The Sending of the Holy Spirit
The word to send in todays text has the meaning of to say goodbye by giving a feast. Today we are going to think about the sending of the Holy Spirit.
First, the destination should be certain. Paul had a painful farewell to the Ephesians, whom he loved but had to leave because he had the purpose of completing the mission entrusted to him. And he passed Goth, Rhodo, and Badara along a very ordinary route. The world-wide evangelist Paul passed through these areas because these places had everything the world envied, and they did not need Jesus. Paul too passed these famous islands. Nevertheless, the names of these places are mentioned so that we can pray for them. Likewise, everyone mentioned in my sermons would be on the prayer list of generations to come.
The old man Paul, who must have been exhausted from the long boat ride, again boarded a ship bound for Phoenicia that had to cross the Mediterranean Sea for 650 km. God did not help Paul with his transcendental power, but made him find the ship and the course, sometimes even wait, to reach the destination, and it was Gods time which was Kairos. The Cross is not something transcendent, but something ordinary. The Cross is to keep order and live well in our daily lives. A person with a clear purpose can live each day to the fullest, even if its an ordinary life. To Paul, who was obedient in his ordinary life, God has showed general grace by preparing the Phoenician sea transportation to be well developed in advance and allowing him a ship to ride on. This is an example for us ordinary people to follow, and this is what makes us eligible to receive the sending of the Holy Spirit.
Second, we must discern the opposition of our loved ones. In verse 3, 'Looking at Kubulo', 'Looking at' is an expression that means the appearance of something that did not exist and then disappear again. I thought of what Paul was thinking when he looked at Cyprus. Paul must have had mixed emotions as he thought of the memories of Marks reunion and Barnabas disappearance to his hometown of Cyprus. But we should not change our course of mission or disrupt our daily lives because of memories. Paul finally arrived in Tire, the city of idolatry, luxury, pleasure and corruption, and stayed there for seven days. Because many of the disciples and their children were scattered in Tire, close to Jerusalem, to escape Pauls persecution, Paul sought to find them and ask for their forgiveness. There, the emotions that have been unresolved for decades were restored by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the blessing and tears of the victims led to the sending of the Holy Spirit. Out of love for Paul, they continued to discourage Paul from going to Jerusalem. However, Paul discerned the counsel of love that stemmed from human emotions from the will of the Holy Spirit. In the end, we can depart well only if we discern through the history of redemption, and this departure will be the sending of the Holy Spirit that is eternal. It was the guidance of the Holy Spirit who gave him a mission and made him bear it.
Third, a person must have a good ending. In verse 5 it says, 'They were all with their wives and children,' and even their wives and children said fair-well to Paul by kneeling down and praying for him. It was the site of true forgiveness and repentance. And they went home after saying goodbye to Paul. For the first time in the book of Acts, the story of the next generation is mentioned. When reconciliation was achieved, the worship of the next generation was restored. So, the best parenting is for parents to stop hating and hurting each other and become comfortable persons, and by doing so we can restore the worship of the next generation. In Verse 6 says, 'They return home.' The motto of our church is home, and because Tire was such a promiscuous area, protecting family was the best ministry. Seeing the apostle Paul, they must have shared that they too needed to protect the lives of married couples, parents, and children.
Your reaction when saying good-bye is a real appreciation of the person, and it should always end better than the beginning. The people who got on the boat were the apostle Paul and Luke. But in Tire, Paul did not call disciples and did not volunteer to be disciples. There was a certain limitation in Tire, which was a very rich city from the beginning. When we do missionary work and evangelism, there are people who get on the boat and there are those who return home. Most of us have to keep our families, but there are also a few who get on the boat. Through these various processes, farewell in Tire became the sending of the Holy Spirit.
It is the sharing by one shepherd who, through divorce and reunion, experienced the sending of the Holy Spirit and the whole family finally become one. After ignoring and avoiding his wife, who had barely survived the day with low self-esteem, self-pity, depression, and helplessness, the divorce caused the whole family to scatter. However, his wife who accepted Jesus and listened to the pastors counsel decided to apply the reunion. While fighting the battle with his wife, the shepherd avoided the problems such as his daughters transfer and runaway, sons bullying and ADHD, thinking, my wife will take care of it. Nevertheless, the family gradually recovered thanks to the faith and prayers of the wife, the community that raised the son, and the wisdom and counsel of the ranch that helped the daughter cope with the wounds. The ranch was the only place where he could talk comfortably and communicate with his wife and earned great comfort. He finally came to accept Jesus because of the son whose face seemed bright only on Sundays, the daughter who went to church whether she liked it or not, and above all, because of the wife who served the whole family with such a vitality. He said, 'I earnestly pray that I will be forever bound to this community and I will be able to comfort others by sharing my suffering, sins, and repentance.'
Let us conclude todays word. The sending of the Holy Spirit is leaving and sending well when the destination is clear. So, first you have to live an ordinary life well. The opposition of loved ones must be discerned, and the perpetrator and victim must be reconciled. And there must be a good ending, and I believe that when parents reconcile first, our children and next generation will follow. As we are experiencing a shift in our ranches, I pray that our sending and leaving will be the sending of the Holy Spirit.
