"God With Us"Sermon Transcript for January 28, 2001
By Rev. Dan Sinkhorn
Would you just take a second to drink that in. We need to take our time this morning. We’re talking about some challenging themes. We’re talking about something that’s not easily explained when we discuss the nature of the Holy Spirit. I don’t want to get in a hurry with this because there’s a lot to cover. Let’s begin with prayer. "Oh Lord, reveal yourself to us now through your Word. By the power of your Holy Spirit, may your people hear only what you would say to them. Make your messenger worthy, we pray. Amen."
Today and next Sunday I’m going to be sharing with you about the Holy Spirit. And as we continue to follow along with the Christian Believer curriculum that is being followed by some of our folks on Wednesday nights and at other times, the topic is "God With Us Through The Holy Spirit". We’ll also be hearing a little bit of material from the ALPHA course. And I know you’ve been hearing a little bit about that. That’s going to be touched on a little bit here as well. And I might even add a few of my own thoughts just to keep it interesting.
The Holy Spirit, as I said, is a tough subject to talk about because it has been a confusing subject for so long in the life of the church. It is, it seems anyway, that the Holy Spirit has been ignored, misunderstood, and resisted. Now we ignore the Holy Spirit, I think, because in part it’s easier for us to study the things that have already happened and to examine the lives of people that were physically present like those saints of the Old Testament and the Apostles and Jesus, of course. And those who followed. And it’s easy for us to look into the future and prepare for things to come that are described to us in great detail in our Scriptures. But it’s very hard for us to grasp something that’s in the here and now. And it seems to us that our Bible doesn’t include that. And so we tend to ignore it. And yet what’s here and now is the Spirit. The Spirit of God. And it is the age of the Spirit. And the stories of the activities of the Spirit are written in our hearts and in our day to day lives. But we ignore it. In part, I think, because we are so confident in our own ability. Because we have a tendency to look at our daily lives as though we have control over them. Yet if we call ourselves believers in Christ, then we accept that the Holy Spirit sent by the Father through Him, is a part of our salvation and a part of our sanctification.
So why should we ignore the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives? Maybe because the Holy Spirit is so often misunderstood. Even in the life of the church it has been a source of great controversy. One of the first big divisions in Christendom was over the nature of the Holy Spirit. And that is why, to this day, we have the Eastern church and the Western church. We have the Roman church and the Eastern Orthodox church. My experience in the Eastern Orthodox church a couple of summers ago I found out why they call themselves Orthodox. Because they’re right. Everybody else is wrong. I say that tongue in cheek really because that was the impression that a certain Orthodox priest gave me. But I know that they basically divided with other Christians around 300 A.D. because of the nature of the Holy Spirit. And the question of exactly what that meant.
The Spirit was misunderstood. How often have I heard the Holy Spirit referred to as the Holy Ghost. And yet Scripture makes it very clear to us that the Spirit is not a ghost. The Holy Spirit is a person. The third person of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Scripture makes it clear to us that the Holy Spirit thinks and speaks and leads and grieves. In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15, there’s one little line there that tells us that the Spirit thinks. "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these requirements. It seemed to the Holy Spirit a good thing..." That indicates to us that the Spirit thinks. The Spirit speaks. There are many references in Scripture to the speaking nature of the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 1, describes the Spirit as "...speaking long ago through King David." And in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he describes the leading nature of the Holy Spirit. In fact, he goes so far as to say that "those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all." That the Spirit of Christ leads us if we claim to be Christ’s own. We can grieve the Holy Spirit. Paul says again in his Letter to Ephesians, Chapter 4, that "...we should not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit". Well, that sounds like a person just like we imagine Jesus to be.
And that’s probably because the Spirit is a person. He is--dare I say a "He" because Scripture tells us that it is the Spirit of Christ and we know that God has no gender. So I hope you will forgive me if I occasionally refer to the Holy Spirit as a he. It’s just to keep it simple for me on a very confusing and a difficult topic. The Spirit of Christ, according to Paul’s Letter to the Romans and also in the Acts of the Apostles, is "the Spirit of Jesus that we experience after Jesus’ ascension." The Spirit of Jesus that wants to take control of our lives and all that we do. To be in control of this church. And even this community if the people would let it happen. The Spirit wants to be in control. Now you know what that’s like because you’ve probably had to resist the Spirit from time to time. Or you maybe have witnessed other people’s resistance of the Spirit. As I said earlier, we resist the Spirit all the time because we don’t understand the Spirit. Because we would rather ignore it and rely on our own ability. And so we resist. Sometimes, we resist the Holy Spirit because we are afraid we might do something embarrassing. And yet, as often as not, when we give up our resistance to the Holy Spirit things happen to us that we never dreamed were possible. We do things that we thought would be embarrassing only to see that they have a powerful witness in other people’s lives. And that God spoke through us. It maybe something as simple as holding a hand heavenward when you pray in church. It may be a "Hallelujah" or an "Amen". It may be to stand and sing or speak when that’s not something you thought you could do. All you have to do is give up the resistance and the Holy Spirit might lead you to teach and to serve in ways that you never dreamed were possible.
I want to talk a little bit about what the Holy Spirit is like and how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. And I’m going to do this in a parallel way because I see, as I study Scripture, that the Holy Spirit hasn’t changed in nature throughout the history of humanity. The Holy Spirit still acts just as He always has. The only thing that’s changed is who gets the Holy Spirit and how often.
First we see the Holy Spirit present in the book of Genesis at the very creation of the earth. Genesis, Chapter 1, tells us that "the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the earth. The Spirit of God brought order in the midst of chaos." And the Spirit of God still does that today. What sort of chaos is there in your life? Would you allow the Holy Spirit of God to bring order in your chaos? He’s still in that business you know.
In the second chapter of Genesis, the Spirit is described as "breathing life into the man, Adam". The Holy Spirit is still in the business of breathing life. Are you dead in some way or place in your life and need to have new life breathed into you? The Holy Spirit still does that to this day! How wonderful it is to hear about some person who has fallen completely from what the world considered good favor, to find themselves in the gutters of life face down and defeated only to be given new life and a new start and to turn it all around and give the glory to God. Don’t you love stories like that? There is an example of the Holy Spirit breathing new life just as He did in the very beginning of time.
The Old Testament witnesses to the Spirit often. But it is very specific about who receives the Spirit and how it’s going to be done and for what purpose. But, nevertheless, it’s still teaches us of the unchanging nature of the Holy Spirit. In the Book of Exodus, Moses is faced with the challenge of teaching the people of Israel a new way to worship God. A new way to experience the presence of God. And he’s in the wilderness. And Moses needs things. And in his prayer, God revealed to Moses that He "had sent a spirit upon certain people". For example, the Spirit of God was on Bezalel who was the son of Uri and the grandson of Hur and the tribe of Judah. And it says that the "Spirit was in him and had given him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill of all kinds." Bezalel was the one who fashioned all the beautiful ornaments and tools that would be used in the tabernacle so that the new kind of worship could be initiated and the first covenant could be executed. You see, when God needs to get something done, God gives His Spirit to people and gives them the gifts and the abilities to see it through. If we’ll just recognize that activity in our midst and in our own lives.
God gives us the ability to do things we didn’t think we could do. Look at the example of Gideon in the Book of Judges. Gideon had been called by God to lead the people of Israel against the Midianites which were one of the toughest enemies they’d face in Gideon’s day. And Gideon’s response to this was, "How can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family." And God answered, "And I will be with you and you will destroy the Midianites." That story from the Book of Judges, Chapter 6, and Verse 34 is God’s response because He says, "The spirit of the Lord took possession of Gideon." And if you know the rest of the story, you know that Gideon blew his trumpet and the Midianites were defeated. Even though Gideon thought he was the least among his people, God made him more than enough to get the job done.
And the Holy Spirit is still in that business now. Do you think, "No way, not me. I can’t do it. I’m not the one for this?" Well, it may be that you are resisting the power of the Holy Spirit that is more than capable of making you able to do it. If you’ll forgive me for saying so, I’m the walking example of that myself. I feel like Gideon every Sunday when I come down here to be with you. Least capable, and yet God makes me able if I just release my fear and put my trust in His Holy Spirit.
You see, there are many things that bind us, that tie our hands as it were, and keep us from experiencing all that God can do in us. But the Holy Spirit has the power to break those chains that bind us. Look at the example of Samson in the Old Testament in Judges. Samson is bound and seemingly powerless. But in Chapter 15, Verses 14 and 15, it says that "the Spirit of the Lord powerfully took control of Samson and he snapped the ropes on his arms as if they were burnt strands of flax and they fell from his wrists." The Holy Spirit’s still in that business today. What binds you? What’s holding you back? What’s preventing you from being everything that God wants you to be? You know by His Holy Spirit He can break those things that bind you just as He did for Samson. He’s still in that business.
The prophet Isaiah told us that "the Spirit of God will be upon us and give us the ability to communicate God’s Word to others." In Chapter 61 he describes the gift of prophesy and makes it clear, in his own prophetic way, that it would be available for those who had the Spirit of God upon them. Do you find yourselves sometimes unable to find the words to speak to another maybe in the midst of their need? Maybe when you’re trying to talk to them about some difficult concept? Maybe when you just want to help them find their way to the Lord? We’re assured that the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to speak God’s word if we’ll just give up resistance and let it happen.
Now, the people who received these gifts in the Old Testament were a limited few. And they were given these gifts in the Spirit for specific reasons as I said earlier. But they were also showing us the promise of a new thing, a new time to come. Even as Israel was utterly defeated and in captivity God spoke that promise to Jeremiah. In Chapter 31 he says that "there will come a day when He will write His law on the people’s hearts." You see, one of the reasons Israel was in captivity was because they were living according to their own ability and trying to keep the law according to their own ability. And they failed. But God promised that there would come a time when His Spirit would come upon all people and His law would be written on their hearts and they would not have to worry about keeping the law in the same way that the people of the old covenant did.
God promised a new covenant by the Spirit. New hearts because of the Spirit. He said in Ezekiel, "I will put my Spirit in you." In Chapter 47 of Ezekiel he described "a river flowing from the temple." The temple was the place where God dwelled in those days. That’s where people expected to find God, was in the temple. And Ezekiel prophetically describes in Chapter 47 this "river flowing from the temple." And where? "Across the dessert and into the Dead Sea where there would be new life, there would be new creation, there would be new kinds of species of fish". Chapter 47 says that there would be all manner of new things. Well, we know now that was a prophecy. We know that that was Ezekiel bringing God’s word of how it would be in the days that we live in. The river of God would flow and bring His Spirit of new life and new creation to all of us and we would be a new people.
And the last prophecy of the Old Testament regarding the Spirit was in the Book of Joel. I want to read that to you. It’s from Chapter 2, Verses 28 & 29. In Joel we hear that "the Spirit of God would be on all people. That He would pour out His Spirit upon them. And that their sons and daughters would prophesy. That old men would dream dreams and young men would see visions." And in those days, God says "He’ll pour out His Spirits on even servants and men and women alike." The last word of the Old Testament regarding the Spirit is that all people, no matter what race, no matter how old or young, no matter what color, no matter whether they be male or female--all people would have access to the power of God’s Holy Spirit when the river flowed.
But they had to wait. That last word was 300 years before the coming of Jesus. And it wasn’t until Jesus’ coming that we begin to see an increase in the activity of the Holy Spirit. The first reference we hear is John the Baptist. It is said in the Gospel of Luke that "John had the power of the Holy Spirit even before he was born." And we have another story in the Gospel of Luke where Mary, who conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, visits her sister Elizabeth, John’s mother. And John left within her womb because he was already filled with the Holy Spirit. John’s father Zecariah was said to be "filled with the Holy Spirit". And you remember when Jesus was brought to Simeon. And Simeon saw the answer to his prayer that he would live to see the coming of the Messiah. And Simeon was said to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So at the beginning of the New Testament we see that the Holy Spirit is active, but still on a limited basis for only certain people for certain purposes.
John, the Baptist, is the first one that really leaks for us the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus. That’s why he said in Luke, Chapter 3, Verse 16, that when he baptized he baptized with water, but Jesus, the Messiah, would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Now baptism is a word that we get from the Greek word, baptizein, which really means literally "to be drenched, to be immersed or plunged." You know, you really can feel the Spirit of God by getting dunked. And that’s exactly what that word means. To be so totally saturated that you’re like a sponge. You can’t hold any more and it’s just dripping off of you. When Jesus was baptized he demonstrated that. Jesus came from the waters of baptism and they described the physical manifestation as the spirit descending upon Jesus as a dove. And then Jesus, for the rest of His earthly days, shows us a life saturated, drenched in the Holy Spirit. And scripture tells us that He was led constantly by the Holy Spirit. He was led even unto death.
Jesus described how that could be for all of us. It’s a little bit cryptic. And yet it’s very clear if you remember what the people understood about the Spirit of God in Jesus’ day. At the Feast of Tabernacles, which was the feast where they celebrated the words of Ezekiel, Chapter 47, about the flowing river from the temple of God, it was the Spirit of God that they waited for. And each year at the Feast of Tabernacles, they would wait for the Spirit of God to flow in a physical way as a river from the temple. Remember, in that part of the world, water is life. And where there is water there is new life. And they waited for that. And at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles that Jesus is recorded to have attended He said to the people in a very loud voice, "Come to me if you are thirsty." Jesus finally closed the connection and said, "You’ve been waiting for the power and life that comes from God and it comes through me." Jesus referred to Himself as the temple. He even went so far as to say, "If you tear the temple down, I will rebuild it in three days."
And so when he says the river of life flows from me, He’s referring to the Spirit of God that brings new life and new creation. That it will flow from Him. So Jesus, in His humanity, died that death for us and paid that price for us that we couldn’t pay, by suffering on the cross. He rose from the dead and eventually He ascended into heaven. But after making that barrier between people and God go away through His sacrifice, the river flowed through His sacrifice and through Him. And the Holy Spirit was now available to all people. It was as though the dam burst and the Holy Spirt came rushing down through the valley for all people to receive. Just as Jesus promised. For after He ascended there came on the day of Pentecost something like a rushing wind. It’s like the champaign cork popped and the Spirit gushed out on to the people. And they spoke in new languages. The gospel could be heard by all people. We were given the ability to bring the gospel to everybody without limitation. They were given a new boldness and courage that they didn’t have. So much so that the people around them were a little big scared and frightened by it. Here were these timid people who didn’t seem to have the gifts and the abilities necessary suddenly filled with the Spirit and able to do more than anyone thought was possible. And when the people heard them speak, the Apostles the first filled with the Spirit,
they even said "What do we do? What do we do?" And the Apostles response was, "Get baptized and receive this gift too and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And on that day of Pentecost about 3,000 did just that it said. They went out in to the world and witnessed a new power given by the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, when the Holy Spirit came upon those people, it was a gift for all of us. It was the way in which God is with us now in this very moment. At the risk of oversimplifying it, let me just close by putting it this way. In my mind it’s like God was there in heaven in the old days revealing Himself through the prophets, through the judges, sending His power down occasionally to solve a problem. Then God was with us in a very human way through Jesus. And by His humanness He was able to suffer our lives and pay the debt we should have paid. But He was limited by His earthly being and so we can’t see Him coming everywhere that we wanted Him to be. But after Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit. And that Holy Spirit is able to be with us at all times and all places. With everyone of us as needed. And that is a gift given to us. The Apostles were heartbroken when Jesus left them. But when the Holy Spirit came, they understood that now Jesus could be with all people all of the time by His Spirit. So much so that at this very moment the Holy Spirt could be with you hearing your prayers, even while the Holy Spirit is with the poor person suffering in the bottom of some collapsed building in India right now.
I thank God that He sent His Spirit in a way that it could be with all of us and empower all of us to do what needs to be done. And in conclusion, I just want to say, "Remember, that you are living in the age of the Spirit." The Acts of the Apostles makes that very clear to us that this is the age of the Spirit. This is the time before Jesus comes again with the Spirit raised. And those of us who are in Christ have that Spirit. And we would be wise not to resist it. And not to be confused about the Spirit. And not to ignore the Spirit because there’s too much to be gained by it.
Next week we’re going to talk about the gifts that you can receive by the Holy Spirit. We’ll talk about what you can do to have a new and fulfilling life by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I hope you’ll be there for that. And between now and then I pray that the Holy Spirit will be with you in a new way. And that you will experience it in a way that will change you and move you ahead. In response to God’s word, let’s sing. Would you turn in your hymnal to #61, "Come Thou Almighty King". And let that be your prayer today.
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