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WEATHER SHIFTS

I'm originally from the Great Plains - Tulsa, OK to be exact.

There's an old saying there, "If you don't like the weather, just wait 5 minutes."

And it's true.

Because we are in the center of the country with nothing to disrupt weather patterns, we are susceptible to any weather front that is blowing across the country at anytime.

Just recently I was sitting on the back patio with my dad, and we were commenting on what a perfect summer night it was - the sky was clear, cicadas were buzzing, the air was warm, and trees were still.

Then without warning, it all changed.

Clouds started moving in, the cicadas hushed, the temperature began to drop, and the wind started picking up.

The atmosphere changed quickly.

Something similar is happening in Acts 2.

ACTS 2:2-4

The text tells us that all these households are together in one place.

When all of a sudden:

  • A sound like wind fills the room (v. 2)
  • A site like fire fills the room (v. 3)
  • A smell like fragrance fills the room (at least according to an early church father)

In other words, when the Holy Spirit filled the church, the disciples experienced a sensory shift in the environment.

This isn't unlike:

  • Moses at Mt. Sinai
  • Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration
  • Paul on the Road to Damscus

In other words, it's not uncommon for the filling of the Holy Spirit to accompany shifts in the environment.

SENSORY SHIFTS

In this season of Pentecost, it's important to remember two things about the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes when the Holy Spirit fills us, it accompanies mundane ordinary tasks:

  • Husbands providing for and loving their wives
  • Wives submiting to and respecting their husbands
  • Children honoring their father & mother
  • Fathers not being harsh with their children
  • Employees serving their employers
  • Employers dignifying their employees
    • (See Ephesians 5:18-6:9)

However, it should also be noted that while some Holy Spirit moments can be ordinary and mundane, other Holy Spirit can be sensory shifting moments.

Moments in which:

  • A congregation is filled with joy and exuberant praise and sings a bit louder and longer than normal
  • A congregtion is filled with mystery and reverance and spends time in silence and reflection
  • A congregation is filled with remorse and repentance an spends time in confession

These kinds of congregational moments can be deeply sensory shifting.

When this happens, we should

  • Embrace it as Holy Spirit moments.
  • Lean into changing environments.
  • Allow the winds to shift.

When the Holy Spirit fills us, it creates space for mundane activities as well as sensory shifts.