Opener: I would like to begin today’s sermon by talking about the person and the working space of the Holy Spirit…He is a person…He is seeking to do a work in our lives and our congregation…but just like anyone else…He is ignorable! So let’s do our best to try and listen to him as we walk through today’s text!
One of my favourite books on the Holy Spirit if from Gordon Fee who presently teaches at Regent College in Vancouver. The book is called “God’s Empowering Presence” and it highlights the presence of the Holy Spirit in the writings of the Apostle Paul. This book is big…but it is worth every buck that you will spend on it!
Here are some of the things that Fee says about the Holy Spirit….
“For Paul Christian life not only begins by means of the Spirit; the whole of Christian life is a matter of Spirit. In the kingdom of God not only righteousness but also peace and joy are effected by the Spirit (Rom. 14:17). In Galatians 3:3, Paul asked rhetorically (about their conversion), “having made a beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now hoping to be made complete in the flesh?” The expected reply is “Of course not!” One must finish in the same way as one began, through the empowering and appropriating work of the Spirit. Thus the Spirit is as central to Paul’s understanding of all of the ongoing Christian life, including ethical life, as it is to conversion itself.” (p. 876)
Now let’s listen to what Dr. Luke has to say about the Spirit…it’s interesting to note that Luke’s gospel is the one that quotes the Holy Spirit the most times…so it comes as no surprise that in the book of Acts, Luke talks about the Holy Spirit 57 times!
Let’s reflect on the 3 following characteristics of the Holy Spirit as we walk through today’s text…
1) He is a presence that works wonders (vv. 1-10)
1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6 Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The Holy Spirit does miracles. Look at the ministry of Jesus. Look at the ministry of the early church in the book of Acts…the HS was empowering the people of God to do signs and wonders…have you seen any lately? I’d love to hear you testify!
· Let’s share some stories of the HS working wonders in our midst…
· I’d like to share an e-mail from Stephen Hunt…(with permission)….
And when we talk about the HS working wonders, it doesn’t always have be the “lame man walking” miracles like this one in chapter 3…let’s talk about the mundane miracles as well! Because nothing is small or insignificant in the Kingdom of God…so let’s talk about signs and wonders…like everytime a baby is born in our midst it’s a sign and wonder of God’s grace and wonder. Every time you and I wake up in the morning and breathe the breath of life…but there are also the active miracles that we are called to do. Think about Peter and John…they had probably seen this beggar at the gate at other times on their way to worship…but for some reason, on this particular occasion, the HS inspired them to have the faith to reach out to this man…they didn’t heal everyone…but at this particular moment in time they were called to do this miracle. Just like Peter and John we are called to be life givers…not necessarily resource givers…but life-givers…how can we speak words of life to those who are sick, depressed, wounded, grieving and in need of relief? God is not calling us to go out and fix everyone…but God, by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, and by faith in the name of Jesus is calling us to work wonders…and when we step out in faith and work these wonders by HIS power we will find that the Holy Spirit will not only be a presence that does the miracle, but He will be a presence that prompts us to speak about the miracle…
2) He is a presence that speaks (vv. 11-16)
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: "People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
When we step out in faith, and the HS does these miracles then people will be astonished. We won’t have to put on a fancy program to get people to come to our church…people will be moved by the miracle and then want to ask us questions about what is going on. And since we know that we aren’t responsible for the miracle, then we’re going to have to start talking about it and explaining what’s going on! And we will realize, like these disciples, that it was not by our own power that this miracle happened (“not by our own power or godliness” - - see v. 12).
And the HS will have to speak through us…and we will have to point to faith as the answer. Not medicine, not clever counseling, not social programs (those these can all be useful)…but…
“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes though him that has completely healed him, as you can all see” (v. 16).
This morning I’d like to recommend a 2nd book… “Christ plays in a Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology”, the latest book by Eugene Peterson. In this book he reflects and writes on the slow process of the spiritual journey of faith in Christ…in regard to the HS he talks about how the HS is linked to the story of Jesus. On pg. 270, he writes:
“We are not to lose sight of the fundamental Jesus story line: what the community does and says and prays is continuous with what Jesus does and says and prays. (In the book of Acts) this is the same Jesus story that we read in the Gospel (of Luke) but without Jesus being visibly and audibly present. The Holy Spirit is God’s way of being present and active among us in the same way that he was in Jesus.”
3) He is a presence that invites (vv. 17-26)
17 "Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ’The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ [a]
24 "Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ’Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ [b] 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
From this final part of today’s text, we see that explanation is not enough…once the crowd or the questioner knows that it is a matter of faith in Jesus, then the HS will continue to speak through us and invite others to change their ways…to change the way they look at the world. Peter goes on to say, “Repent, then and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from Lord” (v. 19).
This is what I call the ultimate, spiritual experience of R & R. Not rest and relaxation, but REPENTANCE & REFRESHMENT! In our culture, it’s easy for us who are very affluent, to think that rest and relaxation is our ultimate goal in life…we are wooed by the voices of our culture that say, “You can get that cottage by the lake and there you will find the fulfillment you’ve always wanted”…or “Imagine what life would be like if you bought this jacuzzi…soothing, warm and fun for the whole family” Call us at 1 800 - Bubbles and find that relaxation that you deserve”
Now I’m not anti-rest….and I’m not anti-relaxation….you’ve heard me talk about the importance of sabbath rest… but when rest and relaxation are seen as the ultimate goal or destiny for our lives, then we’ve been distracted from our calling as the People of God. Because for the People of God, we’ve been called to a different kind of R & R… repentance and refreshment.
Have you experienced a repentance that gave way to refreshment in your life?
There are all different ways of experience this kind of R & R in relation to our journeys of faith… and sometimes I hear different people talk about their faith journey, and I know that some of us have the rags à riches R & R stories, while others of us have had this gradual experience of R & R . . . and sometimes the “gradual experience” people don’t think that their story is as exciting as the “rags to riches” people…so they hold back… don’t hold back! Share your story no matter what it is… cause ultimately it’s God’s story and he’s sharing it through you… and you’re the only you he made, so do your part!
Well, I for one know what it’s like to live in the shadow of a “rags to riches” story… I married Sandy. And if you’ve ever had a chance to listen to Sandy’s journey of faith, then you’ll know what I mean…. Sandy is one of those, “God told me” people? You know, the kind of person who gets these messages from God and then they come true. She even has a “God told me” story about us getting married! God told me I would get married in my final year of nursing….and I’d dated all these guys in university, but God told me that they weren’t the “ONE”… and then you came along in the Fall of 1992 and God told me you were the “ONE”……so what’s a guy gonna do? Defy the will of Almighty God???
But I digress….what I’d like to share about Sandy is that she’s also one of these people who shares an incredible story of how God worked repentance and refreshment in her life… and in our call to worship we heard the word of God through the prophet Joel:
“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - - my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” (2:25-26)
This scripture has provided a life theme for Sandy…for there were some years in her life when the locusts ate away the joy, the hope and the self-worth of her life…and she came to that point where she decided that she wanted to do what God wanted for her life rather than try to do life by her own efforts….and in the midst of this act of repentance, God gradually (not quickly!) gave back the years that the locusts had eaten…and she began to see the refreshment that God had in store for her…so even now, when times get tough she looks back at the hand of God and is reminded of his incredible and miraculous care for her.
THIS….is R & R in God’s Kingdom….not just temporary rest and relaxation that makes you feel good for a while, but a Holy-Spirit inspired REFRESHMENT that is birthed in the midst of our repentance….as we turn our hearts back to God, he will refresh us….he will pour out upon us the relief and respite that our souls so desperately long for.
The HS is the power that draws people into relationship with Christ. Perhaps this morning, the HS is inviting you to repent…and to begin experiencing the refreshment that comes from having your sins forgiven in the name and person of Jesus Christ. Or perhaps you’re going through a tough season of life…God would invite you to remember his faithfulness in times past, and that he will be faithful in the present. And this message isn’t meant to be kept within the 4 walls of our church family….You and I are called to share this message of hope and healing with our friends, our families, and those in our community.
Peter finishes his sermon with a challenge to go out…
24 "Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ’Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ [b] 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
God will use you and I to share this message of blessing…as we experience these signs and wonders…and as we live in the glory of repentance and refreshment…we will be a blessing to all peoples on earth…What a beautiful calling for us as the people of God!
Closing Remarks:
So as we continue to move ahead after Pentecost Sunday, let’s be open to places and situations where God wants us to step out in faith and do some signs and wonders. Perhaps there are those who are sick who need a miraculous healing…I don’t know how God decides who gets healed and who doesn’t…but it seems that the bigger call is to simply step out in faith and pray for those who are struggling and trust that God’s empowering presence will provide what people need. What HS miracle is God calling you or I to be a part of in the days ahead?
· Perhaps you need to seek silence and solitude so you can hear God better… ie. Go to the prayer Labyrinth at Southminster United Church
· As you are talking with others in your Christian community, talk about what the HS is calling you to do in these days?
· Today, there are people who will pray for you after service…please take hold of this opportunity if God is calling you to receive a blessing through prayer this morning.
Let’s close with a time of reflection…(since there is no communion time today)…
Ø How is he (the Holy Spirit) working wonders?
Ø How is he speaking to us/through us?
Ø How is he inviting us to repentance and refreshment?
Ø Let him simply embrace you with the presence and love of God today.
** Meditation and Music: “All to Jesus, I Surrender” **
Closing Prayer:
Risen Christ who was sent from the Father and is empowered by the Holy Spirit to work wonders in our lives…Help us to surrender to your presence this day, and in this week, that we might be aware of those you call us to…and as we answer your call, do miracles in our midst and enable us to explain these miracles because of our faith in YOU and may others be moved to consider your call to repentance and refreshment.
We pray these things for the Glory of God,
Amen.
