May 27 - Pentecost Sunday Morning: From the Garden to the City - Trees along the Way - the first taste

We have been on a journey together that started with the promises of the Garden in the Old Testament. Scripture tells us that the fulfillment of those promises is a city that comes down out of heaven filled with the glory of the Lord called "the New Jerusalem." In our journey, we have come to Pentecost - the first taste of the city.

Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ^2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ^3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ^4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues ^a as the Spirit enabled them.

The Fellowship of the Believers

^42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ^43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ^44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. ^45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ^46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ^47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

^a Or languages; also in verse 11

The early church in its birth was experiencing a foretaste of the city of God. It strikes me that the city, as represented in Acts 2:42-47 was characterized by the following kingdom principles:

1. Citizens were devoted (they persisted in) to the apostle's teaching, to fellowship (Koinonia), to breaking of the bread (The Eucharist) and to prayer. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, their faith became reliable and consistent. Even their attendance to the building of community became very reliable. It seems to me that the focus of this "taste of the new city" is that God and the truths of his kingdom along with his people came before everything else. "Seek first the kingdom..." This was the culture of the new city.

2. Citizens became remarkably generous, willing to sell their possession in order to share with those in need, regarding themselves as stewards of what God had given them. It seems to me that ideally, in the city, this is possible. Isn't it ironic that we live so close to each other, each with our little plot of grass, yet we all have our own mower and hardly ever share with one another. The disease of the present city is individualism, materialism and loneliness. The taste of the new city culture in Pentecost is a radical contrast from what we experience today.

3. They met with each other daily. Here is a picture of connectedness. Once again, only possible in the city where we can meet our neighbours on our walks, etc. Their connection even went to the point of common meals (BBQs?) and feasted together (or at least a "love feast - which according to Krieder, were feasts where the rich waited for the poor to eat first, where they shared their wealth with the needy and the least became first) in their homes. The dynamic of today's cities however is that we are remarkably disconnected. Many of us do not know the names of our immediate neighbours. Yet we are so physically close together. Yet we are so disconnected from one another. The culture we live in and the culture we look forward to in the new City are dramatically different.

4. They celebrated! They were marked as a people who praised God. Revelation clearly pictures throngs joined in worship and celebration. This is a culture of happiness for tears and sorrows will be wiped away. Joy never ending! Wow! How different from our cities where a lack of generosity and a pervasive individualism results in homelessness, poverty, brokenness, secrecy, pain etc. etc.

5. This culture was magnetic! For those who hunger for the kingdom - it is the ideal. Every day people were being added. (There is however good evidence that many also were not added - and even though they enjoyed good favour at first, by Acts 6, major persecution had started.)

Every city, every church has a culture. How close to the culture of the New city is our church?
In your experience of the cities we live in - is the city as we know it a foretaste of the eternal kingdom of God, or is it a foretaste at all in any way at all?
How do you picture the city, the new Jerusalem, that God is bringing to us? What excites you about it?

Feel free to add any of your own questions or themes that you might like to see addressed in this sermon or future sermons.

Possible theme song of Response: "Take us to the River" by Robin Mark

Pastor Bill