September 21, 2014
Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church
Sermon
Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”
Inspired
by Marcia McFee
Sermon
11 of series-
“The
Spirit of God”
Joel 2:23-29
Common English Bible
Romans 8:22-28
Gods Word Translation
Let us pray… (Pray for God’s
illumination…)
Have
you ever felt “convicted” to do something that you have never done before?
Have you ever felt that little feeling inside to step out in faith and do something? It can be really hard to do that. You may feel that if you do this “thing” you may fail because you don’t really know what you are doing and are not sure if you even know how to do it. You get this prompting within you and you just want to ignore it but it just won’t go away. Why would you even want to do something like this? What if you fail and everyone around you sees you fail and thinks you are nothing but a failure? What if you do this and… (fill in the blank)? The Spirit’s prompting…conviction…can be so strong that you stand frozen…unable to move out because of fear. But there is hope…
Have you ever felt that little feeling inside to step out in faith and do something? It can be really hard to do that. You may feel that if you do this “thing” you may fail because you don’t really know what you are doing and are not sure if you even know how to do it. You get this prompting within you and you just want to ignore it but it just won’t go away. Why would you even want to do something like this? What if you fail and everyone around you sees you fail and thinks you are nothing but a failure? What if you do this and… (fill in the blank)? The Spirit’s prompting…conviction…can be so strong that you stand frozen…unable to move out because of fear. But there is hope…
This
summer, we have been working though the prayer beads that were made as a way to
helps remind us what we should be praying for. Well we are almost to the end of
the beads this week. I know we have learned a few things as we have gone
through the beads on the string. Let’s
see…the Gold Bead…which reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy
beady….that is to remind us to let go and let God….the embrace of silence with
the “holey Bead” …the
steeping stone bead…our journey of faith… The next one…the black...the black
and white...the gray bead...reminds us to bring our spiritual struggles to
God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries but concerns. And we
have the red bead… the one that lets us know that we need to pray for the
lovable and not so lovable people in our lives…even those who do us harm. Then there is the three purple beads on
the string...the ones that remind us to pray for those “who are standing in the
need of prayer.” And we are not just limited to the three beads…they are
there to remind us that there are those who are needing...waiting...for our
prayers for and about them. The
green bead from last week is all about praying for those around the
world…praying for the worlds situations…praying down God’s “kingdom come on
earth as it is in Heaven”…
The
next bead is the fiery red bead. Now this, at times, can be a complicated bead.
You see with this bead we are reminded…well
it’s sort of asking…that we are given a gift that we are to use for God’s
service. This bead is the one that we ask God to work through the Holy Spirit
in us so that we will use our gifts and talents to and for His glory. Now this
can be a tough bead because we are asking God to ignite the Spirit within in us
to cause us to “step out of our comfort zone” and use the Spirit within us to “go forth and make disciples of all
nations.” Now this can be a hard thing to pray for because sometimes…we are
happy just the way we are. We don’t want to move out of our comfort zone. We
have never done the things that God may ask us to do and frankly…we may not be
sure we want to or are equipped to do so…
The
scripture that I read from the Old Testament book of Joel gives us hope in
those time that we are not sure…are frightened….to step out in faith. It gives
us hope because it talks about a promise that God has given us. It tells us to
rejoice and be glad in our God. He will provide for us abundantly. All the
times in the past when we may have been in need…all those times in the past
when we may have failed…they are gone. God will be in our midst and will not be
put to shame. God has even poured out His Spirit upon us…upon you and me… and
we will prevail. It tells us that this Spirit is not just for his “chosen
people” but for all people…we are now all
His chosen ones. And within this same Spirit we will be equipped to do His
work. We will prophesize in His name…we
will dream dreams in His name…we will see visions in His name…we will be
equipped for the good works that He has laid out for us to do in His name…
there is hope and strength in His “Power-Filled Spirit.”
In
the letter to the Romans, Paul talks about this “power-filled Spirit of God”.
The scripture I want to read about this said “Spirit” is found in Chapter 8
verses 22-28. Listen to the Good News about this Spirit of God and take heart…
Romans 8:22-28GOD’S
WORD Translation (GW)
22 We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of
childbirth up to the present time. 23 However, not only creation groans. We,
who have the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts, also groan inwardly. We groan
as we eagerly wait for our adoption, the freeing of our bodies from sin. 24 We
were saved with this hope in mind. If we hope for something we already see, it’s
not really hope. Who hopes for what can be seen? 25 But if we hope for what we
don’t see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we
don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with
our groans that cannot be expressed in words. 27 The one who searches our
hearts knows what the Spirit has in mind. The Spirit intercedes for God’s
people the way God wants him to.
Nothing Can Separate Us
from God’s Love
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love
God—those whom he has called according to his plan.
The
Spirit within creation…the Spirit within you and me…groans with anticipation.
This Spirit helps us in our weakness…in those times when we say to ourselves “I
cannot do this.” You and I are right when
we say “we” can’t do this but the power and strength of God through the Spirit
enables us…equips us…to do what we cannot do on our own. As we pray and ask
that God would pour out his Spirit upon us in a mighty way…He hears. It is by
this same Spirit that He prompts us…convicts us…to do His good and pleasing
will hear on earth. We are called according to His plan and we will prevail in
all that we do in and through His power and might. But…but…we must be willing
to pray the prayer of submission to His will…pray the prayer “Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done.” Just as Jesus prayed
not my will but Your own…we too need to relinquish our will to God’s will in
our lives.
Maybe…jut
maybe…as we pray for the Spirits movement in our lives we will be moved to the
movement of God in the world. As we pray
“Come Holy Spirit” we will be changed and empowered by that same Spirit. Perhaps
if we…as we…ask for a download of the Spirit’s power and might in our lives we
will step up to the microphone of God…instead if the microphone of the
world….and with the boldness of Peter share the Good News of hope instead of
the bad news of despair that the world is proclaiming. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you.” Just because you and I don’t think we
have the power…God knows we do and it is within the knowing that God will
provide that we are emboldened for the Gospel of grace. It’s all about trust.
Trust in our God and trust in our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Just saying…
Let
us pray…pray about the Holy Spirit and
ask for its power to fall mightily...
Amen
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