Holy Spirit Power!
Today we're talking about the power of the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? (3rd person of the Trinity.) What difference does the HS make?
Pentecost- all the apostles were afraid! Gethsemane. Most of the apostles ran away. In fact, one of the apostles was so scared, he backed out of his robe, and ran away naked! Peter, the big, bold fisherman, was so scared of the little servant girl who asked him if he knew Jesus, that he denied it!
But, after Jesus died and rose again, he promised something new to the apostles. Power. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;"(Acts 1:8). He promised the apostles that they would be able to do greater things than even He did! That they would be able to drink poison and heal the sick and raise the dead, and move mountains and walk on water...
Even after seeing Jesus having risen from the dead, and all the other miracles they saw, and Jesus went up to heaven, and two angels were like "What's up".... they still didn't get it. They were still scared.
What changed?
Pentecost. One day, they were all locked in one room. Suddenly, there was a noise like a great wind, then tongues of fire came and rested on their heads. Can you imagine this? Nobodies hair caught on fire, but they all had fire on their head! And then what happened? They went out and preached! They were so excited, everyone thought they were drunk! But Peter was like "we're not drunk. What kind of person gets drunk at 9 in the morning?". And another weird thing- everyone understood what they said in their own language! It's like in the UN, how they all have translators- minus the translators!
But here's the biggest thing- 3000 people became Christian that day. Not bad for a days work!
So here we are today- Clear Water Academy. Are we filled with the Holy Spirit? Anybody here ever raise someone from the dead? Ever walk on water? (Frozen water doesn't count.)
(Once when I was a kid, I tried to walk on water, in my little swimming pool out back. It didn't work).
Why can't we do these things that Jesus promised us we would be able to do? Don't we have the Holy Spirit? How many people here have the Holy Spirit in them?
How many people here were baptized? If you were baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit. The question is, is the Holy Spirit making a difference?
Chocolate milk analogy.
Have you noticed, it is possible to have the Holy Spirit in you, and no one will even be able to tell! When you were baptized, you received the Holy Spirit. This is what is known as an 'indelible mark'. "Indelible" means it wont come off. If you fall asleep at a party, and someone draws a mustache on you with indelible marker, it won't come off! (Most markers, even permanent markers, wash off if you try long enough. Marker story, selling chocolate bars.)
So, if you have been baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit in you- forever. You can choose later to not love God, to commit all kinds of sins, to not even believe that God exists- but the mark of baptism will remain.
So like the chocolate milk, it should make a difference, but in order for it to make a difference, you have to keep it stirred up! This means you keep praying, keep doing examinations of conscience, etc.
So what difference will it make? Eventually, as you get holier, you might learn how to do miracles. Saints were just normal people who kept the Holy Spirit so stirred up that they could do extraordinary things. There's also a saying in Christianity "Grace builds on nature". So what is a natural gift you have?
God can make that gift supernatural! So, if you are a dynamic speaker, God can supercharge your speaking! If you are good at throwing parties, God can make you the best party thrower ever! If you're good at highland dancing, dance like crazy! Of course, God can do all these things- but you do it in God and for God. If you just want to be a good party thrower so everyone will like you better... well, maybe that won't cut it. But if you want to plan events that will bring people closer to God... now we're talkin!
However, even if you're doing all kinds of miracles, dancing like crazy, giving good talks, and throwing incredible parties... that's not why the Holy Spirit came to you!
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is an example of the fruits of the Spirit. God doesn't just want you to be some amazing magician- He wants to transform you into the kind of person He created you to be! What is a fruit? What is the fruit of the apple tree? Why is the apple the fruit, and not the leaves?
A fruit is the part that creatures other than the one bearing the fruit enjoy, it's like something that plant offers, and it bears seeds. Jesus said our good deeds were like fruit. If we are like a fruit tree, than what good are we if we don't have any fruit? Jesus once went to a fig tree to try to get some figs, but the tree didn't have any, so he cursed it, and it wilted! Jesus wants us to bear fruit, and He gives us the power to be able to do it- this is the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. (To this list, the Church adds generosity, modesty and chastity)
Define each. These things could all be human virtues, but God gives us the grace if we live by the Spirit to have them at an extraordinary level! This is how the Spirit sanctifies us.
The Catechism also lists the 7 gifts of the Spirit.
1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
The Gift of Wisdom gives us insight into why things are as they are and what needs to be done.
The Gift of Understanding helps us to understand complicated things about the faith, like the Trinity or maybe moral things that we don't necessarily like or agree with.
The Gift of Counsel (*Right Judgment) Helps us to make good decisions which will in turn bring us closer to God.
The Gift of Fortitude (*Courage) is more than just bravery. Courage always works in regards to doing what is right.
The Gift of Knowledge helps us to know things we couldn't otherwise know. This helps us too to know the impact of sin on our lives, and the value of good things like life.
The Gift of Piety (*Reverence) means specifically having a devotion and love for God, but it also can mean respecting the traditions handed onto you.
The Gift of Fear of the Lord (*Awe In His Presence) is not an unhealthy fear that says "No! God is going to smite me!" but a rational fear that considers how incredible and powerful God is, and respects that power. A lot of people sin and think "who cares, God will forgive me!" These people lack the gift of fear of the Lord.
So here's what I propose. I want each of you to think of one gift and one fruit that you would like God to give you more of. Then ask the Holy Spirit to give you these things!
Pentecost- all the apostles were afraid! Gethsemane. Most of the apostles ran away. In fact, one of the apostles was so scared, he backed out of his robe, and ran away naked! Peter, the big, bold fisherman, was so scared of the little servant girl who asked him if he knew Jesus, that he denied it!
But, after Jesus died and rose again, he promised something new to the apostles. Power. "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;"(Acts 1:8). He promised the apostles that they would be able to do greater things than even He did! That they would be able to drink poison and heal the sick and raise the dead, and move mountains and walk on water...
Even after seeing Jesus having risen from the dead, and all the other miracles they saw, and Jesus went up to heaven, and two angels were like "What's up".... they still didn't get it. They were still scared.
What changed?
Pentecost. One day, they were all locked in one room. Suddenly, there was a noise like a great wind, then tongues of fire came and rested on their heads. Can you imagine this? Nobodies hair caught on fire, but they all had fire on their head! And then what happened? They went out and preached! They were so excited, everyone thought they were drunk! But Peter was like "we're not drunk. What kind of person gets drunk at 9 in the morning?". And another weird thing- everyone understood what they said in their own language! It's like in the UN, how they all have translators- minus the translators!
But here's the biggest thing- 3000 people became Christian that day. Not bad for a days work!
So here we are today- Clear Water Academy. Are we filled with the Holy Spirit? Anybody here ever raise someone from the dead? Ever walk on water? (Frozen water doesn't count.)
(Once when I was a kid, I tried to walk on water, in my little swimming pool out back. It didn't work).
Why can't we do these things that Jesus promised us we would be able to do? Don't we have the Holy Spirit? How many people here have the Holy Spirit in them?
How many people here were baptized? If you were baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit. The question is, is the Holy Spirit making a difference?
Chocolate milk analogy.
Have you noticed, it is possible to have the Holy Spirit in you, and no one will even be able to tell! When you were baptized, you received the Holy Spirit. This is what is known as an 'indelible mark'. "Indelible" means it wont come off. If you fall asleep at a party, and someone draws a mustache on you with indelible marker, it won't come off! (Most markers, even permanent markers, wash off if you try long enough. Marker story, selling chocolate bars.)
So, if you have been baptized, then you have the Holy Spirit in you- forever. You can choose later to not love God, to commit all kinds of sins, to not even believe that God exists- but the mark of baptism will remain.
So like the chocolate milk, it should make a difference, but in order for it to make a difference, you have to keep it stirred up! This means you keep praying, keep doing examinations of conscience, etc.
So what difference will it make? Eventually, as you get holier, you might learn how to do miracles. Saints were just normal people who kept the Holy Spirit so stirred up that they could do extraordinary things. There's also a saying in Christianity "Grace builds on nature". So what is a natural gift you have?
God can make that gift supernatural! So, if you are a dynamic speaker, God can supercharge your speaking! If you are good at throwing parties, God can make you the best party thrower ever! If you're good at highland dancing, dance like crazy! Of course, God can do all these things- but you do it in God and for God. If you just want to be a good party thrower so everyone will like you better... well, maybe that won't cut it. But if you want to plan events that will bring people closer to God... now we're talkin!
However, even if you're doing all kinds of miracles, dancing like crazy, giving good talks, and throwing incredible parties... that's not why the Holy Spirit came to you!
1 Corinthians 13
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is an example of the fruits of the Spirit. God doesn't just want you to be some amazing magician- He wants to transform you into the kind of person He created you to be! What is a fruit? What is the fruit of the apple tree? Why is the apple the fruit, and not the leaves?
A fruit is the part that creatures other than the one bearing the fruit enjoy, it's like something that plant offers, and it bears seeds. Jesus said our good deeds were like fruit. If we are like a fruit tree, than what good are we if we don't have any fruit? Jesus once went to a fig tree to try to get some figs, but the tree didn't have any, so he cursed it, and it wilted! Jesus wants us to bear fruit, and He gives us the power to be able to do it- this is the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. (To this list, the Church adds generosity, modesty and chastity)
Define each. These things could all be human virtues, but God gives us the grace if we live by the Spirit to have them at an extraordinary level! This is how the Spirit sanctifies us.
The Catechism also lists the 7 gifts of the Spirit.
1830 The moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are permanent dispositions which make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
1831 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
The Gift of Wisdom gives us insight into why things are as they are and what needs to be done.
The Gift of Understanding helps us to understand complicated things about the faith, like the Trinity or maybe moral things that we don't necessarily like or agree with.
The Gift of Counsel (*Right Judgment) Helps us to make good decisions which will in turn bring us closer to God.
The Gift of Fortitude (*Courage) is more than just bravery. Courage always works in regards to doing what is right.
The Gift of Knowledge helps us to know things we couldn't otherwise know. This helps us too to know the impact of sin on our lives, and the value of good things like life.
The Gift of Piety (*Reverence) means specifically having a devotion and love for God, but it also can mean respecting the traditions handed onto you.
The Gift of Fear of the Lord (*Awe In His Presence) is not an unhealthy fear that says "No! God is going to smite me!" but a rational fear that considers how incredible and powerful God is, and respects that power. A lot of people sin and think "who cares, God will forgive me!" These people lack the gift of fear of the Lord.
So here's what I propose. I want each of you to think of one gift and one fruit that you would like God to give you more of. Then ask the Holy Spirit to give you these things!
posted by Peter van Kampen at 2:13 PM
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