Acts 2:14a, 36-41        “When the People Heard This”      April 13, 2008

Pastor Kyung-Sook (Sue) Lee

          Change is hard. Now, I’m not talking about a little change on surface, but a big change in our hearts. I’m talking about a transformational experience that Jesus wants us to have; a metamorphosis like a caterpillar in a cocoon becoming a butterfly. Friends, that kind of change is very hard. So often times, we secretly think that it is impossible and not so secretly we don’t expect that kind of change to happen in our lives or the lives of others.

          But the Scripture reading this morning testifies that it is possible. No, I have to say that it is possible ONLY when we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we think miracles, wonders or signs will change people’s hearts. No, not really.

          Think about Simon Peter and the other disciples. They had followed Jesus for a solid three years. And they saw miracle after miracle; healing after healing that Jesus did first hand; the lame walked, the blind gained sight, the lepers were healed. They saw that Jesus fed five thousand men with a little boy’s lunch; they saw that Jesus calmed the storm; and, they even saw that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. So on the night when Jesus was arrested, were they ready to stand by Jesus boldly and courageously? No! The Bible didn’t spend any extra words to make it sound better or less shameful than what the disciples did that night. The Bible simply says, “All the disciples deserted him and fled.”  And Simon Peter who had said to Jesus, “even though I must die with you, I will NEVER deny you” denied Jesus three times. 

          Then, the resurrected Jesus appeared to them as they were hiding themselves behind locked doors out of fear and Jesus showed them he had risen just as he said. So were they ready to witness that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior, the Anointed One that they had been waiting for? No! Rather, Peter and some other disciples were ready to quit being followers of Christ Jesus and in fact, they went back to their old job, fishing in the Sea of Galilee.

          And Jesus knew that they were not ready to do what he commissioned them to do until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s why He commanded the disciples just before his ascension saying, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but in the few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. 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.” (Acts 1: 4-5 & 8)

          And when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were transformed. And Peter who cowered in the darkness and denied his beloved master three times stood boldly in front of the entire population of Jerusalem and told them all about Jesus Christ and His resurrection. And three thousand people were saved that day. That is the work of the Holy Spirit! The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the Counselor who convicts of sins in people’s hearts and guides them into all truth.

          We cannot have the Christian lives God wants us to have apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit just as much as the disciples did or maybe more. Some of you may say, “Then, how can I receive the Holy Spirit?” Listen to what Peter said, “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.”  The moment that you received Jesus Christ as your Savior, you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Bible says “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1Corinthians 6:19)

          The Holy Spirit is in us. And ONLY the Holy Spirit transforms us into a new creation. We cannot be transformed without the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will not do the transformation without us.

          So the question we have to ask this morning is:  do we have ears to listen to the Holy Spirit in us?  OR, are we willing to let the Holy Spirit work in us and through us? If we really hunger for transformation in our lives, we will let the Holy Spirit work through us and in us. And the good news is that transformation is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.