August 23, 2009

Is Our Church Filled with the Holy Spirit?

Revelations 3:14-22

Opening Words: Today, I conclude my sermon series on the Holy Spirit. This sermon series took question form. I have been answering six basic questions about the Holy Spirit. To date, I have answered:

Who is the Holy Spirit?

How do I receive the Holy Spirit?

How does the Holy Spirit help me?

What are the fruits of the Holy Spirit?

What is my gift from the Holy Spirit?

This weekend I will answer the question, “Is our church filled with the Holy Spirit?” As I have said from the very beginning. My goal is not to educate you personally. My goal has been to edify us as a group for Christian service. Our scripture lesson for this weekend comes from third chapter of John’s Revelation, verses fourteen through twenty-two. May God give you ears to hear.

Revelations 3:14-22 14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

We begin our final sermon in this series in John’s Revelation. The author of this literary work was the apostle John, the only disciple who was not martyred. He died as an old man but even in his advanced age he was seen as a threat to the Roman Empire. To limit his influence he was exiled him a penal colony in the Mediterranean Sea on the island of Patmos. John’s life was hard in that isolated place but God used those harsh conditions to speak John. Some scholars believe he had as many as twenty-one divine visions during his time on the island. Revelation is the recorded account of those visions. Our scripture reading for this weekend comes from the very first vision.

In that first vision God had a special message to seven the different congregations in what the Roman Empire called Asia. Those communities are actually located in present day Turkey. It may be a coincidence but each one of these cities is the home of the regional post office. They may have been circulated within that region from those locations. If you examine each one of those letters you will discover each one of those congregations is facing a different situation.

The church that gets our attention today is the last church mentioned, Laodicea. The problem that ancient congregation is facing is not financial. All their apportionments are paid in full. Her banking system, medical school and textile industry benefited all the people. However, their bank accounts could not buy them the one thing that they really needed for effective Christian service, the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t always that way. At one time the church had been on fire for Jesus but the fire had gone out. In verse sixteen we are told they are lukewarm, neither hot or cold. Have you ever been involved in a church that had grown lukewarm for Jesus? Have you ever been involved in a church that owned all kinds of things but didn’t have the one thing they really needed to make a difference for Jesus in this world, the Holy Spirit? Something tells me you have.

They tell me in the Greek Islands you can find the home of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. They also tell me that in that same area there is an olive tree, dating back Hippocrates day. That makes the tree 2400 years old! The trunk of this tree is very large but completely hollow. The tree is little more than thick bark. There are a few long, straggling branches, supported by sturdy wooden poles every few feet. It has an occasional leaf here and there and might produce a few olives annually. In the fields around, however, are olive groves in many directions. The strong, healthy, young trees with narrow trunks are covered with a thick canopy of leaves, under which masses of olives can be found each year. The tree of Hippocrates can still be called an olive by nature, in that it still shows the essential unique characteristics, but it has long since ceased to fulfill an olive tree's function. Tourists file up to inspect this ancient relic, having some link to a dim history, but the job of the olive tree passed long ago to many successions of replanted trees. Do you know any churches like that olive tree from Hippocrates’ day? The form is there, but the function is not. They have stopped reproducing and are satisfied just looking big, or having a noble past.

Our question for this weekend is: is our church filled with the Holy Spirit? If your answer is NO then we are much like that church at Laodicea, lukewarm. Of all the questions asked during this sermon series this maybe the most relevant one. Remember the primary function of the Holy Spirit is to bare witness to the redemptive work of Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is filling our church, then we should be witnessing to our little corner of the world about Jesus. You answer the question! Are we witnessing for Jesus to our fullest potential or are we coming up a little short? Is Western Reserve more like the 2400 year old tree or is Western Reserve like a young olive tree that is still producing?

This weekend I want to answer our question, is our church filled with the Holy Spirit?, by asking you three more questions. The answers you give will be based on your experience here at Western Reserve. I hope your answer is YES to all these questions but you must answer the questions honestly. Your answer maybe NO. So if you are ready to answer the question, is our church filled with the Holy Spirit?“ say, “Amen!” I learned these divine truths early in my ministry at my seminary church, the Pleasant Grove Christian Church near Lancaster, Kentucky. so I will illustrate each point with stories from that congregation.

Is our church a peaceful place?

This is our first question: is our church a peaceful place? I hope you find Western Reserve to be a peaceful place. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” The word reconciliation means to be at peace. It means to settle past issues and move into the future together. How many past issues need to be settled here so we can move into the future together? Remember the primary function of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the redemptive work of Jesus!

His name was Randolph Scott. He was a parishioner of mine in Kentucky. They told me at one time he had been a big member in that small membership church. He had been generous with his time, talent and money. He had shown some leadership skills during one of the dark days in the life of that congregation. There was a time when he never missed a church function but something happened. No one was exactly sure what happened but something happened. People had their guesses. Some said he overheard someone saying something cruel about his wife. Some said it was the vote that went against him. Others said it was the pastor at the time who didn’t speak to him at the grocery store. It really doesn’t matter what it was. The only thing that mattered was that Randolph Scott was gone! When I arrived at the church it was my job to visit him and get him to come back. They were sure once he met me he would return. They were wrong.

Don’t underestimate the value of being part of a church. Your church membership and participation is extremely valuable. Martin Luther once said, "Apart from the church, salvation is impossible." Not that the church provides salvation; God does. But because the "saved" one can't fully understand what it means to be a Christian apart from the church. That is why the Randolph Scott story is so painful. He was trying to understand God alone! The church teaches you some basic Christian theology. Does anyone here know any Randolph Scott’s? People who were as highly involved in the life of the church. They did everything but suddenly they disappeared. The Holy Spirit brings peace and reconciliation to the church. Why? So we can use all of our energy to learn about God! So we can become more like Jesus. We are in the disciple making business! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” How much peace are you experiencing here at Western Reserve?

Is our church pure?

This is our second question: is our church pure? I hope that you find Western Reserve to a pure place. Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” What Paul is saying is that we must be completely genuine. What we say and do must match! Remember the primary function of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the redemptive work of Jesus!

My seminary church was a small membership church In Garrard County, Kentucky. It was located between Lancaster and Danville. I lived in Danville and became part of that community. It was a sad day in that little town when the newspaper, The Advocate Messenger, reported the minister of the First Christian Church, the largest church in town decided, had been having an affair with his secretary. They left town together one night and decided to take the morning’s offering with them. It made front page news in the local section! It is kind of interesting that on the same day they reported that story, the sales manager of the local Ford dealership ran off with his secretary and took some of the money. The stories were identical except for one thing! The minister’s affair and theft made headlines, the sales manager’s affair and theft draw about twenty-five words on page two. You answer the question. Why was the one story featured and the other story hidden?

It has been true from the beginning of time. The church has always been judged harshly by the world. Can I state the obvious? Satan wants to blemish our witness and label us as hypocrites. We need the Holy Spirit to keep us pure so we will by the world as genuine. The primary function of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the redemptive work of Jesus. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” How pure is our witness at Western Reserve?

Is our church united?

This is our third and final question: is our church united? I hope that you find Western Reserve to be a united place. 1 Corinthians 1:10 says, “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” This church and every church exists for one reason! We are to make disciples for Jesus Christ! Nothing else really matters. We should be 100% united in the goal. In the perfect church 100% of our time and energy should go toward making disciples. Remember the primary function of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the redemptive work of Jesus.

There is school of thought that say small membership churches will always exist because they are just like family. There is an element of truth to that statement. However, in many small membership churches the members aren’t just like family, they are family. At Pleasant Grove the membership was dominated by two families, the Sharps and the Greenwoods. For decades the Sharps and the Greenwoods dominated that little congregation and for generations the Sharps and the Greenwoods didn’t get along. Whatever the issue the Sharps and the Greenwoods took opposite sides. The Sharps always won because they outnumbered the Greenwoods. Then one day the Greenwoods did the unthinkable, they pulled their membership out of Pleasant Grove and joined another church, the Indian Run Christian Church. The Sharps continued without the Greenwoods but it was never the same. The effectiveness of the church was weakened by their absence. The Greenwoods had been gone for years when I arrived but I wondered what that church could have been if the Sharps and the Greenwoods had gotten along? Can anyone here relate to the Sharps and the Greenwoods?

That divided nature isn’t limited to that small membership church in Kentucky. It happens in every church. It happens here. I have never served where there hasn’t been divisions. It isn’t always family against family, sometime it is group against group. I have heard countless stories through the years. Sometime it is the young verses the old. Sometimes it is the new verses the long standing members. Sometimes it is the pastor verses the finance committee. Sometimes it is the choir verses the musically challenged. Sometimes it is the traditional ways verses the contemporary ways. Can I ask you a simple question. What group are you in? Are you a Sharp or a Greenwood? Have you ever wondered how many disciples we could make could just be united? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” How united are we here are Western Reserve?

In a museum at Greenfield Village, Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that. I hope we are not like that.

Is our church filled with the Holy Spirit? The answer to that question depends on your answer to these three questions. Is Western Reserve a peaceful place? Is Western Reserve a pure place? Is Western Reserve united? I hope your answer to those three questions is YES! Because I hope the Holy Spirit can fill our congregation so we can be a great witness to the redemptive work of Jesus! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”