Reading: Acts 7.54 – 8.1a
This is the start of a short series on the Holy Spirit – looking especially through the eyes of St. Paul. As we journey through Paul’s life we will see
how the Holy Spirit worked in him, helping him to work for God and to transform
him to become all that he could be. And
we know that God wants us all to do the same for each one of us.
Sadly the Church has often misunderstood
the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that
the Holy Spirit is the very presence of God himself in all the world, that we
all need his presence within us.
Many people are fearful of the ‘Holy
Ghost’, thinking it is all much too ‘spiritual’ and strange – not at all
Anglican. I remember some time ago
talking about the work of the Holy Spirit, and how he is God within us, and I
asked people what they thought of the idea.
Quite a few people said it sounded frightening!
Maybe you’re sitting there thinking the
same thing. For many of us, growing up
in the established church, going about our daily lives to school or to work,
being in control of our time and money, there isn’t much need or room in our
lives for the Holy Spirit.
We like to be in control of our lives, and
the thought of allowing God to be in your life through his Holy Spirit, to help
you, guide and direct you may be a disturbing idea.
But remember, this is the same God who
loves you and gave up everything for you – and he wants the very best for you –
so you can trust that even the difficult experiences we go through can be used
in God's overall plan for good. And nothing can separate us from the love of
God.
We first hear about Paul, or rather Saul,
in the story of Stephen in the book of Acts.
The Story of Stephen
We know that for those first believers
before the Holy Spirit came along that life was flat, dull and monotonous. Jesus had ascended to heaven and they were
waiting - without Jesus there is no fire to light up their lives; No love
burning in their hearts; No imagination and inspiration in their minds.
They hid away in small rooms waiting,
praying and fearful of what was going to happen to them. Afraid of being dragged before the crowds
outside the door, and before the Jewish authorities, who had executed Jesus.
Stephen was one of them. An ordinary man who became a follower of
Jesus. And then the Holy Spirit came at
Pentecost, and everything was different.
The followers of Jesus were now filled with new life, new power and new
confidence.
If life seemed flat, dull and monotonous before
– now there was the excitement of new life, new power and new vision for the disciples. If Jesus’ teaching seemed impossible to do before
– now they had the Holy Spirit – God given help and encouragement that was
always with them.
Without Jesus there was no fire to light up
their lives – now it was as if tongues of fire lit up their lives, touching
them with the holiness of God. His love
burning in their hearts, setting them on fire for the Lord, filling their minds
with imagination and inspiration.
They went out with confidence and courage
to share the good news with others around them.
Thousands were added to their numbers, they shared their money and
possessions for the benefit of the Church and the community. They organised themselves to care for the
poor and elderly. And Stephen was one of them.
We are told in Acts chapter 6 that Stephen
was full of the Holy Spirit and was brave and wise – but in the arguments
between those first Christians and the Jews Stephen was seized.
They accused him of speaking against the
Temple and the Law of Moses. Stephen
might have kept quiet and got let off – but instead he is filled with courage
and tells them: "How stubborn you are!" Stephen went on to say:
"How heathen your hearts, how deaf you are to God's message! You are just
like your ancestors: you too have always resisted the Holy Spirit!”
They are so angry with him that they rush
out and stone him to death – the first Christian Martyr. And a young man called Saul was there
approving of his murder. I wonder what
impact this had on him – I think he was impressed by the boldness of these
Christians and he goes on to help hunt them down. We will hear more of what Saul does next and
how he became Paul the Apostle next week.
Application
Now you may be thinking that the story of
Stephen is not a great advert for being a Christian and being empowered by the
Holy Spirit! And you’re right of course,
I'm not encouraging you to go out and become martyrs for the Christian faith.
But I am impressed by the difference that
God brought about in these first Christians through the Holy Spirit. They were transformed and inspired because of
God’s spirit within them.
My friends, this is what Christianity is
all about – not struggling on our own to live up to a set of rules and trying
to be nice to people. We are called to
day by day relationship with the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and
we can only do this by living in harmony with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said it was better that he goes away,
so the Holy Spirit can come to live with us.
According to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, the whole aim of the incarnation
is the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
What higher aim can there be than to have God the Holy Spirit surround
you and be part of your life?
Too often we ignore the Holy Spirit –
perhaps afraid of all this talk of spirits, fire, wind, and different kinds of
tongues! So, we hide away from the Holy
Spirit, keeping God at arms distance, where he can't do anything for us.
That’s really sad, because the Holy Spirit
is a gift from God for everyone who wants to be real with God.
We know that God loves us, don’t we? So is his Holy Spirit going to be good for us
or bad for us? The Spirit of God only
wants our very best – to comfort us in despair, to help us in trouble, to power
us to achieve our best, to fill us with love for those around us.
Conclusion
If we look again at our worship services,
our hymns, and our sacraments – these are all shot-through with the Holy Spirit
– just have a look. But the question
today is this - How about our own lives – are we shot through with the Holy
Spirit?
Perhaps this series on the life of St. Paul
is a good opportunity to think some more about the Holy Spirit, to open our
hearts, our lives, to welcome God to come in and amaze us.
There is nothing to fear – God loves us and
respects our freedom – but he longs that we be more open to God and his
Holy Spirit - to invite him to have more of our lives and to make us
more like Jesus.
Let us pray:
Father God we confess that we often ignore
your Holy Spirit, and we prefer to be tightly in control of our lives rather
than be moved by your spirit.
Help us Lord - take away our fear, fill us
with your Holy Spirit to bring us courage, strength and confidence in you. Amen.
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