18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 4:24 - "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
COME HOLY SPIRIT FALL ON ME NOW
Sung by: House of Heroes/GMF Netherlands & Myanmar Choir
Written by: Caroline Tjen (City Harvest Church)
Come Holy Spirit
Fall on me now
I need Your anointing
Come in Your power
I love You holy spirit
You're captivating my soul
And everyday I grow to love You more
I'm reaching for Your heart
You hold my life in Your hands
Drawing me closer to You
I feel Your power renew
Nothing compares to this place
Where I can see You face to face
I worship You in spirit and in truth
283,320 viewsMar 25, 2010Amy Grant sings El Shaddai for 700 club in the year 1983.
Lyrics
El shaddai, el shaddai El-elyon na adonai Age to age You're still the same By the power of the name El shaddai, el shaddai Erkamka na adonai We will praise and lift You high El shaddai
Through Your love and through the ram You saved the son of Abraham Through the power of Your hand Turned the sea into dry land To the outcast on her knees You were the God who really sees And by Your might You set Your children free
El shaddai, el shaddai El-elyon na adonia Age to age You're still the same By the power of the name El shaddai, el shaddai Erkamka na adonai We will praise and lift You high El shaddai
Through the years you've made it clear That the time of Christ was near Though the people couldn't see What messiah ought to be Though Your word contained the plan They just could not understand Your most awesome work was done Through the frailty of Your son
El shaddai, el shaddai El-elyon na adonai Age to age You're still the same (ooh) By the power of the name (ooh) El shaddai, el shaddai (ooh) Erkamka na adonai I will praise You till I die (ahh) El shaddai (ahh)
El shaddai, el shaddai (ooh) El-elyon na adonai Age to age You're still the same (ooh) By the power of the name (ooh) El shaddai, el shaddai (ooh) Erkamka na adonai I will praise You till I die (Praise you) El shaddai (ooh, ooh)
Having given detailed and foundational teaching on the Holy Spirit last Sunday which I felt compelled to do, I don't have the same feeling this week about the Holy Trinity. For those of us who follow, however gently, the Church's Year, today is Trinity Sunday.
God, as Trinity is a core and creedal belief: One God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, totally biblical and demonstrable as such. What we shall do as we look at the passage which has been laid on my heart to preach from, Ephesians 1, is observe what is present in so many scriptures God working as one - Father, Son & Holy Spirit.
1. Unflinching and Unquestioned Inclusion - verses 13-14
[13] And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory.
I am aware I have come into a passage mid flow of what Paul is saying and so, being very concise, the first part establishes how the first, and Jewish believers, came to be incorporated into Christ as part of God's eternal plan.
So, who is the 'you' of verse 13a?
The Christians at Ephesus and the significance in the emphasis of 'you also' is that they were not Jews but Gentiles. When they believed the gospel of Jesus, they became a part of the household of faith without any distinction from the Jewish believers. By extension the 'you' of verse 13a is all Christians from all walks and strata of life down through the ages - us right now! One tier Christianity! Unpack that in your thoughts!!!
Then verses 13b-14, paralleling a point we looked at last week:
Sealed with the Holy Spirit - God's mark of ownership Guaranteeing the inheritance of redemption
Jews and Gentiles (latter is you and me as none Jews) completely on the same footing. No 2nd class or 2nd rate Christians.As I said, one tier Christianity - but too often 'them and us'. Some on pedestals, others not really welcome or side-lined because . . ..
2. Dedicated and Dynamic Prayer - verses 15-23
Last week I highlighted a point on prayers which said we don't always need words just that deep seeking of the mind and will of God. Here, Paul is absolutely specific in his prayer for these Gentile Christians which, please note, is surrounded by thanksgiving for their generous love, for their faith in the Lord Jesus and love for God's people. We also saw, two weeks ago, how Jesus prayed very specifically in the upper room in John 17.
Side note - the Christian faith isn't just about me and God but me, God and other believers!
So, his prayer coming from this thankfulness
For God to acts in us as Father, Son & Holy Spirit - verses 15-17
[15] For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, [16] I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. [17] I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
All three persons are mentioned and so active in the purpose of Paul's prayer which is that we may know Him (God) better because we are given wisdom and revelation. That in turn should arise from some bible knowledge and relationship with God.
Side note - these folks had no new testament! It was in the process of being written and so after what they heard of the Old Testament, the rest would be the accounts being shared about the life and events of Jesus.
For us to open eyed to appreciate our inheritance - verses 18-19a
[18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe
What he is saying is that our hope is based on our inheritance which flows from the victory of the cross with the price of sin paid -forgiveness comes through saying sorry and changing (repentance); death being defeated through resurrection and that brings in life which is eternal!
Check - this is what Jesus has inherited and He is the first to rise and be in the heavenly realm!
In the same breath Paul brings in us knowing the incomparably great power for us as believers. No brevity in his words but that was because he knew all this for himself!
And when Paul gets rolling, he just rocks on and so the final part of what we are looking at which follows on from power:
For us to be constantly aware of the power and authority we are under - verses 19b-23 and I have to read it again:
That power is the same as the mighty strength [20] he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, [21] far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. [22] And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
We have access now to the same power that raised Jesus from death and into eternity That raising placed Jesus in sovereignty over any and every other kind of authority and power - human or demonic - for all time and the result is: everything is subject to him, under his feet, and he rules it all including the church, he is the head over it, which means we / it is his body that serves him and not ourselves.
We have a phrase to the effect: power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
This power, the power of the cross, resurrection and exultation of Jesus: respects, liberates and brings hope and life itself because it was born out of complete servitude and humility by submitting to the corrupting power of sin and death at our hands! (see Philippians 2:5-11). It is the power of victory arising from apparent weakness and defeat!
Conclusion
Finally,
This morning we have explored, broadly, two matters:
That all who are called, who have responded through repentance to that call, and are now In Christ, stand before God as co-heirs. Hopefully we also stand before each other's as equals.
That the Holy Spirit power which lives in us, individually and corporately, also assures that with Jesus reigning over all with complete and utter victory, we are safe.
Yes, life is good, yes life can be tough and at times very, very tough and terrible as well as wonderful things happen to God's children. He suffers with those who suffer and rejoices in the good. We rest assured in joys and struggles that nothing can rob us of what we have or snatch us out of the Father's hand. Jesus, the shepherd king speaking, John 10:28-30
[28] I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and the Father are one."
Now, finally, finally!
I came up with the heading for this talk 'Mind-blowing Realities' and what Paul say is: mind-blowing and stretching at one and the same time. Realities because God is who he is, Father, Son & HOLY SPIRIT - beyond comprehension; but, at the same time He has brought victory out of seeming defeat which results in our security now and for ever. Why? Because through faith / trust in Jesus we have all that Jesus has.
God the Father loves us; Jesus the Son has won salvation and God the Holy Spirit imparts it to you and I freely, but, with the paradoxical cost of our lives as servants of the living God.
Pentecost, the Jewish Festival, was a major festival to celebrate the wheat harvest and also known as the Feast of Weeks. It brought visitors from all over who were either Jews or Jewish converts and we get a clue to geography from the reading and Acts 2:41 the numbers as 3000 + become Christians that day, so there were a lot more! What a Day!
Until that day, since the latter part of Good Friday it seems the disciples were in an in-between place and it remained the same since the Resurrection and it also seems they were also fearful, certainly early on, and maybe even later.
At Pentecost they are released in two ways:
1. From this semi-captivity
2. From the last bit of mental captivity to Jewish expectations, cp Acts 1:6
Now, and in the first instance under Peter's leadership, we get what is the first proclamation of the message of true liberation and salvation which comes through Jesus. The fulfillment of promise, birth of the new era of God's Kingdom and so the birth of the Church which is the new Israel etc. This is the start of the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel.
All that proceeds from the monumental words that lead into the sermon from Peter after he quotes Joel and he says:
This is it, this is what God promised through Joel with reference to the last days. It is starting right now with the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit to all and that mighty things will happen as they are happening right now in your presence. This is it. The Day has arrived and as you see and hear it arrived with a bang.
Today, too often, not always, we are left with a damp squib because some of our understanding of the Holy Spirit is deficit and so without real expectation and you are looking at one who can be as guilty as others! So, for my benefit, and hopefully yours as well, I am going to glance at some verses we have looked at recently along with a few others.
This then will be a bird's eye view of the work, role and importance of the Holy Spirit.
As 7 is a good and complete number in the Bible, 7 points! Of course, there are other aspects to the work of the HS and other scriptures which make similar or complementary points to the ones I list which are quite key and foundational scriptures.
1. Spade Work
The Holy Spirit opens eyes and hearts to the truth.
John 16:5 -11 - Jesus speaking to his disciples in the upper room
[5] but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' [6] Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. [7] But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [8] When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] about sin, because people do not believe in me; [10] about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; [11] and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Only God, through the Holy Spirit, can 'convict' people of their need to repent, turn to God through Jesus and come to a living faith. It follows on from here that when a person comes to that point the Holy Spirit moves to the next stage:
2. Birth Work
John 3:3-8 - Jesus in conversation with Nicodemus
[3] Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."
[4] "How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!"
[5] Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. [6] Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. [7] You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' [8] The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
Spiritual birth - we are all born physically and as such live and grow into physical awareness. Likewise to be spiritually aware in God's Kingdom we have to have spiritual birth.
John 1:12-13 - John introducing the theme at the start of his gospel
[12] Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Paul in Romans 8 talks about and compares life lived without and life lived with the HS - worth look at! He comes to this climactic statement which is apt h in what we are thinking where he uses the word for 'adoption' as the work of the HS:
Romans 8:14-17
[14] For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. [15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Galatians 4:4-7 - the same point but a different context and angle:
[4] But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. [6] Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." [7] So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Jesus is the eternal and natural Son of the Father and heir of salvation - we are adopted as children, and as such co-heirs with Jesus of all he has inherited!
3. Sealing Work
Seal - as on a legal document showing ownership and authenticity. It follows on from what we have just considered:
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
[21] Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, [22] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
4. Jesus Work
John 14:15-21 - back in the upper room and we looked at this in detail a couple of weeks ago
[15] "If you love me, keep my commands. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. [19] Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. [20] On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. [21] Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."
ANOTHER advocate - the HS being to us what Jesus was to his disciples before death, resurrection and ascension.
5. Growth Work
Galatians 5:22-26 - being like and becoming more like Jesus by bearing the fruit of the Spirit - note, 'fruit' singular, these are a whole!
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
forbearance,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
[23] gentleness
and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
How, as we walk in the light of God's word and with the help of the Holy Spirit we are changing and growing!
6. Prayer Work
There is a lot in Romans 8 to challenge, encourage and strengthen us but in terms of prayer I want to look at 2 vv - 8:26-27
[26] In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God.
Paul isn't saying word don't matter but in searching for God's will (you will be done . . . ) words are not always the most important thing and the Holy Spirit helps us align to the will of our heavenly Father
7. Body Work
1 Corinthians 12:1-13
[12:1] Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. [2] You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. [3] Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
[4] There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. [5] There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. [6] There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
[7] Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. [8] To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom,
to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, [9]
to another faith by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,
[10] to another miraculous powers,
to another prophecy,
to another distinguishing between spirits,
to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,
and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
[11] All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
[12] Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. [13] For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
As human beings we have gifts and abilities which we use of the benefit of others as well as ourselves albeit we keep some of them covered up at times!! What Paul outlines here is the oft maligned and neglected gifts of the spirit for the building up of the body of Christ -our brothers and sisters in him.
I was born with gifts, some have to be worked on others come more naturally. What then about when we are born again - cp the conversation of Jesus with Nicodemus? It seems that if we are born of the Spirit and adopted in the family we should have gifts from the Spirit for the benefit and building up of that church family!
Conclusion
Well, as we come out of this, I hope and pray it is with a renewed and invigorated faith and trust where we look to our heavenly Father to do mighty work in our midst and in our lives. A new and renewed liberation from where we have been to where the Lord takes us as churches in France and other countries as well as in us.
Your Kingdom come and keep on doing so, You will be done here as in in heaven and keep on doing so. Your power and glory being seen and appreciated in ever increasing ways, now and until on the very last, only known to you Father, day Jesus returns.
for He is awesome, powerful and merciful, swift to forgive and slow to anger. In Psalm 147 v 3 we read that 'He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.'
The Story of Psalm 147
This psalm tells us something about God’s love and his power. Here, power does not only mean that he rules everything. It also means that he is very, very strong. It is the second of the 5 *Hallelujah Psalms, 146-150. "*Hallelujah" means "*praise the *LORD". This means "tell the *LORD that he is very great". In verse 1, "*praises" are words that say how great somebody is. "*LORD" is the *covenant name for God. A *covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. His people agree to love and obey God. In verse 5 is another word, "*Lord". This is not the same Hebrew word as "*LORD". Hebrew is the language that the *Jews spoke. They wrote the psalms in Hebrew. "*Lord" translates a Hebrew word that means "master" or "someone with authority".
There are three parts in this psalm:
·verses 1 - 6: God’s power in Israel and Babylon and in the skies above;
·verses 7 - 11: God’s power on the earth with plants and animals;
·verses 12 - 20: God’s power in giving his people what they need.
In the Greek Bible, (verses 1-11) make Psalm 146 and verses 12-20 Psalm 147. This Greek Bible makes Psalms 9 and 10 into one psalm. All the numbers from 10 to 146 are one less than in our Bibles. The *Jews translated their Hebrew Bible into Greek about 200 years before Jesus came to the earth.
We do not know who wrote Psalm 147. But many Bible students think that it was after the *exile. The note on verses 2 and 3 explains the *exile. The *Jews used Psalm 147 in the new *temple (house of God) in Jerusalem. Maybe Nehemiah or one of his friends wrote Psalm 147.
What Psalm 147 means
Verses 2 and 3 tell us that God is powerful among the countries of the world. God let the Babylonians beat his people that lived near Jerusalem. This happened about 600 years before Jesus came to the earth. The Babylonians destroyed the city and took the people away to Babylon. Babylon was a country east of Jerusalem. They made them live there for 70 years. They were exiles, (they lived away from their own country). This happened because God’s people did not love him nor obey him. But after 70 years, God destroyed Babylon and brought his people home. He built Jerusalem again and made his people feel happy again. Some of them had broken hearts. This is a way to say that they felt very, very sad (or depressed). Other people had injuries.
Verse 6 tells us about poor people and *wicked people. "*Wicked" means "very, very bad". Perhaps the *psalmist meant the people of Babylon. God threw them to the ground. This means that he destroyed them. He did this when he sent the Persian army to fight the Babylonian army. But God lifted up the poor people. Perhaps they were the *Jewish people. He gave them help to go home from Babylon.
Verse 7 starts the next part of the psalm. The harp usually makes quiet music, but it can be loud.
Verse 8: In the Greek Bible, there is a bit more in this verse. At the end, it says ‘He gives plants for men to use’. Many English translations put this extra bit in.
Verse 9: A raven is a big, black bird. In this verse, God makes sure that other people, animals or birds feed themselves or their young. God does not do it himself. The *psalmist says that God really did it! This is because it is part of God’s great plan. The *psalmist is the person that wrote the psalm.
Verse 11: "In awe" means that you love somebody that you are a bit afraid of! People that are "in awe" of God obey him. Also, they *trust him, (or believe that he will do what he has promised to do).
Verses 12 - 14 start the last part of the psalm. God gives his people a city to live in, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is also called Zion. He gives them a safe country to live in. That is what safe *borders means. He gives his people good food. All this happened after the *exile. Psalm 149 in this set of psalms explains what the *exile was. Bible students think that the *psalmist wrote Psalm 147 after the *exile. It was a psalm for the new *temple. The *temple in Jerusalem was the house of God.
Verses 15 - 18 tell us that God rules the earth as well as the people in it. "Frost" is very little bits of ice. It falls on plants and buildings in very cold weather. Hail is larger bits of ice. It falls like rain or snow. "Icy" means "very, very cold". In verse 18, the weather becomes warm again. Ice becomes water, and the water runs away. Again, God made the rules that the weather must obey. When it is cold, water changes to ice. When it gets warm, ice changes to water.
Verses 19 - 20 end the psalm. They tell us that only the *Jewish people knew his rules and *laws. "*Laws" is another word for "rules". This is not true now, because everybody with a Bible knows God’s rules and *laws. These rules and *laws are not only about what is right and wrong. They are also about what happens in the world.
Word List
bandage ~ a piece of cloth that you put on a *wound.
border ~ edge of a country.
broken hearts ~ a way to say that someone is very, very sad.
covenant ~ two people have agreed what each should do (here, God and his people). Look in Psalm 120 about the covenant.
exile ~ away from your own country.
frost ~ cold white powder like snow.
hail ~ ice in rain.
hallelujah ~ say that the *LORD is great. (Jah is *Hebrew for *LORD.)
harp ~ a *musical instrument.
heart ~ part of the body. *Jews believed that you thought in your heart.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke; they wrote the Psalms in Hebrew.
icy ~ very, very cold.
in awe ~ a bit afraid of someone that you love.
injury ~ a place on your body. Someone has hit you, or cut you with a knife.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a *Jew or anything to do with a *Jew.
laws ~ the rules in a country. In Psalm 147, God’s rules.
LORD ~ the *covenant name for God (in a *covenant you agree with someone).
musical instrument ~ something that makes music when you hit it (cymbals, drum), blow in it (flute, trumpet, horn, shofar) or touch it in a quiet way (harp, lyre). Many of these are in Psalm 150 in Book 5 of The Psalms of David.
pleasant ~ nice; what we like to do.
power ~ See The Story of Psalm 147.
praise ~ to say how great someone is; or, words that say how great someone is.
psalmist ~ the person that wrote a psalm (or psalms).
punish ~ hurt someone because they have not obeyed the rules.
raven ~ a big, black bird.
temple ~ a place where people meet to worship God.
trust ~ believe that someone (usually God in the psalms) will be kind to you.
wicked ~ very, very bad.
wound ~ mark on the body. Someone hit it or cut it.
I would like to share with you all this joyful prayer I found about the wonderful time of Advent.
ADVENT 2
Blessed are you, Sovereign Lord, just and true:
to you be praise and glory for ever.
Of old you spoke by the mouth of your prophets,
but in our days you speak through your Son,
whom you have appointed the heir of all things. Grant us, your people, to walk in his light, that we may be found ready and watching when he comes again in glory and judgement; for you are our light and our salvation.
Blessed be God for ever.
God our Father,
you spoke to the prophets of old
of a Saviour who would bring peace.
You helped them to spread the joyful message
of his coming kingdom. Help us, as we prepare to celebrate his birth, to share with those around us the good news of your power and love. We ask this through Jesus Christ, the light who is coming into the world. Amen.
Lord Jesus, Light of the world, the prophets said you would bring peace and save your people in trouble. Give peace in our hearts at Christmas and show all the world God’s love. Amen.
People of God: be glad! Your God delights in you. giving you joy for sadness and turn the dark to light. Be strong in hope therefore; for your God comes to save.
You are God’s children. Lord make us one in the love of Christ today and for ever. Amen. Have a restful and joyful week-end. N.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Have you ever felt that you were unable to handle a situation the right way? Then I felt inadequate but somehow after admitting it and leaving it to the Lord, things got better and eventually for the best. Though I have read this verse in 2 Corinthians 4:7, I confess that I did not understand it much! Once I realised that I am a vessel for the Lord's love and grace, it became clear. My eyes were open.
When we surrender our whole to Jesus, He restores us, heals us and repairs this 'broken pottery' for his purpose. David says in Psalm 31 I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
The Lord tells us through Jeremiah that He is the potter and He shapes us (the pots made of clay) the way he wants us to be. How wonderful to be looked after by our Father.
This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:2 “Jeremiah, go down to the potter’s house. I will give you my message there.”
3 So I went down to the potter’s house and saw him working with clay at the wheel.4 He was making a pot from clay. But there was something wrong with the pot. So the potter used that clay to make another pot. With his hands he shaped the pot the way he wanted it to be.
5 Then this message from the Lord came to me:6 “Family of Israel, you know that I can do the same thing with you. You are like the clay in the potter’s hands, and I am the potter.” This message is from the Lord.
Going back to Paul's statement, this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us, as human beings, we tend to boast too quickly without even realising it! We do notice when others boast but rarely when we do.
Finally, I like to read this verse of Isaiah, 'We are the clay, You are the potter, We are all the work of Your hands." Our Father who knows us so well moulds us, refines us and transforms us. Are you ready to let Him transform you?
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Power is the special and distinctive prerogative of God, and God alone. Power belongs to God. God is God: and power belongs to him. If he delegates a portion of it to his creatures, yet it still is his power. The sun in the heavens, although it is “…like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course” [Psalm 19:5], yet it has no power to move through the universe except as God directs it. The stars, although they travel in their orbits and no one can stop them, yet they have neither power nor force except that which God daily infuses into them. The tall archangel, near God’s throne, who outshines a comet in its brilliance, and who excels in strength and listens to the voice of the commands of God, still has no strength except that which his Creator gives to him... And when we think of man if he has might or power, it is so small and insignificant, that we can scarcely call it such; yes, when it is at its greatest-when he waves his scepter, when he commands vast armies, when he rules nations-still the power belongs to God. This exclusive prerogative of God is to be found in each of the three persons of the glorious Trinity. The Father has power: for at his word the heavens were made, and by his strength all things continue, and through him they fulfill their destiny. The Son has power: for like his Father, he is the Creator of all things; “Without him nothing was made that has been made” [John 1:3], and “in him all things hold together” [Colossians 1:17]. And the Holy Spirit has power.
It is concerning the power of the Holy Spirit that I will speak this morning; and may you gain a practical example of that attribute in your own hearts, when you sense that the influence of the Holy Spirit is being poured out on me, so that I am speaking the words of the living God to your souls, and the power bestowed on you when you feel the effects of it in your own souls.
1. First, we note that the inner spiritual power of the Holy Spirit has power over the hearts of men and women. Normally, it is very hard to affect a person’s heart. However, if you want to get at them for any worldly purpose you can do it. A cheating world can win the hearts of men and women, a little gold can win their hearts, a bit of fame and a little applause can win their hearts. But there is not a minister alive, who by himself, can win the hearts of men and women. He can win their ears and make them listen; he can win their eyes, and cause those eyes to look at him; he can win their attention, but their hearts are very slippery. Yes, the heart is like a fish that all gospel fishermen find difficult to hold on to. You may sometimes almost pull it out of the water; but slippery as an eel, it slips between your fingers, and evades capture. Many a minister has imagined that he has caught the heart but has been disappointed. It would need a strong hunter to overtake the deer on the mountains. It is too fast for a human on foot to approach.
Only the Holy Spirit has power over the hearts of men and women. Did you ever try your power on a heart? If any person thinks that a minister can convert the soul, I wish they would try. Let them go and become a Sunday-school teacher. They will take their class, they will have the best books that can be obtained, they will have the best rules, they will draw their lines of defenses around their fortified spiritual city, they will take the best child in their class, and if they are not tired in a week I will be very much surprised. Let them spend four or five Sundays in trying, and in the end they will say, “The young person is incorrigible.” Let them try another. And they will have to try another, and another, and another, before they will manage to convert one. They will soon find it is “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” [Zechariah 4:6]
Can a minister convert anyone? Can he touch the heart? David said, your “…hearts are callous and unfeeling.” [Psalm 119:70] Yes, that is very true; and we cannot break through such a hard heart...Many pieces of the true steel that God has put into the hands of his servants has had the edge dulled by being used against the sinner’s heart. We cannot reach the soul; but the Holy Spirit can. He can give a sense of blood-bought pardon that will dissolve a heart of stone. He can, “Speak with that voice which wakes the dead, And commands the sinner to rise: And makes the guilty conscience dread The death that never dies.” He can make Sinai’s thunders audible; yes, and he can make the sweet whisperings of Calvary enter into the soul. He has power over the hearts of men and women. And here is a glorious proof of the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit that he has rule over the heart.
2. But if there is one thing more stubborn than the heart it is the will.
Some believe in freewill. Many dream of freewill. Freewill! Where is that to be found? Once there was freewill in Paradise, and freewill made a terrible mess there, for it spoiled all of Paradise and turned Adam and Eve out of the garden. Freewill once existed in heaven, but it turned the glorious archangel out and a third part of the angels of heaven fell into the abyss. I want nothing to do with freewill, but I will try to see whether I have a free will within me. And I find that I have. I have a very free will to commit evil, but a very poor will to do that which is good.
I demonstrate my freewill when I sin, but when I want to do good evil is present with me, and I cannot carry it out. Yet some boast of freewill. I wonder whether those who believe in freewill have any more power over other person’s wills than I have. I know I have no power. I find the old proverb is very true, “One man can bring a horse to the water, but a hundred cannot make him drink.” I find that I can bring all of you to the water, and a great many more than can fit into this church; but I cannot make you drink; and I don’t think a hundred ministers could make you drink. I have read all about the great preachers, Rowland Hill, and George Whitfield, and several others to see what their secret was; but I cannot discover from them any plan that would work in turning your wills. I cannot coax you; and you will not yield by any other means. I don’t think any man has power over his fellow creature’s will, but the Spirit of God has. “I will make them willing in the day of my power.” He makes the unwilling sinner so willing that he is eager for the gospel; he who was obstinate, now runs to the cross. He, who laughed at Jesus, now begs for his mercy; and he who would not believe, is now made by the Holy Spirit to do it, not only willingly, but eagerly; he is happy, he is glad to do it, rejoices in the sound of Jesus’ name, and delights to obey God’s commands. The Holy Spirit has power over the will.
