Last week’s Messenger dealt with two recent observances – Ascension Day and Mother’s Day – and how Ascension Day can help explain the attacks we’ve seen on motherhood lately. For those who seek to diminish motherhood are ultimately seeking to destroy the foundation of Christ’s rule over Heaven and Earth. The very first words recorded in Scripture that God spoke to human beings were, “Be fruitful and increase in number.” The attack on motherhood is a direct attack on the sovereign rule of Christ. It is an attempt to undermine the rule of Jesus over Creation.

For these last two Messengers for May, both of which are also sent after holiday weekends (next week is both Trinity Sunday and Memorial Day on Monday), we will continue this theme of looking at the importance of these observances in light of the Ascension of Jesus Christ. Today, we will look at a Church holiday which was celebrated on Sunday – Pentecost.

Now the link between Ascension Day and Pentecost is straightforward since they occurred only ten days apart. At His Ascension, Jesus gave His disciples the promise of Pentecost. In Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples, “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 this promise was kept, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, addressed the crowd. In this passionate sermon, Peter pointed to the Lordship of Christ on several occasions, including Acts 2:33 when he said of Jesus, “Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” Again, a clear tie between Ascension Day and Pentecost. Pentecost, which is often called the birth of the Christian Church, is a direct extension of Ascension Day.

But even in the Church, the Great Deceiver is at work. Not only is Satan at work attacking the headship of Christ over Creation as we saw last week, but he is also attacking the headship of Christ over the Church. Many of these assaults are spearheaded by those who claim to be Christians. However, it is clear by the things they preach and teach that they are not true followers of Jesus Christ.

While these attacks are nothing new, as there have always been false spirits at work against the Church, it seems in recent years these attacks have grown bolder and more open. The call to resist the world and submit to God’s Word has been replaced with a demand from so-called Christian leaders to submit to the world and resist God’s Word. The denial of the authority of Scripture as the Word of God is a direct attack on the Lordship of Christ. It is an attempt to usurp Christ’s throne at the head of His Church.

There is also a growing call to reject the “institutional church” altogether. And, of course, opponents of the church use this as a disparaging term to insinuate that any organized church is unspiritual and just a man-made institution that can be rejected. This has led to a growing number of people that identify as “spiritual,” maybe even “Christian,” but are not regular church attendees.

These attacks are so effective and hard for many to recognize immediately because they often come from within. They have been launched from some pulpits in the name of Jesus. They are taught at a growing number of seminaries. Throughout Scripture there is nothing that made God angrier than using His name to spread falsehood. False prophets who proclaimed their own messages rather than the Word of God were strongly condemned. In the New Testament both John the Baptist and Jesus Himself strongly condemned the Pharisees and others for leading people away from God by twisting the Scriptures.

If we are to take a bold stand on the issues that face our nation, our boldness needs to start with the church. While it is a great tragedy when our government leads people astray, it is an even greater tragedy when that deception is done in the name of Jesus! We need to stand up and affirm the Lordship of Christ over His Church. To do this, we need to remember the lessons of Pentecost.

1) The Holy Spirit always affirms the authority of God’s Word. When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church His first task was to empower the believers to share the Good News about Jesus with people from every nation and language. The Holy Spirit worked through the Apostles to proclaim the Good News both orally and in written form. Those who reject the testimony of the Apostles have rejected Christ. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Christ but rejects the final authority of God’s Word needs to be rebuked by that Word.

2) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring us to repentance. When many in the crowd were convicted by Peter’s sermon and asked what they should do, Peter replied in Acts 2:38, “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.” It goes on to say in verse 40, “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’” We, too, need to warn others and plead with them to submit to God’s Word, confess their sin, and commit to following the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

3) The Holy Spirit unites the Church which is the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit always brings Christians together. We were not meant to live a solitary life of faith. For part of the call to submit to Christ includes submitting to one another. Yes, we do need to make sure we aren’t guilty of institutionalizing the church. We do need to keep the focus on growing in our faith and encouraging the faith of others, but this doesn’t mean that any church structure is to be rejected. The early church also had meetings, voting, membership lists, regular times of worship, and creeds. We also need to reject the idea that going to church is only worthwhile as long as we are ”getting something out of it.” For the Church is always about ministering to one another with whatever gifts the Spirit gives us.

To honor Christ, we need to be vocal in honoring the Church by opposing error. We need to stand up against those who profane the name of God and the name of Christ through false teaching. We need to realize that in leading people out of those denominations we are not “sheep-stealing,” but instead, we are snatching them out of the fire.

To honor Christ, we also need to honor the Church by being an active part of it. We cannot blame the congregation or others for our own deadness. Yes, the church should be a living and breathing body, but the solution for a “dead church” isn’t to leave it, but to do our part to let the Holy Spirit breathe new life into it. Too often we look for a church that “we get something out of” instead of letting God lead us to a congregation that He wants us to contribute something to. Maybe that “dead” church is missing key members like you. And maybe the deadness we feel is from our own hearts and spirits and not an accurate reflection of the state of that congregation. Many use the excuse of the “dead” church to justify their lack of attendance.

This Pentecost season, may we be humbled anew before the throne of God. May God to fill us with His Spirit and lead us where He would have us go. May He open our eyes to see opportunities to share the Word of God with others. May He give us boldness to rebuke, correct, encourage, and uplift our fellow members in the Body of Christ.

Blessings,

Barry Nelson