Receive Ye the Holy Spirit

Yesterday we spoke of the emergence of body, life, activity, and ministry within a parish in which people have become filled with the Holy Spirit. And we saw how members began to function, not just as individuals, but as limbs and organs of the body of Christ. The body of Jesus Christ in a particular place.

And we also saw, I think, that people come to maturity and to attain to the fullness of their potential and being within the community and within the body. And it is through the due activity of each part that the body grows and builds itself up in love. Now, I find that interesting, that we are the body of Christ in a local situation, and that the situation is dynamic.

That in that situation, it is possible for the body to grow and to attain to fullness of being, that it's not something static. The body of Christ maturing, and its different members gaining in strength, and the whole body gaining in strength together. Now, we are the body of Christ, as Paul wrote to the members of the church at Carmel.

And we want to find out and to discover how as Christ's body we are meant to function. And there's a simple way of finding out. And the way is just to look at Jesus, how after he was filled with the Holy Spirit, he began his ministry of word and action.

And when we look at how the eternal word functioned in Jesus, the man, we see how we are meant to function as his body. Therefore, this morning I'm going to read from Luke's Gospel, chapter 4, at the point where Jesus returns from the wilderness. I'm reading from verse 14 in the New English Bible, and I will be missing out some verses a bit later on.

Then Jesus, armed with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and reports about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and all men sang his praises. So he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went to synagogue on the Sabbath day, as he regularly did.

He stood up to read the lesson, and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the scroll and found the passage which says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. He has sent me to announce good news to the poor, to proclaim release for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to let the broken victims go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down, and all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. He began to speak. Today, he said, in your very hearing, this text has come true.

There was a general stir of admiration. They were surprised that words of such grace should fall from his lips. Is not this Joseph's son, they asked? And then we find the answer which Jesus gives that doesn't please them, and we continue reading at verse 28.

At these words the whole congregation were infuriated. They leapt up, threw him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which it was built, meaning to hurl him over the edge. But he walked straight through them all, and went away.

Coming down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, he taught the people on the Sabbath, and they were astounded at his teaching, for what he said had the note of authority. Now there was a man in the synagogue possessed by a devil, an unclean spirit. He shrieked at the top of his voice, What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.

Jesus rebuked him, Be silent, he said, and come out of him. Then the devil, after throwing the man down in front of the people, left him without doing him any injury. Amazement fell on them all, and they said to one another, What is there of this man's words? He gives orders to the unclean spirits with authority and power, and out they go.

So the news spread, and he was the talk of the whole district. On leaving the synagogue, he went to Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was in the grip of a high fever, and they asked him to help her.

He came and stood over her, and rebuked the fever. It left her, and she got up at once and waved it on them. At sunset, all who had friends suffering from one disease or another, brought them to him.

And he laid his hands on them, one by one, and cured them all. Devils also came out of many of them, shouting, You are the Son of God. But he rebuked them and forbade them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.

When day broke, he went out and made his way to a lonely spot. But the people went in search of him, and when they came to where he was, they pressed him not to leave them. But he said, I must give the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, for that is what I was sent to do.

So he proclaimed the gospel in the synagogues of Judea. So here we have a picture of Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, and the various things that he did. Now, the first point that I would like to draw our attention to on the basis of this reading is that Jesus came to his own hometown and his own home synagogue, and in it he stood up and he took the scripture of the prophet Isaiah and read it out, a great declaration of his mission of liberty and liberation.

And when he had read it, in effect he said, that has come true, and it has come true because I am standing here in your midst. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me to do all these things. When Jesus stood up and made that declaration, there was response and reaction, a positive response that the people were filled with amazement and wonder at every eye that was fixed upon him, that words of such grace and power should come from his lips.

On the other hand, as we were to read, there was reaction. Is not this Joseph's son? There was resentment, and there was envy, and in the end they were infuriated and thrust him out of the synagogue and out of the town, meaning to hurl him to his death. A murderous reaction.

But Jesus walks straight through them and proceeds on his way. An initial reaction to him who, filled with the Spirit, had come on his mission. And we are to find that continuing all through the Gospels, not only words of grace, but acts of power, and the people wondering and praising God.

And at the same time, the reaction that continues again and again, where he was pushed out of a Samaritan village where they wouldn't receive him, or the gathering crowd that sent him away, or when he healed a person or cast out a demon, they say, it's by Beelzebub. And in each case, we find that even in spite of their plotting and murderous thoughts, Jesus walks straight through them until the hour comes that is his hour. So this is the first thing when we see Jesus.

Now, we are the body of Christ, and here is the pattern. The things that can and should happen where a body of people are filled with the Spirit and power of Jesus. Now, when I look back again, as I do and have been asked to do, at the parish situation and at our local congregation, I find that these things, all of them, are true, were true in our experience.

First of all, Jesus stood up and boldly said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me. He has appointed me for this work of liberation.

And I have found that when people are filled with the Spirit, at least there is a beginning of a quite new attitude and stance. We begin to leave behind us the miserable sinner attitude, the supine negative kind of way of thinking, of despising ourselves and thinking ourselves worthless and unable to do the work that Jesus wants us to do. And there is the beginning of a new boldness, a new awareness that we're sons and that we're heirs and that the Spirit of God is upon us to do these things.

I remember the Sunday after I was baptized in the Spirit, without the feeling, and stood up and read these words from Isaiah. And I knew that because of what had happened, because it had happened to others, Jesus was there. And that one could and should and was expecting these same acts of liberation, setting people free and healing them, to happen.

Not only did one stand up and say this, but one was aware that in doing so, the congregation was looking with eager eyes, and that there was response and reaction. That there was response, that here was someone who believed now that God was going to fulfill these promises. The forgiveness of sins, the healing of the sick, the giving of new eternal life, free, all the things that God has promised to do.

That there was that response, a drawing of people's hearts to the promises of God, with wonder and with hope. And indeed, as months and years passed, one was to see that this was to be a new thing in all the services. That there was response and reaction, and that, in fact, one did see, even in the church services, that these words of grace reached in with authority to people's hearts.

So that Stephen, in the service, gave his heart to the Lord. So that June, one day of Pentecost, was in the church and suddenly realized that without any knowledge of the teaching, the Holy Spirit was filling. So that one day last autumn, Anna was able, in faith, to take healing.

That these things began to happen and to work within the people, as the Spirit of the Lord was upon us. There was that, and an outworking of all that, of grace. At the same time, there was a resistance, no doubt about it.

Every time one is aware of spiritual battle, and one can see it, resistance that found various ways of expression. But just that you could see the struggle, sometimes people grumbled that the services were too long, when it wasn't just that the sermon was that much longer, but that something was being said in it and through it. I think of one young woman who said, I feel hypocritical coming to church now.

Why? Because Jesus had a body that was there, and its presence was being felt. I feel hypocritical. And you asked and inquired, had there been a yes yet said to Jesus in the heart? No.

But a knowledge that it should be said, and even though one's friend received a remission of cancer for a year, that allowed him and his wife to come and put faith in the Lord. If you yourself haven't yet said yes to Jesus, of course one may feel hypocritical. And there is this kind of resistance.

Sometimes people would say, that group on Sunday night is all very cliquish. Those are the group of people who wait on for two or three hours to praise God and to minister to the sick. Now, when nobody remained behind, when everybody went home and put their feet in the fender and relaxed, there were no complaints at all.

But when some people began to stay, that's a cliquish group. Now, one can have this kind of resistance, and one can be hurt by it, but when we look at Jesus, the one who was there in the body of flesh first to see, and they took him outside the town to Hurlam, down the hillside, we read that he walked straight through them all. And I believe that Jesus does not want us, his body, to get entangled in acrimonious arguments with anybody, but to walk straight through them all.

And it can be done, and should be done, where we are unprovocable, where we learn patience and love and faith and compassion, and we begin to see people not as resistors who hurt us, but with something of the compassion of the Jesus who wept over Jerusalem. So, the body of Jesus, in the local situation, authority, yes, we've got it. Reaction, response, that, too, comes our way, but something for us to rejoice in.

Now, when we go on through that reading that we had from Luke's Gospel, we find that the next thing that happened was that Jesus went to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, and his presence there provoked something. Jesus, from Isaiah, gave that great word of liberation. He had come to set the prisoners free, those who were in bondage.

He had come to undo the work of satan, who had bound so many people with evil spirits and sickness, and one hurt another. And Jesus came and began to undo his work, and his very presence uncovered the enemy. It did so in that congregation in Capernaum.

There was a man there who was presumably one of the normal worshippers in the congregation, and when Jesus appeared, he suddenly began to shout out at the top of his voice, an unclean spirit, crying out and shrieking. And we read how Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and commanded that evil spirit to come out. So here we have an open clash with the enemy.

And I'm sure that we who are Christ's body, when we are Christ's body, it will not be long until in some form or another we have an open clash with the enemy. And we're not to be surprised when it happens. It certainly happened with us, very quickly, that we found ourselves in a relevant dimension that we had no knowledge of before.

First of all, it happened in a temptation kind of experience. Remember, Jesus was filled with the spirit and into the wilderness, and satan began to tempt him, to use this power that he'd received for his own glory. That's what it amounts to.

Well, shortly after we entered into this experience, and we're beginning to find also that Jesus was healing the sick, just beginning to find it, there appeared a person from Armid who came to me and began to tell me of visions that she was having, and messages that were for me, and some of it was a bit flattering. You know, God had showed her my hands, and they were healing hands. I was just beginning to discover that God was healing through my hands, that the emphasis was put on my hands, and began to give messages of things to do.

One was so green, one wondered, was God speaking? Was it the enemy? Happily, this move of the enemy to discredit the work of the spirit. Happily, Christ gave us the insight that by their fruits we shall know them. And this particular person, the fruits were not there, quite the opposite.

And so God led it away from this first temptation. And a year or two afterwards, this person was to come and to confess that the whole vision and everything else were bogus. So the first brush, as it were, openly, was the enemy.

Now, in the case that we read from Luke's Gospel, we find that it was in church that an evil spirit was uncovered in a worshipper. And this raises the question, I mean, is it possible for a worshipper, or a believer, or even a spirit-filled person, to have a demon, or to be under demonic oppression? We were to discover that it is. Now, it happened in this way.

There was a person who was filled with a spirit and a great overflowing joy. A person of considerable character and caliber, and a person who had been in a Christian vocation. And filled with the spirit, a person who was able to make a considerable witness.

But over many years, there had always been a dark side that her friend knew about. She would give way to violent tantrums of temper and of envy, fits of jealousy. She would sometimes bully and abuse her friends, in a very cultured way, of course.

And filled with the spirit, she was able to make a wonderful witness. I remember two young men that she led to make a commitment to Christ. And then she went and spoiled it all.

And outburst of temper, quite unjustified in relation to them. And she sent them back the way they'd come. And then a recurrence of a cancer condition came.

She took ill, and she bore her illness. Sometimes well, often badly. Often with violent tempers and accusations.

And her friends, her close friends, they tried to help her. Very often they would be abused and taken advantage of. And all this time, we were working through this whole situation.

Praying for her, constantly, frequently. Reminding ourselves that she had a very painful condition. Making all kinds of allowances.

And yet, unhappy that there was so much of the dark side that was manifesting itself through her spirit. I began to wonder, is there something satanic in this? Scarcely allowing myself to articulate that. And we prayed about her full condition.

Then one day, in another meeting, a word came through. If you're soft, she'll bounce. If you're hard, she'll break.

And I knew it applied to me. We were through this whole situation. Praying for her, constantly, frequently.

Reminding ourselves that she had a very painful condition. Making all kinds of allowances. And yet, unhappy that there was so much of the dark side that was manifesting itself through her spirit.

I began to wonder, is there something satanic in this? Scarcely allowing myself to articulate that. And we prayed about her full condition. Then one day, in another meeting, a word came through.

If you're soft, she'll bounce. If you're hard, she'll break. And I knew it applies here.

And I knew what I had to do. And I went along to her in her hospital room. And I'd made a list of all the very objectionable things that her friends had put up with over years and years.

And I told her them all. First time I'd ever done anything like that. Her reaction? Well, if I'm as bad as all that, there's only one thing for it.

I may as well go and put an end to myself. And I said, that's exactly what I mean. When you're told the truth, you won't face it, and you try to blackmail.

And I won't have it. An hour later, she rang me from the hospital to explain that when she spoke about putting an end to herself, you see, she was a cultured Christian. She'd really meant that the old self would have to be crucified.

And I said, you meant no such thing. And you'll have to repent of that lie too. Now, I didn't go to see her for a week.

And when I did, she had repented. Come to admit the truth. And this was important for what was to follow.

Because sometimes the enemy is able to get a grip and possession of us through our sins, which if we don't acknowledge and repent, he'll hold on and squat on and it's very hard to move. So, some months went past, and the time of the end drew nearer. And her friends were still so unhappy that a Christian woman should have such an atmosphere of unease about her.

Because there was unease. Torment, even. One night, when she'd become almost unconscious or unconscious, I went to the hospital room.

And I began to do what I hadn't dared to do when she was conscious. I began in the name of Jesus Christ to bid Satan go. And the moment I did so, she got worked into a fearful agitation.

So she was unconscious. So I stopped. And the agitation subsided.

And then I started to do it again. And the agitation grew so intense that the ward sister heard and came in and administered an injection. So I felt, sure, now this is what it really is.

And then composed myself for a quarter of an hour, and built myself up in the Scriptures, and sought to arm myself in the way that Paul speaks of in Ephesians, and then joined battle. And there was a tremendous struggle for about an hour. The name of one demon force after another came before.

And there was a dreadful struggle in commanding it to go before each time it gave way. And about an hour later, utterly exhausted, peace seemed to come. And people after that, entering her room, were met at the door with peace.

Without knowing anything of this struggle, people were to remark on it with peace. Now, I was very grieved in that first encounter and conflict with the enemy. Some things I did not do.

I didn't bind the enemy. I didn't bind the evil spirits. It was a terrible struggle.

And I didn't command them to go and bow the knee before Jesus and never return. And the next morning, I was to find that our daughter collapsed on the kitchen floor. She'd gone to bed perfectly normal.

And a thrush was diagnosed in her mouth. I was to suffer for some time from a nervous kind of condition. I hadn't known to act properly and had to be set free again.

One needs to know the biblical way of dealing with these things. As well as that, I had acted alone. Now, we are the body of Christ in the local situation together.

And I was to learn after this, when one was encountering things of this kind, to let the body be the body and to act out of the strength of the body. Paul speaks of the body growing through the dual activity of each part. Growing and building itself up in love.

Growing stronger. There are some things that a lad of eight cannot do, that a full-grown man can do. We have to recognize this in relation to healing and other things.

As far as the body of Christ is concerned in a particular situation. And there are some things that you need the whole body to do, that the hand alone cannot do. And if the hand alone tries to do it, there is an unnecessary strain and one can be open to attack.

After this, in dealing with any of these demonic things. And mind you, we haven't majored on them, nor sought to. But you see, it happened here in Luke's Gospel.

And it does happen. And we need to know how to cope. I think afterwards, of various instances.

A couple of boys who were involved with that Nuju board. One of them had got to the point where he couldn't sleep at night. He was being wakened up.

He was seeing all kinds of evil presences. He was under so great sedation that he couldn't get up in the morning and go to school. He was terrified and in torment.

His parents just draw it up three or four times a night. Now, when we went to that home, outside our parish. I left a group of people praying.

And went in on the strength to deal quickly and decisively. To show the boys, you've done what is wrong. You've broken God's Word.

Even though you've done it largely in ignorance. The enemy is to be... The sin is to be confessed. The enemy is to be renounced.

Christ has done this for you. You can put your faith in Him. And when all that was done.

A quick word. Binding the enemy. Casting him out.

And going through the whole house. Claiming every room for Jesus. So that quickly, the whole thing was done.

Just a month ago. Somebody rang me up. Again from outside our parish.

A man who had recently become a Christian. And he spoke to me of his wife. That there seemed to be some demonic influence.

Now, I don't go looking for demons behind every bush. And sometimes when people tell me they're there. I don't accept it.

Until there's some real evidence for it. Because you can see them everywhere where they're not. So, when this woman came.

Prayer meeting was going on in the minister's room. I took her and her husband up to the gallery of the church. Where it was quiet.

And began to inquire about her. I found that she had no knowledge or assurance of salvation. And led her to put her faith in Jesus.

With a bit of a struggle getting her past her feeling of being insincere and doing it. You know how it is. Until the knowledge of her insincerity.

Itself underlined her need. And she came to do it. The great sense of God's presence.

And then suddenly. She jumps from the chair. And shouts, let me out of here.

And saying, don't say that to me, don't say that to me. And I knew then it was true. And took authority in the name of Jesus.

And bound the evil spirit. And commanded it to leave. And after a moment.

She subsided in peace. And said, oh I was tormented. I was tormented.

This peace, will it stay? And one was able to assure her that it would. Claim full authority in the situation. Which ensured it.

You can't say that, don't say that to me. The demon had been saying to her. You know how it is.

When we come to Christ. Emotions overflow. Tears flow.

Occasionally, noses drip. And the demon had said, look at you sitting there. With your nose dripping.

Now. I have mentioned this dimension. The body of Jesus Christ.

Has authority. When I had my first brush. Was hurt a bit in the process.

Fit and frightened. I didn't want to have anything to do with that at all. But we've got authority.

Full authority. That name is high over every name. And as God's people.

Together. His body. We're meant to exercise it.

That's it. The next thing. From Luke's Gospel.

The brush was empty. And Jesus rebuked the evil spirit. And found it to be silent and cast it out.

And that's what we are meant to do. We're meant to liberate people. And not to leave them in bondage.

And in torment. The next thing. We read.

Is that. After this. Jesus healed.

Now we've already said a bit. About healing in our own local situation. But we notice here.

That Jesus healed people. One by one. And he dealt with them.

Individually. When he came to Simon's home. He stood over his mother-in-law.

And rebuked the fever. Sometimes he laid hands upon people. And he expected his disciples.

To enter into this ministry. Sending out the twelve. Then the seventy.

And finally. The word at the end. Mark's Gospel for example.

That those who have faith. Will lay their hands upon the sick. So that they would recover.

And signs followed them. And signs should follow now. In any local body.

That is the body of Christ. Because when we see Jesus in action. He was there to heal the sick.

All kinds of sickness. He has borne our diseases in his own body. Carried them away.

Upon the cross. We are his body. Maybe small still.

Maybe babyish and immature. And not too much strength. But we are his body.

And as we grow up. Through the dual activity of each part. We are meant to become strong.

To do the very things. That he did. And there is this impulse.

That is within us. When we are filled with the spirit. To do this.

I mentioned Pauline. Through the impulse. To go and lay her hands upon our babies.

I think of Lila. Who after she was filled with the spirit. Felt led to pray for her son.

Who got a lump. A non malignant one. In his mouth.

And the lump disappeared. And when she took him to the doctor. He said well there is nothing to operate on.

There is this impulse that comes to us. To minister. And it is an impulse.

That should be expressed. And is most appropriately expressed. Through the body.

We together. Form the body. And are the body of Christ.

Now when we look at Jesus. He healed them. One by one.

Individually. Various means. Sometimes.

A man was paralyzed. And he looked through. In behind.

To the guilt. And then said. Your sins are forgiven.

The man was set free and able to walk. Sometimes he laid his hands upon people. And we have to deal with people.

And learn to deal with people. One by one. And to have insight.

I think of a person that we prayed for. Who had had an arthritic back. That had required a grace off and on.

For most of a lifetime. And we prayed for her back. It was soothed a little bit but not healed.

And then one evening. She poured out. Her heart.

In relation to experiences. When she was a teenager. And there were experiences.

Where she felt very. Very angry. Against her parents.

That she felt were. Holding her back and holding her in. Far too much.

And we said. There's a wee resentful girl. Still living inside you.

That both needs. To pour out her hurts. And to have that revengeful spirit.

Confessed and forgiven. And that was done. Without I may say even a thought.

For her arthritic back. But her arthritic back. Was healed.

From that moment on. Jesus looked at the man. Who was paralyzed.

And he said. Your sins are forgiven. And sometimes we.

One by one. Have to learn as his body. How to get through.

To where the real need is. So I think of another one. A man that we prayed for.

Who was critically ill. With a renal poisoning. He was at death's door.

And we prayed for him. And he made a remarkable recovery. Three weeks later.

He took ill again. We prayed for him. And again.

A remarkable recovery. And then a considerable period. Where he got a bit better.

And then gradually. Got worse again. So that there was no hope for him.

And one day. In visiting him. I just shared the gospel with him.

Why do I say just shared the gospel. I shared the glorious gospel with him. And told him of.

Of all that Jesus had done for him. And how he could receive. From that day onward.

He began to improve. And within two or three weeks he was out of hospital. God got through.

Through us. Blundering. Unperceiving.

Insensitive people that we so often are. He eventually got through. After many months.

To show us. Where the man needed. To be healed.

Sometimes. There are conditions that do not easily yield. Where we know failure again and again.

Cancers sometimes. One evening we were praying. Why some of these things do not yield.

And one word that came to us was. This kind comes out. Only by prayer.

And fasting. And I'm sure. That there has been.

A far too great unreadiness. On our part. To submit ourselves.

To that kind of discipline. And we're having to learn the lesson. God's way.

But. As God's body. We are meant.

To do the things. That Jesus did. The last point.

That I would mention. Is that. Jesus.

In the midst of all his ministry. Went up to the hills. To lonely places.

For prayer. He kept that relationship with the Father. And.

On many occasions we read. That he came down. And the spirit of God was upon him to heal the sick.

As though he were freshly clothed with power. Freshly anointed. I'm sure that's part of his incarnation.

Being a real man. He wasn't just God. Walking about inside a human container.

He was a man as we are. And he needed to go up the mountain. And maintain that relationship.

As sun and air. And draw upon the resources. And then he came down.

To heal the epileptic boy. This kind comes out. Only by prayer.

And by fasting. Now when he did come down. The people around about wanted to keep him.

But he got this urgency. That came from the Father. I've got to take the good news of the kingdom.

To other towns also. That's Jesus. And we who are his body.

Feel something of the same urgency. To take the gospel. To other people also.

Peter on the day of Pentecost. Stood up with a new boldness. Men of Israel give me a hearing.

Not apologetic. And many discover. That as a matter of fact.

They're able to speak. About Jesus when they're filled with the spirit. Without the embarrassment or timidity.

That they had and knew before. That they begin to be set free. Not that one is completely free.

Paul said I preach the gospel. In much nervousness. But a new boldness.

So to speak. And desire. So to speak.

And one discovers. That this does happen. I think of Sid.

Filled with the spirit. Works in a school canteen in the kitchen. Able to speak about Jesus.

And the folks laugh and smile. But after a couple of years. Suddenly.

Within two days. Two of her workmates. Become Christians.

I think of Pauline. The girl that I mentioned. A leading light in the drama society.

Of the town. When it happened. A new thought.

To share. And share what she did. Some thought she was crackers.

I think of Chris. As he goes about. Just telling about Jesus.

One of his members. At midnight after he leaves. Giving his heart to the Lord.

I think of Norma. A new Christian. Filled with the spirit.

And she shares the gospel with her mother. There is this desire. And it's a desire that should be expressed.

And educated. And we've got boldness. And need more.

And that's why in the Acts of the Apostles. You find that after bearing witness. They come back.

And they pray. Give us more boldness. Stretch out your arm.

And cause times and wonders to be done. In the name of your holy servant Jesus. And it is in his name.

That we would act. In his name. To be his body.

We are the body of Jesus. And on the parish level. In the local congregation.

We are meant to grow into the maturity. To grow into it. To grow into the maturity and fullness of being.

That we have in Jesus. So that people will see. That we are his body.

Now let us pray. Oh God and Father. We thank you for your son Jesus.

We thank you for all your grace and power in him. We thank you for your work of redemption and liberation. Through him.

We thank you for your spirit. Freely given. To make all those resources.

Available for us. Lord we are your body. And we would be your body.

Growing up. Every one of us. Taking his part.

Into the fullness of Christ. And to Christ be the glory. Amen.