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Pentecost Sermon: “By the Holy Spirit”

Writer's picture: Pastor Nathan NassPastor Nathan Nass

Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (1 Corinthians 12:3-11 NIV)

“It was March 26, 1993.” Some of us have trouble remembering dates. Not this man! “March 26, 1993.” Know what he was talking about? The day he became a Christian. When did you become a Christian? When I was a vicar—a practice pastor—in Georgia, I got put on the spot. I was visiting a couple who had visited our church. Nice, Christian people. As we talked, the man said, “I have been a Christian since March 26, 1993.” His exactness surprised me. “Since that exact date?” “Absolutely! On March 26, 1993 I opened my heart to Jesus. It took me a long time, but I finally decided to accept Christ. I haven’t been the same since. I made my decision. I’m saved!” But then he added, “How about you? What day did you accept Christ and become a Christian?”

I have to admit, I felt a little sheepish. Here I was, training to be a pastor, but I didn’t have a date. I said, “I’ve been a Christian as long as I can remember, ever since I was baptized as a baby.” Compared to his bold confession, that seemed kind of foolish. He thought so. “No, no, that’s not what I’m talking about,” he said. “When did you really become a Christian? When did you open your heart and accept Christ?” Sometimes you think that we pastor people always have the right answers. That day, I didn’t. I left kicking myself. Should I have a date? Do you have a date?

It’s okay if you don’t, because what that man was saying is impossible. The idea that he became a Christian on the day he opened up his heart and accepted Jesus is impossible. Know why? The Bible says, “No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” This is important! “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Faith in Jesus doesn’t come from me deciding or me choosing or me opening up my heart. Faith comes from the Holy Spirit. Whether he was trying to or not, that man was taking credit for what God had done. “On March 26, 1993 I opened up my heart to Jesus.” That’s impossible, because “no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.”

It is far too easy for us to take credit for God’s work. A few years ago, I traveled to the country of Colombia to study Spanish. While I was there, I went to a service at a big Catholic church. I still remember the theme of the priest’s sermon. It was, “Take the first step!” “God’s willing to help you, but you have to take the first step.” That makes sense, doesn’t it? We’ve got to take the first step. We’ve got to open our hearts. We’ve got to accept Jesus. Take the first step!

Here’s the problem: I can’t. I can’t take the first step. You can’t either. Do you know how the Bible describes us without God? Paul said, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature” (Romans 7:18). Come on, there’s a little good in all of us, right? No. Just a lot of sin! In fact, Paul adds, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Dead! Us. How much can a dead body do? Nothing! Earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). On our own, we’re not just a little sick or weak. We’re dead in sin. We have no power. No free will. I can’t take the first step! You can’t either!

So God did. God took the first step. Actually, God took a whole bunch of steps. God became a man—Jesus—and lived and died and rose for you. God ascended into heaven. God sent out his disciples at Pentecost to share the message of Jesus with the world. For over 2,000 years, God has preserved his Word through persecution and pandemics. Then God created you. God allowed you to be taught his Word. God choose you. You! “He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:28-30).

After all that, are you and I going to “take the first step”? Who are we kidding? God has taken all the steps to save us! Life isn’t about us finding God. He’s not lost! It’s about God finding us. We avoid him. We hide from him. We sin against him. And God searches for us and finds us and opens our hearts and shows us with his grace. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:13). Can you finish this passage? “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). It is a relief to know the real timeline. Our faith is not based on us or on our decisions at all. It’s based on God’s grace from the very beginning. God choose us to believe in him.

On Pentecost, it’s good to be specific. Who is it who put faith in Jesus in our hearts? “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit inspired the prophets and apostles to write down God’s words for us in the Bible. The Holy Spirit entered your heart the day you were baptized. The Holy Spirit strengthens your faith in Jesus every time you hear God’s Word. You and I being Christians isn’t about a date. It isn’t about our decision. It’s about the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word and baptism. “No one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.

That verse is so important that enemies of the Christian church noticed. In 112 A.D., a Roman governor named Pliny wrote to the Roman emperor Trajan, “This is the course I have taken with those who were accused before me as Christians. I asked them whether they were Christians, and if they confessed, I asked them a second and third time with threats of punishment. If they kept to it, I ordered them for execution…. As for those who said that they neither were nor ever had been Christians, I thought it right to let them go, since they… cursed Christ—things which (so it is said) those who are really Christians cannot be made to do.” In the Roman empire, it was easy to put Christians on trial. Ask if they believe in Jesus. If yes, execute them. If no, let them go.

That makes this all so real, doesn’t it? When that happens again, when you or I are called before courts to confess our faith in Jesus or die, what are you going to say? How can we stay faithful? How can we not curse Christ? By the Holy Spirit. Only by the Holy Spirit. We don’t have the strength on our own. If I’m a Christian because of my decision, I can quickly undecide to follow Jesus. If I opened the door to Jesus, I can close it just as fast. But my faith—your faith—isn’t based on me. It’s by the Holy Spirit. So we pray, “Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith. Help us in our doubts. Don’t let us fall.” Let go of confidence in yourself. Faith in Jesus is by the Spirit!

But he doesn’t stop there. The same Holy Spirit who brings us to faith in Jesus gives us more. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” That same Holy Spirit who gave you faith is actively working in your heart and life right now. He gives you talents and abilities—spiritual gifts—for the common good.

Paul gives us a bunch of examples: “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” Whatever good we do, whatever works of faith we accomplish, whatever talents we have, it’s by the Holy Spirit!

Do you give him the credit? I know I often don’t. There is another way we take credit for God’s work. Decision theology—like we talked about before—says that we have to start, but God finishes. No way! God takes the first step. It’s tempting, though, to think that after God starts, we finish. Wouldn’t that make sense? God gets us going, but then it’s up to us? At one of my previous churches, in the middle of the sermon, a lady interrupted me and said, “That’s enough about Jesus. Now we have to do our part!” God starts, but we finish the deal. Now it’s up to you!

Maybe we’d never say it that crassly, but we sure think it. It might sound something like this: “Look at all that I have to offer!” “People better appreciate all my gifts.” “I bet God feels blessed to have me on his team!” “Look at all that I’m doing for Jesus!” As if our gifts come from us… We can apply that to our church: “Everybody should be like us. Everybody should do things our way, because it’s the best. Look at all the great things we’re doing for God!” Except, remember how much good lives in you and me without the Holy Spirit? None. Zero. Zip! So how much credit do you and I deserve for the good in our lives? None. Zero. Zip! No, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

That’s actually good news. The Holy Spirit has given you gifts, exactly the gifts he wants you to have. So what are they? God wants you to know, so that you can use them for the common good. Do you have a lot of wisdom or knowledge? Use it, by the Holy Spirit. Do you have a gift for words and language? Use it, by the Holy Spirit. Are you good at distinguishing between right and wrong? Use it, by the Holy Spirit. Are you good at encouraging or serving or giving? Use it, by the Holy Spirit. There’s no reason to be proud. There’s no reason to be jealous. There’s no reason to feel left out. The Holy Spirit has given you exactly the gifts that he wants you to have.

Can you see why the Holy Spirit is so important? Sometimes we treat him like the forgotten member of the Holy Trinity. We think a lot about God the Father—creator of heaven and earth. “Our Father in heaven…” We think a whole lot about God the Son—Jesus—our Savior. He died and rose to forgive us! But we couldn’t know or believe any of that without the Spirit. Because “‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). How does someone go from being a dead, blind sinner to a saved, gifted child of God? By the Holy Spirit!

What great verses for Confirmation Day! As you are confirmed today, remember that it’s actually not about you. How did you come to faith in Jesus? By the Holy Spirit, working through baptism and God’s Word. How will you grow in your faith? By the Holy Spirit. How will you use your gifts? By the Holy Spirit. Can you sense a theme? It’s all by the Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word and the sacraments. Let others boast about opening their hearts. We rejoice that, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” It’s all by the Holy Spirit.


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