Happy Father’s Day!...

Let’s have all the men in the room today stand…yes, all the men.

I want to start on this Father’s Day to say that you are seen, you are known, you are loved…for the role you play as fathers and grandfathers and uncles and brothers and mentors and role models and friends.

Being a father is more than just a biological relationship; it’s a calling that applies to men, and when you live that out in your families, with your friends and neighbors, with your co-workers and here at Epic, we salute you and, though it’s not easy, it’s a worthy endeavor… and so ladies, will you join me in giving the men of Epic a Happy Father’s Day round of applause?

And while we emphasize today the men- ladies, boys and girls, all of us… need to understand that God sees us, he knows us, he loves us… God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is with us, is for us, and is in us.

Now for some of you in the room today - when I said "God the Father" you felt a sense of comfort; maybe you grew up in a Christian family or church tradition that could be called old school; you wore your Sunday best to church, you sat in pews, the choir wore long robes. The church where Annikki and I started our relationship with Jesus in Maryland was like that; great people, Biblical teaching... old school, like when God’s preferred pronouns were Thee and Thy…tradition…formality.

For others, "God the Son", "Jesus" - when you hear the name of Jesus you feel calm; you feel all of the Prince of Peace… after all, it's Jesus who was born of a virgin, who lived among us and died on Calvary as payment for our sins, who rose again and makes a way for us to have eternal life. We celebrate Christmas, we celebrate Easter.

I have to confess to you today; for me, God the Father is comforting. God the Son is awe inspiring. But God the Holy Spirit… is a little scary. Probably doesn’t help that some call it the Holy Ghost, but for me, and perhaps for you as well, the concept of the Holy Spirit is one that is not as well understood or appreciated by Christians, and the power of the Holy Spirit is generally underutilized.

In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 3:21-22 we see at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry the Trinity all together. Luke writes:

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 3:21-22

We see God the Father voicing to Jesus his love and pride. We see the Holy Spirit come onto Jesus “like a dove” and we see Jesus praying to the Father… the Trinity… in perfect harmony and relationship.

The exciting thing for us, right here, right now, sitting on the other side of the world, two-thousand years later is that perfect Godly relationship - with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - is available to us and all we must do is simply opt in.

Which is what I am calling today’s teaching… Simply, Opt In.

This summer we are in an important and exciting series called Making of a Movement in which we are going verse by verse through the first 5 chapters of the Book of Acts.

Last week, Pastor Will set the stage as the apostles and close disciples of Jesus were in one accord, obediently waiting together. Jesus has ascended into Heaven and instructed the group to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit and in chapter 2, the wait is over.

Stand with me as we read the exciting account of the arrival of the Holy Spirit and launch of the Movement we call Christianity:

1 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.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘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.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

21 And everyone who calls

    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]

Acts 2:1-21

In ancient Jewish tradition there were three big celebrations or feasts - the first Passover, commemorating the time in Egypt when God spared Jewish firstborns from the 10th plague which prompted Pharoah to free the Israelites; the second feast, Pentecost, 50 days after the Passover, which marks the time when God gave Moses the law (what we call the 10 Commandments), and the third one is in the autumn, called the Festival of Booths or Tabernacle, which is all about the ways in which God protected and provided for his people in the desert.

During these feasts at that time, Jewish people were expected to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to visit the temple and provide an offering and worship. So this year, especially given the amazing events that took place at Passover with the death of Jesus and the empty tomb you must imagine that the crowd for Pentecost was extra-large.

So the 120 or so disciples are waiting in one accord when all of sudden a violent wind gets their attention. Now, were they hanging out in the upper room playing Uno? No, they were likely up and in a time of prayer, especially on a Holy day like Pentecost, and so as they are praying the Holy Spirit bursts onto the scene; God wanted to get their full attention.

What is God trying to get your attention about right now?

In fact, God wanted to not only get the attention of those who Jesus had told to wait, but also of many others because many others heard this sound and came to see what was going on.

So what was going on?

Well, inside we see that the spirit has brought tongues of fire for each of the disciples and that they are now filled with the Holy Spirit and enabled to speak in other tongues or languages. What an amazing scene. The Doulingo owl would have been going crazy as they gathered and started to pray in languages and dialects from around the entire Roman empire.

To imagine what it might have sounded like, let's do a little experiment… raise your hand if you speak another language other than English. Here in the Epic family we have more than 60+ languages represented so it makes sense that we have a bunch of hands in the air, and I know that for some of you, the number is greater than two.

So, what if we were all to pray together in all of these different tongues at the same time?

In Luke 11, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray… and Jesus teaches them:

“‘Father,[a]

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.[b]

3 Give us each day our daily bread.

4 Forgive us our sins,

    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]

And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”

Luke 11:2-4

So, let's pray this prayer in our own tongues. Everyone that had your hand in the air a moment ago, we can pray this together… and I will join you in praying in Marathi, which the language spoken in Mumbai in India where my parents and family come from…

Oh Bhagwan. Thumsa nou gazlala ahai

Thumsa ietsha yey

Thumsa manapusen houwla sugrekharle

Duesasa’s pough they

Ampscha chooka visazoon za unhi Ami thosdansas chooka visaran theynar

Amilla charokat patwon noko unhe amilla drakshus pasoon lam patwo

Even if you did not understand the words your neighbor was speaking, you felt the meaning… the spirit… and that must have been what it was like at that moment in time; the Holy Spirit was pouring out and the power of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus himself called "a Helper greater than He", sparks the movement called Christianity.

And of course, with God’s perfect timing, the day the Spirit is poured out on us is on the day the people had gathered to remember when the laws of God were given to us.

Since the garden, man’s sin has separated us from God. Our violation of the law, sin keeps us from being with God. Jesus came to live and laugh and cry with us and then made a way to be reconciled back with God by paying for our sins on the cross and overcoming death. But the Holy Spirit is our guide on that journey… a helper.

And what do we need to do to receive help from the helper? Simply, opt in.

Opt in.

Say "yes" to Jesus; say "yes" to Son of God… the Prince of Peace… Say "yes" to the risen Savior. Jesus said the he is the way, the truth and the light. Simply, opt in, and when you do, His Holy Spirit will pour out all over you. And when it does, will you gain the ability to speak another language? Maybe? Or maybe not… but you will for sure feel God’s loving presence and his comfort and his peace, no matter the circumstances. n your own way you and I will be like Peter, who boldly stood up to the crowd of which some had began to laugh and accuse the followers of being drunk, with a powerful teaching from the prophet Joel.

Imagine the surprise and impact of hearing Peter and uneducated fisherman from Galilee - the same Peter who mere days before had denied even knowing Jesus not once, not twice, but three times - stand up and quote Joel 2:28-32:

17 “‘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.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

21 And everyone who calls

    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]

When you are full of the Holy Spirit, you start to see things from God’s point of view. You will prophesy, see visions, dream dreams. You will see wonders and signs.

Whose perspective are you seeing life from? Your own? Society’s? Or God’s?

If you simply opt in, everything changes… you see God’s dreams for you, and they are far more amazing than anything we can see for ourselves.

If you simply opt in… you see wonders and hope and joy, and the Holy Spirit is alive within you.

And to opt in, all you have to do is say "yes" to Jesus.

As the worship team comes back up and our prayer leaders come to the front… I invite you today to opt in.

Come and ask Jesus to be your lord and savior… come and ask for the Holy Spirit to make his presence known to you… come and ask for God to reveal his dreams for you…opt in.