Charlie Loften: Hello, and welcome to the Grove Church podcast. I'm Charlie Loften, the lead pastor there, and we are so glad that you're joining us. Whether you are a member and you're just catching up on a sermon that you missed or you're someone who's brand new, we are really glad that you are joining us. And if you are new in some way, and I know that a lot of people will do that, we'll listen to sermons first before they visit. I want you to know that we would love to meet you at any point.
You can join us live in our services on Sunday, nine and 10:30 or our streaming service at 10:30. Either way, we would love to be able to get to know you. And regardless of why you are here listening to this sermon today, thank you so much for joining us. Hey, good morning. If you're new, and I know we do have some new people here today, I'm Charlie.
I'm the lead pastor here and really glad that all of you are worshiping with us and after the service, I'll be there in the back and I would just love to meet you and figure out any way we, anything we can do to kind of help you As you're making a decision about where you want to land, make a permanent church home, we would just love to get to know you back there, and so I'll be back there after service, love to get to know you. Well, as Ty mentioned, we're kind of in a series, kind of walking our way through the kind of the big picture, kind of epic moments throughout the Bible that kind of helped shape who we are, what we believe, just kind of seeing this progressive unfolding of kind of who God is, who we are, what sin is, what can we do about it, and so we kind of work on our way through it, kind of said four weeks in the Old Testament, ultimately we're going spend four weeks in the New Testament. If you were here a couple weeks ago, our youth pastor Spencer, he spoke, and I'm kind of, you know, I'll do this most weeks, and I'm about to do it again.
I can't start with a story about some pop culture reference, mostly movies, right? It's just kind of what I do. I know it gets, maybe it gets tedious for a while, but basketball season is coming soon, so then I'll also be able to talk about that. Those are the two things I know how to talk about. So, and then a couple weeks ago, Spencer did the same thing.
I don't know if you noticed, he got up here, and his first story was about movies. He's a big movie guy, And it probably led some of you to wonder, is that why Charlie hired him? Not the only reason that I hired him, but you know, it's just So when I evaluate a movie, and people have already been asking me about The Odyssey, which we have seen. When you ask me about a movie, a lot of people like to do, because when you know someone who sees all the movies, you can figure out what few movies you want to see. And so I kind of have two categories that I evaluate movies on.
Was it good, and did I enjoy it? Now, some of you may be like, that's the same thing, and like, no, it's not, it's not. For example, Oppenheimer, the story of the guy who developed a nuclear bomb, won a lot of Academy Awards, was really, really good. I wouldn't say I was having a great time. I mean, it was just all very heavy.
On the other side, Fast and Furious. I'm having a great time. Charlie, was that a good movie? No, it was not a good movie. Ludacris converted a car into a spaceship and flew into space and fixed a satellite.
That's I loved every second of it, but I'm not gonna tell you that it was good. And honestly, I'm not going to lie to you, I actually more than not, I prefer fun movies to good movies. Because every now and then, some of these good movies, man, they're trying to teach me lessons. They're trying to make me a better person. That's not what I'm trying to do.
Not big picture, just not the movies, right? Not the movies, not what I'm trying to do. And sometimes you can get tricked into a good movie that you think is going to be fun. Most recently, Disclosure Day, Aliens, right? It's about aliens.
I mean, there was not one laser. Nothing blew up. I mean, it was just very pensive, and then it did this thing that is probably my least favorite characteristic of what we'll call the good movies. And I say that it doesn't really end, it just stops. And what I mean by that is like you've got these plot points or these kind of deep things, you got this story, and in the end it doesn't resolve your, it doesn't answer the big picture questions, doesn't really it doesn't resolve the conflict, it just all of a sudden it kind of stops, and then you go, oh.
Thank you, artists, for allowing me to pensively reflect on life and the movie and what it really means. No, bro, just tell me. Finish it up. That's why I'm here. At a minimum, if you're going to do the art thing, at least do the thing at the end they do sometimes where they scroll text at the end to tell you exactly what happened and what happens later, and three years from now they did this, and then they got married, and it was fine, and I'll word this, I want it, and wear and just stops, right?
And that's what Disclosure Day did to me, but I could feel it coming. I just knew it. I knew I was going to be good, and I was going to be unsatisfied. Now, this is going to be a hot take, and it's gonna maybe make you raise your eyebrows. Another movie that does that, that just kind of stops and like doesn't really feel like it brings full resolution, Sorry.
The passion of the Christ, the story about Jesus' death on the cross, right? You got all of this buildup, right? You see, you learn about Him, you get His backstory about who He is and the teaching and the miracles and all these things. He's arrested, he's tortured, and then he dies on the cross, and all these things happen, you know, the character that Satan is really upset, like we talked about last week, this, this, there's an earthquake and the, and the, and this, the curtain between that protects the most holy place in the temple is torn in two, and all these big things happen. And then for like five seconds, you get this clip of Jesus walking out of the tomb with the hole in His hand, and then it just ends.
Right? And you're like, bro, it's a story about Jesus. You actually know how it ends, right? And you've read the book of Acts, I'm sure, probably, right? Like you're a pastor, like you know what happens next.
Two thousand years of Christian history, you know what happens. I get it. I get it. I do, but just you just think about, like what if that was your first intro to it? Like, man, they took this incredibly wise, powerful teacher, and he subjected them to this horrific arrest and humiliation and torture, and then he died, and apparently there was something powerful in his death that kind of seemed like it broke curses and destroyed barriers, and then he comes back to life, and then that's it.
Now as we're working our way through the story, the big picture story of the Bible, we all understand that it the story peaks. Right? It peaks with Jesus. With his coming down to Earth, God become a man, and then with the story of his Easter weekend. Right?
His death and resurrection, his death through which broke down all the barriers of sin. We talked about this last week and his and his resurrection that shows that he has conquered death. He is he has destroyed sin and he's conquered death. And and that is where everything is building, everything that we've been talking about, the revealing of how gracious and good God is and this problem of sin and how we can be reconciled to God through sacrifice, the gathering of a people, it all peaks here. Now he's come back to life and he's done all of that, like what next?
What are we supposed to be about? What is our goal? Like, what is what is life supposed to be? You've conquered this. Well, now what are we supposed to be about doing, and how are we supposed to go around doing it?
And this question is very specifically asked. In Acts chapter one, as we'll be looking at today, Acts chapter one and two, and one of his followers really essentially asked this question. We're gonna start in Acts one, starting verse four, and where we are, Jesus has come back to life. He's been teaching them, walking around with them, and and this and we get a picture of this one, essentially, this one last story of Jesus talking to his disciples after the resurrection. Verse four, Acts chapter one.
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, 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. Then they gathered around him and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? So Jesus has given them a command. I I need you I need you guys to stay here in Jerusalem.
I need you guys to stay here. Something really important is going to happen. There's a gift that God has promised to you that you're going to receive, and so I need you to stay right here. And he kinda gives them a little preview of kind of what's about to happen. You remember John baptizing people and just kind of essentially fully covering them with water?
He baptized people, covered them with water, immersed them into water. But what's gonna happen next is that you are going to be fully immersed, covered, overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit. That is what is about to happen. And then they ask a question. Okay.
So we wait, what because this is the next this is the next big event. The Holy Spirit is gonna come, and this big thing is gonna happen, and we're gonna have the Holy Spirit. Is is this when you're gonna restore the kingdom to Israel? Verse seven, he said to them, it is not for you to know the times or the 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.
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. So Spencer talked about this a couple of weeks ago when we talked about Jesus coming down to Earth, that what they expected was a king, a conquering king, who's gonna come in great power. He's gonna be big. He was gonna be glorious, and he was going to lead a revolution, a conquering armor, to free Israel from Roman occupation. For centuries, they've been battling this.
One kingdom after another, the the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, just one after another, living this kind of conquered life. And they believed that when the Messiah came, He was gonna free them from that, but He came in a very humble way to kind of set the tone, it's not what you think. But even His disciples, right, who understood that, still were expecting that from Him. Like every time they would go to Jerusalem, okay, this is it. This is what we're doing.
This is why we're here. This is what it's all about, and then it wouldn't happen. And he kept explaining to them, it's really not going to be like that. I'm going to die, and it's going to be it's going be pretty ugly, and then and then I'm going to be then I'm going to come back to life. And they're very confused, and he comes back to life, and essentially he's been spending the last month or so kind of explaining this to them, kind of helping them process what just happened.
And said, and now the Holy Spirit is gonna come, and now they just can't quite shake it. Okay, so now now now this is when you are going to make this wrong right. We have been unoccupied people for far too long, and we know that you are going to be the one that makes this right. Now's the time, right? And I would not say his answer is harsh, but it is direct.
And essentially, it boils down to that is not for you to know. In fact, it's really not your concern here. And then he has something that I think that is really, really interesting because he kind of takes what their core concern and kind of turns it back on him a little bit. Because when they say, are you gonna restore the kingdom of Israel? Are you gonna put Israel back in power?
Where we are now a sovereign nation again. Are you going to ascend to the throne of power, and then essentially us as your kind of lieutenants, we will kind of get to have some power. Are we, is the country gonna get power? Are you gonna take power? Are we gonna get to share in that power?
Is this when power comes? He says, that's really not the issue here. It's not for you to think about. God has that over here. That's not what you're to worry about, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes.
You're concerned for this over here, what I'm telling you, the power that you're about to get is of a very different nature altogether. And we'll say it this way, real power is what God does in you. They're looking for power in this world. They're looking for wrongs to be righted, justice to be restored, and and and once everything is building towards God setting the world right. That's what it's about.
And he's like, that's not really what you need to be concerned about. God is going to set the world right. He is, in his time, in his way, but you will receive power, a different power, a greater powerful power, something that is going to direct you in a completely different way. And their request, it's not bad. Sometimes I feel like people, at least in my situation, we give them a hard time.
Oh, it's not about that. It's about these spiritual things, and they just didn't get it. They didn't understand Jesus, and they're just praying for this stuff that doesn't really matter. It's like, oh, it actually really does matter. Right?
I mean, they were an occupied people. That's a that's a when you don't know anybody who knows anybody who knows anybody who's experienced anything other than just kind of imperial occupation, I mean, the the emotional, physical, spiritual toll, that's bad. And they want, they want to be rescued from that and to, and to want that. And then again, they read in the old Testament, seems like God promises that's going to happen. And they're just wanting to know when.
Very reasonable. And I think in different degrees, different from one of us here, we feel that in some way. We feel in some way the world's not right. It's broken. The wrong people have power.
The good people suffer at the hands of bad people. There's a lot of unnecessary suffering and a lot of unnecessary cruelty in the world, and we cry out to God, again, rightly so, God, when are you gonna when are you gonna resolve this? Maybe it's not at a global scale, maybe your concern is at a country level. I grew up in a very conservative home, both politically and religiously, in a very conservative town, and I've heard people talk like this for years, wishing that there was more of a godly presence and spirit in the world or in our country. And, you know, as politics has just really kind of ramped up over the last twenty plus years, just more and more of that from all sides now.
This is broken. It's not right. When will it get better? And people are fighting for this. Sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally, and and and God's people cry out, I wish there was something different.
Maybe it's at a smaller scale, some people like, I wish I wish I wish there was more justice in our state. But I think all of us, at the smallest of levels, when we are experiencing injustice, when we are feeling less than, when our our home isn't right, our job situation isn't right, when we feel like the world in some way is doing us wrong. God, when are you gonna make this right? And we get stuck. And it would've been really easy for his disciples to have gotten stuck here.
And Jesus doesn't want them to get stuck here. That's not that is not your primary concern. There's something very different that I want to be at. The power that I want you to be thinking about. I want you to be thinking about this thing that God is going to do in you and through you when the Holy Spirit comes.
Power is gonna come, and you are going to be my witnesses all throughout the world. And rather than God you being concerned about when is God gonna make the world right up here down this way, you are gonna receive power, and you're gonna be my witnesses and bring life out this way. And we see this unfold, the next chapter, a month or so later, Acts chapter two verse one. 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 enabled them. Now they were staying in Jerusalem, God fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard the sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, whilst each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked, aren't all these who are speaking Galileans?
Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, and Egypt, and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans, Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? So you may probably heard that maybe you've heard this term before, Pentecost.
You know, there are denominations and Christian movements built around this, Pentecostal churches or Pentecostal spiritual movement or whatever, and it kind of comes back to this day. And in fact, as I was talking about this yesterday with my mother-in-law who lives with us, and she was like, what are you talking about tomorrow? So we're talking about Pentecost. Was like, man, you're just kinda flying through the calendar here. Right?
Like like, she comes from a more liturgical church, so they kinda work their way through the church calendar. It's like, you mean, you go Christmas, Easter, Pentecost in three weeks. I don't know if you can do that. Was like, well, we're doing it. Here we are.
This was kind of what we're doing, right? And it kind of is this big kind of day annually in the Christian calendar, and when we talk about Pentecost, we talk about it in terms of this kind of event in Christian history and Acts, but it actually was a Jewish festival and celebration that's happening here. And Jewish people from all over everywhere have come here to celebrate, and this incredible thing happens. And I think it is really important. There's there's an importance.
Again, as we talk about the theology of of of God and us and sin and life and how it is unfolding over the Scripture, there is something that happens here before we kind of get to, like, like the why, like what is God really trying, what is He wanting to do here, what is His power, what does it mean? They try to answer the question that that the crowd is asking, what does this mean? There's something, a really important theological point that I wanna make sure that we that we we we grab here. Because when the Holy Spirit comes, everyone who is in that room, who is a follower of Jesus, receives the Holy Spirit. So I wanna make sure that we catch that, and we'll say it this way, that God gives His Spirit to all who believe.
This is not some gift given to the elite. And it is important distinction, because it's important because it's different than what happens in the Old Testament. And we've talked about this over the course of this series. We talked about it. Melanie talked about this at summer seminar on Monday night.
This kind of this already not yet in Scripture, where God does something, and He does it, but there's and you experience it, but you're going to experience it more fully at a different time. You see this in the Old Testament, and you see it more fully in Jesus, and then maybe even more fully at the end. And what happens here is the Holy Spirit has been a very active presence in the in the Old Testament. He was there at creation. It says he was hovering over the water.
It's very active. And you'll see at different times with different prophets where he comes, it says, and the Holy Spirit came upon them. And the and the most significant example for what I wanna make sure that you fully understand, I would say is with the first two kings of Israel. The first king of Israel is a guy named Saul. And it says that the Holy Spirit came on him, and he was able to do and accomplish a lot.
He he spoke boldly for God. He accomplished big things for God. But then at some point in his in his life, you know, he he disobeys, dishonors God in a pretty significant way. It says and and the Holy Spirit was removed from him. Then it says a little bit later, the next king, a guy named David, that the Holy Spirit comes upon him.
It was an unusual thing. It was something that happened for special prophets and kings where the Holy Spirit would come upon them. And so much so that when it happened, it was it was going to be noted. And if all we understand theologically and biblically is kind of we live in a post resurrection, post day of Pentecost world, I say that the Holy Spirit comes to everybody, and we don't necessarily feel the weight and the power of that. This is a breaking down of any class system that exists.
You know, we talked about with with Moses when he's he's gonna make them a a kingdom of priests, people who could intercede for God and people who need didn't need someone else to help them access God. They became priests, but they still also needed priests. And then with the with the crucifixion, the the the this curtain was ripped in two as a symbol that there are no now no barriers between people and God. This is the same sort of thing. The Holy Spirit didn't just come upon Peter.
Peter, James, and John, just the the the 11 disciples. It came upon everyone. Everyone experienced this. And I think this is more than simply a theological point, which is important to understand. It is important to understand that the Holy Spirit came selectively in the Old Testament and now comes to everyone who believes in the New Testament, could be removed from people in the Old Testament.
Now God has made a promise that his spirit will never leave us in the New Testament. This is an important theological distinction for you to understand. But more than that, it is important for you to understand that there are no barriers, there are no differences, there is no class system, and specifically, I wanna say there is no such thing between you and me. We are the same. And if you have been here long enough, you know that that's kind of the vibe that I that I want to give off.
I have a different job. I have a different job. Maybe I have a a particular, you know, gift set that puts me on stage to be a teacher. That's that's something. But it's not like, well, there's there's pastor, and then there's regulars.
There's not regulars and specials. There's not pastors and people. There's just there's just us, and we all have different roles. We all have different giftings, but we all fully have the Holy Spirit. I was not immersed and baptized in the Holy Spirit, and you kinda got a, like a drive by sprinkling.
That's just not what it is, you know? I get to jump in the ocean, you got hit with a water gun. And and I think sometimes we we think like that, that I'm not significant enough to have received fully the Holy Spirit. That we live, even if we didn't know that this was true theologically, we live in an Old Testament mindset. That the Holy Spirit is more selective and it is more a case by case for certain sorts of causes and missions and roles where you can experience the Holy Spirit.
God has fully given the Spirit to you. So, yeah, let's upgrade your theology and understand the difference between this Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. Make sure that when the theology quiz comes, you can check the boxes. Do all believers receive the Holy Spirit? Yes, they do.
Check yes. Can they lose? No, they cannot. And now I've passed the theology quiz, but let's pass the quiz and pass the practical. Let's do the lab well, where I am believing and living with the confidence that knowing that the power of God lives inside of me.
So it's really interesting. God could have unveiled this on his followers at any time after the resurrection. Under any circumstances, Jesus could've said it, and hey, good. And power's gonna and the power you're gonna see power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And and look, there he is.
It could've happened then. It could have happened two weeks later. It could have happened six months later. It happened specifically at this time. It happened at this time, and it had this particular result because there was something very specific that God was wanting to communicate to them.
It happened at the time of Pentecost when people from all over the world whose hearts and minds were ready to worship, were ready to learn, were ready to grow. All of these things, all of these circumstances were set so that when the Holy Spirit came, thousands upon thousands of people from all over the world would get to experience it. And so I wanna say this, God gives us his spirit to bring hope to the world. He brings us his spirit to bring hope to the world. There are a lot of things that we're gonna learn about all throughout the New Testament, about the things that the Holy Spirit will do.
He does things for your character. He changes your heart. We're talking about the fruit of the Spirit, things that He's gonna do, these character qualities, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness. He's gonna direct you. He's going to teach you.
He's going to guide you, help you understand things that you don't, help you understand what what what path to take, giving direction and clarity. There's all sorts of things that internally God is going to do inside of you through the Holy Spirit, all powerful, amazing, wonderful things. But for his debut, the thing that God wanted to demonstrate to his disciples was when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, that power that is in you is going to make a difference in the people around you. And Paul emphasizes this later on in scripture, that the gifts that the Spirit gives us are meant to encourage and help other people. There were thousands upon thousands of people who had no idea who Jesus was.
They were way off in other parts of the world, had no idea the significance of that Messiah has come and what happened to him and how recent all of this was. And God orchestrated a moment, just the perfect moment for his power to come upon them so that thousands upon thousands of people could hear about the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so then, when that happens, it says that 3,000 people that day believed and put their faith in Jesus. And it was a powerful moment for them, but also for the disciples. Again, because we're having to reorient their brain about what does it mean to now I am a follower of the true one and true Messiah.
I am not going to be a part of the conquering army that sets the world right from the top down, but I'm gonna be a carrier of bringer and bringer of hope, and bring justice and hope and life and light to the world on the ground. One relationship at a time, one conversation at a time, one invitation at a time, one act of love and service at a time. And when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you're going to see him do incredible things in and through your life. But my fear is that we're stuck, And we're waiting, we're waiting for something. We're waiting for something.
We're waiting for God to do something big. We're waiting like, I need God to show up in this very specific way, and then I can get unstuck. And in the meantime, you are missing out on what God is wanting to do in you right now and through you right now, which is to bring hope and life to a world that is desperate for it. And you, you, every one of you, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you will receive power. You will bring his witnesses.
In this day, all the world came to Jerusalem, and then he sends them out to be his witnesses all throughout the world, and now he's asking us the same. Will you get unstuck? Stop waiting for something else, but trust and believe that God has given you power now to bring hope and life to the world. Let me pray. God, I thank you for everybody here.
And God, I pray that you would un get get us unstuck, believing that somehow we are somewhat less than, not worthy of the wonderful gift of your spirit, or just stuck in a hopelessness that something else has to happen before we can really experience your power and your life. May God help us to really learn and trust and experience what it means to have the Holy Spirit in us. And I pray that in some very specific ways this week, we would see and experience that power, the opportunities you create for us to show love and to give hope and life to people around us. And God, we are so thankful for your son, Jesus Christ, whose life and death and resurrection makes all this possible. And it's in his And their the next get And so culture or theology, those kinds of things, you And we're can check out our cultivate lives.
Podcast. It's on the same feed, however you found this particular podcast. So again, this is Charlie, the lead pastor at The Grove, and thank you so much for joining us.