Tears of Joy
“FIRE. God of Abraham, God of
Isaac, God of Jacob, not of philosophers and scholars. Certitude, heartfelt
joy, peace. God of Jesus Christ. God of Jesus Christ. "My God and your God."
. . . Joy, Joy, Joy, tears of joy. . . Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. May I never
be separated from him!”
This is part of Blaise Pascal’s journal written on November 23, 1654. After years of wandering, Pascal experienced the living God, the God of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since then, he was never the same. He always carried this note in his coat until he died.
The Holy Spirit in the Old
Testament
The Spirit brings life. When
God created Adam, he breathed into him the breath of life. And Adam became a
living being (Gen 2:7). Another powerful image of the Holy Spirit as life-giver
is the vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. One day God took
hold of Ezekiel and brought him out to the middle of a valley that was full of dry
bones. There God asked him, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answered, “O Lord
God, you know.” Then God commanded him to prophesy to these bones. And he did.
As he was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came
together, bone to bone. But there was no breath* in them yet (*In Hebrew
and Greek the words for “wind,” “breath,” and “spirit” are the same.). God
commanded Ezekiel to prophesy for the second time. So Ezekiel prophesied to the
breath, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that
they may live!” As he was prophesying, the breath entered into them. They came
to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army. The Holy Spirit brings new
life to his people.
The Holy Spirit in the New
Testament
The Spirit brings power. As
Jesus was about to begin his ministry, he read his mission statement from the
book of Isaiah 61, saying,
“The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because
he has anointed me
to
bring good news to the poor.
He
has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to
set free those who are oppressed,
to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he said, “Today this scripture
has been fulfilled in your hearing.” From that day, Jesus never stopped
preaching, teaching, and healing (cf. Matt 4:23). Later when Peter preached the
good news to Cornelius, he summarized Jesus’ ministry in this way:
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with
the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38
NLT) With the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus proclaimed the good news, healed
the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, set free those oppressed, and cast out
unclean spirits.
After Jesus was raised from the dead, he promised to his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This promise is fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. We see this throughout the book of Acts. It’s the Acts of the Holy Spirit. People’s lives are changed. The church is strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Wesely at Aldersgate
The story of the Acts of the Holy
Spirit continues throughout the church history. One great example is John
Wesley’s life. He did everything he could do – rigorous spiritual disciplines
and good works. He even volunteered to go to Georgia as a missionary to the
settlers and the Indians. After an unsuccessful two-year mission, Wesley wrote, “I
went to America, to convert the Indians; but oh! who shall convert me? who,
what is He that will deliver me from this evil heart of mischief? I have a fair
summer religion.” (January 24, 1738)
One evening Wesley attended a Moravian meeting. In his journal Wesley said: “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” (May 24, 1738) That night the Holy Spirit came to Wesley’s heart. He was renewed and empowered. It is estimated Wesley preached over 40,000 sermons, traveled over 250,000 miles on horseback, and wrote or edited around 400 publications for his lifetime.
Acts 29
The Holy Spirit still brings life
and gives power to his people. About 13 years ago I visited Korea to attend my
grandmother’s funeral. While I was there, my grandfather gave me his
handwritten journal. As a Methodist pastor, he was appointed to several
different churches throughout his life. Wherever he was sent, those churches
were strengthened and revived. In his journal my grandfather recorded the
surprising work of God in detail at his last church where he served for 27
years. He wrote, “For 27 years there, 13 people were set free from unclean
spirits in the name of Jesus and became faithful Christians and church leaders,
4 paralyzed people were healed, 7 people (5 children and 2 adults) were raised
from the dead, and many who were suffering from various cancers and terminal
diseases were healed in Jesus’ name.” I personally saw some of these miracles
with my own eyes while attending his church. Surely the power of the Holy
Spirit was with him and his ministry.
His cultural and historical ministry context might be different from ours today, but God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still and always at work around us. Just as God brought dry bones to life, so God is able to bring us and the church to new life through his Holy Spirit today.
Today we will have a time of prayer for healing, anointing with oil. James 5:14-16 says, “Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up, and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.”
Our God is able. The Holy Spirit brings life to the slain. The Holy Spirit brings healing to the sick. The Holy Spirit brings reconciliation with God, with other people, and with oneself. The Holy Spirit gives power to the faint. Here faith and repentance are the key. Let us come to the Lord with a trusting heart and contrite spirit. Now we will take a moment to offer a prayer of confession in silence. After that, you are invited to come forward to the communion rail, and Joyce and I will pray for your healing or prayer needs with anointing.
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