|
|
So, what are readings our today about ?
Well there's a group of believers. Luke says that there were 12 men, which may mean 12 families(12 husbands/fathers of 12 households). It may even be some sort of monastic community set up by John the Baptist's disciples. They live in Ephesus a city in what is now Turkey. They were baptised by John the Baptist or by one of his disciples and that's as much as they know about God. They probably believe in one God, whom they probably call "Lord", and they may know the Old Testament scriptures (but of course the New Testament hasn't been by written yet.) They don't seem to know about Jesus and the certainly don't know about the Holy Spirit. When Paul asks them about him they say "We didn't even know there was a Holy Spirit!".
,
If you don't know about someone then you can't know them. So their understanding of God and their relationship with him goes as far as John the Baptist but no further. It stops there, before Jesus and the Holy Spirit. These 12 haven't got the full unfolding of God: the twofold gift of his Son and his Spirit.
So Paul baptises them a second time, this time as Jesus taught his followers to - and as we still do - "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". Then Paul lays his hands on them and prays for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. God send his Spirit and these 12 men, who then speak in tongues and prophesy.
So that's the recap of the readings. Let's look at three things in particular and it's very important that we do so in the order in which they appear in our readings or in the lives of these 12 men.
The first is John's baptism. John's baptism was to do with sin. The people were dirty, spiritually dirty, and in no fit state to receive the Messiah, Jesus. So God sends John the Baptist to them to wash them clean in the waters of baptism. Now you might think that admitting and acknowledging sin is an unpopular business and that therefore John's job would be a difficult one, and yet, perhaps, surprisingly, this is far from the case. People come flocking to John to confess their sins, repent of them and be forgiven. To confess means to admit or acknowledge; to repent means "to turn away from" or "to change"
In the Bible there's a two sides to being sorry: saying sorry and doing differenty. Sorry is as sorry says and as sorry does. Not one or the other but both: saying sorry and then living differently. Some of us are good at one or the other but the Biblical model is to do both. Then we get the third part: Forgiveness.
1. Dealing With Sin:
Asking God To Remove The Obstacles Between Us And Him. The first of three things that happen.
Confession + Repentance = Forgiveness
That's the first thing that happened to these 12, and it has to be the first thing that happened to us. Sin gets in the way of us and God and unless we deal with it we can't go any further. Now having gone through stage one we are in the same position as these 12 men were when Paul found them in Ephesus. So we're ready for stages 2 and 3.
Stage two: prayer
This is the first of two things that happen to these 12 men after they receive Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Prayer is talking to God, but sometimes not talking. Sometimes singing or sometimes sighing. Prayer is really any thought or feeling directed to God. Some prayer is verbal - whether words spoken out loud, or written on a page or said silently in our heads. But other prayer might be non-verbal.
2. Prayer
The Gift From God Of Talking To God.
The second of three things that happen.
a. Above and beyond language ("tongues")
b. With words
Whether words spoken out loud, or written on a page or said silently in our heads.
c. Below or before language (sighs, groans, gestures, etc. e.g Romans 8:26)
The other thing that happens now that these 12 have got Jesus and the Spirit is that they prophesy. This means that they listened to God, heard form him and shared what he said. It doesn't necessarily mean that they foretold the future.
3. Prophecy
The Gift From God Of Listening To Him & Hearing His Will.
The third of three things that happen. "Hearing" (being told by God) the future. "Hearing" (being told by God) the present
( . . . which may lead back to 1: Dealing With Sin) "Hearing" (being told by God) the past( . . . which may lead back to 1: Dealing With Sin)
Let's recap what happened to these 12 men.
So: first of all, they dealt with their sin. Or rather God did.
Perhaps that's what God wants you hear today. Lately I've felt moved to times of confession and repentance in my own personal prayer life. Perhaps that's right for you, too? This removes the obstacles between us and God, so the next thing that happens is that the Holy Spirit can come. When he does he brings with him two gifts or abilities: the first is talking to God, the second is hearing from him. Maybe today you feel weak or lacking in one of those two areas.
So we've got three steps or stages: forgiveness, prayer, prophecy. Notice how the last of these loops rounds and leads back to the first.
I said that lately I've felt moved to times of confession and repentance in my own personal prayer life, that involves all three: confession my sins in prayer in response to God's call. So what we've got at the back is three ministry stations. The first for repentance and forgiveness, to deal with the obstacle of sin that comes between us and God. The second for asking God's help and blessing on your prayer life. Maybe it's been flat or dry or lacking, the third for asking God's help and blessing in listening to him and hearing from him.
Maybe you find it hard to tune out the noise and tune into God. |
Amen |
|
