6th Sunday of Easter 5/9/10 Text Acts 16: 6-15
6th Sunday of Easter
05/09/10
Text: Acts16:6-15
Title: The Holy Spirit At Work.
In preparing for Pentecost Sunday the day in which the Christian Church celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit giving birth to Christianity I am going to spend the Sundays up to then talking about the Holy Spirit. Just who is the Holy Spirit, what does he do, and what part do we play in his work? These are all questions that I will answer before Pentecost Sunday, for on Pentecost Sunday we are going to see the Holy Spirit at work right here at Saint John in Hattiesburg Mississippi. I am not going to tell you how, but I promise you will see the Holy Spirit at work.
I wish that our Epistle reading had started three verses further back, for without those three verses it is hard to see what the verses in our reading for this morning are all about. It looks like it is just about Paul meeting a woman named Lydia, but there is much more than that in this particular text.
In the verses 6, 7, and 8 preceding this story we are told that Paul and Silas along with Timothy, a fellow disciple who had a Jewish mother and a Greek father were on what we now call Paul’s second mission trip. They were heading up the coast planning to go East into an area known then as Asia, which has nothing to do whith what we know of as Asia today. The area they were going into was what we now know of as Turkey.
Here are the verses, “And they went through the region of Phrygia (Frig e uh) and Galatia, (Ga lay sha) having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to the Mysia, (Miss e uh) they attempted to go into Bithynia, ( buh thin e uh), which is not quite as East as their original plans, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mysia, (Miss e uh) they went down to Troas.”(Tro as) It is in Troas (Tro-as) that the reading for today starts.
I have read this to you this morning because without knowing those verses you would think that Paul only went to Macedonia which far northwest of where he was planning to go only because of his vision. You would miss the work of the Holy Spirit which was already moving Paul and his fellow missionaries toward Macedonia (mass a doe n e uh) particularly Philippi (phil a pie) before he had his vision.
We know that Luke the physician has joined Paul, Silas, and Timothy in their missionary journey toward Philippi (Phil a pie), for Luke in writing this account of Paul’s travels first starts using the pronoun “we” in verse 10. So now we have Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke plus probably some others assisting the missionaries in Philippi. (Phil a Pie)
We see that one Sabbath they go outside the city gate to find a place of worship. They reason they are doing this is that there had to be at least 10 Jewish men to form a synagogue and since there were evidently not 10 Jewish men in the city Jewish believers and converts would go outside the city to meet in the city to hold prayer services. There he meets Lydia, or more properly a woman from Lydian where Paul had originally meant to go when he was headed to Asia or Turkey as we know it today.
Lydia, as we are told was a seller of purple fabric. Purple fabric was only worn by the rich and powerful, for it was very expensive to manufacture. It read that it took 12,000 of a certain kind of shellfish to make 1. 5 grams of the dye which is equal to 33000th of a lb. I wonder if the robe that was put on Jesus the night he was condemned came from Lydia.
We know that Lydia believed in God, for we are told that in verse 14. God opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was teaching. She believed and was baptized by Paul and then, we are told, persuaded Paul and his group to stay at her home. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke now have a benefactor to help support their mission trip.
I have told you all this morning because it shows the power of the Holy Spirit. He literally stopped Paul in his tracks, so that Paul and Lydia could meet up. God knew that Paul needed help in his mission work and put a wealthy woman in his path and maybe; we don’t know converted her, so that she could spread the Word of God back where she came from. That is the way God works when he wants something done. He makes it happen even when the people involved don’t necessarily want it or expect it to happen.
As I have studied the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is recorded in the Bible I noticed that there appears to be different levels of receiving the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit gives a person faith, for we are told that we by nature don’t want to be near God, so something outside of us must give us faith.
We also know by what God has recorded for us that the Holy Spirit will give different gifts to people so that they then can better do his will. We see that in Pentecost where the disciples were given the ability to speak in the different languages of the people coming into Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost.
And today’s Gospel reading shows us that the Holy Spirit will actively intervene in a person’s life so that God’s will can be done. He will put you where he wants you when he wants you to be there. We believe that right? But do we act like we believe it in our lives? I am afraid for many Christians it is like a story that I read about a group of Viking warriors who in coming to faith were being baptized. As they waded out into the nearby river to be baptized, they all went under the water while holding their right arms high above their heads, so they would not get wet. When asked why they replied that they did not want the arm and hand that bore the sword to go under the water, for they knew that whatever goes under the water in baptism belongs to God. They were willing to let their bodies-and thus their lives-belong to God, but not their sword arms. That belonged to them. We laugh, but that is how many Christians live, as they compartmentalize their lives.
Robert Benne in Reasonable Ethics writes, "Too many of us are 'partial Christians.' Our Christian convictions apply only to a small part of our life-and that portion is shrinking. It will continue to shrink unless we regain a comprehensive vision of life that helps us reunite what modern life breaks apart."
He goes on to describe two ways the modern world drives this compartmentalization in the lives of even Christians. "First, it separates our lives into independent sectors that are governed by the principles developed in and by those sectors. Education is education, politics is politics, economic life is economic life. . Worship of God is strictly worship of God to be done on Sunday morning. Even private life is often understood according to the principles of psychology and sociology.”
The second way our modern world, or as it is now called our Post-modern world, Benne writes “that in its teaching that science will provide all we need, it separates us from the heights and depths of our lives. Science is expected to understand and provide guidance for each area of life. This seems to leave little room for human freedom.”
According to science we are nothing more than complex electrical systems that are programmed to do what we do. Intelligence, emotions, and even faith are boil down to electrical impulses. He writes that “Besides leaving very little room for human freedom it does not allow for the mystery of God's presence and action in one’s life." The result is that Christian convictions apply to only a small area of life and not the whole person and life. And one’s life is left empty and meaningless.
But when a person believes that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that one can come to faith in God, the God who in the person of Jesus came to be one of us bearing the wrath of God that they still deserve there is a change, for meaning is given to their life. Their life is deeper and richer. There is a peace in the worst of circumstances and life itself is better. So how do we get there from here?
According to God’s Holy Word we can only get there from here by reading and studying, and meditating on the Word of God, for that is the instrument that the Holy Spirit has chosen to work through. Having doubts, not sure of your faith? Is your faith life being thrown back and forth like a chip of wood in a rough sea? If you are you need to open your Bible and attend at least one of the many Bible studies that are offered to you for your spiritual growth. As a Christian you simply need to be anchored in the biblical vision of life, for the Bible reveals God as living and moving through all of life and history.
He is thus active in all areas of human life and demands and arouses in us through the work of the Holy Spirit human response in all areas of one’s life. We cannot compartmentalize our lives, for to do so is to reject his saving act. Amen.
05/09/10
Text: Acts16:6-15
Title: The Holy Spirit At Work.
In preparing for Pentecost Sunday the day in which the Christian Church celebrates the giving of the Holy Spirit giving birth to Christianity I am going to spend the Sundays up to then talking about the Holy Spirit. Just who is the Holy Spirit, what does he do, and what part do we play in his work? These are all questions that I will answer before Pentecost Sunday, for on Pentecost Sunday we are going to see the Holy Spirit at work right here at Saint John in Hattiesburg Mississippi. I am not going to tell you how, but I promise you will see the Holy Spirit at work.
I wish that our Epistle reading had started three verses further back, for without those three verses it is hard to see what the verses in our reading for this morning are all about. It looks like it is just about Paul meeting a woman named Lydia, but there is much more than that in this particular text.
In the verses 6, 7, and 8 preceding this story we are told that Paul and Silas along with Timothy, a fellow disciple who had a Jewish mother and a Greek father were on what we now call Paul’s second mission trip. They were heading up the coast planning to go East into an area known then as Asia, which has nothing to do whith what we know of as Asia today. The area they were going into was what we now know of as Turkey.
Here are the verses, “And they went through the region of Phrygia (Frig e uh) and Galatia, (Ga lay sha) having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to the Mysia, (Miss e uh) they attempted to go into Bithynia, ( buh thin e uh), which is not quite as East as their original plans, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Mysia, (Miss e uh) they went down to Troas.”(Tro as) It is in Troas (Tro-as) that the reading for today starts.
I have read this to you this morning because without knowing those verses you would think that Paul only went to Macedonia which far northwest of where he was planning to go only because of his vision. You would miss the work of the Holy Spirit which was already moving Paul and his fellow missionaries toward Macedonia (mass a doe n e uh) particularly Philippi (phil a pie) before he had his vision.
We know that Luke the physician has joined Paul, Silas, and Timothy in their missionary journey toward Philippi (Phil a pie), for Luke in writing this account of Paul’s travels first starts using the pronoun “we” in verse 10. So now we have Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke plus probably some others assisting the missionaries in Philippi. (Phil a Pie)
We see that one Sabbath they go outside the city gate to find a place of worship. They reason they are doing this is that there had to be at least 10 Jewish men to form a synagogue and since there were evidently not 10 Jewish men in the city Jewish believers and converts would go outside the city to meet in the city to hold prayer services. There he meets Lydia, or more properly a woman from Lydian where Paul had originally meant to go when he was headed to Asia or Turkey as we know it today.
Lydia, as we are told was a seller of purple fabric. Purple fabric was only worn by the rich and powerful, for it was very expensive to manufacture. It read that it took 12,000 of a certain kind of shellfish to make 1. 5 grams of the dye which is equal to 33000th of a lb. I wonder if the robe that was put on Jesus the night he was condemned came from Lydia.
We know that Lydia believed in God, for we are told that in verse 14. God opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was teaching. She believed and was baptized by Paul and then, we are told, persuaded Paul and his group to stay at her home. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke now have a benefactor to help support their mission trip.
I have told you all this morning because it shows the power of the Holy Spirit. He literally stopped Paul in his tracks, so that Paul and Lydia could meet up. God knew that Paul needed help in his mission work and put a wealthy woman in his path and maybe; we don’t know converted her, so that she could spread the Word of God back where she came from. That is the way God works when he wants something done. He makes it happen even when the people involved don’t necessarily want it or expect it to happen.
As I have studied the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is recorded in the Bible I noticed that there appears to be different levels of receiving the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit gives a person faith, for we are told that we by nature don’t want to be near God, so something outside of us must give us faith.
We also know by what God has recorded for us that the Holy Spirit will give different gifts to people so that they then can better do his will. We see that in Pentecost where the disciples were given the ability to speak in the different languages of the people coming into Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost.
And today’s Gospel reading shows us that the Holy Spirit will actively intervene in a person’s life so that God’s will can be done. He will put you where he wants you when he wants you to be there. We believe that right? But do we act like we believe it in our lives? I am afraid for many Christians it is like a story that I read about a group of Viking warriors who in coming to faith were being baptized. As they waded out into the nearby river to be baptized, they all went under the water while holding their right arms high above their heads, so they would not get wet. When asked why they replied that they did not want the arm and hand that bore the sword to go under the water, for they knew that whatever goes under the water in baptism belongs to God. They were willing to let their bodies-and thus their lives-belong to God, but not their sword arms. That belonged to them. We laugh, but that is how many Christians live, as they compartmentalize their lives.
Robert Benne in Reasonable Ethics writes, "Too many of us are 'partial Christians.' Our Christian convictions apply only to a small part of our life-and that portion is shrinking. It will continue to shrink unless we regain a comprehensive vision of life that helps us reunite what modern life breaks apart."
He goes on to describe two ways the modern world drives this compartmentalization in the lives of even Christians. "First, it separates our lives into independent sectors that are governed by the principles developed in and by those sectors. Education is education, politics is politics, economic life is economic life. . Worship of God is strictly worship of God to be done on Sunday morning. Even private life is often understood according to the principles of psychology and sociology.”
The second way our modern world, or as it is now called our Post-modern world, Benne writes “that in its teaching that science will provide all we need, it separates us from the heights and depths of our lives. Science is expected to understand and provide guidance for each area of life. This seems to leave little room for human freedom.”
According to science we are nothing more than complex electrical systems that are programmed to do what we do. Intelligence, emotions, and even faith are boil down to electrical impulses. He writes that “Besides leaving very little room for human freedom it does not allow for the mystery of God's presence and action in one’s life." The result is that Christian convictions apply to only a small area of life and not the whole person and life. And one’s life is left empty and meaningless.
But when a person believes that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that one can come to faith in God, the God who in the person of Jesus came to be one of us bearing the wrath of God that they still deserve there is a change, for meaning is given to their life. Their life is deeper and richer. There is a peace in the worst of circumstances and life itself is better. So how do we get there from here?
According to God’s Holy Word we can only get there from here by reading and studying, and meditating on the Word of God, for that is the instrument that the Holy Spirit has chosen to work through. Having doubts, not sure of your faith? Is your faith life being thrown back and forth like a chip of wood in a rough sea? If you are you need to open your Bible and attend at least one of the many Bible studies that are offered to you for your spiritual growth. As a Christian you simply need to be anchored in the biblical vision of life, for the Bible reveals God as living and moving through all of life and history.
He is thus active in all areas of human life and demands and arouses in us through the work of the Holy Spirit human response in all areas of one’s life. We cannot compartmentalize our lives, for to do so is to reject his saving act. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 4:08 AM
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