Clear Communication

The Day of Pentecost recorded in the book of Acts is a demonstration of what the Holy Spirit does and what he enables human beings to do. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus and enables people like you and me to believe that is Jesus is the Son of God. On top of that, He creates in us the ability and the desire to communicate the truth about Jesus. All of these things that the Holy Spirit does are nothing less than miracles.

I say that because communication is normally a problem. It is an ongoing challenge in relationships. Organizations struggle to communicate effectively. Just because the message is sent does not mean that it is received and understood.

For example, I just read about a recent tourism publication from the City of Jerusalem. Boldly proclaimed on the front of the brochure were these words: “Jerusalem! There is no such city!” Tens of thousands of copies had been distributed before the mistake was realized—the correct translation? “Jerusalem--there’s no city like it!”

Here’s a few other mistranslations from around the world:

• In a Tokyo hotel: Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read this notice.

• In an advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist: "Teeth extracted by the latest Methodists".

• When translated into Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin’ good" became "eat your fingers off".

• In a Copenhagen airline ticket office: We take your bags and send them in all directions.

• in a hotel in Athens: Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily

• In A Serbian hotel elevator: To move the cabin, push button for wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should press a number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by national order.

 On a good day, communication is difficult. The Bible tells us why.  In today’s Old Testament lesson, we are taken to the tower of Babel, where we see people united by culture and language conspiring to disobey God. He had told them to move out into the world he had made and settle new parts of it. Instead, they decided they liked it just fine where they were at, and started building a tower that would stand as a monument to their own ingenuity. God stops this plan in its tracks by scrambling their common language. Confusion and lack of communication becomes the standard, and has been ever since. Even though we live in the so-called Information Age, it seems harder than ever to say what we mean and mean what we say.

 An old marketing adage says that you have to send a message seven times before the average person starts hearing you—and we are so bombarded with messages today that some researchers now think that we’re talking 70 times before your message gets through. All of which is to say that it is very difficult to communicate well, and the Bible says it is impossible for us to communicate God’s truth without His guidance. That’s where the Holy Spirit steps in.

What started at the tower of Babel—communication confusion—the Holy Spirit starts reversing in Jerusalem on the day described in Acts 2. People who normally were separated by culture and language were hearing the actions of God proclaimed in words they could understand! The Holy Spirit translated the speech of the apostles so that everyone could hear the message of Jesus. The Holy Spirit cut through the confusion with a clear presentation of Jesus as saving Messiah and giver of eternal life. The Holy Spirit makes it possible to believe that Jesus lived a perfect life, laid it down as a sacrifice, and returned to life and that He took those actions for you. With all the static and chaos issuing from my own soul, it is truly a miracle that I could believe this about Jesus. And yet, I do. The credit goes to the Holy Spirit and the wonderful clarity that he brings.

In the final analysis, that is how you can know if the Holy Spirit is at work in your life. It is not a matter of hearing a rushing wind blow through your home. It is not a matter of seeing a flame flickering above your head. It is not a matter of whether or not you have spoken a language you never learned. It’s not even a matter of how you feel on a given day. All you need ask is, “Do I believe that Jesus is God’s Son and my Savior from eternal death? Do I believe that Jesus went to a cross and came out of a tomb to make things right between God and me?” If you believe that, then you can know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit is actively working in you, creating the miracle of faith, writing the story of Jesus continually in your heart. That you would hear and respond to God’s voice, with all the deception and distraction that’s out there, is evidence that the Holy Spirit is going about doing what he does. He replaces what used to be there in us with something far better.

A preacher once described it like this: He held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" The pastor replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions the preacher smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit. 

What this means for us as a church is really pretty simple. If the Holy Spirit is present in this place—if he is present in us—then our calling card will be the clear and consistent communication of Christ as our Savior from sin and Lord of Life. We will care about being faithful to Jesus’ teaching. We will have an urgent desire to share our clear communication of Christ with those who need it most, and we will do what it takes to make it happen. We will live it. We will put our money where our mouth is. And we will do this with great wonder and joy, marveling that the Holy Spirit would choose us to tell the mighty works of God.