Go With the Flow – Part 2: The Missionary Gift of the Holy Spirit

In Part 1, we discussed the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost and how God moved in power to send his Holy Spirit upon the disciples in Acts 2. We also said the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit, because from the beginning, he has been about sending us out.

Sensing the Holy Spirit

Sometimes that comes in very small, individual ways. One day, I got up early to go to one of the local stores before I went to the office, and I passed by a man walking his dogs. He caught my eye, and I thought, “I’m supposed to be praying for him.” It was just as clear as day. And not only was I supposed to be praying for him, I was supposed to tell him that I was supposed to be praying for him.

I kept going. I couldn’t turn around. Not yet. I went to the store, got the things I needed, made my way back, pulled back into my neighborhood, and there he was.

“OK, I hear you, God,” I thought. So I stopped, pulled over, rolled down the window, introduced myself and said, “I live in the neighborhood. I just want you to know I’m praying for you. I’m supposed to be praying for you.”

With a huge smile, he thanked me. I rolled up the window and took off for the next thing I was supposed to do.

I have times like this, not always, when I have the tangible sense that what God says is true: The Holy Spirit’s presence is real, and that presence is with me.

Of course, there are times when I don’t feel much of anything. But I trust the scripture so that even when I’m not feeling it, I still know that it is true. His promise to be with us is not contingent upon what I feel.

But it’s more than that, far more. It’s not merely personal comfort, as powerful and even as profound as that is. It’s a sending. It’s a willingness to be available. And so I need to know the when: “Lord, when do you want me to be available for you? And what does that look like?”

Obeying the Holy Spirit

Those questions are important, you see, because this gospel is meant to go to the entire world. The Holy Spirit was poured out so that every tribe, family, people and nation would be included in the good news of what we see in Jesus Christ. And that means I am always available for God to use as he sees fit – not when it’s merely convenient, not when I want it to happen. My job is to be a servant, not a master, to the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I can grieve the Holy Spirit. I can say no. But the privilege in saying yes is that I never know when or with whom the adventure will happen.

We live in a world today that is full of grief. Our eyes today are on the brutal war in Ukraine. Over 6.3 million people have died from the coronavirus. Our nation is still grieving the killing of George Floyd and others like him. And if the gospel is going to reach everyone, we need to be the kind of men and women who are willing to step in, even in situations such as that. We are not given the freedom to step away, to allow it to be something that’s happened “over there” and therefore does not ask of me or you any kind of personal involvement.

Just the opposite. When we watch the news in the presence of the Holy Spirit, God gives us an openness to say, “Is there anything you’d like me to do about that? Is there anything going on in my city or my community that might reflect that same kind of preference of protecting white people over people of color, white privilege? Is there anything you want me to do, Lord, in the midst of the community where I live and serve, to be a bridge so that the gospel reaches every nation, including the nations represented in the community where I live?”

Empowered by the Holy Spirit

You see, to be available for God to use you to reach everyone with the gospel means you have to be willing to allow God to pick the circumstances. His calling moves you to speak up, to be involved, to be in some ways the embodiment of a gospel message that says every single man, woman and child is deeply valued in the sight of God, and that no one is to be excluded.

That’s really the Pentecostal message. It’s not merely a message of, “I feel better because Jesus is living in my heart.” The Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit who empowers the people of God to be available as servants, bold servants – not just for a spiritual experience, but to speak up and to live in such a way as the darkness is pushed back. To share so that more people by our witness can hear of a family of people that welcomes every tribe, tongue, language, people and nation and serves them in such a way that they know that God loves them and cares for them. To let them know that the message of Jesus is not exclusive to any particular race or privileged group of people, but that all of us stand co-equal beneath the cross of Jesus Christ. That’s the fruit of Pentecost.

So, beloved, yes, seek the presence of the Holy Spirit, for empowerment and for comfort. Allow his presence to pervade particularly the deep places of woundedness and loneliness that exist in our lives, especially as we grieve the losses of all that we have experienced.

But please, the Holy Spirit’s presence is not meant merely to allow us to know comfort but to know power, that we might be his servants in a grieving world that needs to know desperately that there are people who will love them and care for them across the divides. Because Jesus cares equally for each of us, we must also care for one another in the power of his Spirit.

 

How has the Holy Spirit empowered you to care and share the good news with others? Share this blog and your response on Twitter. Please include my username, @revgregbrewer. 

 (This post is an adaption of Bishop Brewer’s sermon for May 31, 2020, in the chapel of the Diocese of Central Florida in Orlando.) 

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.