Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:1-13

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon – 1 Corinthians 12:1-13
Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church

May 11, 2008 – Pentecost Sunday and Mother’s Day

Let me start this morning by welcoming all the mothers who are worshiping with us today. I can report that last week I returned to Washington DC with a box of Sees Milk Chocolate, my step mother’s gift for Mother’s Day. The church is honoring mothers with carnations this morning and a special concert this afternoon at 3PM on the patio. Our evening worship musical group, A Matter of Faith, has organized a wonderful program featuring many different musical groups from different churches. Everyone is invited.

But first will you pray with me? Holy Spirit, we ask that you come upon us today as you did on that day of Pentecost so long ago. Empower us to be your church. Enable us to worship God. And be with us to comfort us in our times of need. We pray all of this in the glorious name of Jesus, Amen.

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. ¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

In the 20^th century the Christian Church experienced the initiation and growth of a new type of Christianity whose power came nor from the state, or from the congregation, but from the Holy Spirit. On New Years Eve 1900 a young Methodist minister, Charles Fox Parham, was leading a healing ministry and Bible study group in a home in Topeka, Kansas. Parham asked his Bible study group “What proof or evidence is there in scripture that shows the Apostles received Baptism with the Holy Spirit?” The class answered that according to the Book of Acts the Apostles had spoken in other tongues. So that night they prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to give them the same gift, and they all began speaking in tongues.

On April 9, 1906 a student of Parham, William Seymour, the son of slaves, was leading a prayer meeting in Los Angeles. While Seymour was teaching several people began speaking in tongues. People started arriving to see what was going on. They moved the prayer meeting to 312 Azusa Street which became known as the Azusa Street Mission. According to the LA Times, on April 18, 1906 thousands of people had come from around the world for Christian revival. The Azusa Street Revival continued unabated for nearly three years. Hundreds of new congregations were formed. Today, 25% of all Christians around the world are part of traditions that trace themselves back to this powerful event.

Today, many Christians have reported an encounter with the Holy Spirit. They say that they have experienced an extraordinary sense of God’s reality, which has brought them into a deeper encounter with the deity. This has enabled them to praise and worship God in new ways. They experience a heightened desire and capacity to bear witness to the gospel within a more strongly bonded community. Many claim that speaking in tongues, healing, or prophecy has accompanied these heightened experiences and awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The Presbyterian Church has had a difficult time dealing with these experiences. We have always stressed the role of the Spirit in uniting us with Christ and thus bringing to us the fruit of salvation. But in this contemporary manifestation of the Spirit there seems to be more going on than our Reformed theology allows. Some Presbyterians have questioned the authenticity of these experiences. Others say these experiences are signs of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. This often leads to divisions within the church. We need to understand what is happening when Christians report an experience of spiritual empowerment and be able to discern whether or not those gifts are from God.

According to the Apostle Paul ecstatic experiences, such as speaking in tongues, can only be from God if they acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Spirituality without Jesus at the center is not from the Holy Spirit. But the experience of spiritual gifts within the context of the worship of Jesus Christ is definitely an authentic experience of the Holy Spirit. Paul also says that if spiritual experiences come from the Holy Spirit then they will be used for building up the church, its ministries, its activities, and its good works. And finally Paul says that if these experiences come from the Holy Spirit then they will lead to the unity of the church. Just as we have one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit so also we have one church with many members, each one receiving spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit.

For Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church to grow again and be revitalized we too must be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The government will not help us grow. Neither will the denomination. Rather we are dependent on gifts from the Holy Spirit that empower us for ministry in this neighborhood. And this is happening here in our church. I have often sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit in this sanctuary. Every morning at 6AM we begin by reading the Word of God to place us in the presence of Christ for worship. Then we begin to pray. I pray for the needs of the church. As I pray I have heard other people speaking in tongues. I don’t have this gift, at least not yet. But I have found universally that those who speak in tongues at our early morning service believe that the revitalization effort at this church will be successful. Every person who has spoken in tongues in the morning has told me that the Holy Spirit will send more people to this church. I am now convinced that this church has a bright future ahead of it because it is being empowered by gifts from the Holy Spirit.

There is clear evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in this church. Rapidly growing churches in Latin America and Africa all report that their growth begins with the arrival at the church of the poorest people in the community. The poor are powerless and can sense when the church is worshiping in the power of the Holy Spirit. They are drawn by this power to worship. In Eagle Rock there are many people who live on the streets. The Roman Catholic Church feeds them; this is a good thing to do. But recently several homeless people have been coming here, not for a feeding program, but to worship with us. They join us for worship and fellowship and share their gifts with us. One man, who lives here on the street, cooked the dinner for last Sunday’s worship. The poorest in our community are sensing the power of the Holy Spirit at work here at Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church, and are drawn to that power. This is the power that God will use to make this church grow and proper.

Of course, as the church grows conflicts will arise. Personalities will clash. Resources must be shared. Our ways of doing things will change. Stress will increase. And tempers will flair. We will begin to think that the newcomer’s spirits are not from God. Paul has told us to test the spirits. Only one Spirit comes from God. As long as the entire church is focused on Jesus Christ we know that this is the Holy Spirit. We also know that if the Holy Spirit is empowering our church she will unite us into one church.

So pray that Holy Spirit will empower the church for the work she is calling us to do. Do not be afraid if you begin hearing others speaking in tongues, or have some special knowledge or wisdom. Do not be afraid if new experiences begin to happen to you. As long as we are centered in Jesus Christ what we experience will be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. This will empower our church. And this power will attract others who will join us in doing God’s work here in Eagle Rock. This is the promise of Pentecost.

Holy Spirit, pour down your gifts upon us. Bring us closer to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And give to this congregation the power to grow and thrive in the Eagle Rock community, Amen.