Let us pray.....
O Heavenly Father, ..... we are yours ......through baptismal waters .... we are empowered by your Holy Spirit ....to continue your work in this world;.... Father help us employ the gifts you have given us..... for your use in, ....and for your glory ..... and we ask this through your son, ....Jesus the Christ,..... our Lord and Savior. Amen
Sarah Jo Sarchet was a Pastor in Chicago.
A 10 year-old boy in her congregation..... named Cameron, .....walked into her office and said he needed to talk to her.
Fresh from soccer practice, .....and wearing his Cincinnati Reds baseball cap,.... he had a request for her.
He said....... "I'd like to be baptized,". "We were learning about Jesus' baptism ....in Sunday School.
And.....The teacher asked the class.... who was baptized, ...... all the other kids raised their hands.
I want to be baptized too."
Using her best pastoral .....tone of voice, .....she said, ...."Cameron, do you really want to be baptized .....just because everyone else is?"
He looked up at her and replied, ...."No. I want to be baptized .....because it means I belong to God."
She was touched .....by his understanding.
"Well, then," she said, "How about next Sunday?"
His smile turned to concern and he asked,..... "Do I have to be baptized in front of all those people in the church?
Can't I just have a friend baptize me in the river?"
She asked where he came up with that idea.
"Well, ......Jesus was baptized by his cousin John .....in a river, wasn't he?"
Caught off guard, she conceded,.... "You have a point.
But, if a friend baptized you in the river, ....how would the church recognize it?"
Realizing this was a teachable moment, .....she climbed up on her foot stool ......to reach for her Book of Orders.... that was located on the highest shelf.
But before she placed her hand on the book, ....he responded. ..."By my new way of life,". (Pause)
She nearly fell off the foot stool ....and she left the Book of Orders .....on the shelf. (Pause)
Cameron's understanding was far from childish. ......(Slow) .......It was profound.
They will know me.....By my new way...of Life!
Beloved ...... Baptism calls us..... to a new way of life.
A new way of living.
In today's passage from Acts, ......Paul was on his third .....missionary journey.
He had promised the Ephesians..... that he would return ..... if it is God's will.
The Scriptures tell us: Reading #1 BIBLE "While Apollos was in Corinth, ....Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. .....Where he found some disciples..." END
Ephesus was the fourth largest city .....in the Roman Empire.
The population was around 250,000.
It is no surprise then .....that they had not met Aquila, Priscilla or any members of the Church in Ephesus.
The fact that Paul calls them believers or disciples ......does not imply ...that they are .....redeemed believers.
The Greek word translated believer in this case Mathetes (math-ay-tes') .....simply means "learner" or "follower".
The New Testament mentions Mathetes (math-ay-tes') ........ when it describes disciples of Pharisees and disciples of John the Baptist.
The term does not necessarily imply.... these men were .....necessarily Christians.
Paul may have come across this group while they were gathered for worship.
And as is usually the case in the New Testament, ........as well as this passage .....only the men are counted.
This was probably a group of 12 families,.... 30 to 40 people altogether.
Our Text from Acts goes on to say: Reading #2 BIBLE He ....(Paul) said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They replied "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." END
Paul wanted to gauge .......where they were in their faith.
From the letters Paul wrote to the churches, ...... we know that the Apostle Paul recognized:
If you were a believer in Jesus the Christ ....... If you had passed from death to life,...... Then (Slow) the Holy Spirit..... resides in you.
A Christian's body ...... is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
And All Christians .....are baptized.... into one Spirit.
When we believed unto salvation,..... we were marked ....with the seal .....of the Holy Spirit.
Paul is clear .....all Redeemed Christians ......have the Holy Spirit living ... residing in them.
And we are called ......to not resist the works of the Holy Spirit.
Remember the words to the Christians in Ephesus Reading #3 BIBLE "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." END (Do not close the Bible) Ephesians 4:30
When the crowd at Pentecost .....asked the disciples ....what they should do to be saved, .....Peter proclaimed:
Reading #4 BIBLE "Repent and be baptized,.... every one of you, ....in the name of Jesus Christ... for the forgiveness of your sins. ....And you will receive ......the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 END (Close Bible) Acts 2:38-39
You will receive the Holy Spirit.
It is a promise ... a promise from God!
By asking if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed,..... Paul was asking the defining question.... as to whose disciples..... they truly were.
If they are Jesus' disciples .....and have trusted in Him for their salvation, .....they have the Holy Spirit.
But they responded,..... "We did not know there was a Holy Spirit."
Jesus shared these words .....as found in the Gospel of John ......concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Reading #5 BIBLE "But the Counselor, .....the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, .....will teach you all things ....and will remind you of everything .....I have said to you. END John 14:26 "
The Father and the Son live in us ....through the Holy Spirit.
Those disciples Paul met in Ephesus ....had not heard Jesus' teaching.
Reading #6 BIBLE 3 So Paul said "Into what then were you baptized?"..... "Into John's baptism," they replied.
If they did not have the Holy Spirit, ......Paul surely wondered .....what baptism they received.
Who were they following?
Apparently they had only heard the message of John .....and were given John's baptism. (Pause)
Maybe theses Disciples ....were on their way to one of the Feasts of the Jews in Jerusalem .....when they heard about John.... and went to listen to him .....and were baptized.
Maybe they were baptized by one of John's disciples ......in Ephesus
In either case:..........These disciples..... these (Math-ay-tes) were still waiting .....for the messiah .....promised by John.
Paul saw an opportunity....a teachable moment.
Paul .....probably had encountered other pockets of John's followers .....in the past.
Even to this day, ..... the Mandaeans (man-day-ans) of Iran and Iraq .....are still disciples ...of John the Baptist. (Pause)
(Slow) Paul went on to tell them, Reading #7 BIBLE "John baptized with the baptism of repentance. telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, .....that is,..... in Jesus." END
Paul explained .... That John the Baptizers message .....was to point to another..... and that other is Jesus the Christ.
Paul surely ....went on to explain .......the work of the cross ......and of .....the resurrection.
Reading #8 BIBLE 5 For On hearing this, .....they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. END
The gifts of the Spirit .....were the manifestation ....of the Holy Spirit ...in their lives.
Hear again the words from our text this day: Reading #9 BIBLE6 When Paul laid his hands on them,..... the Holy Spirit came upon them,..... and they spoke in tongues ....and prophesied. END
In This New Covenant ....the Holy Spirit.... in fills each believer.
The fruit of the Spirit ....and the Gifts of the Spirit ....are manifested ....in the believers.
The manifestation of gifts ....were important for the early Church.
And I believe the gifts are still important ....and operating ....in the lives ....of believers today.
The Gifts of the Spirit .....are essential ......to the Body of Christ.
But the application ...... that the Lord is stirring in my heart this day ......(Slow) is that of the Fruit of the Spirit.
The Scriptures are clear ..... that if we are in Christ .....We will become.... a new creation.
The old will be gone.
The new will .....have come. REPEAT
Beloved....Is that how you would describe.... your life? ......The old is gone .....and the new has come.
Or ..... is there little difference between the old you ......and the current Holy Spirit filled Christian You?
How can we be sure ....that this new creation ....has transpired?
You will know .....because the Spirit of God will produce in you ...... His own life.
And this new life is described in the Scriptures Galatians 5.
Hear God's word.Reading #10 BIBLE22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. ......Against such things there is no law. 24 ......Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified ....the sinful nature ....with its passions and desires. END Galatians 5:22-24
Beloved...there is only one Fruit... One Fruit that encompasses these nine attributes.
If the Spirit of God is at home in you, .....the first evidence .....will be the love of God ....flowing through you .... flowing through you ....to others.
The Scriptures go on to tell us: Reading #11 BIBLE 9 "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother or sister .....is still in the darkness." END 1 John 2:9 (NIV)
IF we can claim ....we are in the light, .....that we have received the Holy Spirit, .....but we do not love , ....we are simply ....deceiving ourselves.
Beloved.....Joy ..... Joy is also ....evidence ......that the Holy Spirit abides within you.
Joy is not happiness.
Happiness is based on things being as you would like them ..... Things as they are ....in the moment.
God's joy ....is deep ...... God's joy is abiding in you.
Beloved.....The joy of the Lord is our Strength.
The Spirit filled Christian.... will know a joy .....and know a peace ......that is unexplainable.
I am not saying .....that a believer .....must express all the qualities of the fruit of the Spirit perfectly ....... all of the time.
We are far from perfect. .....Remember Paul's words to the Philippians: ......Reading #12 BIBLE "Not that I have already obtained all this, .....or have already been made perfect,..... but I press on .....to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus ....took hold of me. END" Phil 3:12
O' Let the Fruit of the Spirit .....flow ......from your very being.
Spend time with the one ....you call ....your Lord ....and your Savior
Love his word....... Let it permeate your life.
Be empowered by the Holy Spirit ....and let the Fruit ..and the Gifts ....be manifested in your life.
O Beloved.....Let the Holy Spirit transform you ..... conform you .....into the image ...of Jesus.
How will the world recognize that you are a follower of the Christ?
Young Cameron may have said it best (Slow) "By my new way ....of life,".
Amen & Amen!
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal gift: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Homily was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead" (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings Jeff.
