PENTECOST DAY
Pastor Biakson addressed the congregation by reading out the word of God from Acts 2:1-13 and opened the service with a word of prayer. The service began with Praise and worship led by the Worship team and it was concluded with an offertory prayer by Deacon Chinsum.
SERMON by Pastor N.Tuang Lang on the topic:
“EMPOWERED TO BE A WITNESS”
Before starting off with the sermon the pastor read out some selected verses related with the topic: ACTS 1:4,5 ACTS 1:8, JOHN 15:26, JOHN 16:7, ACTS 2:1. After reading out these verses Pastor led us in a word of prayer.
HOLY SPIRIT
- It is the spirit of God. It has been present since the very beginning when God created the heaven and the earth. It can be witnessed in Genesis 1:2 that the spirit of God has been there from the very beginning, even when the earth was without any form and void.
- The spirit of God as mentioned above was present since the very beginning of creation however; it has only been mentioned from the time of the judges. We can see in the book of judges that the Holy Spirit has empowered ordinary people to become great ones. Like in the cases of Othniel, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and others the Holy Spirit came upon them and used them as witnesses for the work of Gospel.
- In the time of the New Testament the Holy Spirit was believed to have occurred and present throughout that period. We can see in John 16:7,” but very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” so the Holy Spirit came upon them on Pentecost day and has been there since then.
The occurrence and presence of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament brings hope for everyone. This Holy Spirit can be received by each and every one who wait and put their hope in the Lord. In Ephesians 4:30 it is written, “grieve not the holy spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Keeping that in mind we should never mistreat the Holy Spirit as it is our only way of redemption and we would be judged based on the way we treat the Holy Spirit.
The reasons for the coming of the Holy spirit-
A. To receive power
B. To be a witness
ACTS 1:8, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit come on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In this verse it says that we will receive power and will be empowered to be witnesses in all of the earth. When we look back at our first missionaries, the moment they accepted Christ they were empowered to be witnesses. They had the sudden urge to go and spread the word of gospel to everyone. They started from their very own families.
The Holy Spirit can empower us to do anything. On Pentecost day the church was filled with people and they were in accord with one another. And suddenly the place was filled with Holy Spirit and it came upon each and every one of them. They all heard the word of God spoken in their own native tongue. They were all perplexed. Others mocked them by saying they were full of wine. Then peter stood up and spoke the word of God. The Holy Spirit had empowered peter so much that on his first sermon 3000 people were saved and baptized on that day. (ACTS 2:41)
The Holy Spirit also lives within us; it is not present inside the church only. It does not just simple fade away once we leave the church premises. We are also empowered like Peter to go and spread the gospel in any way we can. All we need to do is to surrender ourselves to it to able to witness it's work. But if we do not let the Holy Spirit empower us then it is the time to think if we really have received the Holy Spirit. If we have and are not doing anything then we need to start becoming witnesses to God as it is our only way of redemption.
Who was Peter?
- When Jesus was being taken captive, Peter was the one who cut off one of the guard’s ear.
- He was also the one who denied the Lord 3 times before Christ being crucified.
- But when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter he received power and wisdom and knowledge and strength. He became a hero from a zero. He became a great instrument in the witnessing of the Gospel that on his first sermon, 3000 people were saved and baptized. This is what the Holy Spirit can do if we allow it and surrenders ourselves.
How we can receive the Holy Spirit?
It can be received simply by obeying and waiting on the lord. Jesus Christ told his disciples not to leave Jerusalem and to wait for the Holy Spirit. The disciples without question and without any doubt waited patiently as their minds and souls were at one accord. This gave them the strength to wait patiently because if they were not at one accord with each other then they would not be able to wait obediently and faithfully. For the non-believers it is meaningless to obediently wait for the Holy Spirit.
Where can we be a witness?
- Jerusalem
- Judea
- Samaria
- To the ends of the earth
Let us start again at Jerusalem
- Here Jerusalem means our household, family members (mothers, fathers, sons, daughters) and our relatives.
- We should ask ourselves these three things:
- We should question ourselves if our own family members have become believers and accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour?
- If we all would be present in heaven with all our family members?
- Are you in one accord with your family members as believers?
If not so then it is certainly the time to look back and start again before it’s too late. It is time for us to let the Holy Spirit empower us to be his instruments in spreading the good news. Do your parents see you as a believer a born again human being? Does your sister/brother see you as one? If not then we need to become one and need the Holy Spirit to come upon you so that you may become a witness to the Lord. If in church we are still pretending to be believers and do not have any empowerment from the Holy Spirit then our eternal life would be questionable and uneasy. The Lord is interested in the ones who are missing, lost. Like when out of the 10 only one showed up after he was healed, Jesus asked him where the rest of the 9 were.
The main reason or the cause of the Holy Spirit coming down on Pentecost day was to empower us to be witnesses. It can be received by believers who have actually accepted Jesus as their Lord and saviour. Have you received that Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ? If you have not received it then irrespective of your position in the church you cannot enter heaven. Even if you’re a pastor or someone very important, our deeds won’t help us in entering heaven. If we believe in the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ then can we enter heaven. Let us not become a hindrance in the work of God. God wants our all to give to him. Not our 50 or 60 %. Are you willing to give your all to God? The moment we are willing to give our body and soul to God, we are empowered in the Holy Spirit to be brave, to have strength, to have grace and mercy and love for others so that we may become witnesses in spreading of the gospel. We have to pay some price. The only price we have to pay is just believing and accepting the lord and giving our 100 percent to Him.
When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciple on the day of Pentecost, there was oneness, obeying each other, loving one another, praying together and being at once accord with each other. This happened when the Holy Spirit came upon them. They empowered with all of these things.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to love one another. But whoever does not love his/her own brother/sister cannot love God. If they cannot love their own siblings whom they see every day and can love God who is unseen then according to John that person is lying. And that person has not been empowered by the Holy Spirit. Because once we have the Holy Spirit we are bound to have those qualities automatically. This can be found true in 1 John 4:20-21, “whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
1 Timothy 5:8,”Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
My friend if you have received the Lord and have believed in Him then Have you started providing for your relatives, for your own household yet? What if Jesus was to come today and take us all to heaven will you along with your family members be all present there? Oh! How wonderful it would be to be complete again with your family and dear ones present in heaven.
My dear friends, mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters in Christ let us take a step forward on how we can become a channel in spreading the kingdom of God.
Lamentations 3:40,” let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.”
So friends let us return to the Lord. We don’t need to go far away to preach the Gospel when we can start from our own household. Let us all examine ourselves and our ways first. He can use us for his glory if we just return to Him. Just like how He used Peter, who denied Jesus Christ three times before Christ was being crucified. But when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter, Holy spirit empowered him to save 3000 souls. So if God can use Peter for who he was, then He can use us as well for things that are beyond our imagination. He can use us to be a blessing for our family, for our peers, for our colleagues, for our people and for our country if we surrender our all to Him.
Pastor Biakson sang a very heart warming song. A song about the longing for the Holy spirit. The sermon was then concluded with an alter calling by Pastor Tuanglang.
After the sermon Pastor Biakson performed the Child dedication ceremony of:
A. Thanggouding Guite s/o Phunggoutan Guite and Jamthianhoih Guite
B. Ginliansiam Munsong s/o Thangsuanmung Munsong and Esther Dimngaihnem
After the ceremony Deacon Khaithang (board of governor) gave a brief report on the updates of GBC.
The worship team led the congregation with a song and the worship service was closed with a benedictory prayer by Deacon Damsomthang.
Esther Tunglut, Content Writer
