the opportunity to give a brief introduction to Pastor Bill Shisco, who will be in our pulpit this morning. It's a blessing to have Bill with us. He's actually traveling out here to be the speaker at OPC Family Camp this coming week. But we will be blessed by having him share God's word with us today and lead us in the sacrament. Pastor Bill has been an ordained minister since 1979. He served as pastor of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Franklin Square, New York, for over 35 years. He now serves as one of the pastors of the Haven at Comack, a mission church of the OPC in Suffolk County, Long Island. He and his wife, Margaret, have been blessed with six children and 11 grandchildren. Bill and Margaret recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary, and they rejoice in the privilege of representing and serving the Lord Jesus Christ together. So we welcome you, Pastor Bill, to Branch of Hope, and are eager to hear what the Lord has put upon your heart to share with us today. Thank you, my dear brother. I love the way you lead worship. I love the sign up here, Preach the Word. I hope that's what you mean when you say exhortation in the bulletin. I'm prepared to do more than exhort, but I plan to preach. I don't remember how many years it was ago. Last time I was conference speaker for the family camp, I had known, somewhat known, Pastor Vigiano. Got to know him better on that trip and felt then as I feel now, the congregation here is something of a hybrid, as I see it, of what we had at both Franklin Square and currently have at the Haven. And so I feel right at home with all of you as I'm here. I'd like us to stand, please, for the reading of the Word of God. as the biblical pattern is, and turn in your Bibles please, very easy to find the first one, Genesis chapter 11 and verses 1 through 9. Although I gather, well, We don't do this, but you can follow along. Genesis chapter 11 and verses 1 through 9. And I hope that you will pay close attention to the connections of the Old and the New Testament texts. Genesis chapter 11. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And its people migrated from the east, and they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there. And they said to one another, come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had bitumen for mortar. Notice what their frame of reference is here. Then they said, come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men had built. And the Lord said, behold, there are one people They have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language so that they may not understand, or our mothers may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city, and therefore its name was called Babel. Because there the Lord confused the language of the earth, and from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth." Now, Acts chapter 2 and verses 1 to 13. When the day of Pentecost literally had fully come, they were all together in one place, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting, and divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now they were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven, and at this sound the multitude came together and they were bewildered because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, Aren't it all those who are speaking, Galileans? And how is it that we hear each of us in his own native language, Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, to Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians. We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, what does this mean? But others, mocking, said, they are filled with new wine. They didn't know what they were saying. That new wine was the wine of the kingdom of God that you'll hear about in a moment. Let's pray. And now, our Lord, open your word. Not only open it to our minds, give us understanding, but open it to our hearts that we might be transformed by the Lord the Spirit. For we ask these things in Christ's wonderful name. Amen. Please be seated. Those who love what we call the reformed faith, the Christian faith is always being reformed by the Word of God, have always had something of an ambivalence when it comes to the holy days, as we call them. The Lord's Day is the holy day that we esteem, but what about Christmas and what about Good Friday, and what about Easter, and what about Ascension Day, and what about what was celebrated actually last Sunday, Pentecost Sunday? What do you do with those? Because the Scriptures speak of them, but they never command that we observe them in a special way, and at least in the case of Christmas, we don't even know when exactly it was. What do you do with holy days? Well, we're not bound to keep them according to the Word of God, but we live in a very ahistorical age. Henry Ford's dictum, history is bunk, is pretty much the dictum of our culture that is far more concerned with bells and whistles and frills and technology and new things. What does history have to do with us? It has everything to do with us. Because those holy days, when you think about them and you appreciate them, they answer every one of the fundamental questions that people have. How do you know God? Well, that's Christmas and the birth of the God man. How's your sin problem dealt with? That's Good Friday, Christ's death on the cross. What do you do with death? Death is hell except for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Easter Sunday. Do we have a king or is this world in chaos? That's Ascension Day and Christ's ascension to heaven. But what about Pentecost that was honored especially last Sunday on Pentecost Sunday. Well, in just a moment, we're going to go back in a time machine. In fact, actually, we're going to go back in a time machine twice. One is rather recently, as you think about this election year. What's an election year and what it's like when there's a presidential election? Well, there's been the formation of a person who is eventually elected president of the United States, and everyone is fascinated about the formation of that person who will be elected. And then there is Election Day, when there is a victory that comes to one particular candidate. Then we have something called the Electoral College, where the electors establish that that particular candidate won the presidency. Not long after that, about a month after, there's an Inauguration Day, and that begins a whole new administration in particularly in this case, in our own country. Go back just a few months in a time machine, and you can picture all of those things. Now, I want you to go back with me about 2,000 years, and we're going to picture things that happened as surely as those events a few months ago happened, culminating on the day of Pentecost, which is, above all else, It's the beginning of a new administration, the administration of what some call the Gospel Age, or what we can also call the Kingdom of God, a new administration of the Kingdom of God. We're going to do two things today, actually three, but I'll hold the third point in abeyance. Three things, but let's just focus on these two right now. What Pentecost, most emphatically, is not? what Pentecost that you heard from in Acts 2, what Pentecost most emphatically is not, and as you'd expect for the second point, what Pentecost most emphatically is, okay? Now, number one, what Pentecost most emphatically is not? There is a view, it's the view of historic Pentecostalism, that every conversion is a repetition Pentecost. That is absolutely not the case. Reason number one, this event is as unrepeatable as the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the ascension of Christ. You don't repeat those in any way. We draw out the significance of them, but you don't repeat them. That's reason number one. Reason number two, and this should be self-evident for all those who say that every conversion is a repetition of Pentecost. Where are the vocal recordings of sound as of mighty wind that comes when someone's converted? Where are the videos of flames of fire, like tongues of fire on people? Where are they? You don't see them because it's self-evident that every conversion is not a repetition of Pentecost. And we need to be careful here because when we say this it gets dangerously close to the Roman Catholic error that the Mass is a bloodless re-offering up of the sacrifice of Christ. And so for those reasons, no. Pentecost is not something that's repeated with every conversion. And in the second place, Pentecost is most emphatically not a model for every believer to speak in tongues. Now this is a much broader topic. Tongues, brothers and sisters, is the giving of the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, by immediate inspiration, in a foreign language. And that certainly is depicted here. You see that in verse 4, they are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other tongues. Now notice this, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Folks, when the Spirit gives you utterance, that's the Word of God. It cannot but be the Word of God because it's the Spirit giving utterance. And then further, as you go down in verse 11, we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. What's the work of the Holy Spirit to declare the mighty works of God? It's not a private devotional language that's here. This is the giving of the Word of God in a foreign language. And because it is the giving of the Word of God, if you have a completed scripture, would you continue to have tongues? and prophecy, which is the Word of God given in the language of the people? Of course not. And it's self-evident, actually, that every believer doesn't speak in tongues, because as you read on in the book of Acts, not all those who come to faith in Christ speak in tongues. So without getting into the much bigger issue, most emphatically, Pentecost is not something that is to be repeated in the conversion of each believer, and it certainly is not a model for every believer speaking in tongues. So in the second place, then, What Pentecost most emphatically is? I'm going to cover the first three rather quickly. They're all important, and they all flow from one another. But they really flow from what will be, for your list, number four. OK, here we go. And I know there's going to be a Q&A time, so write down your questions, and we can discuss any of these. What Pentecost most emphatically is? It is the beginning of the new administration of the kingdom of God. Call it the Gospel Age if you want, and that's fine, but a new administration of the kingdom of God is most significant. Why? Notice in Acts 1 that as Jesus, in his 40 days before he ascends into heaven, is speaking with his disciples. Notice that he speaks to them of the kingdom of God, chapter 1 and verse 4. And while staying with them, Jesus ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, And we'll hear what that promise is in a bit. The promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And while he's doing that, verse two and verse three, he's speaking of them, of the kingdom of God. All of these things are about the kingdom of God and its new administration. Now, what I want you to see in this is that Pentecost most emphatically is not only the beginning of the new administration, but let's break that down in four ways. This is true progressivism, brothers and sisters. What is called progressivism in our culture, in many cases, is hardly progressivism. You think about it carefully and in many cases it's a reversion to barbarianism. This is true progressivism because it is the beginning of the progressive undoing of the curse on Babel. And that's the significance of verses 5 and 13. I don't need to read all of it to you again, but notice the people are gathered from all these different nations and languages, actually, that had come as a result of the curse on Babel, and they're all gathered on this day of Pentecost. And what do they hear? Each one speaking the wonderful words of God in his own language. And of those, you would see the formation, as we'll hear in a moment, of a brand new entity, the Church, in its new covenant form. That is true progressivism. It's actually the opening gate of the Great Commission. Let me put it this way. In this administration, where the Gospel goes to all of the nations, and people of all of the nations are called to become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Commission. You have open borders and you have a very strict migrant policy. How so? Well, it's open borders in that the gospel is a free offer to people of every tongue and every tribe and every nation. A call not based on color, not based on race, not based on nationality, not based on background, not based on whether you're supposedly good or bad. It's a free offer to all people. But there's requirements for entrance into the kingdom. Number one, you've got to believe that Christ is King. He's the Lord. He's the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. Second, because of that, you repent of being your own Lord. Notice in Babel, let's make a name for ourselves in the kingdom of God. Let's make a name for Jesus and follow Him. That's the second entrance requirement. You follow Him as King. And the third one is absolute loyalty. absolute loyalty to Christ as the Lord and to His Father and to the Holy Spirit. That's the entrance requirement with this new progressivism, open borders and entrance requirements as well. So this is true progressivism. It is the progressive undoing of the curse on Babel, okay? So if you've got the new administration, this is point number one, and point number two is this. It is the time of the equipping of servants with the power to serve. And notice again in verses 6 through 8 that we just read, the Lord says, he's asked, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel to Israel? Still think, Lord, we're in Jerusalem. You're going to squash the Romans, and we're going to have power over all of them. And it's interesting that Jesus says, you're not going to remain in Jerusalem. You're going to meet up in Galilee, which is Galilee of the Gentiles. It's a little picture of the progressivism of the gospel. But notice what he says here. He says, no, it's not for you to know those times that the Father has fixed by his own authority. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and that power is to the end that you will be my witnesses, not witnessing first to your experience. My witnesses is you're going to tell people about me, my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth, which is the outline of the book of Acts. Acts goes from Jerusalem, Judea, the region, to Samaria, the Gentile area, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. And here Jesus says, when the Spirit comes, my servants will be equipped with the power to serve. Folks, the Holy Spirit isn't about speculation. The Holy Spirit's about evangelization, about telling other people about Christ. And it's especially true, as you see here, and of course Jesus is dealing with the apostles primarily. It is especially true, or it ought to be especially true, in the ministers of the Word of God. The apostles were a unique office. When their work is done, we have sufficient apostolic authority in the New Testament. And now God raises up those who are to preach the Word of God. They're not apostles. We call them ministers. But it's especially true that those ministers will be equipped by the Spirit to serve. Isn't Peter a fascinating individual. He is the boldest one to make Christ known. You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it, confessing Peter, and then Peter doesn't want Jesus to die, and he says to him, get you behind me, Satan, how the mighty have fallen. Here Peter will never deny the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's the model of denying the Lord Jesus. Here is Peter who wept for his sin. Here is Peter whom Jesus called especially to speak with. Call my disciples and Peter. It doesn't mean Peter wasn't a disciple. Don't forget Peter. Peter's given the commission. Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep, tend my lambs, shepherd my sheep. Peter restored, and Peter given this place of prominence on the day of Pentecost to proclaim with boldness the gospel of Christ. Brothers and sisters, that's amazing grace. It really does take people and draw them from their own backslidden state, fallen state, and brings them to Christ, but we'll be getting to that. The point is here, especially in ministers, But brothers and sisters, in all of you, in each of you, the Spirit works. 1 Corinthians chapter 12 uses a term, don't let the New Age capture this, folks, okay? New Age theology can grab concepts out of the air that when you think about them and you put them in a biblical cast, may have some truth to them. And here's one of them, energies. energies, living out of your energies. Well, that's the word that Paul uses for the work of the Holy Spirit. His energies, he energizes people so that in speaking, they speak the things of God, so that in doing, they represent Christ the Lord, so that in serving, they represent Christ the servant, so that in encouraging people, they represent the great encourager, the Holy Spirit. the energies, the power of the Holy Spirit. That's the second great thing about this new administration of the kingdom of God. There's an equipping of believers with the power to serve. And here's what's beautiful. Our administration has a White House, and from it, it sends forth agents throughout the world. The White House. is where Christ reigns in glory. And he can do things by executive orders because he is the king. And he sends his representatives throughout the world. I love hearing about your camp this summer. to learn about what is happening in the Ukraine. And I hope that some of you younger people will get the itch to say, even if for a short time, I want to see what it's like to serve the Lord in another country. I want to see what it's like to see Christ represented through me in wherever it would be. That's the work. that the Holy Spirit is doing as the Holy Spirit sent from Christ energizes people to serve him. Folks, the church, the church is not an enclosed village. The church is an outgoing body of soldiers, not an enclosed village. It's an outgoing vanguard. And that's the whole book of Acts that you read, right? Okay, number three, this new administration. We're coming to the one that ties them all together in a moment. This is the beginning of the kingdom of real change. Now, God has brought change to individuals up to this point to be sure. Now, that change that only God can give is going to go into all the world. It is a kingdom whose leader really delivers. on his campaign promises, I will save my people from their sins. And he has won. Big, beautiful plan of redemption, and he is going to fulfill it by his own sovereign power. And you see that pattern. Isn't it beautiful the way you see the pattern as you go on in the book of Acts? Acts chapter 2 and verses 37 to 47. This is why you need to bring your Bibles, because I can't put all these texts up here, I don't think. But Acts 2, 37 to 47. Now, people hear the Word of God preached. by Peter on the day of Pentecost. And they're cut to the heart. Are you cut to the heart by things? So that you say in your inmost beating, I need to repent. I need to believe that. I need to change. From the heart, I know that. That's what the Holy Spirit does. You'll see the reason in just a moment. They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, What shall we do? They want to be animated and energized in the Lord's service. So Peter says to them, 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. He doesn't say be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. He says be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Jesus in baptism claims you and says, you are mine and the Father's and the Holy Spirit. Hence, you're baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And because of what you're going to learn in just a moment, You're going to be given the Holy Spirit as the promise, a promise. That's why, parents, you pray for your children. That promise of the Holy Spirit is to you and to your children and for all who are far off and everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Do you pray for the Holy Spirit for your children and your children's children? Jesus throws a curve ball. when he said, if you ask your father for bread, is he going to give you a stone? No. You ask him for fish, is he going to give you a scorpion? No. How much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? Do you ask for him? Do you ask for his work in your life? Do you ask for his work in your spouse's life, in your children's life, or children in your parents' life? in the life of those around you. People say, that sounds charismatic. I don't know. Sounds to me like exactly what Jesus said. And maybe one of the reasons we don't see the powerful work of the Holy Spirit is because we don't pray for him the way we should. I really don't believe the Holy Spirit works like that. According to your unbelief, let it be unto you. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes in and, whoa, let's not miss what we're dealing with here. The Holy Spirit, what happens when the Spirit comes? And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying, save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized and they were added that day about 3,000 souls. Folks, this is heaven come to earth by the Holy Spirit and establishing a colony. And what does that colony look like? and they devoted themselves, they spent their schedules so as not to miss the apostles' doctrine. What is that? The Word of God as it focuses on Christ. And the fellowship. and the breaking of bread, the Lord's Supper, and the prayers, stated times of prayer. I love your emphasis in your bulletin on all the groups to pray for. What is the church? My house will be called a house of teaching? Yeah, prayer, prayer. And all who believed were together. and had all things in common, not enforced communism. They loved one another and they treated one another as family. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and they were distributing the proceeds to all as any had need and day by day, day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes. They received their food with glad and generous hearts praising God and having favor with all, all the people. There was something about this colony from heaven that all those around said is different and good. And in that way, this was their evangelism program. They were what they were supposed to be. and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. This was the kingdom of real change. A new community, colony of heaven, the gospel doing what the United Nations can't even think of doing. People of every tongue and tribe and nation not living in not very peaceful coexistence, but people of every tongue and tribe and nation living as a family. That incidentally is the big solution in the Middle East, the gospel, where Muslims and Christians and Jews come together in Christ, throwing down all their weapons. and really calling one another brother and sister in Christ. Or let me put it this way. The hat for this would be maga, making our God great again. Undoing of the curse of Babel for ourselves. Pentecost. God is great. They were praising God. and having favor with all the people. Now that brings us to the fourth, and the fourth one really is the one that unites all of them together. This new administration is an administration in which, by the Holy Spirit, Christ himself comes and dwells in and with his people. This new administration is an administration in which, by the Holy Spirit, Christ himself comes and dwells in and with his people. Pray tell, what did Jesus mean when he said, in lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age? Do you believe that? What does it mean? Isn't it interesting that every leader wants his spirit, and I don't mean Holy Spirit, but his driving convictions, his spirit to be in his followers. For Franklin Roosevelt, it was the New Deal. For Harry Truman, it was give them hell, Harry. That was the spirit of that man. for Dwight Eisenhower, it was peace and calm for Franklin, for John Kennedy, it was the new frontier. You got those kinds of things under Ronald Reagan. It was, it's mourning in America. Okay, so there's the spirit, so to speak, of each of these leaders. But that spirit is never perfect, it never lasts. And that spirit is never truly in the citizens. But in this new administration, King Jesus and Prophet Jesus and Priest Jesus really comes by the Spirit and is in kingdom citizens by the Spirit. What is it to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Verse four, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were filled with God in Christ. That's why you have the language of God. God comes as a mighty rushing wind that in most cases destroys, not here, and comes and indwells people, and also tongues as a fire, like the burning bush, where God dwelt, but the bush was not consumed. Folks, if you're a Christian, that's you. God, God the Son, by the Holy Spirit, indwells you. And Jesus speaks like this, John 14 and verse 18. I'm not gonna leave you as orphans. I'm going to come to you. John 14 and verse 26, He, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 16 and verses 14 and 15, the Spirit will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. The Holy Spirit's ministry is a spotlight ministry. A spotlight focuses on something so that at night you can see it and read it. That's the Holy Spirit's work, and that's why, brothers and sisters, when people speak about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and you hear very little about Christ, there's something wrong. Because a spotlight doesn't draw attention to itself, it's to draw attention to what is focused on. And so the Spirit by the covenant of grace. focuses on Christ. And you see this in the rest of the New Testament in many ways, Romans 8 and verses 9 through 11. Paul can say, if the Spirit of God dwells in you, and then he says, well, the Spirit of Christ dwells in you. And in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 17, your mind's blown when Paul speaks of the new covenant ministry as a ministry of the Holy Spirit transforming people. And he says, now the Lord, Jesus, is the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. It doesn't mean that there's a confusion in the two persons in the Godhead, but the Holy Spirit represents Christ. He will take the things of mine and declare them unto you as the Secretary of State, represents the President of the United States wherever he goes. So the Holy Spirit represents Christ wherever he goes. And while Christ, body and soul, God and man, is seated at the right hand of the Father and remains there, The Holy Spirit is disembodied, and he can be sent to all the world. That's why in the book of Revelation, before the throne, the spirit is called the sevenfold spirit, or the seven spirits who are before the throne. They're sent throughout all of the world. Folks, the Holy Spirit, not the Pope. The Holy Spirit is the Vicar of Christ on earth. What's a victory? Stands in the place of someone. That's not the Pope. The Holy Spirit is. And he continues the ministry of Christ on earth through his church. Doing what? He is uniting people like you and me, uniting people just like us to Christ by grace through faith. That's his work. In all the world, and that's what it is to be a Christian. You're brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, in which Christ is your husband. Is he your husband? There's no singles in the kingdom of God. Christ is the husband of all of his people who come to him in true faith. And so his name is yours, Christian. All that he has is yours. I mean, even the Holy Spirit is a gift to us. We are made partakers of the heavenly nature. How? By the Holy Spirit. He protects you, He provides for you, He gives you everlasting life. It's wonderful. And marriage to Christ, till death do us part, never applies. Because in Christ, who never will die again, you who believe in Him will never die again. And so the Spirit unites people to Christ by grace through faith. What does that mean? Well, He causes them, as we said, to share in all the benefits of his person and work." Wow. His life is mine. His death is mine. I've been crucified with Christ. His resurrection is mine. That's what it means to be born again. You are brought again from the dead by the same power that raised the Lord Jesus. You're seated with him. I don't know how you put together the fact that you're here in Torrance, California, and yet you're seated with Christ in the heavenly places, but Paul says that we are. And you're given the Holy Spirit, and you're put as a body to form colonies of heaven. You're caused to share in all the benefits of Christ's person and work, and that forms a truly new community that focuses on God and not on you. See the difference from Babel? We'll make a name for ourselves, for us. Ah, the Magahat. Make our God great again in the eyes of the world, which is what we're to do. And that is with an influence by the Spirit that turns the world right side up. Isn't that true? They've turned the world upside down. Absolutely. That pagan world was turned upside down, which means it was turned right side up. And isn't that what the gospel does? The gospel comes to people who have abused their bodies. And the gospel changes people so that whether they eat or drink or whatever they do, they do it all to the glory of God. The gospel comes to people who have bastardized marriage in various ways. and God cleans them up, and in his own way, in his own time, he makes a husband and wife, man and a woman, who represent Christ and the church and the world. He takes children who can be very easily given over to the temptations and the rebellions of youth, and he captivates them with Christ and with his kingdom. And he takes older people who would otherwise Be hopeless, looking only to death. And he puts a new song in their mouths, even praise to our God, O Most High, in which they say, life, life. Though my body, though I deal with light, momentary affliction, it is working for me a far more exceeding weight of glory. While it does in older people what it does in all of us as we don't look, to this world, this world that for six days bombards us. But on the great holy day, the Lord's day, is the day in which you realize there's a wonderful new world to come, and that new world begins with the church. In fact, what is the church? It's a foretaste of a whole new world, or at least it's meant to be. And that's why you say, wow, at the Haven, when we have our hymns and our songs, we use language that comes from heaven. I'm dropping a hint to all of you in here. We're not quiet when we get done singing. It's amen and hallelujah. Amen, let it be so, and hallelujah, hallelujah. You all praise the Lord. All of worship is evangelistic. And then our quaint idiom for those two things is wow. Isn't that God great, folks? Isn't that wonderful? Where else, where else do you get this message? Now, the preacher's gonna stop preaching for a moment, and I'm looking at the clock. And I'm going to start going to Medlin, as they say down south. What should Pentecost mean to you? We went back in a time machine. Now let's get to right where you are right now. Do you share in the cross of Christ by faith? Do you? Let me use the devotional language of the church and the hymns Whether you sing them in contemporary tunes or not, you can't beat these words. Do you share in the cross of Christ by faith? What does that mean? When I survey the wondrous cross on which the prince of glory died, my richest gain, I count but loss and poor contempt on all my pride. Is that you? Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God. All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. Is that you? See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine that were present far too small? Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Is that you? You share in the resurrection of Christ by faith. Again, the devotional language of the church. I know that my Redeemer lives. Glory, hallelujah. What comfort this sweet sentence gives. Glory, hallelujah. He lives, he lives, who once was dead. He lives, my everlasting head. He lives to bless me with his love. He lives, all glory to his name. He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Shout on, pray. We're gaining ground. Glory, hallelujah, the dead's alive and the just is found. Glory, hallelujah. Is that you? Do you live as one raised from the dead? You share in the ascension of Christ by faith. How often do we think about that? Devotional language of the church. Hail the day that sees him rise. to his throne above the skies. Christ, the lamb for sinners given, enters now the highest heaven. There for him has triumph waits. Lift your heads, eternal gates. He has conquered death and sin. Take the king of glory in. See, he lifts his hands above. See, he shows the prince of love. Hark, his gracious lips bestow blessings on the church below. Lord, Lord, beyond my mortal sight, raise my heart to reach your height. There, your face, unclouded sea, find a heaven of heavens in thee. Do you? See, that's what it is to be in union with Christ. And when those things are yours, you'll become, it's interesting, Paul doesn't say an odor of Christ, you'll become an aroma of Christ. So that it's really not you, it's the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself showing Christ to others. And as Christ's earthly ministry was an aroma of death unto death and life unto life, so that will be true of you. And let me sum it up this way and ask, is this true of you? Is this how your life demonstrates Christ? Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne. Hark, how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own. Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for me, and I hail him as my matchless king through all eternity. Is that you? Nothing less. marks those in whom Christ has come by the Spirit and transformed them to become a fragrance of Christ in all of the world. If Pentecost is anything, it is Christ in you by the Spirit and you doing your part to see all nations made disciples of King Jesus. That's what we're supposed to be. And that kingdom, praise the Lord, there's no more elections, no more electoral colleges, no more need of the courts to decide who the leader really is, and there's absolutely no imperfections in this new administration that was inaugurated on Ascension Day. It's the kingdom of God. And be captivated with it. And when you stop being captivated with it, repent and say, oh God, restore unto me the joy of my salvation, which in a real sense is what Pentecost is all about. And for all of you in here, especially for young people, as you wonder about your purpose in the world and how serious this is, it is the kingdom of God and only the kingdom of God that endures from generation to generation to generation to generation. And never be pessimistic about the progress of the gospel. Remember on the day of Christ's crucifixion, you could count on one hand the number of people who were there at the cross of Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 converted, later 5,000 converted, and now about one-third of the entire world, in one way or the other, at least by baptism, is marked out as being part of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And believe, folks, that the knowledge of the glory of God is going to fill the world as the waters cover the sea. And that kingdom, that kingdom will never, ever, ever, ever end. To God be the glory, both now and evermore. And I hope you can do this at the Branch of Hope. And all of God's people said together, Amen. Our God, we pray that you will do the work of extending Pentecost into all of the world. Do it by uniting people of every tongue and tribe and nation by the gospel. making mothers and fathers and sons and daughters and brothers and sisters of those who were once at one another's throats, and equip them all with the energy of the Holy Spirit, so that as they go into the world, People can see that it is not first them, we're not talking about the remnants of Babel, but it is Christ who is in them, the hope of glory. And through that work, our God, bring that change of making crooked things straight, taking valleys and lifting them up, and taking mountains and bringing them down. and taking deserts and turning them into the fertile fields of grace. And do it all by the power, Lord Jesus, of your own self in dwelling your people with your church so that we know more and more every day the wonder of your great promise. You even say, behold, lo, stop and think about this. and with you always, even to the end of the age. O God, we pray that you would increase our faith and turn us away from all lukewarmness and give us a white-hot passion for the King and His Kingdom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.