prayer team - sermon notes for Sunday Nov. 23

Making our Beliefs Live: Apostle’s Creed Conclusion – selected texts

Point of teaching – to call the church to act on the declarations made by the creed –

Context: the creed is stated in the form of the three persons of the godhead – So far we’ve declared what the church believes about God the Father, and Christ the Son – now we move to the Holy Spirit and the very personal and practical implications the HS has on our lives today

I. The Holy Spirit –

A) declaration – Acts 1:8 – you shall receive power when the HS has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses – by saying that we believe in the HS we are declaring the HS is the source of power for our transformation. (NB: witness is a noun here – iow: you will BECOME DIFFERENT PEOPLE once the HS has come) of course, the perfect illustration of that is Peter – before the HS: fearful/lying/self-condeming/disengaged/ shame-filled. After: powerful – fruitful – fearless. THE SOURCE OF THE CHANGE?? – not a mantra, or a meditation, or a new set of ethics, but rather the HS.

B) application – the Holy Spirit is our source of strength for 1) making the Christian life real – already seen in Acts 1:8, it’s also visible in 2) bringing fruit into and through our lives – there are many examples of this but a clear example is seen in John 14:25-27. PEACE and the absence of FEAR are fruits that germinate in our lives when the Holy Spirit is present and has reign 3) as a result we’re called to be filled w/ the spirit and not grieve the spirit – what does this filling require???

There’s a great debate about the answer to that question – and I don’t claim to have the full answer to that question, but our help comes from Ephesians 5: 18 – note that Paul doesn’t say “YOU ARE FILLED” he says, ‘be filled’ – HOW?

1) If I’m carrying greed, lust, bitterness, fear – and I know I’m carrying it, and I’m unwilling to let go of it – Ephesians tells me that I’m grieving the Holy Spirit – this grieving prevents the HS from taking control of our lives, which is the real meaning of being filled w/ the spirit –

2) If I’ve never thought about the Holy Spirit – never asked for the Holy Spirit to take complete control of my life by filling me – than although the spirit is there, I’ve not yet let go of my life and given the HS control. – NB: this is the source of endless frustration for many believers --

Illus: MOODY – I know that there are many questions about this – but I’d invite you to clear out the clutter and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit – and to keep asking until you KNOW THAT YOU KNOW that the Holy Spirit is living in you! Finally give thanks – for what God WILL DO through you – and go out into the world w/ confidence that God will be at work. ILLUS: RD --

II. The Holy Catholic Church and Communion of Saints

A) declaration – I Cor. 12:12 - don’t get hung up on the word Catholic – it means the global church – it means that God is at work in churches that have many different flavors – PUNK OR MONK… is the way I like to say it. But the important thing to see is that we’re declaring that Christ is made visible in this age through the gathered people of God – expressing His character through their life together and through their worship. IOW: while Jesus IS your personal savior, being your personal savior isn’t the point – you’re called into community.

B) application – we’re called to global connectedness (see I Cor. 16): in this passage Paul is inviting a Gentile church to take up an offering for a Jewish church – this is exemplary because these two churches DON’T AGREE ON EVERYTHING… and yet the calling is to care for one another because both are expressions of Christ’s life. Thinking that ‘we’re the only ones doing it right’ is a BIG PROBLEM… illus: church of Seattle -- local commitment (see I Cor. 12) – you ARE the body of Christ – and as such your calling will finds its fullest expression through a commitment to ONE local church – that doesn’t mean churches shouldn’t work together – we want to explore how to work w/ all the church in the Aurora corridor to serve this area of our city so the Christ’s light can shine – but while we all work together, the way Paul writes his letters indicates that our calling is to COMMIT TO A COMMUNITY – because it’s in active loving relationships and the use of our gifts that Christ is made visible. APP: this is the why of membership – in an era of spiritual consumerism, membership is a radical decision – it’s a way of saying, similarly to marriage: I’m done shopping – I’m going to commit to a community. NB: we need to fight against the consumerist spirit of the age and one of the ways we can do this is by membership

III. The Forgiveness of Sins

A) declaration – we believe that all sins are forgiven – I Jn. 2:1 – the reason this was in the creed had to do w/ people who had renounced their faith during the times of persecution. When the persecution ended they wanted back in – and there was a question about forgiveness!! --

B) application – we’re called to: 1) live w/ a clear conscience, KNOWING that we’ve been forgiven (I Jn 1:9 – and many other declarations about the character of God) - illus: I’ve given you a new name – or here’s Peter, post-failure: feed my sheep – APP: we need to receive forgiveness and learn to simply say ‘thank you’ – NB: develop the habit of confession – so that you can do what Paul sought to do: the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, and good conscience, and sincere faith – ILLUS: we’re invited to confidence!! 2) – if we really believe in the forgiveness of sins, we must also actively, and even pro-actively forgive others. Matt. 6:12 – “forgive our debts…etc.” – this has individual and collective application….

IV. The Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting

A) declaration

B) application – 1) we’re called away from dualism – iow: called to see the physicality of the faith 2) we’re called to live presently in the light of eternity

The year 1871 was a critical one in Mr. Moody's career. He realized more and more how little he was fired by personal acquirements for his work. An intense hunger and thirst for spiritual power were aroused in him by two women who used to attend the meetings and sit on the front seat. He could see by the expression on their faces that they were praying. At the close of services they would say to him:

"We have been praying for you."

"Why don't you pray for the people?" Mr. Moody would ask.

"Because you need the power of the Spirit," they would say.

"I need the power! Why," said Mr. Moody, in relating the incident years after, "I thought I had power. I had the largest congregations in Chicago, and there were many conversions. I was in a sense satisfied. But right along those two godly women kept praying for me, and their earnest talk about anointing for special service set me to thinking. I asked them to come and talk with me, and they poured out their hearts in prayer that I might receive the filling of the Holy Spirit. There came a great hunger into my soul. I did not know what it was. I began to cry out as I never did before. I really felt that I did not want to live if I could not have this power for service."

Then the book tells of the great Chicago fire, of D. L. Moody's relief work, the building of the north side tabernacle, and of his visiting in the East to secure funds for his work. Then the narrative continues:

During this Eastern visit the hunger for more spiritual power was still upon Mr. Moody.

"My heart was not in the work of begging," he said. "I could not appeal. I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York -- oh, what a day! -- I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost too sacred an experience to name. Paul had an experience of which he never spoke for fourteen years. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you should give me all the world -- it would be as the small dust of the balance."

Notice in the above account, in the words of D. L. Moody himself, that while he had great joy in the coming of the Holy Spirit upon him in power, yet the principal result was:. "The sermons were not different: I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted."

D. L. Moody himself made much of this doctrine that Christians should be filled with the Holy Spirit, or baptized with the Holy Spirit, as he himself often put it.