In 1986, Walter Wyatt boarded his plane for a one-hour flight from the Bahamas to Miami.  During the night thieves had looted his navigational equipment, but he took his compass and a portable radio, and was sure he could make it.  As he flew into dark storm clouds, he somehow got turned around.  As an experienced aviator, he flew his plane below the clouds, sure he could find his way.  He talked to himself, telling himself he had the ability, that he could do it.  After several hours, he put out a Mayday call which also gave him courage to hold on.  The call brought a Coast Guard search plane to lead him to an emergency landing strip.  But before the plane reached him, he run out of fuel!  His plane glided into the water and sank, leaving him bobbing on the water in a leaky lifejacket.  He could swim, but not very well.

          Bloodied by the crash, Wyatt floated for awhile until he felt a hard bump against his body.  A shark had found him!  He kicked at the shark and somehow he managed to stay afloat for the next ten hours.  More sharks came around.  He kicked them off each time until he was exhausted.  Then he heard the sound of a distant aircraft.  He waved his orange vest and was spotted.  The pilot dropped supplies and rescued him.  When Wyatt was finally hauled aboard the ship, he kissed the ship's deck.  He'd been saved, but not by courage or better flying techniques or by a positive attitude or by being a good pilot.  He was saved only by outside intervention.  Nothing less than someone outside himself could have rescued him from sure death.  How much like Walter Wyatt we all are!  We'd like to think we're saved on our own merits, but we are not.  You and I are saved only because of the outside intervention of none other than God Himself.

          Last Sunday was all about Ascension, the day Christ returned to heaven, and left His Disciples behind for a purpose.  They were left behind, but they were not left alone.  Today we give thanks for the Gift Christ left them, the Holy Spirit, the Divine Power Christ had promised for three years and Who now empowered them to speak the Gospel.  Pentecost is a day of miracles, a day of fire, the day 5000 people were saved by one short sermon.  Pentecost is the day the Christian Church had lift-off, offering salvation to the whole world because of God's outside intervention.

          When the Holy Spirit turned loose his power on the Disciples, the world was never the same.  Those men and women, the followers of the Son of God, began speaking a message that has lasted 1970 years so far and will last forever.  Pentecost Day is the birthday of the Church, and we ought to have a cake or something to celebrate such an important day.  But how big a cake would it take for 1970 candles?  Better we should celebrate the day by rededicating ourselves to Christ as Lord.

          In Acts 1, Jesus told His disciples, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses."  They didn't quite know what this meant, and they didn't know when or how it would happen.  All they did was trust His Word, and they met together regularly for prayer until the Holy Spirit came.  Did you catch that?  They trusted Him and met together regularly for worship.  So should we!  You and I need regular worship.  Sunday worship shouldn't be an option we fit into our schedule, but the center of our schedule.  It's not good when we make worship an incidental thing - it's the central thing.  We need His Word and we need meeting together regularly.

          Worship is acknowledging God in our life.  Peter said in his first sermon, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Our relationship with God begins with God calling us to Himself through the Gospel, but it requires a response from us as well by calling on the name of the Lord.  God won't force us to believe.  He gives us a choice.  But He also gives us a holy "nudge" to choose Him.  By ourselves we won't choose God, but the Holy Spirit gives us that needed push.

          Martin Luther explained it this way in his Third Article of the Apostle's Creed.  "I believe I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened my with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith, even as He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true Faith..."

          There's nothing more important for us than to be saved.  I know we all need strength for today, and solutions to today's problems.  But if our whole life is spent on today and not on eternity, it's all moot.  We need a faith relationship with Jesus Christ, not just solutions for today.  Eternity is a long time to be spent regretting that we concentrated on only earthly things instead of eternal things.

          Our human nature is not righteous.  We're all tainted by sin.  We can't get to heaven by ourselves.  We need the Holy Spirit to direct us to Christ and convince us He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life." (John 14:6)   Left to ourselves, we people will chase after things of this life only.  We all need a relationship with God.  We all need divine intervention to pull us from the shark-infested waters to the safety of God's hospital ship.

          Jesus calls us into the One True Faith.  Then He wants us to call on His Name.  Today Christians are considered arrogant if they believe they have the only true faith.  But it was Jesus Who said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)   To be inclusive of many points of view is good, but to forfeit one's faith just to be respectful of others is not good.  It's not kind to tell people what is false, and if we say all roads lead to heaven, that's false!  Our world needs to know the Truth, Jesus Christ, who gives us heaven only by faith.

          There's a high-sounding but important concept that the church teaches.  It's called "Justification by Faith."  It's the central teaching of the Christian faith, based on Romans 1:7, "The righteous will live by faith."  Without this teaching we have no Church, no salvation, and no hope for eternity.  "Justification by faith" is this:  that God offers us eternal life because of His grace, for the sake of Jesus Christ, through faith.  It starts with God's grace, His love for us we do not deserve.  Luther and the early reformers coined the term, "Sola Gratia" - "By Grace Alone."  It means that because of His love for sinners, God cares enough to send His very best, His only Son.

          It's important to know that we come into a relationship with a person, not a concept or doctrine.  By our faith alone, God gives us a relationship with Himself and with His Son.  The early reformers called this "Sola Fide" - "By Faith Alone."  And it's faith in Jesus, not in the Bible and not in the Lutheran teachings.  By faith that the Spirit gives us, we have a relationship with God, one that saves us.  Jesus once said, "The Truth will set you free." (John 8:32)   He wasn't referring to truth as a concept or a correct doctrine, but Himself.  Jesus is the Truth.  He is also the Way and the Life.  The Truth that sets us free is Christ Himself.

          And how do we know all this?  "By Scriptures Alone" - "Sola Scriptura."  That's the third great concept of the Reformation.  Only the Bible can give us accurate information about God.  "Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura."  Some think these concepts are too high or lofty to preach about.  I say that's not giving people much credit.  If we have sought God at all, we know we are unworthy of His Grace.  If we know anything about the teachings of Jesus, we know it's all based on faith.  And if we understand the Bible at all, we know it's divine teaching no person could have dreamed up.  "Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura."  It's the basis of our faith, why we're here this morning.

          In Christ, everything has been done for our salvation.  The Bible says, "He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2 Cor. 5:15)   It's an old message.  It's the Gospel we've heard over again and again.  Christ has completed salvation for every human being that ever lived and ever will live.  But you and I must receive Christ as our personal Savior by faith.  We must call on the name of the lord, because "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  This message is not old -- it's as new as the morning sun.  And the ability to call on His name is the work of the Holy Spirit.  He convinces us of Jesus, and He creates new life in our hearts every time He does.

          The young man pulled and pulled on the lawn mower rope.  The engine should have started, but it wouldn't even fire.  He pulled and pulled again, this time switching arms to save strength.  It had started and ran for about 50 feet, but then died.  What was wrong?  He checked the air filter and it was clean.  He checked the spark plug and the carburetor linkage and they were okay.  He pulled on the rope again, sweat pouring down his face.  What in the world was wrong with this thing?  Finally he sat down beside the lawn mower and just looked at it.  And there, under the front engine hood he saw it.  A little red valve, and over it the words," Fuel Shutoff."  He gave the valve a quarter turn, jumped to his feet, pulled on the rope and the engine roared to life!  Everything about the motor was in place and should have worked properly, but the fuel couldn't get through the line because the shutoff valve was closed.

          Just like us people...  It's so easy to be closed off to God.  We can have everything of the good life in place, but if we're closed off to God, life won't run right.  We can have money, good job, nice family, friends, all the things for the good life, but if we haven't left room for God, life will be empty.  If the Holy Spirit can't get through to us because we've blocked Him off with all the "stuff" of life, life will seem like we're running on empty.  But if we open up to the Spirit and let Him work faith in our hearts, we'll find more meaning in life than we ever imagined.  We'll find ourselves praising God instead of cursing the events of life.  And we'll find peace that only God can give.

          Are you calling on the name of the Lord or just wandering through life?  Are you seeking His will or living life on your own terms?  Trust in Him, my friends.  Trust in the only righteous man who ever lived, Jesus of Nazareth.  Have faith in a person, not a concept.  Have faith in the Son of God.  Amen!

Copyright © 2001 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.