Creekside Church Sermon of May 11, 2008 "Noise That Draws a Crowd" Acts 2:1-21	Rev. David Bibbee
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The folks at First Baptist did not appreciate the intrusion and the attempt at "stifling" their praise. The church filed a suit in a U.S. district court charging the township with "conspiracy to deny their church freedom of speech and expression and the right to religious practice."

If the neighbors of the First Baptist folk had been present when the events described in the second chapter of Acts happened, I wonder if they would have called the police to complain about the loud noise.

According to Jewish tradition, the Law was given to Moses on the Day of Pentecost, seven weeks after the Passover. Jerusalem was packed with people on their religious vacations from distant lands. The streets were filled with the sounds of different languages and dialects, interspersed with the shouts of merchants selling their goods.

At the end of Luke's gospel, before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the disciples to stay put in Jerusalem until they got a new wardrobe. He said a visitor was coming to clothe them with "power from on high." In Acts, the story resumes. Jesus' followers were together in one place. It didn't take a big place to hold them all. A breeze billowed the curtains of the house where they were staying. They didn't know a big surge of wind was on its way that would dramatically change their lives.

To this day, the "Wizard of Oz" is one of my all-time favorite movies. I enjoy it now as much as when I was a kid -- maybe even more. I want to show you the scene where the tornado is bearing down on the farm as Dorothy frantically looks for her family. Pretend you're seeing it for the first time
(SHOW VIDEO).

After the storm, Dorothy's world was radically altered. Her black and white world turned to vivid color. She was awed by the beautiful Witch of the North, and was hunted by the green Wicked Witch of the West. She was in a strange, mysterious place inhabited by Munchkins, flying monkeys, and a terrifying Wizard who, in reality, was a kindly old man pulling levers behind a curtain. Dorothy became an unintentional heroine when she "melted" the wicked witch by accidentally throwing water on her face. In the end she learned there is "no place like home," and while it seemed that everything around her had changed, Dorothy realized that she was the one who had changed.

The Holy Spirit rushed like a mighty wind through the house where the disciples gathered, unleashing tongues of fire that danced over the disciples' heads, making them look like Bunsen burners. They became fluent in foreign languages and everyone could understand what was being said.

All were amazed by what was happening, but not everyone was pleased. The neighbors gathered outside the house shouted, "Hey! Would you keep it down in there?" They thought a party that had gotten out of hand. Folks in the crowd said, "They're all drunk." They shouted, "Pipe down we're calling the cops!"

Then Peter came out and spoke to the neighborhood association. "We're not drunk. It's only 9:00 a.m.! What is happening here has nothing to do with consuming spirits, but being consumed by the Spirit." This was Peter's first sermon. As sermons go, there wasn't much to it… only twenty-two verses. He didn't start with a joke, didn't use captivating illustrations, didn't try to persuade them with logic, or grab them with a well-turned phrase here and there. You wouldn't expect much of a sermon from Peter. He was schooled in commercial fishing -- not preaching! But Peter's first sermon bore remarkable fruit.

I remember the Sunday at my first church when I extended an invitation at the close of my sermon. I framed it as an opportunity to either declare or reaffirm a commitment to Jesus, and asked those who felt led to respond by coming forward. I don't know what I expected. I thought that maybe one or two people might respond, and only because they didn't want me to feel lonely standing up there all by myself.

If someone came to the front, I figured we could seal the commitment and ask them to serve on a committee or usher for a month of Sundays. Imagine my amazement when everyone came forward, the choir included. No one was left in the pews. The whole congregation stood before the chancel smiling, crying, and praying. I remember thinking, "Lord, what am I supposed to do with all these people?" Its one thing to sit with two or three people and discuss what it means to respond to the Spirit's call. But what was I supposed to do with 150 people? Afterward I told God, "Don't you ever do this to me again!"

Acts doesn't say that Peter gave an altar call after his sermon. He didn't need to. The Spirit took the words as they left Peter's mouth and fortified them and charged them with electricity before they reached the crowds ears. As a result 3,000 people believed the message, came forward, and were baptized on the spot. The people who minutes before complained about the noise were now members of the church.

In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus, "The wind blows where it pleases. You can hear it, but you don't know where it's coming from or where it's headed next." Pentecost teaches us that we cannot direct the wind. God does. Pentecost teaches that we cannot channel it toward certain types of people and channel it away from others. Pentecost teaches us that we can't order the Holy Spirit to pass over one group of people in favor of another. We wish the Spirit would be a little pickier -- like we are. We wish that God had a more rigorous admissions policy.

What were the disciples thinking when their little group grew by 3,000 in one day? How did they react to the long lines outside the restrooms? What happened when the fellowship coffee ran out, and there weren't enough bulletins and hymnals to go around? What would you do if word spread about one of my Internet sermons and the following Sunday 3,000 people showed up for worship? It's a real stretch, I know, but the Spirit blows where it wills, and there's no telling what could happen when it does.

The Blessing of the Bikes event is coming next Saturday. What if something happens to touch the hearts of the participants and you come to church the next day and find a Harley-Davidson in your parking place? What if you walk into the sanctuary and instead of blazers and ties, you see a bunch of guys in black leather, do-wraps, tattoos, sunglasses, and braided ponytails sitting in your seats?

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