match. Its lead roof melted and poured down the streets like rivers of fire.

For four days, the city burned. The sky glowed red at night. People watched from the fields outside London, weeping as their entire world disappeared behind a wall of flame.

And when it was finally over, 13,000 homes were gone. Nearly every building within the old city walls was reduced to blackened rubble. And all of this because of one ember and one bakery. It may seem weird to talk about this story when reading this part of scripture, but if one Ember can change a city, then what can the Holy Spirit of God do with his people? If one Ember can change a city, then what can the all consuming fire of God do?

While fire can leave a path of destruction, we also get to leave a path of our own. But this path is a path of heaven on earth.

What happens when God's all consuming fire comes into this body, into this church? Does the city shake? Does the city change?

You see, no longer is there a cloud of smoke, thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai. No longer is the mountain trembling as God descends. No longer is is the Spirit of God moving through the desert in a tabernacle. No longer is the Holy Spirit of God in a temple thousands and thousands of miles away. No, the holiest Spirit of God is in this body.

And it's in the bodies of the believers that follow Jesus.

And this Holy Spirit doesn't sit idly by. Please do not offend God by thinking that. No. Now this Holy Spirit introduces us into new life, teaching us the ways of Jesus. The Holy Spirit makes us born again.

The Holy Spirit creates in us a new people. And so the question is, has this fire. Has the fire of the Holy Spirit of God truly changed us? When we read all of these stories of the greatest story ever told and we get to this point in the story, do we really understand what the presence of God does to somebody, does it really change us? And if we do understand, do we actually believe it?

Do we actually believe that the Holy Spirit, the presence of God, can change people, can change cities, can change communities? What we have to understand is we do not worship the God of I used to be. We worship the. The God of I am.

And the Holy Spirit that descends into this room in this chapter of the Bible is the same Holy Spirit that's available to us now. It is the same God.

And so what does it look like? What does it look like when the Holy Spirit changes me? In Romans we read, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In Colossians we read, therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another.

And. And if any of you has a grievance against somebody, forgive as the Lord forgave you, and over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. When you walk, leave behind a path of heaven on Earth.

In First Peter 2. 9, we read, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out out of the darkness and into his marvelous light. And all of this brings us back to what Jesus said in John 13. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

And so when we get to this point of the story, the greatest story ever told, we start to realize that this story is still being written. That when the Holy Spirit descended into that room, that it spread like wildfire. And it's found its way all the way here to Greenwood, Indiana. And it's our turn. It's our turn to walk in the confidence that this same God of the Scriptures is the God that is dwelling within us.

We start to read that this holy mission given to the disciples has been carried out from generation to generation to generation. And now it's our turn. It's our turn to partner with the Holy Spirit carrying out this mission in our community. It's our job so that our city and our town can't help themselves but to surround us and say, what is happening to you? It's our turn to walk with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and to wear love for our neighbors and for our enemies on our hearts.

May the Spirit of God continue to spread like a wildfire. Let's pray. Dear God, to think of all those people that sat at the bottom of Mount Sinai trembling, not wanting to get too close to the people that would tie ropes around their bodies as they walked into the temple, thinking that they would die and they would need to be pulled out. And to think, God, that you are that same God that is in us.

I sit in amazement. But I also sit a holy fear.

God, use us to tell your story, to invite other people to be a part of the greatest story ever told. God, you are a magnificent, magnificent fire. But not a fire that creates destruction, fire that creates new life. It's in your name we pray.