“Renewable” Energy (2)
(Holy Spirit empowering the church)
Ephesians 1:13-14
“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”
(6)
I counsel couples who are going to be married. I stress the following point.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Psalm 127:1
I am receiving many good reviews about our banquet. Thank you for all
hands that worked hard to make this event happen. Let me warn you, do not be pumped
up by getting the credit. Whatever happened on Saturday and Sunday was not by
us or Badveli Krikor; it was by God’s Spirit.
If Oil is used to energize the lamps so it will light the dark places,
we have another use for oil. Oil was used to anoint people. We read in
the Bible:
“You have anointed my head with oil” Psalm 23:5;
“The Lord’s anointing oil is on you…” Leviticus 10:7;
“You have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the
truth.” 1 John 2:20
Some churches even today use oil for anointing a sick person, or in
baptism. One has to understand that it is not the oil that empowers us with the
Spirit. Oil is symbolism. Only through the Holy Spirit one can be anointed. If
you do not have faith in Jesus Christ, if you do not have any relationship with
God, anointing with the oil is just an empty action. “The Lord’s anointing oil
is on you…” It is the Lord’s presence that is important.
Oil was used in many other areas of life. It was used for healing.
We read in the Good Samaritan’s story that the man poured oil and wine on the
wounded person. Oil is good for healing. It is also good for our skin.
God gives us oil to make our face shine.(Psalm 104:15). When the Spirit of
the Lord is you, your face will shine. And oil is good for lubrication. Imagine
your car engine without oil. What I mean is that oil useful in many areas of
life. The Spirit of the Lord can heal us both spiritually and physically; the Spirit
of the Lord can anoint us so we can be His instrument. The Spirit of the lord
can help us to have smooth relationships with other human beings, it is good
for lubrication. The Spirit of the Lord is our new “renewable energy.”
2. Consider the Holy Spirit as a DEPOSIT.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a
seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing
our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the
praise of his glory.” Eph 1:13-14
“set
his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit,
guaranteeing what is to come.” 2
Besides healing, illuminating, anointing and empowering the role of
Holy Spirit is assuring us that Jesus
paid the deposit.
Don’t you love to have someone to pay your house deposit?
Holy Spirit does that for our salvation. If the Holy Spirit did not
convince me to accept Jesus, nothing would have. Because of God’s Spirit, I
came to Jesus.
My prayer as pastor and as believer is asking God to send the Spirit
on all humanity, so more people will know Him and love Him. However, for those who
believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit is a deposit
helping us to enjoy a little heaven on this earth. Your salvation starts from
the day you come to the Lord. The Holy Spirit does that.
3. The Seal:
I preached about the seal of the Spirit three years ago in this church.
In our text of Ephesians we read: “You were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit,” (13)
“set his seal of ownership
on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit” (
Any official letter without a seal, will be
unofficial. Seal is authority. Kings used to have them on their rings. Well,
for Christians the seal of the Holy Spirit is our mark. Some churches after
baptism add “muron” as a seal. I sometimes hear that our evangelical
church does not have that seal; we do, our seal is the Holy Spirit. However,
let us be cautious not to have the mark or the seal of the devil.
4. Garment
Holy Spirit will clothe us new clothes. These are new clothes. The old
ones are taken off and new ones are put on. We read in Luke 24:49: “I am going
to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have
been clothed with power from on high."
I will love to be clothed with power from on high. These are special
clothes. It is the armor of God that can protect us from evil. We need this
kind of clothes so we can be defensive and offensive.
Isaiah 61:10 describes God’s clothing:
I delight greatly in the LORD;
my
soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and
arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as
a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Here are the four symbols of the Holy Spirit:
Oil
Deposit
Seal
and
Clothing
Today is the day when the church moved and became an instrument in the
hand of God. Where are you today? Do you need Oil? Do you need renewable
energy?
Do you need a seal, a deposit of assurance of salvation? Do you need
clothing?
Come to the Holy Spirit. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit.
Amen