Creekside Church Sermon of May 19, 2002 "My Lips Are (Un)Sealed " Acts 2:1-21	Rev. David Bibbee
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Every time I went, he was there…staring at me. He never spoke, but was always watching. He not only stared…whenever I looked back at him, he was pointing his index finger at me. I should have told him, "You know, you're really bothering me," but he looked so intimidating, with his penetrating eyes and his no nonsense expression. The guy gave me the creeps. He dressed like a flag and his name was Sam, or, as most people knew him, Uncle Sam. I still see him on the post office poster with the words at the bottom, "I want you!" I wanted to be wanted, just not by him!

Almighty God taps people on the shoulder, points his index finger, gives one of those, "Come here," motions and says, "I want you!" There is a common response seen in scripture whenever God picks a person for a purpose. The initial response isn't, "Oh boy!" but, "Oh, no. Not me." "There's been some sort of mix up here. It's not me you're looking for. Who am I that I should be your voice to the world? I've got a lisp. I flunked speech class! Here I am, Lord, but please…send somebody else!"

I wasn't thrilled at being called to the ministry. I never wanted to be a minister. "It's not my thing," I said. "That's right," a mentor told me. "It's not YOUR thing. It's GOD'S thing, so buckle up and get ready to ride." It took awhile, but gradually my resistance softened. I said I would "consider" pastoral ministry…provided I didn't have to preach. The thought of it terrified me. I could play the guitar before a crowd, but preach? On behalf of God? Meaningfully speak about the unspeakable? Exchange being an architectural draftsman to be a craftsman of words by which God's will is done and people find healing and hope? Preach a message most people could care less about and a world wants you to keep to yourself? No thanks!

People have said to me, "I'm sure the longer you preach, the easier it gets, doesn't it?" "No, not for me." I said. If preachers stop to think about what they do and for whom they do it, and don't feel butterflies fluttering up a frenzy in their stomachs, it's time for a new line of work.

Last Sunday we talked about Jesus' ascension into heaven, and how the disciples were left behind. Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem until they received what God had promised… "Power from on high." On the day of Pentecost God came through. The Holy Spirit was unleashed. It took possession of the disciples. Tongues of fire danced over each one's head. They spoke fluently in different languages. Jews of many different nationalities were present. The disciples sounded like the UN General Assembly. Each spoke a different language, and the diverse assembly of Jews was amazed because they could understand what was being said; Parthians to Mesopotamians, all heard the message in their native tongue. What does this mean?"

Others said, "They're possessed, alright. They had happy hour for breakfast. They're skunk drunk!" Then Peter stepped forward and began to preach. "These men "are" drunk, but not the way you think." Notice who's preaching…Peter, the fisherman, the rock, the one who was first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah; Peter, who told Jesus he would not suffer and die, and was chewed out by Jesus, for saying it, Peter, as his nickname "rock" suggests, was strong but also thick-skulled and missed what Jesus said much of the time; Peter, who vowed to stand by Jesus for better or for worse, through thick and thin; Peter, who later told a questioning servant girl, "I don't know Jesus and was never with him,"; this same Peter stood before the crowd of amazed and bewildered Jews who were praising God, and preached his first sermon, and with no notes.

A woman invited her friend to church. After the service, as the two walked from the church, the host asked, "What did you think of the sermon?" Her friend replied, "You obviously have a very intelligent pastor." "How do you know that?", she asked. "I couldn't understand a word he said," her friend replied. Peter spoke with conviction and clarity. His sermon was short, but understood. When he finished, people lined up for baptism and in one day the membership rolls increased by three thousand!

What a moment that must have been when Pentecostal fire broke out. Before power came from on high, the disciples had been followers. Now they were leaders. Listeners turned into preachers, the sick became healers. Members became missionaries and evangelists. The dramatic changes did not happen because they decided to change. It happened "to" them. The Spirit descended and words were provided to tell the story of Jesus, his life, his love, his death, his resurrection and eternal rule.

How many of you are ready to receive the Holy Spirit? Probably not many of you. Not if you associate it with ecstatic utterances and bizarre behaviors. "We are not ready for that sort of thing." But this is not the most significant event of Pentecost. This is secondary to the Spirit's primary work…the gift of speech, speech which communicates the presence, the person, and the power of Jesus in a way that is understood.

The world is saturated with speech. Every day there is so much information sent our way. Are we better because of it? As someone put it, "Today we are learning more and more about less and less." But who speaks for God?

In Jesus' first sermon he quoted from Isaiah, "The Spirit is upon me to preach good news to the poor; to give sight to the blind." Jesus received the Spirit in order to preach. Peter received the Spirit in order to preach, and You can receive the Spirit in order to preach. You pay me to stand up here and preach, but I'm not the only preacher here. I don't say it as often as I should, but you are, all of you, preachers for Jesus. Preaching is difficult. It would be easier to keep our lips sealed. And do you know what is still people's greatest fear? Speaking in public.

The gospel was not intended to only be spoken in churches by ordained professionals. This month's Messenger contains an interview with Paul Grout our Annual Conference Moderator. Paul "lives" out his passion for Christ. He is a self-proclaimed pebble in the church's shoe. He is outspoken about our failure to embody what we say we believe. He says the church is not about doctrine, but relationship. "It's about a love affair with Jesus, with your spouse, your neighbor, your brother, your sister, and enemy." He also said something that relates to the matter at hand. He said, "Our church should begin a fifteen to twenty year effort to eradicate the laity." He says we can't use language about the priesthood of all believers. "We may say we are all ministers, but no one takes that seriously."

The principal purpose of Pentecost was and is to pry our lips open. God showers his Spirit upon us so the good news of Jesus will be spoken through us in understandable, winsome ways. I preach behind this wooden pulpit. Your pulpit is where you live and work. Your pulpit is wherever hurting, hungering people need to hear the Spirit sealed in the depths of your heart spoken on your lips…the message of hope we have in Christ who rose from the dead.

I could tell you what becomes of Christians and churches if lips stay sealed. Nothing. No outgo of words and acts, no income of people. Who will know if none of us preach?

What's the best sermon you have heard that was not spoken by a preacher in a pulpit? Last summer at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in Baltimore, we were moved by the faith statement of a wonderful young woman named Donna Shumate. She is an attorney in Sparta, North Carolina and a member of our denomination's General Board. I spoke with Donna on Thursday to refresh my memory of her story.

Soon after starting her practice, she was assigned a case which no other county attorney would touch. What's more, the assignment came from an adjoining county, something that is rarely done. Donna's task was to defend a woman who had murdered a child, the niece of a live-in boyfriend. From June 1995 to September 1996, she spent a great deal of time with the defendant, gathering details about the case and also gathering lots of personal information about her and the awful environment from which she had come.

The case finally came to trial. The prosecutor and Donna made their closing statements, and were awaiting the jury's verdict. Donna and the woman sat waiting in the same room. The tension was excruciating. A Bible was present and Donna instinctively picked it up and began reading out loud, not for the woman's sake, but her own. She opened to the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life…your heavenly father knows all your needs." Then the woman said, "Those are the most beautiful words I have ever heard."

Finally the judge called the court to order. Donna and her pefendant stood for the verdict. The jurist read the decision. Guilty as charged. She was sentenced to death.

Donna wasn't just an attorney. She had become a preacher, as well. The faith in Donna's heart passed through her lips. Over time, the woman began to change. One day she contacted Donna. She was given a document on which she was to choose her method of execution, two witnesses, and her last meal. She asked Donna to be a witness. Donna said, "Yes." She told Donna she had thought about the meal, that morbid aspect which reporters love to include in their execution stories. "I've been thinking about our talks. I want you to be present at the meal, too. I decided I want to have the Love Feast. I want to take communion. I want to wash feet…like Jesus."

She still sits on death row. Her case has been appealed and Donna recently spoke as a witness on her behalf.

Lips were unsealed. The word was spoken, understood, and accepted.

What better day than Pentecost to seek the Spirit and start practicing our preaching skills? Don't say, "I'm no preacher." The Spirit is poured out to give you the words and the sensitivity and strength to say them.

There is an old saying that goes, "Everyone has at least one sermon in him." If this is the case, how much more so for Christians? How many of you are willing to open your mouths and let the word out?

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