You don’t have to be alone to be lonely (May 2013)

Article from Yelvertoft Parish Magazine

It is possible to be surrounded by others with lots of activities taking place and still feel lonely.  It is precisely in such situations that some people feel loneliness most acutely.  Walking down a busy street, seeing others engaged in animated conversations or holding hands might bring a smile to some but it can be like a dagger in the heart.

Loneliness is a major health problem. It has become recognised as a contributory factor in a number of illnesses, and even a cause of premature death.  Those suffering from loneliness can be closer to us than we think, but completely unrecognised.  While some do combat loneliness in various ways, those who suffer acutely rarely share this fact with others – not even their doctors or church ministers.  On the other hand some folk relish solitude.

It isn't just the elderly who become victims to loneliness, but it is often brought on following loss of loved ones and their companionship.  Some keep busy through the day but dread the evenings and night times.  One way of avoiding loneliness is to develop a good social network in the real world and not just the internet.  Rural communities have their fair share of lonely people and we would do well to ensure that people on their own are not deprived of the opportunity to enjoy social interaction.  A phone call might help a lonely evening.  An invitation to join others in a trip out (even shopping) can become the highlight in someone’s day.

Jesus was aware of the benefits of solitude but also the pain of loneliness.  Even as he hung on the cross he felt abandoned.  As he approached the end of his time on earth he told his disciples that they would not be left alone.  Some versions of the Bible use the term ‘left as orphans’. He promised his presence in a new but similar way – through the real presence of the Holy Spirit.  During May we celebrate the gift of this new Companion, and the promise “I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” 

I commend getting to know God in this way, as a friend and companion, and will gladly help anyone to discover this. But the same God once said, “It is not good for man to be alone”, so let’s ensure we are all here for one another, but do so sensitively and without unnecessarily intruding.  

Barry Osborne 16/04/2013

The Purpose of Pentecost

Once a year, seven weeks after Easter, churches around the world celebrate Pentecost.  But, tragically, there seems enormous ignorance about the person of the Holy Spirit and what Pentecost is all about.  I have often been dismayed to find churches celebrating Pentecost as the birthday of the Church, which it certainly is not.  In the process they seem to move the focus from the Holy Spirit to the Church.

There probably will not be sufficient room in this blog to be as through as I might like but I hope that what is written here will be of help.

One important distinction about Pentecost is that it isn't something locked into history in the same way as Christmas, Easter and Ascension.  Each of these annual celebrations recalls a specific once only moment in history.  Pentecost isn't the same.  While there certainly was an event that took place in Jerusalem at a specific moment in history, the book of Acts in the New Testament records several other occasions when the Holy Spirit came upon believers.  Furthermore, history records a vast number of occasions right up to today when men and women have experienced for themselves a personal Pentecost.

It is therefore vital that when we celebrate Pentecost Sunday we liberate it from being a one-time event in history to become marking the first of a continuing experience that has relevance for all Christians today and in days yet to come.

Another common mistake that disturbs me is to hear people stating that the Holy Spirit 'was released into the world'.  I have heard this erroneous concept developed into the idea that the Holy Spirit is present around us like the air we breathe and all we need to do is to breath the Holy Spirit in.  Certainly the Holy Spirit is present in the world, but not in that way.

Who is the Holy Spirit?
The answer to this question goes to the heart of how we understand God as trinity.  We have nothing in our experience to which we can liken God in any way.  We glean from scripture that God is essentially one. Yet we also see God as three persons, each distinct yet remaining essentially one.  God is also Spirit (John 4:24).  Jesus is called the Son of God, which is a New Testament concept.  Scripture tells us that he is one with the Father, and that he existed from 'the beginning'.  John's opening chapter sets out the divine nature of Jesus (the Word).

When the Word became flesh for us and our salvation he took on a new nature.  By his submission, his atoning death and resurrection he has been received back into glory.  But while he was on earth he revealed the character and purposes of God.  The things that he did he declared to be 'the works of his Father' (John 5:36 and 10:32).  In John 14 Jesus talks about his relationship with the Father, stating "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (verse 11).  When Jesus talks about the fact that he was going to the Father, Philip said "Show us the Father and that will be enough for us" (verse 8) to which Jesus says that if anyone has seen him he has seen the Father (verse 9).

In John 14:16 Jesus says that after he leaves them the Father would give them another advocate.  The Greek word paracletos is better understood as an advocate than a comforter (AV).  However the old English understanding of comfort as strengthening is acceptable.  The one that comes will be there to strengthen but also as the advocate - not to plead on our behalf (for that is the high priestly ministry of Jesus in heaven) but to argue God's will in our lives.  It is God's cause that the Holy Spirit teaches and defends.

I put another in italics because the Greek work used in the scriptures here means another that is similar rather than one or something entirely different, for which there is a different Greek word.  Furthermore Jesus says that the disciples will know him for he has been with them.  In other words just as they knew the effect of the presence of Jesus they would recognise the presence of the one yet to come.  Both Jesus and the Holy Spirit share the same inseparable nature of God.  But when this other advocate came he would not just be with them but in them (John 14:17).

Another common error is to speak of the Holy Spirit as an agent of God.  he is God.  Just as Jesus Christ is God with us to do that which was necessary for our salvation, so the Holy Spirit is God with us to enable that salvation to become actual in our experience.

So what was the Day of Pentecost?
Jesus had told his disciples that they would become his witnesses (i.e. those who testify of him).  But they were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:1-8).  Here he speaks of being baptised (the Greek word means immersed or enveloped) with the Holy Spirit.  We know that there were at least 120 believers at that time (Acts 1:15) and the author of Acts does not tell us whether the instructions to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit was just to the eleven continuing disciples or to all.  It would seem unlikely that a room sufficient to accommodate 120 would have been available, but we cannot be sure.

When the Day of Pentecost (a Jewish festival) had fully come and they were all together in one place, the promise long before promised by the Father and repeated by the Son came to pass.  They heard a sound like wind and saw something like flames, they experienced being filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in languages they had not learned.  What they were saying was about the glory of God.

Attracted by the noise (here I am inclined to think it might well have been more than twelve in the room) a crowd gathered.  The twelve stepped forward and Peter spoke to the crowd.  Please note that there is no suggestion that the gospel was preached in different languages (yet another common myth).  He explained that what had happened was the fulfilment of a prophecy in Joel 2:28-32).  He went on to preach salvation in Jesus the Messiah to them, urging them to repent.  The evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus, Peter asserts, is the outpouring of the promise of the Father.

Peter further promised that to those who would repent and be baptised trusting Jesus for forgiveness of sins, would also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He stated that the promise [of the Father] is not only for them but also for their children and to those who are yet to be born in ages to come who would be among those that God would call.  About 3000 responded to his message, repenting and being baptised.  That these new believers also received the Holy Spirit in a similar way to the first is undoubtedly true because if Peter's words about the gift of the Holy Spirit were found false then the whole message would have been undermined.

But this was merely the first of several such experiences.  We read about it happening in Ephesus (Acts 19), Samaria (Acts 8), and in the household of Cornelius (Acts 10, specifically described by Peter as identical to that first Pentecost Day experience).  The promise was to all who would believe and it would seem that the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit was the normal Christian experience.  It is also clear that this experience is obviously recognisable when it takes place.

I do not intend to address the gift of speaking in tongues here but it can be found on another post within this blog.


The best way to celebrate Pentecost Sunday
Since what began on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem was the beginning of empowerment of Christians so that they could effectively witness to Jesus Christ throughout the world, and that this is a continuing need and a promise to be experienced personally, we would best honour God by urging men and women of faith in Christ to seek earnestly to be baptised in the Holy Spirit.

Let's put away the balloons and party flags and have a serious celebration that focuses on what God has made possible and what the world needs today.  How about you?  Have you received this experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit and so empowered to be Jesus' witness?  If not are you willing to receive the life changing promise?  If the answer to that is "Yes" then please start seeking today.

Pentecost is not a Birthday Party

While I suspect that in some ways I might have become a little bit of a “grumpy old man” I believe that there are a few things where popular teaching in churches has strayed from what the Bible actual says, and where it is important that we take care not to mix fancy with the truth.

Recently I wrote to a major, well known educational body that is promoting a children’s teaching programme on Pentecost as a party to celebrate the birthday of the church. I politely pointed out that this is not only an error but that by doing so we are in danger of trivialising the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The reply I received saddened me immensely. Instead of either agreeing or seeking to refute the theological and biblical argument from scripture, they merely quoted other contemporary sources that also refer to Pentecost as the “Birthday of the Church”. What are we to do when major Christian educational bodies rely on popular opinion rather than careful biblical interpretation?

My concern is not just about whether or not there is such a thing as the birthday of the Church and if so when it took place. I am concerned that we grasp the significance of Pentecost and earnestly seek the person and power of the Holy Spirit so that we might faithfully and effectively witness to Jesus Christ in the world of which we are a part today. I am desperate for the winning of men and women for Christ and to see God’s kingdom of peace and justice advance. To that end I believe that we need to be far more serious (but certainly not miserable) about what and how we believe.

Pentecost is, of course, a Jewish festival related to harvest time. Jesus had told his disciples that they needed to wait in Jerusalem until they received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that would enable them to start out on this incredible journey of witnessing to Christ throughout the world. That empowerment first happened on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and a new kind of harvest was celebrated that day. The book of Acts then records several other occasions when churches and individuals also experienced their own “Day of Pentecost”. It also reveals the need for an ongoing experience of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We are living at a time when we need a genuine and profound revival. My Christian awakening began at a time just prior to the beginnings of the charismatic movement. At that time I met people for whom a Pentecostal experience would mean exclusion from mainstream denominations. These were people who were passionate about the gospel and full of praise to God. Their meetings were marked with an almost tangible sense of God’s presence and conversions to Christ were common. In one church I delivered two young colleagues to lead a Sunday School meeting and arrived to find well over 50 young children who had met for prayer half an hour before Sunday School began! As I opened the door you could feel the wind of the Holy Spirit.

We need His presence like that today; not an excuse for balloons and party poppers in church. We need to be teaching why the Day of Pentecost was important then and relevant now. Please take care in your church this Pentecost not to trivialise something so precious.