I've spoken before about an experience that I
had had overseas. I had been at a counter buying
a train ticket, trying to get to a new location,
but there had been... a man that was in front
of me previously who had been trying to do the
same thing. Now I, being in China at the time,
realized I don't speak Chinese. So I had to try
to memorize the phrases as best I could and to
make sure that I said it well. But I figured
it would be okay because clearly I'm not Chinese.
And so I figured that they would understand and
be listening for it. But then I found out that
another teacher at one point had been up there
trying to buy a train ticket, but he spoke Chinese.
And being a Westerner, he's up there though speaking
fluent Chinese, but the man behind the counter
doesn't realize it. All he sees is that it's
a Westerner. So he keeps responding to the man
who was speaking in Chinese, Sir, I don't speak
English. And the man continues to explain to
him what he's trying to do. in Chinese Mandarin,
and the man again says, sir, I'm sorry, I don't
speak English. And finally, the Chinese national
behind the man had to lean around and say, sir,
he's speaking to you in Mandarin, talk to him,
it's okay. And then finally, the man one more
time explained it, and then the guy understood.
Now, that was one way of experiencing the difference.
in what it is to be speaking another language
in a different situation. But there was a different
one that happened later on. I was visiting some
different places around the mountains over there
on the eastern coast and I figured I will go
from, you know, on this train and on this bus
and I should know what I'm doing, but all of
a sudden... The bus stops, and we're supposed
to change buses, and I had no idea which one
I'm supposed to get on. There wasn't anything
underneath helping to guide. And so as I'm standing
there, just blank faced, no idea what I'm about
to do, and a man comes up next to me and says,
in very clear English, where are you trying to
go? And I was just like, oh. This is where I'm
trying to go. Oh great, and he not only showed
me where to go, but walked along with me and
narrated and explained the whole thing, which
was completely unexpected, someone that I had
never met and then never saw again. That's what
it can be like when the Holy Spirit is leading.
The Spirit doesn't always make himself heard
with flashes of lightning or a booming voice
or something strange. More often, it's subtle.
A conversation that is clear, a question that
opens a door, a path of openness that you didn't
expect. The day of Pentecost looked like chaos
at first. Tongues of fire, rushing wind, a crowd
wondering if the disciples were drunk, but underneath
the spectacle was something miraculous. People
from every nation heard the gospel in their own
languages. But God wasn't just putting on a show
for its own sake. He was making himself understood.
Because Pentecost is for understanding. I was
talking with a friend whose husband had gone
through a stroke, and the difficulty was that
this person would be speaking, but while in his
mind he was saying exactly what he meant to say,
No one was able to understand because what was
coming out was different from what he had in
mind. This type of a trauma, it could be so difficult
for someone, being unexpected, but also how to
make yourself understood. And we sometimes get
confused when we're looking at Pentecost to think
that this is what might have been happening.
But you see, there's a difference from that and
what we see in Acts 2. You see, in Acts 2, the
people speaking are speaking very clear, very
well -known languages. There are these two words
to make sure that you know the difference. One
is called glossolalia, one is xenolalia, with
an X at the beginning. Now, xenolalia is when
you're speaking in other languages that people
understand. Glossolalia... is the idea of speaking
in an unknown language that maybe the angels
would understand. Well, it says, according to
Peter, in this same chapter, he ends up quoting
Joel 2. And it says, in the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your
sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young
men will see visions. Your old men will dream
dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they
will prophesy. Everyone who calls on the name
of the Lord will be saved. And that's the thing
of what we're seeing here is that it's not what
oftentimes is turned into this passage of speaking
some unknown language, but rather is something
that was clearly meant for the people around
them to understand. But who were these people?
Why was it that they even needed these other
languages in the first place? Well, the audience
that was there were not talking yet about the
Gentiles. That was later on in chapter 10 with
Cornelius. But here what we see is that this
is the time for people of the Jewish community
to come in from many different places, the Diaspora,
and to come and to worship here in Jerusalem.
But these people who were either Jewish by heritage,
but had grown up in other places, or people who
were converted to Judaism. The common language
of the time was not something that they were
the most comfortable with. I mean, imagine that
you're trying to learn a new language and you're
stumbling through and then someone's trying to
explain something about God in this language
you barely understand. How easy would that be
to make sense of? But the point of doing this
was that they were to then understand what the
disciples were sharing about Jesus. And that's
all that we end up seeing this passage. You see,
we get caught up in what the miracle is, but
then there's this question of, well, can it keep
happening over and over? Well, of course it can,
but the question is, is that what really mattered?
And what we see later in this chapter is that
it says, they devoted themselves to the apostles'
teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with
awe at the many wonders and signs performed by
the apostles. They were in awe, but that wasn't
what they were dedicated to. They were devoted
to discipleship. Understanding, learning, growing,
fellowship. You see, The crowd was not there
to hear a miraculous noise. They were here and
understanding what God was saying in their own
language. And Peter, filled with the Spirit,
doesn't continue in the unknown tongues. Now
that they've been able to explain it, now he's
trying to speak and explain to everyone else
why it is that this is so important. He tells
them plainly who Jesus is. and what He has done.
And 3 ,000 people were baptized that day. Not
because of the miracle, but because of the message
they understood. In John 14, as we read, the
Holy Spirit will teach you all things and bring
to mind all I have said to you. Because that's
the purpose of the Holy Spirit, is to bring to
us the words that God has shared. See, the tongues
there, they were for a reason. See, even later
on, when Peter goes to speak to Cornelius, the
Roman centurion, Peter isn't there for the miracle.
He's there to share the gospel. Now, in the midst
of that, the people start to speak in other tongues,
but it shows us in that chapter why. The reason
why is because the Jews needed to understand
that the Gentiles were welcome in the Kingdom
of Heaven as well. It wasn't for its own sake.
He then says, can anyone withhold water for baptizing
these people who have received the Holy Spirit
just as we have? God first used the tongues for
understanding and then used it to welcome other
peoples. This is one of the reasons why people
are so often scared of talking about tongues.
because it's something that creates almost this
fear of what it's for. But the Apostle Paul explains
tongues, and he explains the clarity of what
they're meant to do. You see, in 1 Corinthians
14, Paul reflects on the gift of tongues. He
says that tongues, especially unknown languages,
are a sign for unbelievers. It's a way to open
doors for those who are far from God. That's
exactly what Pentecost was doing. The whole point
was to be able to make sure that people who didn't
understand could come to understand. But Paul
also insists that in worship, the place where
believers come together, clarity is more important
than charisma. In other words, understanding
is more important than the miracle. He says,
I would rather speak five intelligible words
to instruct others than 10 ,000 words in a tongue.
There are some who speak of what they would call
angelic tongues. And I do need to make sure that
I'm clear about this, is that angelic tongues
are an actual experience. And you may be wondering,
wait pastor, that's not the direction I thought
you were going in. But let me explain. Studies
have actually shown that when measuring what's
happening in the brain, that the part that's
being utilized is not as much from the frontal
lobe the part that you would normally use for
speech. They're not in some sort of a trance
either. So whatever's happening at that moment
is genuinely an experience for the person. Whatever
they're going through, it's real for them. It
is a genuine place of devotion. But go back to
what Paul says. In 1 Corinthians 13, 1, if I
speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but
do not have love, I'm a clinging gong or a banging
cymbal. He reminds us that the goal isn't the
ecstasy. The goal is love that communicates,
love that reaches, love that builds up the body.
we can honor the experience that someone has
of glossolalia, that they're having something
that's meaningful to them. And maybe even looking
at things like the Azusa Street Revival and understanding
what happened at the day where the Pentecostal
Church came to be, and that can be a wonderful
experience for them. But we also ask, is it helping
others to understand God's Word? Is it connecting
people to Christ? Because that's what the Holy
Spirit is here to do. Is not just to move in
us for the experience, but to speak through us.
Because the Spirit is bringing understanding.
But maybe a bigger question then is, are we ready
for the Spirit? Not whether or not it's in our
public worship, but rather the question is whether
or not we're ready for what the Spirit brings
to mind. See, Jesus said in John 14 26 that the
Spirit will teach you all things and bring to
your remembrance all that I have said to you.
It's not about the performance. It's about the
presence. The Spirit helps us to say the right
thing in the right moment to the right person,
not because we've rehearsed it, but because we're
ready in our heart, in our spirit, in our mind.
There was some weeks ago, no, actually longer
than that, some months ago, that I was going
to one of the panel discussions that we have
every few months, and I wasn't on the panel,
so it probably wasn't that great of a topic anyway.
But when we were there, all of a sudden someone
comes up and says, hey, I heard you're a Lutheran
pastor, I have a question for you. Now you don't
usually get an easy, you know, lob up there to
knock it out of the park like that, but there
we were. And I got to explain the real presence
of communion to this person who turned out was
trying to understand in order to explain it to
her fiance. And then several months later being
given the opportunity to conduct their wedding,
which was lovely and wonderful and another opportunity
to tell more people about the grace of God. See,
we were just talking about communion. It wasn't
flashy, it wasn't thunder or fire, just a real
conversation, but it opened a door. It built
trust. And I was able to then have more opportunities
because of that. Because at that moment, when
the time came, I was ready. See, oftentimes we
think that it's going to be that, well, it'll
be miraculous whenever it happens. Maybe it's
more everyday than you think. There was also
a young man who came up to me one day and he
thought that he could trip me up. And he said
to me, you know, what if I told you that I had
had an experience with an angel? And he figured
that he had me all figured out. And he expect
me to laugh and to shut down the conversation
and instead knowing that God can do miraculous
things whenever he wants to. And without contradicting
scripture, of course. I said, well, I would just
ask you to tell me more about it. And he was
so stunned at knowing the openness of someone
who's willing to say that God can do whatever
he wishes. I told him, knowing Christ has made
me more open to people, not less, and more open
to letting God work without assuming anything.
See, that's the spirit at work. Not in grand
speeches, but in graceful responses. The Holy
Spirit creates space for connection. Not just
trying to make sure we have everything right,
but rather in making sure that we're available
for one another. And only by being ready with
Scripture and an open heart can we share the
Gospel at that time. But we must be ready, but
we have to let God Speak. Because we're not called
to force the gospel into every moment, but we
are called to be ready at any time and in any
place. As 1 Peter 3 .15 says, always be prepared
to give an answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you have, but
do this with gentleness and respect. How many
times do we think that God will figure it out?
as long as, you know, He's in control. But we
are still meant to prepare. Not to control the
Spirit, but to cooperate with Him. We don't make
miracles happen, but we make ourselves available
for when it does. Because what is the true miracle?
The true miracle is that a dead person is coming
back to life. It's not whether or not we can
sound like an angel, but by sharing the resurrection
of God Himself in human form, every time a person
comes to believe, we're seeing the dead rise.
They are leaving behind sin and death and following
Christ. How much have we taken for granted that
seeing the dead rise in Christ? is truly a miracle
when we know how hard people's hearts can truly
be. See, the world continues to be lost, but
the Spirit changes hearts and minds when people
hear the Gospel clearly and in a way that they
understand. They're not converted because of
a tongue that sounds strange. It would make more
sense in a personal devotion. They're converted
when the Gospel connects with them. in their
language, whether that be a verbal language or
a way of understanding or even a relationship
that helps them to lower the walls of their heart
to hear the gospel. So will you be ready to let
God speak? If I were to be at home and praying
and all of a sudden something's coming out that
doesn't sound like my normal speech but somehow
helps me to feel closer to God, that would be
wonderful. If I were to walk out that door and
in talking with somebody that doesn't understand
English from me but somehow the words coming
out were something that they understood, I'd
be very grateful. But instead of waiting for
that or trying to force it, I'm going to look
like an idiot and keep practicing the Spanish
I am learning with Ana as she comes to clean
the hallways. Oh, she's very patient. Because
the Holy Spirit is meant to speak through you.
It can be hard to understand what to say. And
even at times whenever you feel that you know
what you want to communicate, Even the times
whenever you wonder if what you're about to say
is the right thing and maybe slow down before
you send that text or hit reply to that post
Because the question is will you let God speak?
the way he chooses Because even if it's unfamiliar
Even if it's not your comfort zone Even if it's
not what you imagined Will your heart? Be ready
for God. Because if you do, you may very well
find yourself saying the right thing at the right
time and in the right way, and you'll know it
wasn't from you. You'll know the Spirit did it
because you see the true miracle of the dead
being raised. Because that's the real miracle
of Pentecost. Three thousand people were brought
back from the dead. Because that's the mission.
God raises people from the dead and we, whatever
language we're speaking, just spectate. Thanks
be to God.