Nazi-occupied Holland when his parents are swept away to a World War II death camp. He is a brave, decent, honorable, hopeful, faithful young man—an inspiration to the Dutch villagers. He dreams of freedom. He longs for it. He sings of it. He talks about it. He wants so much to be free! But when his life is threatened by the Nazis, he begins to see that his days are numbered. He begins to see his dream fade, but not his faith, and he speaks wonderful words to those who threatened his life: He says that whether dead or alive, he will win because what he stands for will live on in the town—he stands for freedom.
Those powerful words remind us of our Resurrection faith, of Jesus, and of his journey. He came singing love. He lived singing love. He died singing love. He rose in silence. If the song is to continue, we must do the singing. Now, that is what the Christian journey is about—the sacred privilege and awesome responsibility that is now ours, to "go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born," to go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere that the Savior has come into the world.
By the way, do you recall that Jesus lived and taught on the move? He was born on a journey. He died on a journey. He rose again on a journey. And in doing this, he shows us not only that there is great joy in the journey, but also that God is with us every step of the way.
As One Who Knew the Gift of the Holy Spirit?
Scripture: Acts 2:1-4
I want to share with you a book I picked up recently. It's a humorous little book called You Might Be a United Methodist If. . . by United Methodist pastor Robert Martin Walker (St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 1998). Obviously, it's a take-off on Jeff Foxworthy's stand-up comedy routine "You Might Be a Redneck If . . . " which is simply a series of comical comments such as, "If you have an old, rusted-out car sitting on concrete blocks, draped with a rebel flag, in your front yard, you might be a redneck."
In similar fashion, Walker's book pokes good-natured fun at United Methodists with comments like these:
You know that a circuit rider is not an electrical device. You think UMW stands for United Methodist Women rather than United Mine Workers.
You realize that The Book of Discipline is not a guide for getting your children to behave.
Your congregation's Christmas pageant has both boy and girl wise men.
You've ever owned a pair of cross-and-flame boxer shorts.
And this final one, which leads into the subject matter of this chapter:
You don't take a Rolaids when your heart is strangely warmed.
The great preacher and writer Dr. Leslie Weatherhead once told a wonderful story about his visit to the place where John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, had his famous heart-warming experience at Aldersgate. Unfortunately, the little Aldersgate chapel does not exist anymore. It's long since been torn down. Now, there is just a plaque on the side of a building that marks the spot. But at the time of Leslie Weatherhead's visit, there was still a chapel.
Weatherhead described that experience like this. He said that on the side of one of the pews in the dimly lit chapel was a small plaque with a tiny light over it. The plaque read: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed."
Being there in that special place was a moving moment for Weatherhead, and he wanted to bask in the glow of it for a while, so he sat down on the last pew to think and pray and reflect. Suddenly the door of the chapel opened, and in came an older man with a cane, wearing a heavy and tattered overcoat. The older man, not seeing Leslie Weatherhead in the darkness of the chapel, walked slowly down the center aisle. When he got alongside the John Wesley pew, he noticed the plaque. Curious, he walked over, bent down, and read the words out loud: "On this spot on May 24, 1738, John Wesley's heart was strangely warmed." Immediately, the older man dropped down on his knees, looked upward, and said, "Do it again, Lord! Do it again for me!"
Isn't that a wonderful story? And isn't that a great prayer? "Do it again, Lord. Do it again for me!" Warm my heart! We are not exactly sure what happened to John Wesley at Aldersgate some two hundred and sixty years ago. We certainly could not begin to put it into words. That kind of experience defies description. Words are not adequate to express or capture a spiritual moment like that. But we do know this: That heart-warming experience gave John Wesley a new start, a new life, a new warmth, a new energy, a new purpose, and a new power, and it produced a new church. Somehow, the fire of the Holy Spirit brushed across his heart and set John Wesley aflame!
Did you know that during his ministry, John Wesley rode over 250,000 miles on horseback to preach the Word? That's a quarter of a million miles—a distance roughly equal to ten complete trips around the globe! On a horse!
Did you know that John Wesley preached over forty thousand sermons, and that he and his brother, Charles, wrote close to seven thousand hymns?
Did you know that John Wesley invented many cures for diseases, wrote a book on medicine, and started clinics for the poor?
Did you know that at John Wesley's death in 1791, his followers numbered seventy-nine thousand in England and forty thousand in America, but by 1957 there were forty million Methodists worldwide?
Did you know that for all the power of his eyes, his voice, his witness for Christ, John Wesley was only fivefeet-three-inches tall and weighed only 128 pounds? This man, small of physical stature, became a spiritual giant. Why? Because his heart was strangely warmed, because he received the gift of the Holy Spirit! That is precisely what happened to the disciples of Jesus at Pentecost. Remember that they were powerless before the Holy Spirit came. But when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit, it warmed their hearts, set them aflame, and they turned the world upside down! Justin Wroe Nixon put it like this: "The basic difference between physical [power] and spiritual power is that [we] use physical power but spiritual power uses [us]!" (Wilson Weldon, Mark the Road [Nashville: Upper Room, 1973], 85).
We see the Holy Spirit dramatically in the experience of Peter. Relying on his own strength, he failed miserably. Over and over, he said the wrong things at the wrong times. In a panic, he tried the way of the sword. And then in the crunch moment, he denied his Lord three times. But when the Holy Spirit exploded into his life, he got fired up, and he did the best he could and trusted God to bring it out right. And when he preached that day at Pentecost, three thousand souls were saved!
We also see the Holy Spirit graphically in John Wesley. Relying on his own strength, he went to Georgia as a missionary and failed miserably. But then at Aldersgate, his heart was strangely warmed. He realized that God was with him, trusted God, did the best he could, and incredible, miraculous things happened. The writer of Acts was on target when he referred to the Holy Spirit as a "gift" (Acts 2:38). It is indeed a gift from God, a gift that can turn our lives around, that can take our feeble efforts and use them in amazing ways, that can turn our weakness into strength and our defeats into victories. Let me show you what I mean.
First, the Holy Spirit Redeems Situations
The Holy Spirit can take a bad scene and convert it and use it for good. This truth is powerfully portrayed in the experience of Zan Holmes of Dallas. Dr. Holmes is one of the most distinguished preachers of America, and he tells of something that happened to him when he was a firstyear seminary student. His church was so proud of him and his
