Feb. 6, 2011 1 Cor. 2:1-16 C & Z “Turn the Power On!”
There are a lot of things of this world that are just hard to explain. We talked about light a couple of weeks ago. How do you describe light? It isn’t that easy. Or we could ask about air or sky or water or many of the things that we take for granted. We could go into the scientific explanations of these things but that still doesn’t really tell us anything about what these things are like when we experience them. What does water feel like or how do we feel in the light? Science cannot really explain these aspects. I have been reading a book by a supposed theologian named Marcus Borg. He is probably a very smart man but I think that he misses the whole point of being a Christian as he tries to explain our belief in a scientific way. He goes about this in a long drawn out fashion but he pretty much ends up by saying that you can believe whatever you want and be a Christian. I feel sad for this scholar because I don’t think he gets it. You have to experience the relationship with Jesus. You can’t really explain it but all of us who have this relationship know that we have it even if we cannot describe it. That is ok. It is not something that can really be described. This morning we are going to look at how Paul tries to help us understand who the Holy Spirit is. He is not going to get scientific on us so hopefully we will know the Spirit a little better after today.
Dave Bosewell tells the story of Earl Weaver who was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles and how he handled slugger Reggie Jackson. Weaver had a rule that no one could steal a base unless the steal sign was given. This upset Jackson because he knew pitchers and catchers well enough so he could steal without a sign. So one day he did just that. He stole second base without the sign. He made it easy and was very satisfied with himself.
Later Weaver took Jackson aside and explained why there was no steal sign given. First of all, the next batter was the best power hitter they had besides Jackson. When Jackson stole second, the other team just walked the next batter so he didn’t have a chance to hit. The next batter up had never been very strong against this pitcher so Weaver decided to send in a pinch hitter to try to drive in the two men on base. This left Weaver without bench strength later in the game when he needed it.
The problem was that Jackson only saw the game from his perspective. He was only concerned about himself. Weaver could see the whole game and knew what was needed and when. So when he sends the signal not to steal second, it is best that you don’t do it. Jackson didn’t really get it. The same can be said of God. When He tells us to do something or not, it is best to obey. And God does these things as He sees the whole picture and talks to us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind of like God’s manager here on earth.
As we are going to try to concentrate on the Holy Spirit this morning, a fair question is “Who is the Holy Spirit?” The answer is amazingly simple. The Holy Spirit is God. We are told this in verses 4-5 this morning. There are many other places that will also tell us that the Holy Spirit is God on the earth or with us. I think that the problem that many of our scholars have is that they have to try to further define God or present Him in a physical way for us. It is not enough for them to just believe. Just like we can’t really describe the relationship that we have with God, we just know that it is there. The Holy Spirit is like this.
I think that it would be better if we tried to tell what the Holy Spirit does. The first five verses here tell us that the Holy Spirit helps us to share our testimony. This is sort of like what we talked about last week. These verses could be my story because I have nothing worthwhile to say on my own. I could say that when I came to you I came with trembling and fear. I had never done this before. I had no real message to give. But it was through the Holy Spirit that we find the message and it is in the cross. God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and then raised him back to life again. God took Jesus back to heaven and then sent us the Holy Spirit in his place. It is the Holy Spirit that gives me the message and I pray that you hear the message also.
The people who Paul is talking to needed to know that what Paul is saying didn’t come from him. They needed to know that Paul was just as unworthy as anyone else who was listening. They needed to know that Paul was just as human and fallible as they were. These people were being bombarded by all kinds of sinful and bad behavior. They needed to know that there was someone like Paul, who was a sinner just like they were, and he has been saved by the grace of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.
This is what the people of this country need also. We need to know that there is a Holy Spirit who is always present and always willing to help us out. We need to know that our pastors are human and make errors like everyone else and it is only, and I say only, through the Holy Spirit that we can stand up here at all. Any type of leader that ever stands before you and talks of Scripture needs to know that they are not there of their own accord. It is the Holy Spirit that makes them who they are. If they are not of the Spirit, then maybe you should look for a new pastor or leader.
Now this doesn’t just mean our leaders. This means us also. So often we get to thinking that we don’t really have the Spirit with us because so much of what we do is ordinary. We go to work and make a living. We raise our families. Maybe we just attend school. We are retired and aren’t as active as we used to be. Well, there could be nothing farther from the truth. It doesn’t matter what we do or where we do it or how mundane it is, we are always out there for others to see. This is why I say that we should be praying in public and reading our Bibles. We should be able to demonstrate the Holy Spirit in our lives all the time by just the way that we live and act. The trouble with being a Christian is that it is too easy. We need only live a good life in God and others will see how the Spirit works.
Another way of saying this is that we need the Spirit in our lives because the Spirit gives us life. The reason that things go well for you is the Spirit. When things go bad for you it is the Spirit who helps you through. The Holy Spirit is God and without God there is no life. This is one of the reasons why the Spirit empowers someone like me to proclaim the Gospel. He is our life and He wants everyone possible to be a part of it.
The next thing that Paul is talking about here is the wisdom of God that the Holy Spirit brings to us. The ancients were ruled by Rome. The ancients were a conquered people. This is something that is very hard for us to imagine because we have never had this happen to us. The Romans considered themselves to be far superior to the Jews in everything. They considered themselves to be wise because they had won. Then Paul comes to tell the people that the Romans are not at all wise in comparison to God. As a matter of fact, they really know nothing compared to God.
As I just said that we have never been conquered in the history of our country. But we must also realize that we are being conquered as I speak. We have allowed other things to become our gods like our government, our sports teams and our children to name just a few. As I visit in our own community, I realize that we have just about put anything we can think of ahead of God. Any excuse will do for not coming to church. We had better be real careful as to where we mention the name of Jesus. Our society wants us to be ashamed of being Christian. They try all kinds of ways to deter us and keep our children from learning about the ways of God.
These things are nothing new. Unfortunately, there is one thing that we will always see in the Holy Spirit and that is He will be resisted and has been resisted where ever He goes. Like I said last week, we like to do things on our own and we don’t need any help. This couldn’t be further from the truth. And it is bad enough that the Spirit is resisted but people also make fun of Him and us for believing. Most people don’t understand the Spirit so it is just easier to do all these bad things. I was just reading a book on this and the author said that there is no way to see the Holy Spirit, therefore He probably doesn’t exist. This comes from a so called Christian scholar. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a crisis in this country, a faith crisis.
The only way we will get out of all this is if we use the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Often times we hear that some religions have all these secrets that can’t be told. The Mormons are one group that comes to mind instantly. We seem to think that Christianity is an open religion and there are no secrets. If this is what you think, then I have some bad news for you this morning. Paul talks about it here as God’s secret wisdom. He has all the wisdom of the world and it is a secret.
If the rulers of the time had known this secret they would not have crucified our Lord. You have to be a believer in order to get this secret wisdom, in order to understand. The minute you believe, this wisdom is opened to you. If you remember us talking last week we found that if you don’t know Jesus then what we talk about is just foolishness. Once again this is what Paul is talking about. All the rulers and sages of the time, of our time, know nothing. I read these so called scholarly books by people who want to quantify God. They want to be able to see Him and measure Him so they know He is here. They don’t understand that this will never happen.
The Holy Spirit lives inside of us. He becomes a part of us. He cannot be seen. We can never leave Him behind and we can never hide from Him. This is really a good thing. But what is even greater is that the Holy Spirit is also a part of God. As much as He is a part of us, He is a part of God. He is God. He is part of both of us at the same time. And you thought that I was just trying to stay on your good side when I told you of all the wisdom that you have. You have this wisdom. We have this wisdom from God. Plus we speak our own language.
Have you ever watched a TV interview where something spectacular has happened and the person responsible just points to God and thanks Him? The interviewer often doesn’t know what the person is talking about so they try to change the subject. Many people don’t understand this but we do. Most of us know exactly what is happening. It is a language from God that we understand. We have the secret wisdom and we know the language.
I have heard people in our own community who don’t know why we seem to be the ones who are always out there helping people. We are known as the little church that does things. We all understand this because of the wisdom and language we have from the Holy Spirit. It is not a language that I can tell you about or quantify. But we know that it is there as we can feel it. It is the language of the Holy Spirit and we know it and will share it. Unfortunately many people don’t understand it.
It is like a story told by George Dillahunty about a woman in Florida who had her home severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. She went to fix her home and finally the money ran out before the contractors were finished. She was left in a home without electricity. She was left without heat in the winter and she sweltered in the hot, humid temperatures of the summer. She could not take a shower as she had no hot water. She got by with a single gas lamp and a single burner. She lived like this for 15 years. I can’t imagine living like this. Finally someone noticed that she didn’t have power and the mayor got it turned back on in a matter of hours. She told reporters that she was going to let the water get really hot and take her first bubble bath in a decade and a half. Unbelievable!!
The really sad part of this story is that we have many people who are just like this. The power is off to them and they don’t even notice it as long as they get by. We all know people like this. Go to them and offer them a safe sanctuary to meet Jesus and get their power turned back on. Jesus is for everyone so if you know Him then share Him with others. I really and truly praise the Lord for all the people who tried to share Him with me and get my power turned back on. He will do the same for anyone. That is how much He loves us. Let’s pray.
