Sunday, April 24, 2022, 11 a.m.
The Second Sunday in Easter – 2022
“‘…and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit…’ The Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ. The Lord alone can do it.” – (Larry Christenson, “Welcome, Holy Spirit”, Augsburg)
Would you pray with me?
Lord God, our Heavenly Father, We want to thank you for your kindness in these difficult, confusing times. You have remembered to uplift us when we’re down. You have kept us in your heart. You have given us vision. You have instilled in us courage to take on challenges before us in the name of Jesus, your beloved Son.
Often times, it is difficult for us to maintain consistency… to focus properly in getting our work completed…to seek your will (and your face) first, allowing all else to follow through. We commend our lives into your care and keeping…
Speak to us about that which will give us Godly, wise direction in our lives and provide vision, encouragement, and excitement in our daily walk. We know from the Scriptures…that you blessedthe Apostles with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Show us the biblical way to grow in faith to benefit all around us, and keep us faithful. We are ready to the full extent of your perfect plan for our lives.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Message
The co-founder of the Methodist Church was John Westley. He was an Anglican priest in London, who eventually became a missionary in America— in one of my favorite cities—Savannah, Georgia.
Wesley experienced, first in England, and then in Savannah, (on that famous bench in the park), “the warming experience”. He also called it, “the second blessing”. That experience, and the commotion it caused in the Church of England, eventually caused him to leave the Anglican fellowship, and establish the Methodist Church, nowadays, the second largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Among other things Wesley was a great student of the Holy Bible and of Dr. Martin Luther’s writings. He was no “fly-by-night” preacher, but rather, aextraordinary student of the Holy Bible and as well a wonderful, caring human being. This combination of personality traits made him an excellent pastor as well as an outstanding representative of Christ in a number of other helpful, pastoral ways.
What was it about this special man that caused him to leave his denomination and seek conformity to what—he was convinced—was greater adherence tothe teaching of the Bible? What happened to him to do something so drastic as he did…bringing his brother, Charles Wesley, along with him?
Does this bring up some sort of controversy?
It really shouldn’t.
There seems a lack of instruction about how we can find biblical direction, indeed, completeness in our daily walk, in the way of the Disciples finally did in Jesus…
“…again Jesus said, ”Shalom-a’wa-lae’kum’— [‘Peace be with you!’]…as the Father sent me, I am sending you…and with that He breathed on them…and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’.”
(John 20:22)
Prior, what was it that caused the disciples to abandon Christ as He died on the cross? Why were they absent from the most important event in the history of the human race up to that time?
Fear.
What was missing?
Where was that important component?
“…there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts our fear…” (1 John 4:18)
Their fear, a nature reaction to what they were faced with, predominated—took over. After the experience of the Pentecost they would fearfor nothing. The only thing that mattered was proclaiming the Good News of Christ, no matter what the cost…all died as martyrs…
Nevertheless, because of their terrible fear and the fact that they abandoned Jesus, the disciples couldn’t testify in their eventual ministry that they were witnesses of the crucifixion. Imagine! The Apostles couldn’t say they actually saw Jesus suffer and die with their own eyes…
(The only exception was the “boy disciple” John.)
I keep thinking about the underlying intention of the African-American song-writer of… “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”
Have we—then—gone as witnesses to the figurative “foot of the cross”—Have we set other priorities aside, including mere religion, to “go to the foot of the cross”to submit our lives to the Savior? Have we set fearsand priorities aside to be present, to perceive the
sacrifice of Jesus personally, even though, yes, it is a spiritual journey, and not an actual one of actually being present in Jerusalem. To us, it is the journey of mind and heart…but we must go…we must take the journey to surrender…to God…for the kingdom.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
We all need to go to the foot of the Cross.
We need to talk about what it all means to us, as followers of Christ! We all need to grow in faith. We all need to grow in faith, into a higher and deeper walk with Christ.
There is a “first blessing”—that of coming alive in Christ, and there is a “second blessing”‘, the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
In John 3:5, Jesus answered,
“…I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless that person is born of water and the Spirit…”
In this message it’s been my purpose to discuss an aspect of faith that has been, so it seems, missing from much teaching in the Christian faith, about how we need to receive the “second blessing” a genuine Spirit-equipped life as a committed follower of Jesus.
Something seems to be missing…in our congregations, in our seminaries…in our own Spiritual growth…in our witness to those seeking a sense of God’s wholeness.
My intention today is to cultivate a very real unplowed spiritual field to bring about a rich harvest in the Risen Jesus. Yes. We need to be born again. Yes. We needto be baptized with water as an outward sign of what God has done in our hearts. And… Yes. We need the “second blessing”—that is—like the Apostles, to receive the full blessing of the Holy Spirit—to be fearless in venturing forth (as the Disciples finally did) being filled with the Holy Spirit. The “second blessing” is significantly missing in the Christian Church. Sometimes, it’s missing in me. I need to be revived in the Holy Spirit from time to time…and so did John Wesley, and Martin Luther, too. I’m sure it was true of Saint Francis as well as Billy Graham.
No wonder it seems our people in the Church are, all too often, reluctant to give of their time, their effort, their talent, their financial resources, their testimony…
as a willful personal sacrifice…in a post-modern world that desperately needs to hear about the Risen Christ. They think that water baptism is the end of the line, the last and final thing, so to speak, in terms of our life’s journey with Christ. It seems significant to me that John the Baptist preached about Jesus baptizing with the Holy Spirit “and with fire” (Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16). The Risen Christ returns to the disciples to “breath on them”—the Holy Spirit touched them to make them fearless and to make their mission in Him “everything” in their lives. It seems to me we need the same in our time. It is the biblical way to grow strong in Jesus and literally transform our lives and our priorities.
There seems so much resistance to this in my experience. It should not be so.
It’s the desire of us all that Christians filled with the Spirit may more significantly enhance Church life, provide much needed enthusiasm for faith focus, and healing hope in the case of people suffering from physical, emotional, and mental discomfort and disease. All Christians have the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:13) but the intensity evident in many is a mere flickering flame rather than a raging fire…but always in control…
I liken the model of many of our congregations being like an automobile with two passengers in the front, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the back seat…
What we need to do, a direction for our church, (our churches) is to get rid of the old model, buy a new automobile, with seating for three in front, and make room for all three Persons in the front.
May you have a magnificent Sunday, and added to that all the days of this week, and be blessed to the maximum. God loves you and wants youto experience all the very best in this life!
Cordially,
Tom
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