01.28.24 - Spirit II - Empowered

Mark's description of Jesus’ baptism is quick, cryptic, and powerful. The Spirit descends upon Jesus to empower the ministry He is at this instant embracing as the heavens are torn apart and the Father’s voice proclaims the most important affirming statement ever made. This statement of being beloved by the Creator, the One Who takes great pleasure in us His children, is as true for us today as it was for Jesus in the Jordan river that day. He is the pioneer going ahead of us, through baptism and affirmation, through temptation at the hands of the enemy, and ultimately through victorious, impervious resurrection when our journey does not end, but is transformed into that which all things are working toward.

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We begin our journey through the Gospel of Mark by examining his (and his gospel's) role in the New Testament and Scripture as a whole. In just a few phrases, Mark conveys the importance of the coming One Whose sandals a camel-hair-wearing John the Baptist (see Elijah for fashion notes) Whose sandals John is not worthy to untie. And Who, BTW, has a universe-changing experience in the Holy Spirit up His sleeve. 

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An overview of the gospel is presented by a close friend of the apostle Peter. One particular insight involves one of Jesus' healings in which sight is restored through two ministrations by Jesus. The lesson of His staying with us through the healing process until we are healed and our sight is restored is an encouragement when things we hope and pray for do not come about immediately. 

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Today we finish our brief series looking more closely at the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives (and our role in His). At the end of Colossians, Paul describes a significant shift in our identity and circumstance: God has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. We look today at some of the issues surrounding these two kingdoms, and how God has prepares us for battle against the dark side by putting His powerful Spirit within us, and through Him protecting us with God’s multi-faceted armor (Ephesians 6).

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As the Spirit empowers our walk with Christ, the Apostle Paul approaches our relationship with Jesus and His Spirit from several different angles. In the book of Colossians, Paul has a straightforward discussion of living with a focus on Jesus and our gratitude to him. In Romans, Paul examines the role the law has had in suggesting disobedience Paul would never have considered in what we’re calling a wet paint syndrome. If we focus on our weakness and past failures, it increases the chance of our failing again, in contrast to leaving the past behind, walking in the truth of who we are, and “keeping in step with the Spirit.” We finish by looking at Galatians 5 and the replacement of our sinful nature with the gifts of the Spirit. He’s got the power.

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When the waters of judgment  receded from the earth in the time of Noah, it was a dove that brought back the sign that the judgment was over. And so it is a dove that descends on Jesus at His baptism, a sign of the peace and peaceable kingdom that Jesus is bringing (Isaiah 11). The dove rests and stays on Jesus as a sign of abiding presence. Then when the Spirit is poured out on Christ-followers in Acts 2, flames of fire rest upon them much as the dove rested upon Jesus at His baptism. The prophet Joel points to this outpouring as a significant shift in how the universe is run, and we are the benefactors of that fulfillment. He comforts, empowers, seals us, and establishes and maintains our identity as children of the King. February 4, 2024 worship service.

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There are at least three different historic and significant meals invoked by The Lord's Table, each of them bringing added meaning to our taking of communion together. 

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We are seeking to learn more about the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives as individuals and as a church. We began at the very beginning last week, from the opening sentence of Genesis, and found the Spirit at work from then until now. As Christians we benefit from a drastically different experience of the Spirit than even the prophets of the Old Testament. Ezekiel prophecies that God will put a new, softer, undivided heart in us, and because of that Spirit, Paul writes that we can - are able to - walk in the Spirit in a new way unattached to the law but instead driven by Jesus’ faithful righteousness and empowered by His Spirit.

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The Spirit of God is present at creation, hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2. Ages later, John in His Gospel tells us that Jesus is also present at creation, that all things are made through Him. And so the Trinity is together before time, the “family” of God united in this most important work. Then in Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul says that God has chosen us since before creation. So that as the God Family creates, it is with us (with YOU) in mind. Then across the ages, the God Family works to bring us deeper and deeper in so that we can live out our true identity, and live intentional lives that look like our older brother. We are made of the same “stuff” as Him, after all.

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We turn our thoughts to the turn of the year today since we spent last Sunday with the magi and the layers of theme in their story.  In the Book of Lamentations we are reminded that God’s mercies are new every morning, providing a fresh start with each rising of the sun; however, the seam of the calendar is a chance to be more intentional and aware of new beginnings. Paul talks often about putting off our old self and putting on a new person. John the Baptist kicks the gospels off with that message, and we visit with him this morning, prayerfully hoping that in 2024 we will pursue Christ with every rising of the sun (whether we can see it or not, but that’s another sermon).  And by the way, the ambient outdoor temperature as we begin is 2 below zero here at the barn!

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