We were having the worship service like we usually do, welcoming, cafe and then moving into worship time. Worship was sweet. We ended on a song that talks about how much we love the presence of God. As I began to sing I just wanted more and more to really experience God's presence. For me, and I am just like many of you in that many days are totally "normal". No spiritual highs, just chuggin through the day. But this song reminded me of how we should be hungering and thirsting for the presence of God. I know that there are times when I feel that the Lord is "thick" around me. I sense a reverential respect and awe as my spiritual senses are heightened by His nearness. Often times this will cause me to just cry tears of gratitude of all that He is to me, all that He has brought me through. I just simply longed for Him like that Sunday. When it was time for me to preach, I felt like I just could not enter into that presence. I felt like I just wanted to sit in that song until we had a breakthrough. A breakthrough to more of His presence in our midst.
I released the youth to go with their teacher and began to preach a pretty straight forward message about this season being the season between Jesus' resurrection and ascension. How for 40 days he showed himself to many, many people in the earth. It was during this time that He promised to send "The Promise"- the Holy Spirit. We discussed the mystery of the triune nature of God, how God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost. This mystery, a bit much to be grasped was the majority of our discussion. Then we moved onto looking ahead to the ascension. Christ offered the disciples, something better. He said in the gospel of John that it was "to your advantage that I go away." In other words, the Holy Spirit would now empower every believer after Christ's ascension. Closing the service I mentioned that we were going to spend a few weeks on discussing the nature of the Holy Spirit and what He means to us now as believers. I shared how He brings us power, comforts us and leads us into ALL truth.
Simply said, I offered up a simple call to the altar to anyone who would like this relationship with God, the Holy Spirit. But I reminded them that they had to come through Christ to experience this life transformative relationship with the Spirit. Two teenage girls came forward and I had the privilege of leading them to Christ. Just this next Sunday, we will be baptizing them in their new faith walk with Jesus right in front of the Sea Mist resort in the chilly Atlantic. I am already thinking of all the obstacles that will be in front of them...wanting to help prepare the way for them to run the race with victory. I am so ready to get some ladies around them willing to help disciple them in their faith. What amazes me most about yesterday, that confounds me is that honestly, I think it might have been a sermon that I struggled through the most. I felt like I just couldn't go where I was supposed to go, like there was some hindrances. Yet the Spirit of God, worked in the midst of that. I am reminded that the simplicity of the gospel has power. And that power is connected to the sweet working of the Holy Spirit. I am reminded that God brought those young girls to church (one had never come to church before in her life). And He knew just when they needed to come and what they needed to hear. I am excited to study the Holy Spirit closer in the weeks ahead. Be praying for us, I sense the Spirit will be moving more and more with us like this in these last days.
Peace,
Stuart
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