What Gift Did You Get?

January 8, 2012 1^st Sunday of Epiphany

Gen 1:1-5, Acts 19: 1-7, Mark 1: 4-11

This past Friday, January 6, was when the church celebrated Epiphany. Traditionally Epiphany is at the end of the 12 days of Christmas and it commemorates the recognition of the light of Jesus that was given to the world at Christmas, the visit of the Magi to the new born king of the Jews, and also the baptism of our Lord Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.

When I think of Epiphany I think of the Star of Bethlehem that lighted the way for the Magi to find the Christ child. Epiphany also makes me think of candles being lit in the darkened room, when the space around us, the reality of what is there, is illuminated and we can see.

For some of us Epiphany also signals the true end of the holidays, the time to take down the Christmas decorations, start working on our New Year’s resolutions, and returning to school, work and regular routines of our lives.

The word Epiphany is a curious word of Greek origin that has the meaning of “manifestation.” Today we use the word to mean something like and “Ah Ha” moment. We have seen the cartoon of a kid with a bright light bulb over his head…that is epiphany; a sudden understanding, when the light goes on, when we are not in the dark any longer! You’ve probably heard someone say…I’ve just had an epiphany, and they mean that something important has just dawned on them.

The Scripture we have for today goes along with the story of Jesus being baptized, particularly the part of the story that depicts the Holy Spirit. The text from Genesis 1:1 is the very first words of the Bible, and in them the Holy Spirit of God is present. Our text from Acts 9 is another story about the Holy Spirit. So today I'm going to talk about the person of the Holy Spirit.

Usually when we talk about the Holy Spirit of God it feels a little bit like we are dropping in to the mysterious realms of the supernatural. For some of us that feeling is a little uncomfortable. We are the kind of people who do not believe in the so-called mysteries that other people believe in. The Holy Spirit is the part of God that scholars have told us blows like the wind, anoints us, falls upon us, fills us and is with us from the time we are baptized onward.

For those of us with scientific and reasoning minds, who like the idea of empirical evidence, look upon the Holy Spirit like spiritual radio waves, crop circles, or Bigfoot...The part of God of which there is evidence, but the part of God we cannot see; the part of God that is what I call “woo-woo.” Today I hope the words we share will enlighten us somewhat about this mysterious Ruah of God, as we look into the work and purpose of God’s Holy Spirit in the world.

Paul had come to Ephesus from Corinth, having arrived there after the preacher Apollos had left Ephesus and gone to Corinth. There Paul ran into a group of 12 disciples, obviously men who had been taught about Jesus by Apollos.

Earlier in the text we are given a description of Apollos’ ministry in Ephesus. It appears as though he was a true believer in Jesus and he had successfully challenged the Jews who lived in Ephesus, yet the baptism he had preached was the baptism of John. We know is because when he reached Corinth, two of the leaders the Corinthian church, Aquilla and Pricilla, corrected his teachings. Also when Paul arrived and met some disciples, they had not heard of the baptism in the name of Jesus.

Paul proceeds to set to the disciples straight about baptism. He told them that the baptism of John was a baptism of repentance and that those baptized should believe in the one who followed him, that is Jesus Christ. Whether or not these 12 disciples were Christian disciples at that point or simply disciples of John the Baptist is not really known.

After hearing Paul’s explanation, I’d safely say that the disciples of John had an epiphany, because they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And when Paul laid hands upon them, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, evidenced by their gift of speaking in tongues. Maybe you remember when you were baptized and the pastor and others laid hands on you and prayed for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

It is pretty clear from scripture that the particular ability of speaking in tongues was given to people and that it was evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit, or that that person had received the Holy Spirit. I believe that the gift was used then (as now) to provide assurance to those who were accepting Christ. I believe this supernatural gift was given to “prove” the good news, that the life-changing work of God had come into them. The ability to speak another language was proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit within them.

The same is true today for persons who speak in tongues. I don’t want to talk about that particular gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift around which there is a good bit of controversy. What I will say is that it is important for us not to judge others when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God gives the gifts, and we should not judge God in these areas.

What I do want to talk about today is the Holy Spirit.

Who is this third person of the Trinity? What does the Holy Spirit do? Can we really cast a clear understanding of God the Holy Spirit?

Jesus told his disciples that when he was gone physically from the earth, when he ascended to heaven, after him would come one whom he called the helper (Jn 16:8). The Holy Spirit is the presence of God sent to help us.

Being with those baptized in Jesus Christ, helping them is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit, but that is not the primary work. The primary ministry of God the Holy Spirit is to make known Jesus Christ in the world, to glorify God in Jesus, which is to say…moving in the world—through and with the people of God—for the redemption (saving) of all creation, all people.

The ministries of God the Holy Spirit is multifaceted. Have you ever sat down with your Bible, fully intending to study some passage or other? You read the scripture, and it makes no sense to you. You read it again, still…nothing. Silently you mention to God the trouble you are having and then open your Bible again…and everything has changed, the scripture is illuminated, you see things you have never seen before. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is the inspiration and interpretation of God's word to us (Acts 1:16, 2 Pet 1: 20-21, Jn 16:13).

One thing we must clearly understand about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is fully divine (Mat 28:19, 11 Cor 13:14). The Holy Spirit was not created by God. The Holy Spirit is God, but distinct from God. The Holy Spirit was present with God when the universe was created. There hovering over the face of the deep was God the Holy Spirit. And when God said let there be light, there was light.

The Holy Spirit is also distinct from our Lord Jesus Christ, but is the spirit of Christ in the earth (Gal 4:6; 1 Pet 1:11). When we say the phrase, come Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus is present with us in the Holy Spirit.

Evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence is all around us all the time, even though we may not always be aware of it. I want to say to you today, that we should always and everywhere have confidence in our faith in the absolute presence of the Holy Spirit being with us everywhere all the time. That understanding, that faith is critical to us, because at times life can be devastatingly difficult.

Outside of those difficult times, when we intentionally look for God’s presence, see God's work among us, those sightings, those epiphanies, God’s work in the times of blessings builds our faith and that faith will sustain us when the tough times come upon us. People of God, look for the presence of the Holy Spirit in your own life. Pray for a stronger witness of the Holy Spirit in your life. Learn to recognize the Holy Spirit at work.

You may wonder about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and also the fruit of the Holy Spirit. First let's talk about the fruit. In the text we read from Acts this morning, the disciples who were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ exhibited one of the gifts of the spirit, speaking in tongues. A gift of the Spirit is distinguished from the fruit of the Spirit in this way. A gift is something we do. Fruit is something we are. In order to receive the gifts of the spirit, something we will do for God through the spirit, we must first exhibit the fruit of the spirit.

A listing of the fruit of the Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. Basically the fruit of the Spirit are character traits, and they would be the traits of Jesus Christ, the traits of God. We exhibit them to the degree we allow God to work in our lives. The more we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, the more we are formed into the image of Christ.

It is easy to understand now how much we need God's help in order to exhibit the fruit of God’s spirit. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to continuously work within our hearts to enable us to be more like Jesus. For a while we might be able to be loving, kind and gentle on our own, but without the help of the Holy Spirit, all of us would revert back to our miserable selves, looking and acting exactly like people outside the faith of Jesus Christ. We know that's true.

Imparting gifts to Christians is another ministry of the Holy Spirit. Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to build up the body of Christ. I know how much of us enjoy the music we have at Pisgah. We are blessed to have individuals like Becky, Teresa, and Cale, who minister to us. These are folks whose gifts have been imparted by the Holy Spirit. Because they allow God to work in their lives, we, the body of Christ are built up. Because they use the gifts God has given them our faith in God grows.

A listing of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are found in the New Testament: prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, showing mercy(Rom 12: 6-8) performing miracles, healing, administration, speaking in tongues (1 Cor 12: 28-31), faith, giving words of wisdom and knowledge, distinguishing between spirits, interpretation of tongues (1 Cor 12: 8-10), evangelism, and hospitality (Eph 4: 7-12).

God is so gracious in giving human beings natural talents which then become empowered by the Holy Spirit and used to bring glory to God and buildup the church of Jesus Christ. The natural talents we receive from God come from the common grace of creation, and God uses them to benefit those in the earth (Mozart, Shakespear, Michael Phelps.)

Spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit are special and they come from the redemptive grace of Jesus Christ. Spiritual gifts are given to Christians for the benefit of both the world and to build up the church. (Charles Wesley, Billy Graham, Casting Crowns.)Spiritual gifts are imparted by the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever wondered: what is my spiritual gift? Do I even have one? I would say definitely, we all have some of the spiritual gifts of God. And, the more we seek God to know when to understand our spiritual gifts the more they will be revealed to us. The more we desire to use the spiritual gifts we have, the greater God will enhance them within us.

Maybe God has given you the gift of encouragement. Have you ever ask yourself am I using my gift of encouragement to build up the church, to grow the church? Perhaps your gift is leadership. Same question: am I really using the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given me to build up the church, to grow the church? Sometimes, unfortunately we waste the wonderful gifts God gives us. I'm afraid that's a terrible sin in the church of Jesus Christ today. We simply do not use what God has given us to build God's church, to grow God's church by doing the work of the Holy Spirit in presenting and convincing nonbelievers of the truth of Jesus Christ.

Today as we contemplate the baptism of the disciples of John, and see how they were immediately given God's special gift of speaking in tongues, I hope each one of us will consider what gift of the spirit we've been given. We might just get an epiphany today that I talked about earlier…God may illumine us and tell us exactly how God is calling us to use that gift. Amen.