Holiness At The River

In much the same way the work of the Holy Spirit can bring harmony and peace to any small group, church, family or individual. At times we can find ourselves out of tune with God, with ourselves and with one another. We can find ourselves so out of tune that all we can experience is disharmony, chaos and confusion. In our own strength we don't have the ability to bring order out of chaos. In our own strength all we will do is exacerbate the situation. We will make it 1000 times worse. However, if we will take the time and allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us we will experience as Paul says a peace that passes understanding.

This morning as we close by sharing the Table of our Lord let us rejoice in the message given to us through John the Baptist. The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY worked through John the Baptist to share with us the gift and works of the Holy Spirit. The Lord reveals through God that through the Holy Spirit we are able to:

+Experience new life - when we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives we can be assured that the Spirit will breath into us God's everlasting life. We can be assured that the Spirit will remove our weariness, will take away our defeatedness and will give us His New Life - a life of newness and vitality.

+Experience great power. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to fill our lives we discover that we can do things that we beforehand were impossible. We can withstand persecution. We can withstand trials. We can love the unloveable and forgive the unforgiveable. "We can do the undoable, face the unfaceable and bear the unbearable."3

+Experience peace, tranquility and harmony. It means that mind and body, soul and body are working together for a unified purpose and speaking a unified truth. It means that my mind is not going in one direction and my body in the opposite direction. I’m not torn up and fragmented inside. It means as a group we experience one Lord, one faith and one baptism.

This morning as we come to the Table of the LORD let us come ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Let us open our hearts, our minds and our souls to receive again the baptism of God's Holy Spirit. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to bring us new life, new power and to bring order, peace and harmony to our lives.

This is the message of God for the people of God.

1 See an excellent article at http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/v02-n10/baptism

2 https://www.ecotechinstitute.com/ecotech-news/how-powerful-is-wind-energy

3 William Barclay's - The Gospel of Matthew - The Daily Bible Series was quite helpful in composing this sermon