Dear Christian friends:

Today is Pentecost Sunday and we think about the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. His wonderful work may be called sanctification, to make holy. When we think about the Holy Spirit's work we usually think about Him as making us holy. But the Holy Spirit has another purpose in making us holy. That purpose is shown in our text. God said to Israel through the prophet Ezekiel, "I shall be sanctified in you." When the Holy Spirit forgives our sins and by that makes us holy and leads us to do holy works, by that God's great name is sanctified. For this Jesus teaches us to pray in the first petition of the Lord's Prayer: "Hallowed be Thy name."

God's name should be honored in us. We have accepted His name and are called His people. God's people, children of God. If we truly live like God's people then His name is kept holy and honored, but if we fail to live like God's people then we shame and mock His holy name and give unbelievers outside His Church good reason to mock and despise His holy name. That is a terrible thing and God will not let that be. He works by the Holy Spirit to defend and honor His great name in us His people. Our text shows this very clearly:

First of all, our text shows that God sends His Holy Spirit and begins to stop the mockery. In Ezekiel's day the people of God had done much sin, worshipped idols and much crookedness and murder. So God had to punish them. He let enemy nations conquer Israel and lead them captive to other lands. So the heathen nations mocked them and their God and said, "Where is your God in whom you trusted? Why doesn't He help you now and save you from us. Your God sleeps. He is no good. Our gods have won for us."

So it was also at the first Pentecost. The enemies of Jesus were mocking God's people. Romans had conquered Israel. God's people were slaves of Rome and the Romans despised the Jews and their God, as Pontius Pilate did at the trial of Jesus. And the Jews themselves joined with the heathen in mocking Jesus and having Him crucified as the King of the Jews. Yes He who claimed to be the Son of God the Savior and God of the Jews was crucified and dead. True, He had arisen from the dead, but only a few believed it. God's name is mocked and despised.

Also today God's name is mocked and despised by many. The Muslims and other heathen and godless Communists are growing much faster than we Christians are. They mock and despise us and our God. When the Russians sent their first Sputnik into orbit several years ago Mr. Khrushchev mocked God saying: "You Christians and Jews say that God made the moon, now we have made our own moon." And Lenin, the father of godless communism said: "Christianity is opium for the people."

So God's name is mocked and despised also today. God must act to defend and honor His name among the heathen. Yet we are fully unworthy that God saves us and His honor. (Read verses 22&23) God does it not for their sakes but for His name's sake for His honor. So it was the first Pentecost and also now today. If God now today sends His Holy Spirit and stops the heathen in their mockery and makes us truly holy again it will be for His name's sake not because we are good and deserve it. It is our own fault that the heathen are multiplying faster than we Christians.

We, too like the Jews of Ezekiel's time have our idols. We love our money comforts and pleasures and refuse to use our time and money for witnessing and world-wide missions work. We have plenty of money for T.V., boats, fishing, bowling and cars, but little or nothing for supporting church and missions. By May we should have sent in $725 for missions. But to date your treasurer has not been able to send in any thing. Many are behind in their pledges and many refuse to pledge or give.

During the past one hundred years we lost China to communism because our missions there were to weak and too small. Now we are losing Africa to Muslims and Communists because not enough men and money. (7 to 3) This cold war between East and West is not a war of guns but with words and books and preaching. We are fighting to win people's minds and hearts. During the past twenty-five years the East, Communism has been writing more, printing more and preaching more than we Christians with our missions. It is our own fault: laziness, indifference, love for money and pleasures, refusing to sacrifice for God's work.

Truly we are unworthy that God should give us His Holy Spirit anymore. If He does He will do it for His names sake. If He changes us and makes us wake up. If He uses us in the future it is only because of His mercy not our worthiness. Because of His Word and promise to Abraham and to His children because of Jesus and His work and His great mercy He continues to send His Holy Spirit.

On The first Pentecost the twelve apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. Before they were afraid to stand up and defend Jesus before the Jews, but now they spoke boldly, especially Peter. "Jesus of Nazareth whom you with wicked hands have crucified Him God raised from the dead and He is become both Lord and Christ." Some continued to mock but 3,000 repented and were baptized. After that the Christian Church grew rapidly and within two hundred years had spread throughout the whole Roman empire. Later to France, England, Germany, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and then to America and Canada also to South America. In all this God's name is hallowed, honored and praised among the heathen.

Now how does the Holy Spirit do such wonderful things? Through us God's people, although we are sinful and unworthy. He takes us and washes us and changes our hearts and spirits. Truly surprising and wonderful that He can help such sinful stubborn people. He shows us our sin and stubbornness and what we deserve from God. Then He offers us the forgiveness of our sins. (Read verse 25) In Jesus name He offers us forgiveness of sins. After Peter had showed the Jews their sins on the first Pentecost they were "pricked in their hearts." Ashamed and felt guilty. They asked, "What shall we do?" Peter answered, "Be baptized everyone of you for the remission of sins."

So God says to you today if you are not baptized. If you were baptized, remember it! By that God showed great mercy to you and adopted you as His son or daughter.

Then, by making us holy through Jesus' name in baptism He gives us a new heart and spirit. Makes us change from loving sin and selfish pleasure to serve God and walk in His holy ways. (Read verses 26-27) Stony heart means hard stubborn heart for selfish pleasures. Flesh means tender, loving heart that seeks God's way and serves His people with joy and without complaint.

So this happened to many on the first Pentecost. Peter: "Be baptized everyone of you for the remission of of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread (Lord's Supper), and in prayers." (Verses 41-42) And they now had one chief purpose in life, not three or four. "They did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart (one purpose)." (verse 46) What? "Praising god. And the Lord added to the church daily." (Acts 2:47)

Such surprising wonderful work the Holy Spirit does in us that God's name be hallowed. I'm sure that as you attend to this sermon today you wish for the Holy Spirit to come to you more and more. He will if you repent of your sins and gladly hear God's Word and pray as the first Christians at Pentecost. Jesus tells us to pray for the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:13)

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

Amen!