Standing Alone

The promised Holy Spirit descended on this band of 120 men and women who were in agreement in heart and mind. In that empowered moment, everything suddenly became clear to them. In a flash they realized that the real mission of Jesus was not to establish a government, but to transform the hearts and minds of people. It was not to solve society’s problems from the top down, but from the bottom up, just as he did when he was among them. He healed, he ministered, he fed, he taught, and he loved individual people with real needs. And these people loved him in return. They had seen his transforming mission in action, but they had been too self-centered and self-absorbed in their own personal kingdom building to recognize it. But the power of prayer and the Holy Spirit changed all that.

On the day of Pentecost their confusion turned to conviction. They burst from the room and began explaining the message and meaning of Jesus in the languages of the foreigners visiting Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. A crowd of thousands gathered in amazement, asking, “What can this mean?” (Acts 2:12, NLT).

Can’t you just see Peter, the most vocal of the bunch, standing boldly before the crowd? Only weeks before he had been the opposite of bold—afraid even to identify himself with Jesus when the Romans arrested his master. But on this day he spoke with an enlightened heart and mind, in the power of God’s Spirit, unashamedly proclaiming: “What you see this morning was predicted centuries ago by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God said, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people’” (Acts 2:16-17, NLT).

For ten days Peter and the other followers of Jesus had been bathed in prayer. Now Peter went on to preach a convicting sermon about a new kingdom—a transformational Kingdom movement of God ushered in by prayer and the Holy Spirit. And some three thousand people were baptized into what became known as the Body of Christ—his church. In striking contrast to the religious leaders and people of that day, these fresh new believers didn’t just assemble behind closed doors and keep their religion to themselves. They lived out their newfound relationship with Christ through the power of God’s Spirit. Rather than talking about Jesus, they acted like him. Rather than being religious in a Temple, they were relevant to their society. It is recorded that “a deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshipped together in the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the good will of the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved” (Acts 2:43-47, NLT).

This transformational Kingdom movement swept throughout Jerusalem and turned the current religion of that day on its ear. These bands of Christ followers proclaimed that “pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means we must care for the orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us” (James 1:27, NLT). That was in striking contrast to what the Jewish religious leaders had taught. And rather than erecting buildings and creating an institution of this new religion, these Christ followers gathered in homes where they prayed in agreement and in the power of the Holy Spirit engaged their community, the surrounding countryside, and the known world with a compassion for those in need like that of their Lord and Savior himself. Their lives so reflected Christ that they were known as Christ-ians. Engaging the community around them with a lived-out gospel in the power of God actually transformed people’s lives and house churches were a natural consequence. And this transformational movement of Jesus swept the world like wildfire.  I believe that this can happen today if we are truly seeking to help the lost world around us experience this type of transformation.  I believe the best way to do that is through the model of the early church found in Acts.

The main reason for the Pentecostal boom is that people are looking for real intimacy and authenticity.  The Pentecostal movement offers both. Intimacy is something that I think is misunderstood.  In our society, intimacy is equated with sex.  I believe that true intimacy occurs when we really get to know people, and we are known.  We each long to be understood and accepted.  If we can connect with others on more than just a superficial level, we can attain true intimacy.  I think we can really experience God when we are honest with Him.  He knows us and longs for us to know Him.  The Pentecostal Boom is a result of people being honest about who they are and their need for God.

The major thing that we can learn from the early church is to be proactive and critically engage our society.  This is the approach that makes the most sense biblically.  Jesus chose to fully engage the people of His time.  He took the time to ask the tough questions.  He always asked the questions that would go way beyond the surface.  As youth pastors, we need to know what our students are involved in and ask the tough questions.  For example, this summer I did a message series called “MySpace”.  We took six weeks to look at the who, what, when, where, why, and how of MySpace.  MySpace is an Internet blog site where students can set up a profile, post media, and blogs about themselves.  As I began to research this topic, I looked for our students that had a MySpace account, and I was shocked.  Some of the students had revealing photos, lied about their age, and used profanity fluently.  I e-mailed these students and asked to be added to their friends list.  Within one hour, I had a student at my house. He asked,” How did you find out about MySpace?  He was embarrassed that I had found his site.  He puts on a very spiritual front at church, but his site was far from it.  Others were excited that I took time to enter their world.  If we critically engage the post-modern world, we will truly see change.  As youth pastors, we must lead the charge in an evangelical revolution to reach a lost generation.