Jesus Servant & Saviour - Labouring with Hope (Barry Nielsen) 2024-05-19

·33 min·3 clips

Why does Pastor Barry claim our work is useless unless God builds it, using Psalm 127 on Pentecost?

The episode is a Pentecost Sunday sermon by Pastor Barry Nielsen at Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church. He opens by quoting Psalm 127 to frame the theme of divine dependence, stating that without the Lord, builders labor in vain. Nielsen explains the purpose of seasonal celebrations like Pentecost, which remind Christians of foundational truths. He asserts Pentecost is equally significant as Christmas and Easter because the Holy Spirit enables recognition of God's incarnation and resurrection. The sermon identifies a threat: reducing the church's identity to humanly possible levels. Nielsen uses a child's question about why Jesus was in the grave for three days to analogize why God waited 50 days to send the Spirit, linking it to biblical prophecy. He describes the apostles' 50-day wait as a lesson in helplessness before Pentecost. The main point is that the church's identity lies in dependence on God's miraculous work. Nielsen poses two questions: why must God build the house, and how does He do it? The answer to 'why' is that the task is humanly impossible, requiring rebirth and sustained fellowship through the Spirit. He illustrates with King David's refusal to seize kingship by human means. Nielsen lists reasons: no one can cause rebirth, call God Father, call Jesus Lord, or bear proper fruit without the Spirit. The answer to 'how' is through the gospel, which provides direct communion with God. He warns against substitutes like using the 'stick' of law or 'carrot' of accommodation, which reverse the gospel's order. Symptoms of getting it right include reconciliation to God and others, and hope over fretting. Nielsen closes by reading Psalm 146, emphasizing trust in God over princes, and prays for confidence in the gospel's power.

As heard by us

A Pentecost sermon on Christian hope as the work of God, not the achievement of human strength.

Pentecost comes through as a yearly reminder that Christians, and the church itself, are not kept alive by sheer human effort. Psalm 127 sets the frame: unless the Lord builds the house and watches the city, work and vigilance finally fail.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want Pentecost grounded in Psalm 127, David's restraint, and the Spirit's work? Press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church