Sermons for the Month
The Spirit Said What?
DATE: May 13th, 2007
SERVICE: 6th Sunday of Easter
TEXT: Acts 16:9-15 and John 14:23-29
“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace
and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His
Holy Spirit. AMEN
I began my sermon preparation this week by reading an unusual article by Dan Clendenin, who creates a weekly reflection on the assigned texts titled, "The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself". In it he was comparing a well-known television evangelist with Thomas Jefferson. Now, you have to admit, that's pretty odd.
His point was that he is really uncomfortable with some of the things this particular television evangelist says that the Holy Spirit tells him. For example, this person once said that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had a stroke as God's punishment for Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip. Such extreme statements, he said, cause him to lean toward the philosophies of Thomas Jefferson and other 18th century deist who believed in a supreme being who created the world, ordered it with predictable laws of nature and morality, and then let it run itself.
The point is that one does not have to worry about the deist God speaking to you. Therefore, one does not have to sort out whether what one hears is from God or some other source. (1)
But, there's a problem. In the Bible, and particularly in the book of Acts, God speaks to people. Three times in chapter 16 alone God spoke to Paul and his companions, including today's text in which Paul had a vision of a man standing on the sea shore, imploring, "Come over to Macedonia and help us". So it is that a few days later they land in Philippi. This was the first time that Paul had set foot in Europe.
So, if God spoke to Paul, we are inclined to believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit God may speak to us. The challenge then is to sort out how and when that happens. Before I address that challenge though (maybe to avoid doing so) let me tell you another story. This was shared with me by a nurse at St. Luke Lutheran Community when I worked there, and unfortunately I don't have a reference for it, but here's the account.
There was a missionary who was working in an unpopulated tropical setting. Once each month he traveled some distance to a city for supplies. The trip was a long one, so he had to spend the night in the jungle. He was accustomed to this, however, and usually camped in the same place each time. So it was that on one particular journey, as he camped in the jungle clearing, a man who said he needed medical attention surprised him. The missionary provided what help he could, and they both went on their ways.
Once in the city the missionary visited the bank, purchased supplies and then headed back to his ministry through the jungle, once again spending the night in his usual place, this time without incident. Some time later the missionary encountered the man he had helped in the jungle that night. Amazingly, the man confessed that he had not been alone. The gang of which he was a member was hiding in the foliage.
Having learned that the missionary would be coming that way again the next day, but this time with money and supplies, they planned to rob him on the return trip. They waited near the campsite. Much to their dismay, though, when the missionary came into view he was surrounded by 36 guards, so they left. The missionary had no idea what the would-be robber meant, because he had been traveling alone.
Later, back in the United States, the missionary was speaking at a church and told the story. Suddenly, a man in the congregation stood up and asked the date and time of day that the event occurred. It seemed he had his own story. He said that he and a fairly large church groups were about to begin a golf outing. In fact, they were standing on the golf course, when the Holy Spirit told him to gather the group together and to pray for the safety of someone doing God's work.
Of course, the man thought he was hearing things, and was embarrassed about making such a request of his fellow golfers who were anxious to get onto the course. But, the feeling persisted, so they gathered together and prayed, not really knowing why they had done so. Then they played golf.
The incident had not crossed that man's mind for a long time until he heard the missionary's story. Oh, and one more thing, the number of people who prayed on the golf course that day was 36.
What do you think when you hear that story? It was only after the fact that the Holy Spirit's intervention became clear. I'll admit that when I hear such a story I'm inclined to be skeptical, although I do not go so far as wanting to become a deist. Yet, the fact is that in today's Gospel Jesus promises his followers an Advocate (or Comforter, Counselor, Helper), the Holy Spirit, who will come to teach them everything, and to remind them of what He had taught. Jesus says they are being given an abiding peace that is not of this world.
So, getting back to that question which I avoided with the story, how do we sort out when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us? Well, the first step is to concede that it's a possibility and to ask that the Holy Spirit's guidance be made clear. After all, if we do not believe the Holy Spirit speaks, then it is going to be difficult to hear it. Then, we should consider how the Holy Spirit is made manifest in scripture. There are, of course, books written on this, but a couple basic principles are clear in today's texts.
When Paul follows the Spirit's lead to Macedonia he meets Lydia. This is a woman who fit well into the diverse, active city of Philippi. She evidently was a wealthy woman, an influential merchant who sold purple cloth, an expensive and valuable item at that time. Lydia believed in God, and when Paul arrived the Holy Spirit gave her the ability to hear and believe his proclamation about Jesus. Her home then became "home base" for the Christian proclamation in the region, and no doubt her position of influence helped open up doors for the establishment of the church there.
The point is that the leading of the Holy Spirit in this story, and in many others in Acts, resulted in the expansion of the church. The message was not for Paul's benefit alone, but for the sake of broadening the proclamation of the Gospel.
When, just before his death, Jesus tells his followers that the Holy Spirit will be sent to them he makes it clear that the purpose is to teach them and to bring to mind what Jesus said and did. This is what strengthened them for their ministry, and eventually made it possible for the story of Jesus to be recorded.
Also, the Spirit would come, Jesus said, so that they would not be alone in their difficult calling, it would strengthen and guide them as they stepped forward in faith. It would give them peace, not the kind that occurs because one group has dominated over another, but an internal peace … we might think of it as calm … to draw on as they face turmoil, danger and duress, which they do encounter.
Once again the focus is on that which empowers the believer for the good of the whole, for the purpose of spreading the good news about Jesus. Even that unusual story about the missionary has this focus. The golfers are prodded by the Spirit to pray for someone in danger. Ultimately the result was two-fold, the transforming work of the missionary was preserved and the faith of a group of Christians was strengthened.
Now, this is a whole different thing than God speaking to someone with messages that are malevolent or self-serving. I would say that if that's the case, the source of the message should be questioned.
So, might God speak to any one of us through the power of the Holy Spirit? I would have to say, "Yes." And, a good way to measure if what is being said is of God is to determine if through that message your own faith, or the ministry of the whole, or both, is being encouraged or strengthened. With that in mind… please…for the sake of the Gospel…listen!
AMEN
(1) The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself by Dan Clendenin, for Sunday, May 13, www.journeywithjesus.net.