Anointed in Christ

Good morning everyone. Morning Mike. So it's great today on the day of Pentecost, isn't it, to celebrate that we are today part of a multicultural, intergenerational community of millions of people who will all be worshipping the living God today.

And on that first day, everybody heard what God had done in their own language. So, well, welcoming you all, a special word to our friends from Australia. Good day, mates. How are you going?

Good morning. It's wonderful to be here with you and I want to preach to you on a verse from the reading that Grace just read to us.

Paul wrote this, he said, he anointed us, set his seal of ownership upon us and put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Shall we pray?

Our gracious Father, we want to pray that today you would open our ears, you would open our minds and you would open our hearts.

That we may be truly open to what it is you want to say to us.

Father, we pray that we might be open as you speak and we discern your word through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Amen.

So, I guess for many years, the Holy Spirit was kind of relegated to the substitute's bench as far as the Holy Trinity was concerned.

A.W. Tozer, this came out in a book that was written in 1952 when I was three years old.

And the book itself was a collection of some messages that he preached in the USA.

And this is what he said.

Listen to this carefully.

If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95% of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference.

If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 90% of what they did would stop and everybody would know the difference.

I don't know, but I feel deep in my bones that actually that may be sadly true.

The Holy Spirit was withdrawn.

God kind of, you know, I don't know what, dog-whistled the Holy Spirit back to heaven.

What would change?

What would change?

David Watson, writing of our attitude to the Holy Spirit until the renewal movement of the 1960s, said,

The Holy Spirit's like a distant cousin.

Somebody we know about, but somebody we've never met.

And frankly, they pay no part in our lives whatsoever.

And then suddenly, God broke through in the 1960s through the ministry of men like Dennis Bennett and Merlin Carruthers,

and a little later, David Watson and Michael Harper and John Wimber.

And suddenly, some in the church became far more aware of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the Spirit was spoken of as a wind, the Ruach of God.

In the New Testament, rather than being an impersonal force,

the New Testament understands the Holy Spirit to be a person.

A person with feeling, with intelligence, with intent.

One of the big differences between the Old and the New Testament is,

in the Old Testament, the Spirit was seen as an impersonal force

that was used particularly on particular people for particular purposes.

As the prophecy of Joel reminds us,

the Spirit will be poured out on all God's people.

And stuff will happen.

Stuff that probably, right now, sounds a bit weird to you.

People dreaming dreams, and people having visions.

It's kind of stuff that generally,

we're kind of vaguely interested in,

but hope, frankly, it never happens to us.

And I want to say to you today,

I hope you realize,

those of you who are members of this church,

that you are a member of a church

that worships the triune God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I don't like using a conjunction to say,

and the Holy Spirit,

because it sounds like, back to the 1950s,

it's an add-on.

And it really isn't.

We worship God the Father,

who created the earth, the heavens,

and all that is in them.

We worship Jesus the Son,

who went to a cross,

that ordinary people like you and me

might find forgiveness through the shedding of His blood,

through His death and resurrection and ascension.

And my goodness,

we really do need to worship God the Holy Spirit,

who empowers us to worship Him,

to know Him better,

and to serve in this world,

which is in a rather degraded condition right now.

Let me ask you,

is the Holy Spirit a distant relative to you?

Think about that for a moment.

The Holy Spirit was removed.

Would 95% of your life look exactly the same?

In Ephesians chapter 19,

Paul goes to Ephesus,

and he meets there some disciples.

And I don't know if it was the Holy Spirit that prompted him,

but he met them,

and clearly he could tell there was something a bit deficient about them.

So he said to them,

have you heard about the Holy Spirit?

They're like,

no, we never heard about that.

So he's like,

well, hang on,

who baptized you?

And they said,

John the Baptist.

Paul says,

no,

John's baptism was for repentance alone.

We need to re-baptize you in the Holy Spirit.

That story will spook some of you,

because what happens is,

Paul lays hands on these disciples,

and prays with them,

and they're filled with the Holy Spirit,

and they begin to speak in tongues.

I can see now,

some of your weird meters starting to flicker,

even as I say it.

That's not really the point.

I love the Pentecostal church,

let me say that.

I feel very at home in it,

in so many ways,

but I have this big issue with them,

that they think that

the only sign of the fullness of the Spirit

is speaking in tongues.

I don't think that's biblical,

and I'm not quite sure it's helpful,

and probably will relieve some of you

who have tried your best to speak in tongues

and never quite achieved it.

That's not to say

that we shouldn't seek the higher gifts,

that's what Paul advises us.

But not all of us are meant to have all the gifts.

That's very clear from the New Testament.

In Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

in obedience to what Jesus had told them

in Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

wait,

wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon you,

and then you will be my witnesses.

In obedience to that command,

120 disciples.

I mean, come on.

120 disciples isn't even a decent

Sunday morning congregation, is it?

After three years of Jesus' dynamic ministry,

healings,

all that stuff,

it's just 120 people.

And they're in a room,

locked away.

And then suddenly,

there's a funny noise,

and the Holy Spirit emerges

and tongues of flame

and falls upon those people

and they begin to speak

what the Bible calls

the wonders of God

in the language of the people there.

One of the amazing things

about the Christian faith is

it is truly meant to be multicultural.

They all heard the wonders of God

in their own language.

And so we come to 2 Corinthians.

It's a little something

I just need to explain to you now.

I hope you'll forgive me,

but you have no choice.

2 Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 1:22

chapter 1, verse 22.

He anointed us,

set his seal of ownership on us,

and put his spirit in our hearts

as a deposit

guaranteeing what is to come.

See,

you remember that first bit of it.

It's a bit like,

you know,

yes and no,

and Jesus is always yes,

and there's a reason for that.

Paul had intended

to go to Corinth

and had to kind of pull out

of his speaking tour there.

Some of the congregation

in Corinth

were accusing him

of being fickle.

That's why Paul's

trying to reassure them,

saying,

surely as God is faithful,

our message to you

is not yes and no.

Why?

Because the message

of the gospel

is always yes.

St. John tells us,

I will never turn away

anyone,

anyone

who turns to me.

Paul was accused

of being fickle,

and in return,

he affirms

the positivity

of Jesus,

and he also

affirms

that he

and all disciples,

at the moment,

they accept the grace

of God through faith,

that Jesus died

on a cross

for our forgiveness.

At that moment,

God fills us

with the Holy Spirit.

He sets his seal

upon us.

In ancient times,

a seal

was a mark

of ownership.

So when Paul's

talking about God

sealing us

with his Holy Spirit,

what he's telling us is,

we are gods,

we are marked

for God.

But in the New Testament,

there seems to be

this kind of idea

that for some of you,

some of us,

this is a kind of

process

that needs

constant

attention.

Because although

on conversion,

God fills us

with his Spirit,

unfortunately,

we leak.

We leak

through our

disobedience,

through our fickleness,

through our

flabby

thinking,

and we need

to be filled.

And speaking

personally,

I don't think

this just had

to happen to me

once after I was

converted.

I think it's

a repeated

process in my life.

We need

to be filled.

Let me

just give you

a couple of

criteria

that you might

like to apply

to yourself,

which might

give you a steer

on whether or not

you need to be

filled by the

Holy Spirit.

Let me ask you

this.

How much

of every day

do you spend

thinking about

God

compared

to the cares

and troubles

of this world?

Jesus said,

didn't he,

where your

heart is.

That's what

really matters.

See,

if your heart's

really into

God,

you will be

thinking more

about God

than you will

be thinking

about the cares

and troubles

of this world.

Secondly,

how much of

your life is

driven by

what God

asks of

his disciples

in the Bible?

I'm going to

say this to

you,

and it

sounds a

little tough

because it

is a little

tough.

But there

is no way

that you

can be filled

with the

Spirit and

at the same

time be

totally

inattentive

to his

word,

the Bible.

Let me say

that again.

There is no

way,

no way,

that you can

remain filled

with the

Spirit and

be completely

inattentive

to God's

word,

the Bible.

Jesus

said in

Matthew

Matthew 7:21

chapter 7

verse 21,

Not everyone

who calls me

Lord,

Lord,

will enter

the kingdom

of heaven,

but only

those who

do the

will of

my Father.

If you

answer to

those questions

convicts

you,

I suggest

that today

you might

consider at

the end of

this talk

asking God

from your

heart to

fill you

again with

his Holy

Spirit.

If your

answer to

those questions

is negative,

I think you

need to be

filled.

And some

of you will

say,

hang on,

I was filled

at a renewal

conference back

in 1982.

too.

Surprised

most of you

can remember,

but listen,

you cannot

live on

yesterday's

spiritual

experience.

The prophet

Isaiah,

writing in

chapter 64,

think about

verse 6,

says that

our spiritual

experience is

like the

autumn leaves.

It fades

with time.

I wonder

if you begin

to see your

need this

morning.

I wonder

if you begin

to feel it.

And before I

tell you why

you need to be

filled with the

Spirit, let me

tell you what

the Holy Spirit

isn't.

The Holy Spirit

is not

enthusiasm.

enthusiasm.

I think a lot

of people,

if I might

say this,

have been

fearful of

being filled

with the

Spirit because

they've seen

the kind of

hijinks of

some Christians

who are

filled with

the Spirit.

It's not

really the

point.

Nobody thinks

enthusiasm is

an idea,

apart from the

Scottish theologian

Ronald Knox.

He must have

been a pretty

miserable guy,

I think.

enthusiasm is

good, but it's

not the same as

the Holy Spirit.

It's possible to

be enthusiastic

and not be

filled with the

Spirit.

It's not chasing

a better

experience than

last week's

experience in

church.

And certainly,

and here,

those of us who

think we are

filled with the

Spirit need to

be very careful.

It's not a

cause for

spiritual arrogance.

There are no

different

classes of

Christian in

God's church.

The Spirit is

the person of

the Holy Trinity

who will bring

four critical

aspects of the

spiritual life

into your soul.

One of those

things, number

one, courage.

I wonder today

how much this is

lacking in

today's church.

I struggle

having done

the job that

I did in the

church for

years.

with the

idea that

today my

fellow bishops

are virtually

silent on

anything other

than politics.

There's very

little about

holiness of

life.

There's very

little about

how I can

get to heaven.

There is very

little about

sanctification.

There's very

little about

these things.

And huge

amounts of

criticism of

government policy.

not saying it's

beyond criticism.

We need

courage,

friends, to

stand up.

Says, doesn't

it, in 2

Corinthians,

because Jesus

is the yes,

it says, now

it is God

who makes both

of us and

you stand

firm.

Friends, if

ever there was

a moment that

the church needs

to stand firm,

it's today.

You are

looking at a

society that

is reaping the

fruits of

ungodliness.

In the middle

of the night,

I was awakened

listening to my

radio, I

heard the most

horrific,

horrific

item on

the radio,

and it was a

woman, an

investigative

journalist,

who's looking

at the impact

of pornography

upon our

kids.

I mean,

we should be

shamed by

such stuff.

And let me

tell you, and

this is fact,

that whilst

there are

adults looking

at pornography,

whilst it is

a multi-billion

dollar business

that people

seem to want

to feed

into, as

long as

there is

adult pornography

on the

internet, kids

will access

it.

It is

reckoned

now that

on average

children aged

between 11

and 13

have watched

hardcore

pornography

involving

violence on

the internet.

Put your

hand up if

you feel

great about

that.

I don't

see many

hands in

the air.

I don't

hear many

bishops

speaking out

about what

we're doing

to our

kids today.

I

understand

why in

many ways

social media

makes standing

up such a

painful process

sometimes.

The second

thing is,

we need

courage to

speak up.

Mark

Mark 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13

and verse

1, Jesus

here is

talking about

persecution.

And he

says, don't

you worry

when these

people come

at you,

criticizing you.

The words

that you

speak will

be given

to you by

the Holy

Spirit.

See, how

much longer

are you going

to keep

quiet, guys?

How much

longer?

Stand up,

speak up,

and then, I

love this,

the Holy

Spirit, when

we're filled,

makes us pray

bold prayers.

Not just,

my name's

Jimmy and

I'll take

what you

can give

me prayers,

but bold

prayers.

Praying that

God would do

the work that

God has always

done in us

and through

us.

Courage.

Second,

compassion.

Romans 5,

Romans 5:5

verse 5,

tells us

that God

has shed

love abroad

in our

hearts by

the Holy

Spirit.

You know,

I have to

think about

this, don't

you?

In our

culture, it's

so easy to

let compassion

drain out of

your soul by

being consistently

judgmental.

I want to

know how

much different

the world

would be

that instead

of sitting

around in

dinner parties

judging the

world, the

Holy Spirit

started to

release a bit

more agape

love into

the world

through me,

through you.

I need to

think about

that.

God's got

some work to

do in me.

The third

thing is

conviction.

have you ever

met anybody

and something's

gone wrong in

their life?

Maybe they've

gone involved

with addiction.

Maybe they've

broken up a

relationship which

they really

valued in a

moment of

madness.

You know, that

kind of stuff.

And then, when

you're talking to

them and trying to

give them some

support, they'll

say to you, I

wish somebody

had warned me.

I wish somebody

had warned me.

Told you about

that drug addict

who had been

addicted to

fentanyl in

Vancouver.

And how at the

end of it, it's

just a terrible

thing to watch.

This poor young

guy, wrecked

by drugs.

Says, there was

a day when I

made a choice

and no one

warned me.

See, in

John's Gospel,

in chapter 16

and verse 11,

I don't know if

you've got a

Bible anywhere

near you, but

you might like

to.

Incidentally, it'd

be really good

if you did have

a Bible near

you, but

that's another

sermon.

I was talking

about the

work of the

Holy Spirit.

He said, when

he comes, he

will convict

the world.

That's you and

me.

of guilt in

regard to sin

and righteousness

and judgment.

How much

different would

our world be

if the Holy

Spirit cultivated

in us a

holy conscience

that would

make us think

before we do

wild things?

And wild

things are just

about addiction.

Wild things

can be spending

ridiculous amounts

of money on

yourself.

Complicated.

I saw the

Sunday Times

this morning

and there's a

kind of supplement

in that called,

I purposely

looked at it

so I could

tell a tale

against them.

And I mean,

week by week

in this time

of economic

deprivation,

they're advertising

stuff like

dresses for

£21,000.

Right?

This morning,

actually, I think

they've toned it

down a bit,

but the worst

thing I could

find was a

pair of sunglasses

for £400.

I know,

it's just terrible.

Holy Spirit

will bring

conviction.

The fourth

thing is

really important.

The Holy Spirit

will be the

driving force

of cultivating

your relationship

with God.

Romans chapter

Romans 8 · chapter mention

8.

This is

such a

seminal passage,

I think we

studied it in

some of the

home groups

together

fairly recently.

Romans 8,

Romans 8:15

verses 15

and 16.

For you

did not

receive a

spirit,

says Paul,

that makes

you a slave

to fear,

but you

received the

spirit of

sonship,

of childhood,

I guess.

And by

him,

by him,

we cry

Abba,

Father.

The Spirit

himself testifies

with our

spirit that

we are

God's

children.

You have

an issue

with praying,

you have

an issue

of spending

time with

God,

you have

an issue

with reading

his word,

all the

things that

will really

build you

as a

disciple and

begin to

make you

effective as

a disciple

in this

world.

You

cannot do

without the

help of the

Holy Spirit.

so,

every day,

I go on

a website,

I have no

idea what

a cookie

is.

Right?

I have no

idea.

Do you

accept

cookies?

Yeah?

I'm a

cookie

freak.

And because

of that,

I now am,

apart from

on every

boring

website on

the planet,

apparently,

I get

stuff from

Marcus Buckingham.

Marcus Buckingham

used to be

director of

research at

Gallup,

the research

association.

And I got

a thing,

and it

caught my

attention.

Because if

this had been

the Archbishop

of Canterbury

writing this,

I'd have

sat up.

He says

this,

he's trying

to sell

you a

course,

which is

produced by

Harvard.

He says

the most

sacred

human

mission

is to

help each

person

discover

they are

so special

and so

powerful,

and then

help them

to share

it with

the rest

of us.

The

course is

called

Find

What You

Love.

Now,

Marcus Buckingham

is one of the

smartest guys

I know.

I'd be quite

sure that

there might

be something

helpful in

that course,

but the

problem with

it is,

it's a

secular course.

It is

encouraging you

to look in

this direction

without any

inner help

whatsoever.

Today,

in this

church,

there's a

course,

not really a

course,

there's a

Bible

that says

that you

and me,

if you're a

disciple of

Jesus Christ,

you need to be

filled with the

Holy Spirit.

find some

courage,

some

compassion,

some

conviction,

and some

cultivation of

your life

with God.

And listen,

that same

spirit,

I love

this,

it's the

same spirit

that brooded

over the

chaos in the

creation of

the world.

God's

God's

God's

spirit.

The same

spirit that

inspired Abraham

to leave the

security of his

nice middle-class

existence and go

on a scary

journey to a

land filled with

milk and

honey.

A man who was

prepared to

believe at the

age of 90 that

God would make

him the father of

all nations.

Keeping my

fingers crossed.

And he did

it by the

power of that

same spirit.

Same spirit

that David took

on Goliath.

Same spirit

that inspired

those prophets

of old to

courageously stand

up and speak up

for God.

That same spirit

is in this

church this

morning.

And that

same spirit

is the same

spirit that

raised Jesus

Christ from

the dead.

Someone say

amen.

And that

same spirit

is available

for you.

For you.

God's

gift to you

that you

might be

the people

that he

wants you to

be.

And God

knows

we can't

afford to be

the silent

minority any

longer

friends.

This world

is going to

hell in a

handcart.

And somebody's

got to stand

in the

breach.

So what can

I do this

morning?

Let me read

to you from

St. Luke's

Gospel.

Just a

short verse.

Two verses.

Luke chapter

Luke 11 · chapter mention

11.

Luke chapter

Luke 11 · chapter mention

11.

Luke chapter

Luke 11 · chapter mention

11.

Luke chapter

Luke 11 · chapter mention

11.

And verses

9 through

13.

So I say

to you,

this is Jesus

speaking,

ask and it

will be given

to you,

seek and you

will find,

knock and the

door will be

opened to you.

For everyone

who asks

receives,

he who seeks

finds,

and to him

who knocks

the door

will be

opened.

Then he

says this,

and I

wonder for

some people

in church

this morning

who don't

suffer from

this kind

of blight.

Which of

you,

says Jesus,

which of

you fathers,

if your

son asks

for a fish

will give

him a snake

instead?

Or if he

asks for an

egg will give

him a scorpion?

If you

then,

though you

are evil,

know how

to give

good gifts

to your

children,

how much

more?

How much

more will

your Father

in heaven

give the

Holy Spirit?

to those

who ask

you.

I'm going

to pray

with you

now.

And I

want you

to pray

along with

me if

you feel

in your

heart you

would like

to.

It's not

going to be

a long

prayer.

You're not

going to

choir out

the back

who are

going to

sing until

you surrender.

But I'm

going to ask

you to

surrender.

Surrender

your will

to the

living God

who wants

to fill

you with

the Holy

Spirit this

Sunday,

and every

Sunday,

that you

might be

the person

that he

calls you

to be,

that you

might make

your

difference

on this

planet.

You don't

need Marcus

Buckingham.

You need

God and

his Spirit.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

God and

just leave a

moment's

silence.

Just ask

the Holy

Spirit to

convict you

of what you

need to do

today.

Father,

it seems

really weird

that lots

and lots

and lots

of people

will pay

lots and

lots of

dollars to

sign up to

Marcus

Buckingham's

course,

which in

the end

will leave

them on

their own

to try

and find

the strength

for the

inner change

that I

guess we

all need

in some

respect.

and Lord,

you have a

better plan,

a plan that

relies on

your grace

and your

generosity

and your

power to

heal and

transform.

And so

Father, on

this holy

day,

Pentecost,

we pray,

Lord God,

that you

would fill

us again

with your

Holy Spirit.

Lord,

help us

to be

courageous,

compassion,

convicted,

and people

who cultivate

a real

deep

relationship

with you.

Lord,

that we

might make

our impact

on this

world.

And Lord,

in days

ahead,

if you

were to

withdraw

the Holy

Spirit,

Lord,

that our

church

would be

deflated

by that.

Because

Lord,

we want

to be a

church

that depends

on you

and upon

your spirit.

And the

people who

agreed,

said together,

Amen.