"In The One Spirit"

(1 Corinthians 12:3-13)

Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

INTRODUCTION:

On February 2, 1985, the Daytona 500 Auto Race had just begun. The drivers were just beginning the third lap, when all of a sudden the $250,000 machine, driven by professional driver Donny Allison, rolled to a stop on the infield side of the track. When it was checked out, they found out that no one had filled it with gas. (1)

Can you imagine how embarrassing that was. During one of the top races in the country, one of the top drivers in auto racing stalled because he had run out of gas. Unfortunately, that is where many churches are and where many individuals are in their spiritual life, trying to drive and live on an empty tank.

I. PENTECOST:

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples and the day we mark as the birthday of the Church. For me, there is no better day to bring a group of Confirmands into the Church. Because this is the day in which God sent the Holy Spirit to empower the people of God to do the work of God in the world. This means that none of us ever have to attempt to live the faith or to walk the walk or to do the work of God on an empty tank ever again. Instead, now we can be infused with the power of God and the presence Christ.

II. POWER:

A. POWER: Through the Holy Spirit, every Christian has access to the power of God in Christ. Not power like in The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Not power like that which the nations of the world have struggled to gain or maintain. Not power like the oomph behind the bats of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa. But power more like the power of the Energizer Bunny™, the power to keep going and going no matter what the circumstances.

Our founder, John Wesley, understood the importance of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He wrote that through the presence and the power of God's Holy Spirit each Christian should:

"Do all the good you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as you ever can."

Through the Holy Spirit we are empowered to carry out the will and the work of God; and to live as God's children.

B. TO REMEMBER: The Holy Spirit also empowers us to remember. Garfield, from the comics, gets up one morning and still half asleep, looks in the mirror. Seeing his face he says, "Boy, do I need a shave." Then you hear the electric razor buzzing and Garfield's frantic thought, "Wait a minute!"

In the final scene, John has this startled look on his face as he sees Garfield with the fur shaved off the bottom half of his face. And with a very perturbed look on his face, Garfield says, "I forgot I was a cat, okay?" (2)

Just like Garfield, sometimes we forget who we are. Sometimes we forget that there are other people in our lives and in the world. Our memories malfunction and sometimes we forget how much we need God. I once heard CBS television commentator, Charles Kauralt say, "There are three kinds of memories - good, bad and convenient."

The Holy Spirit fills us with good memories. The Spirit empowers us to remember who we are and more importantly, WHOSE we are. We all need that reminder. And in the face of the Kentucky, Arkansas, Colorado and Georgia school shootings; and the bomb threats at the Allen schools, our children especially need that reminder. They belong to God. They need never fear being alone or being unloved, again.

C. TO COMFORT: The Holy Spirit is the Power of God to help us remember and the power of God to bring us comfort. A number of years ago, in a sermon entitled Grieve Not The Holy Spirit, King Duncan told of an organization in Hollywood California called The Holy Ghost Repair Service, Incorporated. They're not in the business of repairing shoes or watches or automobiles. Their stationary states their purpose as "repairing broken lives for Jesus . . . in the power of his Spirit." Now, we might express it a little differently, but that's what our church is about! That's what all churches SHOULD be about. We're in the business of "repairing broken lives for Jesus in the power of his Spirit." (3)

And some of us know what it means to have broken lives. There is an old western legend about a rancher who was out riding and came upon an Indian friend lying flat on the ground with his ear pressed against the earth. Without looking up the Indian said in broken English: "Wagon, . . wagon pulled by horses , . two horses , . . one black, one white , . .man driving wagon , . .long beard , . .wearing buckskin , . .woman in wagon , . .dressed in calico , . ." The rancher was amazed. "You mean you can tell all of that just by pressing your ear to the ground?" he asked. "No," groaned the Indian. "Wagon run over me thirty minutes ago."

Some of us have had those times in our lives when we've felt like we were run over by a wagon or worse. We've all had those times when we were in need of the Holy Ghost Repair Service. Today we give thanks that we have a very real comforter, unseen presence to see us through those times and remind us that we belong to God

III. ONGOING:

A. The final thing that we know about the Holy Spirit is that Christ promised that this power from God would be ongoing. This may be the greatest blessing of all, to know that when our batteries run down, God's don't. To know that when the energy levels in our lives suddenly quit, God's don't. To know that when the trials circumstances of life cause us to just shut down mentally, spiritually and emotionally, God doesn't. That's God's promise to us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. God's power and presence never shuts down. God's comfort never ends. We don't and we won't ever run out of God or God's blessings. We don't and we won't ever run out of God's Grace and the salvation offered through Christ. We may close our ears and eyes so we don't hear God's call or see God's presence. We may shut ourselves off or simply ignore God at those times. But God doesn't quit; God doesn't give up. Jesus told the disciples, "I will not leave you orphaned." and "Remember, I am with you, even to the end of the world." Through the Holy Spirit, God is with us. We are not alone.

B. Now to shift gears just a little. This has been one of the best Confirmation Classes I've ever had the privilege of leading. Not the material I used but the youth. The youth who went through confirmation put me on the spot with some very difficult questions about our faith and beliefs; questions which were born out of their journey with God and their growth in faith. In just a few minutes we will be witnesses as these youth make a public profession of their faith in Christ and become full members of the Church.

Even though we've talked a lot about what it means to be a Christian and a member of the Church, these youth really don't know what God has in store for them. The disciples didn't. I didn't. Neither do our youth. God could be calling one or more of them into ministry or into the mission field. God could be calling one of them to be part of God's healing ministry through the medical or counseling profession. These youth don't know exactly what it is that God is calling them to do. But like the disciples our youth are responding to God's call. They have heard the voice of Jesus say, "Follow Me." And they are following.

William Morrow once said, "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." (4)

Today we are lucky. We not only get to hear the Spirit's witness, we get to see it moving and working in the lives of these youth.

CONCLUSION:

It is a great privilege to tell the story of our Savior. But it's an even greater privilege to empower others to tell the story. That's really what Confirmation is all about.

In a minute these youth will all become members of the Church, some of them will be baptized. But they will profess their faith in Christ as their Savior. From this point on, their will never be the same. God will have a claim upon them and they upon God. They will be one with us and one in the spirit. And God in Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will lead them on to Christian Perfection. But don't expect too much right away. They will still be our kids, not Saints. One of them may grow up to became a St. Francis of Assisi or even a Mother Theresa. But most of us don't become Saints over night. Help them claim their inheritance and celebrate their faith. Trust in Christ Jesus and live your life of faith as an example for them.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

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Bibliography

1. William R. Lampkin, MINUTE DEVOTIONS, (Lima, Ohio: Fairway Press, 1990).

2. Garfield by Jim Davis, 11-11-91

3. King Duncan, (Seven Worlds Publishing, Knoxville, TN)

4. Homiletics: April - June 1996, p. 26.

Other References Consulted