God Repays Lost Years

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[0:00] at home. Just a few words of introduction before we begin. Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is, because of that word pente, you can kind of guess that the word, the number 50 figures in there, and it does. This is 50 days after Easter. Technically it's seven weeks because Easter was seven weeks ago, so that's 49 days, but you could say that this is the 50th day of the Easter season, and so this is Pentecost. We are still in Easter season, and so we're still going to talk about the resurrection today. We can't stop talking about the resurrection. It never gets old. But today we're going to hear about, as Victoria said, the disciples are being given this supernatural ability to speak in other real languages that people from different countries can understand, and that in itself is a great miracle, but it's a miracle with a purpose, of course, that the gospel would be spread throughout the world. And I want to connect with, last week too, because we saw there that Jesus is interested in second chances, and we have to be people of second chances. And so, for instance, he gives Samaria a second chance, and he sends Philip back there later, or the Spirit sends Philip back to Samaria after the Samaritans had rejected Jesus and his message. So also,

[1:15] if you were listening and you followed along with what Dominic was reading, there's a second chance there too that God gives his people, and it's connected. So if you were to read some verses for some end end has to say, and we'll get into that a little bit later, but listen to what they have to say, and this will be another dare. We'll see if I can say all these names of all these places without stuttering or making any mistakes. We'll see what happens. If I manage it, I will buy myself an ice cream cone at Baskin-Robbins today because they're cheap today, so we'll do that. All right, Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 13. When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

[2:47] Now, there were staying, in Jerusalem, God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment because each one heard them speaking in his own language.

[3:04] Utterly amazed, they asked, are not all these men who are speaking Galileans, in other words, illiterate people probably, then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs. We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues. I'm going to get that ice cream cone. Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, what does this mean? Some, however, made fun of the word of God and said, what does this mean? And they said, what does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them and said, they have had too much wine. Let's pray.

[3:58] Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. And we ask that you would add your blessing to it. In Jesus name. Amen. So I want to start off by describing the crowd that was there that day when this all happened. We're told in our reading that they are God-fearing Jews, and some of them are also called the Jews of Israel. And they're called the Jews of Israel. And they're called the Jews of Israel. And they're called the Jews of Israel. And they're called the Jews of Israel. And they're called the converts to Judaism. And this may remind you of when we looked at Luke chapter one, verses one through four, where Luke is writing to his friend Theophilus, which means somebody who loves God, or maybe somebody who fears God. So these are the target audience of St. Luke's gospel, and also this book that he wrote, the Acts of the Apostles. So these are devout people. They are available to God. They're receptive to what God has to say. I think that's very important. They're in a place where they actually can be a part of the gospel. And they're in a place where they can be a part of the gospel. And they're in a place where they can be a part of the gospel. And they're in a place where they can be preached to. There's something inside them that's looking for something more.

[4:54] And one of the reasons is that they have come all this way for the Feast of Pentecost, which is really only 50 days after Passover. There's three festivals a year that Jewish people living farther away are encouraged to do. And if they're really devout, they'll do it. And the most important, of course, would be Passover. But somebody would have to be pretty devout to either come back, go home, and then come back. seven weeks later or set aside enough time to stay in Jerusalem for seven weeks and maybe they visited family and things like that but nonetheless what we have here are people who are coming for what is a lesser feast but still an important one they've come all this way from hundreds some maybe even a thousand miles away to be present for this feast and God uses that opportunity to speak using the Spirit through the disciples to these very receptive people who are known as God fearing Jews and converts to Judaism who would also be known as God fearers God lovers so it's important that God is speaking to people who want to hear and are available I love this list a few years ago I handed out a map you may still have it I hope you do I can give it to you again it's a map of the known world that

[6:19] ! and a little red arrow that points to every little place that these people were coming from and it's it spans thousands of miles it really does and the travel time was from the from the farthest one was likely weeks maybe even a month you know travel was challenging there were roads there were conveyances but it took time it took money it took energy to come all that way and we see here at Pentecost that God and His wisdom chose this occasion to come to the people who were far away from far away but they were in Jerusalem for the special feast of Pentecost and after they hear the gospel then this is the great thing that God does they return home to all these places so that in the in a course of just a few months the gospel has now been spread to the known world in in just a short amount of time and millions of people have been able to of people potentially are within a day's journey of somebody who can preach the gospel. It's really astounding. So God uses the means available at the time. It was a world that was connected by roads and caravans and trade routes and seafaring ships so that in short order the gospel can be within reach. We're lucky today. We can send a text message. It will end up across the world

[7:44] in seconds. It's great. This video is going to Germany right now, probably arriving more or less the same time in Germany as it arrives at your house. It's unprecedented what we have now. But back then, that was really the best that could be hoped for, was all these people coming from afar, gathering, hearing a message, and going home again and spreading that message. So God uses all the means he has. God, when he sets out to do something, does it well, does it right, does it well. And so we're going to see that. And so we're going to see that. And so we're going to see that. And so we're going to see that. And so we're going to see that. And so we're going to effectively. And that's what he does. He sends the message of the cross and the resurrection to everywhere, basically, in the world at that time, at least the known world.

[8:27] And that's what we have to remember. And we may be wondering, well, what did they preach in these other languages that other people could understand? And the miracle of it was apparent because these were Galileans, most of them. So they maybe had a Galilean accent while they were speaking this language. And so they were able to understand the language of the world. And so they were able to understand the language of the world. And so they were able to understand the language of the world. And Galileans were, they weren't the well-educated ones. And so they were surprised that these people could speak a foreign language. But of course, it was the power of the Spirit. What is the content of what they're preaching? That's important. If you read a little further, we see that Peter explains that the disciples aren't drunk at all.

[9:06] In fact, why would anyone think that? If they were able to speak a language that they shouldn't know, it'd be hard for a drunk person to pull that off. But that was the plausible explanation to some, is that they've just been drinking already at that point in the day. But Peter says they're not drunk. They are actually the fulfillment of the prophecy that Dominic read in Joel chapter 2. And then actually in Acts chapter 2, Peter quotes Joel chapter 2. And if you read beyond what we've read today, you'll see that he quotes it almost verbatim. And then he gives them the gospel in a nutshell. And that's what Peter does. He says, Jesus performed signs and miracles. Jesus was crucified. And then Jesus was raised again from the dead. And so the resurrection is always front and center in every sermon that you find in Acts. And you find many sermons in Acts. One way, a fun way to read Acts, a different paradigm for reading Acts, is that Acts is just actually a collection of sermons that are held in the Bible. And so the resurrection is held together by dramatic narrative. So then when you read it that way, you realize that what is being preached is the most important thing, rather than the connecting stories that hold these sermons together. I wouldn't do that exclusively because the

[10:27] narratives are very important too. And you might want to have a holistic view of Acts. People often think of Acts as narrative, but it's full of sermons. And almost every sermon that's preached in there, it touches on the resurrection. There's no sermon that makes any sense for a Christian unless the resurrection is preached. And so the resurrection is held together by dramatic narrative. And so the resurrection is held together by dramatic narrative. And so the resurrection is held together by dramatic narrative. And so the resurrection is held together by dramatic And the resurrection is so central to who we are. Paul says it, I mentioned it last week, the Apostle Paul wrote, if Christ is not raised, then we of all people are most to be pitied. But Christ indeed was raised, the first fruits of those who died. And his resurrection is the hope of our own resurrection and our hope for a second chance in life. So what were they preaching? They were preaching the resurrection in languages that they didn't know.

[11:21] I want to take the time that we have left today just a bit, and I want to look at that second chance as Joel writes about it. So I'm going to ask you to go back in your bulletin, if you have it, or look in your Bible to Joel chapter 2, and this very interesting promise that God makes. I think it's actually an unusual one. It says this, I will repay you for the years that the locusts have eaten. I will repay you for the years that the locusts have eaten, which is poetic, right? It's beautiful. It's kind of a different way of talking about it. I will repay you for that time when the locusts have been eating your crops. And honestly, this sort of promise, the promise that God makes, is a promise that God makes. And I think it's an unusual one. It says it fills me with more hope than almost anything, almost anything else in Scripture.

[12:15] God's talking about how he judged his people. He punished them for their idolatry. And the punishment was the swarm of locusts. It was a loss of crops. It was a loss of olives, of grapes, of grain. And this is something we can relate to right now, right? Because there's a locust plague going across Africa and the Middle East, as if we don't have enough problems already. We have locusts. And so if you have a revelation checklist, you're like, okay, the locusts are here and the pandemic is here. So we understand this. And I think we're beginning to understand how severe it is. Because if there's a disruption in the supply of food, it does not take long, not very long at all, for families to start to be in want and to starve. So in our supply chain is very sophisticated. But just think back then when the locusts came through and ate everything, how much did people have to go without? How much misery and suffering was there? And that was God's punishment. But he says, after the people repent and turn to God, he will somehow repay them for the years that the locusts took away. Not the crops, although that does mean the crops. But I like what he says. He says, I will repay you for the years. I will repay you for time lost.

[13:37] And I think that's his promise to us as well. That's the second chance for us, is that we may spend time on things that don't really matter. We might make wrong choices that lead us down a dark path. And it takes time to walk all the way back and choose the right path. And that's lost time. I mean, you could talk to all sorts of people who have been lost for years and directionless and broken and not knowing which way to go. And the years go out and they're not going to be the same. And so we have to think about how we can after years go after years. And the despair can set in because they say, how can I get any of that back? God is saying, at least here, that those years can be repaid somehow. Whether it's the same amount of years on the other end or the years that you have left on the other side are suddenly so much more meaningful and powerful because you've repented and you've turned around and you've come around to what God wants to do. It's not too late, God says. There's still time for a second chance. And that second chance will be a time of fullness where he will make you whole and make you fit for doing what he wants in the world. There's restoration. He's going to redeem the time we've lost, and he's perhaps going to redeem

[14:58] the opportunities that we've lost. The relationships that were broken can now find reconciliation. The tasks that were important that got left undone can now get done. There's a lot that God can restore. And I think we need this now more than ever. I've been, you know, you've been watching the news. I've been watching the news. We have a pandemic. People are dying before their time because of COVID-19. We've lost income. We've lost jobs. People have lost portfolios, and that's all first world problems there. All world problems there, actually. We have locusts and killer hornets. We have locusts and killer hornets. We have locusts and killer hornets.

[15:38] Evidently, the killer hornets aren't as bad as we thought, but it still sounds terrible. We have a nation that's deeply divided on race. We have people dying in the custody of police, and the police, it's their job to protect people in their custody, even if they're in the course of being arrested. And we have rioting and anger spilling out on the streets. And even here in San Jose and in Oakland, there has been violence. And there's conflict between nations. Have you looked at the world stage lately? It's a mess. And on Friday, I was just, it wasn't a great day, but it was a day where I needed a second chance. It was a day where I needed the years back. I was thinking, what more is going to happen to this world? I mean, how many things can you stack up in one year, 2020, before it gives, right? I would put it this way. My disaster, cup is full. I don't know if there's any room in it for any more. I don't know if the world has any room anymore. 2020 is going down as the most challenging year for a long time. Now, probably 1939 was worse, there's no doubt. But this one's in contention. It's a challenging time.

[16:55] All the more reason why we need God and his word, because that's not all the story. I want to say that again. And if, I love the teenagers are taking notes. That's not the story. I want to say that God is the final word on all these things. And we see hopelessness and despair and being lost and lost years and lost time and lost opportunities and brokenness and anger and hate and racism and disease. But God says that does not define things completely. The world is broken and has gotten more broken in the last four months, but we have a God. God of second chances. I think he wants to give even this world a second chance. We have a God who repays for lost time. We have a God of the resurrection. Dead things can be made alive in him. We have a God who gives power to do what he calls us to do. We have a God who will do all that it takes for the message to get out. He'll do things at the right time with the right people to do it. We have a God who will do all that it takes for the message to get out. He'll do things at the right time with the right people to do it. We have a God who will do all that it takes for the people who are ready to hear it. We have a God who plans to redeem the whole world through the

[18:14] church. The church that was born on this day, as Victoria said. God has a plan for this broken world. I'm standing in it right now, but it's not just a building. You're in it right now at home. The church and the spirit guiding the church is God's plan.

[18:37] To bring wholeness and second chances and the repayment of lost time and lost opportunity to this world. I got goosebumps, pimples. Oh, that's so great. God wants to use us. This is the biggest task of your life. The challenge is big. I don't want to, I mean, I don't know how I could state it more seriously. We have big challenges ahead of us. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Luckily, we can do it, not on our own power, but with the power of the Holy Spirit. But here's what else I think we need to do. We do have to repent. We have to repent of the one law on which all the other laws hang, as Jesus says. And I'll be honest with myself and with you. I have not loved God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind, and all my strength. I haven't done that. I've broken that command, the greatest. And I have not loved my neighbor as myself. I have not. And we're honest with ourselves. We realize we have not. And if we really could do all this, if the world could do this, I don't think the conflict would be so strong in this world anymore. I don't think the brokenness would be so strong in this world anymore. I don't think the conflict would be so strong in this world. I don't think the conflict would be so strong in this world anymore. I don't think the conflict

[20:08] for for for for for for for for for for for for for for maybe even in another language that somebody else can understand, and preach the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the God of second chances, the one who returns time and opportunity to people. Those are the things we do by the Spirit's power.

[20:54] And so also by the Spirit, I have to repent. I haven't done what I need to do by the Spirit's power. I haven't tapped into that power. Not all of the time. There have been times, but not all of the time. And I repent, and I ask God to forgive me, and I ask God for a second chance. I ask God for a chance to redeem the time that I'm in. And I ask God to resurrect my broken heart that's breaking for this world. And I ask God to turn me towards Him so I can walk back from the dark path and embrace His Spirit's guidance for my life.

[21:34] And I ask God to forgive me. And I ask God to pour out His Spirit again, this Pentecost, on you, on me. I want us to see visions. I want us to dream dreams. I want us to proclaim the gospel of new life and resurrection. And I want us to pray for that right now. Let's pray.

[21:56] Father, we repent of our brokenness and the brokenness of this world. Father, pour out Your Spirit, Your Spirit, to give us the strength to do that. Give us the power to do what we cannot do, to bring a second chance to this world. And we pray You do it today. Amen.