There's More to God than What We Know Now ~ Acts 19:1-7 ~ Baptism of Our Lord
“Excuse me, sir. Have you been baptized by the Holy Spirit?”
Several years ago, a total stranger stopped me on the street and asked me that very question.
I told him "yes" (of course I was). But I really wasn’t sure what to say after that…
This question certainly sounded like a test, to determine if someone’s a bona fide Christian. It even sounded a little bit like an accusation; like I wasn’t if I didn’t come up with the right answer…
But Paul had in mind to do none of these things when he found a dozen believers in the city of Ephesus...
Paul asked them if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized—and they told him that they had never even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. They were baptized into John's baptism.
Paul explains that John’s was a baptism of repentance; a baptism that radically re-oriented people’s lives to the coming of Christ.
But Paul announces to them that Christ had come, and that they could now receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that God had promised to them through John.
And as soon as they heard these things, they were baptized again-- this time, in the name of Jesus. At that moment, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. Their whole knowledge and experience of God changed at that precise moment. They were transformed.
Can you imagine holding a certain set of beliefs for years; even decades—and in one moment, those beliefs change? That is what is happening here.
Their faith was built upon a set of beliefs that had been passed down from John the Baptist. For years, they held these beliefs to be God’s whole truth. And they had not been deceived. Their beliefs weren’t wrong.
But God was still speaking—because God had far more in store for them than what already knew. They listened to Paul as he proclaimed God’s Word to them. And through that Word, the Holy Spirit drew them directly to where God wanted them to be—to the waters of baptism. And as God’s Spirit came upon them, they immediately entered into a deeper experience and a deeper understanding of God.
That’s what happens in baptism. We go into the water as sinners, we come out of the water as new people. The gift of the Holy Spirit is power: to believe and trust in God’s promises, to live according to God’s purposes, and experience the awesome power of God’s love.
But the Spirit’s work is not over and down with in an instant.
Very easily, we fall into the trap of thinking that there’s nothing more we can know about God—and we don’t expect God to speak something new to us. We think we know all there is to know from God’s Word. We think that our relationship with God cannot grow beyond what it is now. We’re reluctant to try new styles of worship and venture into new ministries, assuming that the way we’ve always done things is the only way that works.
Yet, wouldn’t it be devastating if there was nothing more to learn about God? If there were no ways for us, as individuals, or as a congregation, to grow?
God has so much more in store for you than what you know right now.
Today, God is calling us to be humble: to admit that we don’t know all of God’s truths; to admit we need the Holy Spirit to help us grow. And we cannot grow unless the Holy Spirit transforms us.
As people baptized into Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit.
God always speaks to us—and we need to listen. Any time we open God’s Word, we should expect to challenge what we know and believe to be true. We should expect God to teach us new things. We should expect God to change our minds. We should expect God to change our ways. We can’t afford to dismiss new teachings that challenge what we already know, dismissing them as false teachings when, they may, in fact, be God’s truth.
We need to be open to new ideas and new teachings and new styles of worship and new ventures of ministry. We must be willing to follow the Holy Spirit in new directions if that is what it takes for us to grow in our faith and our discipleship.
Yet, just because an idea is new does not make it true; nor does it make it God’s will. We walk a fine line between serving God—and serving ourselves. So as the Holy Spirit takes us in new directions, we must be in faithful conversations with one another—because we help each discern what is God’s will. It is only through the wisdom and the courage of our brothers and sisters that we can live and serve God faithfully.
The growth of our faith and the growth of our ministry is not something that we do on our own. These things are being done to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. What this means is that even today, when you leave this place, you won’t be leaving as the same person you were when you came here earlier this morning. And we’re not going to be the same church. We’re being renewed. We’re being transformed.
We have received the Holy Spirit in baptism—and we are blessed, because God is constantly at work in our lives, giving us power to believe in Jesus Christ, and power to become more than just what we are right now. The Christian life is a life of growth—so may our hearts, our minds, our eyes, and our ears be open to learn, to go in new directions, and maybe even to admit that we were wrong. There is more to God’s grace than what we know now—and the adventure of our Christian faith is knowing that we can experience God and knowing God in new and exciting ways…
Several years ago, a total stranger stopped me on the street and asked me that very question.
I told him "yes" (of course I was). But I really wasn’t sure what to say after that…
This question certainly sounded like a test, to determine if someone’s a bona fide Christian. It even sounded a little bit like an accusation; like I wasn’t if I didn’t come up with the right answer…
But Paul had in mind to do none of these things when he found a dozen believers in the city of Ephesus...
Paul asked them if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized—and they told him that they had never even heard that there was a Holy Spirit. They were baptized into John's baptism.
Paul explains that John’s was a baptism of repentance; a baptism that radically re-oriented people’s lives to the coming of Christ.
But Paul announces to them that Christ had come, and that they could now receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that God had promised to them through John.
And as soon as they heard these things, they were baptized again-- this time, in the name of Jesus. At that moment, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and prophesy. Their whole knowledge and experience of God changed at that precise moment. They were transformed.
Can you imagine holding a certain set of beliefs for years; even decades—and in one moment, those beliefs change? That is what is happening here.
Their faith was built upon a set of beliefs that had been passed down from John the Baptist. For years, they held these beliefs to be God’s whole truth. And they had not been deceived. Their beliefs weren’t wrong.
But God was still speaking—because God had far more in store for them than what already knew. They listened to Paul as he proclaimed God’s Word to them. And through that Word, the Holy Spirit drew them directly to where God wanted them to be—to the waters of baptism. And as God’s Spirit came upon them, they immediately entered into a deeper experience and a deeper understanding of God.
That’s what happens in baptism. We go into the water as sinners, we come out of the water as new people. The gift of the Holy Spirit is power: to believe and trust in God’s promises, to live according to God’s purposes, and experience the awesome power of God’s love.
But the Spirit’s work is not over and down with in an instant.
Very easily, we fall into the trap of thinking that there’s nothing more we can know about God—and we don’t expect God to speak something new to us. We think we know all there is to know from God’s Word. We think that our relationship with God cannot grow beyond what it is now. We’re reluctant to try new styles of worship and venture into new ministries, assuming that the way we’ve always done things is the only way that works.
Yet, wouldn’t it be devastating if there was nothing more to learn about God? If there were no ways for us, as individuals, or as a congregation, to grow?
God has so much more in store for you than what you know right now.
Today, God is calling us to be humble: to admit that we don’t know all of God’s truths; to admit we need the Holy Spirit to help us grow. And we cannot grow unless the Holy Spirit transforms us.
As people baptized into Christ, we have received the Holy Spirit.
God always speaks to us—and we need to listen. Any time we open God’s Word, we should expect to challenge what we know and believe to be true. We should expect God to teach us new things. We should expect God to change our minds. We should expect God to change our ways. We can’t afford to dismiss new teachings that challenge what we already know, dismissing them as false teachings when, they may, in fact, be God’s truth.
We need to be open to new ideas and new teachings and new styles of worship and new ventures of ministry. We must be willing to follow the Holy Spirit in new directions if that is what it takes for us to grow in our faith and our discipleship.
Yet, just because an idea is new does not make it true; nor does it make it God’s will. We walk a fine line between serving God—and serving ourselves. So as the Holy Spirit takes us in new directions, we must be in faithful conversations with one another—because we help each discern what is God’s will. It is only through the wisdom and the courage of our brothers and sisters that we can live and serve God faithfully.
The growth of our faith and the growth of our ministry is not something that we do on our own. These things are being done to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. What this means is that even today, when you leave this place, you won’t be leaving as the same person you were when you came here earlier this morning. And we’re not going to be the same church. We’re being renewed. We’re being transformed.
We have received the Holy Spirit in baptism—and we are blessed, because God is constantly at work in our lives, giving us power to believe in Jesus Christ, and power to become more than just what we are right now. The Christian life is a life of growth—so may our hearts, our minds, our eyes, and our ears be open to learn, to go in new directions, and maybe even to admit that we were wrong. There is more to God’s grace than what we know now—and the adventure of our Christian faith is knowing that we can experience God and knowing God in new and exciting ways…
Comments
Post a Comment