Hope the Holy Spirit
Hope despite our frailties , fears & failures (thru the Holy Spirit” Romans 8:14-16;22-27
We often quote the Scripture after these passages with much enthusiasm, Romans 8:28,” But we know that to those who love God all things work together for good..” . Today we will on this Day of Pentecost focus on the scriptures that come before that. They talk about the comfort and blessing/work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who claim to be the “children of God” 8:16 .
Israel had many feasts that it observed annually--- Passover, Firstfruits, the Day of Atonement and Pentecost or the Feast of Harvest. The Feast of Pentecost or weeks is mentioned in the Old Testament . Today we celebrate the ingathering of the church in the New Testament under the authority of the gift of the Holy Spirit as seen in our Acts reading. “ And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind…and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” 2: 4 In many places of Europe, it is still customary to go to hilltops during the early dawn of Pentecost ( or Whitsunday) to pray and “ catch the Holy Ghost. ..expressing in symbolic language the spiritual fact that only by means of prayer can the divine dove be ‘caught’ and the graces of the Holy Spirit obtained.” (Christian Feasts and Customs, Weiser, pg. 253)
Today I have titled this sermon “Hope despite our frailties, failures & fears.” Because we as Christians have the Holy Spirit we have hope. I have been delivered from fear. We have not received a “spirit of bondage unto fear, but (ye) have received a spirit of adoption where we cry,’Abba, Father’” Romans 8:15 I like what Luther said here:
“ This is but a little word, and yet notwithstanding it comprehendeth all things . The mouth speaketh not , but the affection of the heart speaketh after this manner. Although I be oppressed with anguish and terror on every side, and seem to be forsaken and utterly cast away from thy presence, yet am I thy child, and thou art my Father for Christ’s sake: I am beloved because of the Beloved.”
There came a knock on the door and someone was wanting help to pay a bill. Does having God as my Father help pay the water bill? Does having God as my Father mean I will get every thing I want? No. It does not . It does mean that we are given “ the inheritance of the saints …delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred (us) to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13 It does mean we can say with the Psalmist, “ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27 It means we are given all we need in the life to come , here a deposit of the Holy Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance, the life that is abundant and the life of joy . It also means that we will not be left here without what we need . Philippians 4: 19 “ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I do not have to fear. I have been adopted. God is my Father. I am beloved because I am of the Beloved.
I have hope despite my frailties and they are many. I entered this world dead in sin, a child of Adam, possessing original sin. But when the Holy Spirit adopts us, He gives us a new heart. “ Who can change a sinner’s heart? A. The Holy Spirit alone. Children’s Catechism: An introduction to the Shorter Catechism, q. 40. Q. 38 reminds us , “ Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature? A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven. My frailties will not allow me to enter heaven by my own deeds or goodness which is so-called goodness. Apart from the Holy Spirit, I am at square one, unable to advance on the road to heaven. The wicket gate is closed to me for the burden on my back is too heavy to be removed by myself. Christ who was “holy, harmless, and undefiled “( q. 46) must take my sin away.
As we get older we feel the frail nature we were born with. “ For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I Cor. 13:12 Some things in this life are easy. Some things get harder when we get older. Just a little jar with a funny way to open can frustrate us beyond measure! We just want to take a hammer and whack it! It will not open. Oh, there is a tiny plastic tear I must find and then that will open the plastic around the lid. Then I must open the lid! But it will not open! Take a knife and hit it gently on the lid on the sides making lines….then try again. Usually that works! We are frail. It does not take much to frustrate us. The Apostle reminded me, “ …the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:22-23 “ The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” 8:26
In this life we try and sometimes we fail to achieve our goals, at least all of them. So we feel as though we fail. Yet again we can claim the promise despite our short lives of unachieved ends the work of the Spirit on our behalf. “ …. The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” 8:27 No one is a complete success here. Yet in heaven we rejoice because our sufferings and shortcomings are dealt with. I read this week Revelation 21, “ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…(God) will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.”
Do you and know we are children of God? “ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God , and if children, then heirs----heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” 8:16 Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit given by grace, not earned or deserved to us who believe.
Let us pray. “ Send, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that He may rule and direct us according to Thy will, comfort us in all our temptations and afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth; that we, being steadfast in the faith, may increase in love and in all good works, and in the end obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord. Amen.” The Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1946, p. 310.
We often quote the Scripture after these passages with much enthusiasm, Romans 8:28,” But we know that to those who love God all things work together for good..” . Today we will on this Day of Pentecost focus on the scriptures that come before that. They talk about the comfort and blessing/work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who claim to be the “children of God” 8:16 .
Israel had many feasts that it observed annually--- Passover, Firstfruits, the Day of Atonement and Pentecost or the Feast of Harvest. The Feast of Pentecost or weeks is mentioned in the Old Testament . Today we celebrate the ingathering of the church in the New Testament under the authority of the gift of the Holy Spirit as seen in our Acts reading. “ And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind…and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” 2: 4 In many places of Europe, it is still customary to go to hilltops during the early dawn of Pentecost ( or Whitsunday) to pray and “ catch the Holy Ghost. ..expressing in symbolic language the spiritual fact that only by means of prayer can the divine dove be ‘caught’ and the graces of the Holy Spirit obtained.” (Christian Feasts and Customs, Weiser, pg. 253)
Today I have titled this sermon “Hope despite our frailties, failures & fears.” Because we as Christians have the Holy Spirit we have hope. I have been delivered from fear. We have not received a “spirit of bondage unto fear, but (ye) have received a spirit of adoption where we cry,’Abba, Father’” Romans 8:15 I like what Luther said here:
“ This is but a little word, and yet notwithstanding it comprehendeth all things . The mouth speaketh not , but the affection of the heart speaketh after this manner. Although I be oppressed with anguish and terror on every side, and seem to be forsaken and utterly cast away from thy presence, yet am I thy child, and thou art my Father for Christ’s sake: I am beloved because of the Beloved.”
There came a knock on the door and someone was wanting help to pay a bill. Does having God as my Father help pay the water bill? Does having God as my Father mean I will get every thing I want? No. It does not . It does mean that we are given “ the inheritance of the saints …delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred (us) to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13 It does mean we can say with the Psalmist, “ The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27 It means we are given all we need in the life to come , here a deposit of the Holy Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance, the life that is abundant and the life of joy . It also means that we will not be left here without what we need . Philippians 4: 19 “ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” I do not have to fear. I have been adopted. God is my Father. I am beloved because I am of the Beloved.
I have hope despite my frailties and they are many. I entered this world dead in sin, a child of Adam, possessing original sin. But when the Holy Spirit adopts us, He gives us a new heart. “ Who can change a sinner’s heart? A. The Holy Spirit alone. Children’s Catechism: An introduction to the Shorter Catechism, q. 40. Q. 38 reminds us , “ Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature? A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven. My frailties will not allow me to enter heaven by my own deeds or goodness which is so-called goodness. Apart from the Holy Spirit, I am at square one, unable to advance on the road to heaven. The wicket gate is closed to me for the burden on my back is too heavy to be removed by myself. Christ who was “holy, harmless, and undefiled “( q. 46) must take my sin away.
As we get older we feel the frail nature we were born with. “ For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I Cor. 13:12 Some things in this life are easy. Some things get harder when we get older. Just a little jar with a funny way to open can frustrate us beyond measure! We just want to take a hammer and whack it! It will not open. Oh, there is a tiny plastic tear I must find and then that will open the plastic around the lid. Then I must open the lid! But it will not open! Take a knife and hit it gently on the lid on the sides making lines….then try again. Usually that works! We are frail. It does not take much to frustrate us. The Apostle reminded me, “ …the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” Romans 8:22-23 “ The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” 8:26
In this life we try and sometimes we fail to achieve our goals, at least all of them. So we feel as though we fail. Yet again we can claim the promise despite our short lives of unachieved ends the work of the Spirit on our behalf. “ …. The Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” 8:27 No one is a complete success here. Yet in heaven we rejoice because our sufferings and shortcomings are dealt with. I read this week Revelation 21, “ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…(God) will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away.”
Do you and know we are children of God? “ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God , and if children, then heirs----heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” 8:16 Thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit given by grace, not earned or deserved to us who believe.
Let us pray. “ Send, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that He may rule and direct us according to Thy will, comfort us in all our temptations and afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth; that we, being steadfast in the faith, may increase in love and in all good works, and in the end obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord. Amen.” The Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1946, p. 310.
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